Theory In Practice: The Tempest

The Tempest is a powerful yet complex network of myth, symbol, romance and broad comedy. For generations, its gallery of characters has suggested a series of contrasts between Nature and Art, Community and Absolute Power and most recently, between the fear of alien savagery and the necessity of colonial guilt. For Caliban, Prospero's Island is both enchanted and a prison for Ariel and Miranda, it is a landscape both alien and spiritual. This volume of specially commissioned essays contains examples of how the newest critical positions may be brought to bear in practice on The Tempest. Sections in each essay locate a context for the theories adopted and explain any unfamiliar terms. There then follows an interpretation of the work guided by these theoretical concepts. An introduction by the volume editor supplies an account of the critical history of the play, an overview of its most recent criticism, and an indication of how these have affected practical approaches to The