THE TEMPEST. William Shakespeare
“I think he will carry this island home in his pocket, and give it his son for an apple.” (Act II, scene 1, p. 73)
The Tempest is Shakespeare's last work: a tragicomedy where the rivalry between members of the same family is resolved through magic, deception and disguises. Prosper, king of Naples, betrayed by his brother and exiled to an island in the company of his daughter Miranda, exercises all kinds of extraordinary powers. The Tempest is a labyrinth of appearances, arts and knowledge. Even nature overwhelms the characters, trapped and possessed by the wizard king's artifices. Prosper is the all-powerful creator of a world where even forgiveness is possible, and not even the evil nature of some characters can stop the extraordinary force of art.
“The splendor of the past had given way. The world had been reborn. And it was, at the same time, a new world. As wonderful as Miranda exclaims in the first scene of the fifth act.
O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world
That has such people in’t!
(…)
Those heroes had known how to build a new opportunity for humanity, and the work of William Shakespeare certified it. The work catapulted men towards a bright future. The labors of the humanists had not been sterile. Perhaps, in reality, all the sorrows and sufferings of all, the wars and misery, the crackling of the inquisitorial fires, and even his own exile, as sad as it was fantastic, had existed in order to reach The Tempest.”
“The awakening of the world”, prologue, pp. 32-33
Arcadi Navarro
UPF Professor of Genetics
ICREA research professor
The idea of "starting over" can transcend that which is purely individual and apply to the creation of new societies. Returning to Gonçal's speech about the possibility of creating a utopian kingdom on the island, linked to the possibility of "starting again" that this space offers, this is a theme that has also been revealed as attractive for reality TV.
"Shipwrecks, islands and new worlds", epilogue, p. 308
Mercè Oliva
UPF Professor of the Communication Department
In addition, a series of activities have been organized around the work that favor a contemporary reading: