The Tempest Act IV Journal Entries

Bobby Wrote:
Act 4 was surprisingly shorter than I expected. It only had one scene throughout the Act. I noticed that it did not really follow the separation of scenes by the characters. In this act, Ferdinand, Miranda, Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo were all in the same scene. However they have not come in contact with each other so the separation is not completely lost. Prospero continues to be at the center of everything, controlling the strings of the plot.

With the play almost about to end, I wonder what is going to happen. With Caliban out of Prospero’s way and Ferdinand engaged to Miranda, all Prospero has to focus on are his brother and King Alonso. From the incident that happened to them last time because of Ariel, they are all in distress making them easy targets for Prospero. Also I wonder about the safety of Alonso’s life. Antonio still wants him dead and probably so does Sebastian. I think that Prospero knows about this plot because so far he is the only one that knows everything that is going on. I do not know if he will allow them to succeed because he is not really fond of Alonso and Alonso is partly the reason that Prospero is in the island. Despite this, Ariel did save the King’s life earlier and everything that Ariel does is the will of Prospero.

Tsvetan Wrote:
The further we get into the play the more it seems that Prospero is actually one of good guys and his plan is just something that he has to do, because he was hurt so much by his brother’s betrayal. He is very understanding towards his daughter and wants only happiness for her and Ferdinand.

What surprised me is that he didn’t punish Caliban and his accomplices when they came to his cave with the intentions to kill him. Instead the scene was a bit comical, which was probably Shakespeare’s intention. I’m used to his plays being tragic most of the time, so I’m curious what might happen in the end.

Stacey Wrote:
Act IV begins with Prospero giving Ferdinand permission to marry his daughter Miranda. It is quite evident that Prospero thinks very highly of his daughter, and feels she deserves only the best. This section of the play made me realize how much society has changed since this time. It is clear that Miranda and Ferdinand were not able to make the decision to get married themselves, but instead, the marriage had to be approved by her father. In today’s society, the parents of the female do not have a say in her marriage. They no longer have the power to make the decision of this matrimony. Even though this decision still takes place within certain cultures, such as arranged marriages, this choice is not as harsh as it once was.

As the act continued, Ariel gathered spirits (Juno, Iris and Ceres) to throw a celebration in honor of Ferdinand and Miranda’s wedding. At the celebration, the spirits basically blessed the couple to lead a long and happy life together. However, Prospero suddenly remembered what Caliban had in store for him. He immediately sent the spirits away, and ended the party. Ariel protected Prospero by leading the spirits to a dirty pond, and left them there.

When Prospero and Ariel returned back to the cell, they hung up clothes on a clothing line. Soon after, the drunken men entered the scene to commit the murder. However, Trinculo and Stefano were fascinated by the clothes, and could care less about murdering Prospero. Suddenly, noises of hunters were heard, causing the drunken men to run away. Little did they know these “hunters” were exactly what they wanted.

I’m really enjoying this play. It is much easier to follow, and I am definitely getting the hang of the language used.

Everett Wrote:
Act IV has continued to change my opinions on certain characters. The plot is also becoming a bit more predictable. I may not be correct but the fact that I can finally at least make a prediction is a change from the previous act where I had no idea what would be happening.

Firstly, I continue to find Prospero as a protagonist than an antagonist. I thought that he was a negative person, making sure everyone was miserable with him. He proves the exact opposite when he says to Ferdinand, "If I've punished you too harshly, I'm ready to make it up to you now, since I've given you a third of my life—everything I live for—my daughter Miranda." He has no one on the island but Miranda and offering her to him is a very selfless act. He is not only giving her away to anybody, but the son of the King that helped destroy him and send him to the island he is trapped on. He was able to push his hate aside and think about someone else's happiness, very unlike what the class had previously thought about him.

I'm assuming that when Alonso is presented to Prospero to suffer for all that he has done, Ferdinand will interfere, making everything much more complicated. He'd be torn between his new love and his father, not able to have both. I bet conflict will rise and it will be like a tempest. The story opens with a tempest and it may close with a tempest, some sort of symbolism about violence of humans.

When I say Macbeth I made the symbolic connection of the destruction of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to the destruction of the mind. They suffered immensely through guilt and torture. Although I don't know much about Shakespeare and his writing, both of these plays seem to also relate to the mind, about how much it can take either romantically or with guilt or anger, anything at all. Maybe it is just me, and it is not the intention at all, but as I read I find myself always thinking about it psychologically.

Katie Wrote:
I am really enjoying the Tempest even though it’s almost done. It was hard to get into but it turned out to be a very funny and entertaining play. I enjoyed act IV and the blessing of the marriage. The song between Juno and Circes very cute. To me Ferdinand and Prospero talking about Miranda’s virgin knot, and not breaking it before the marriage ceremony was awkward. I would not have wanted my father talking to my husband about that. You would think Ferdinand would be uncomfortable himself but I guess during that time period it was normal or expected for the father of the bride to talk to the groom about that. I really enjoyed this act of the play, it was easy to understand and I was able to picture it clearly in my head. I thought the sprits roles in this act were great and having them bless the marriage was perfect for the Tempest.

Chloe Wrote:
The beginning of this Act was very fun and entertaining to read about. I like the romance and the celebration over Miranda and Ferdinand’s marriage. It was fun and light hearted and Prospero was happy over the fact that his whole plan was working out and everything seemed to be falling into place. The songs and dance of Juno, Iris, and Ceres show the Greek and Roman influence of the Elizabethan time. They are goddesses of rainbows, agriculture, and the other gods. They each have a purpose and represent something different and this just show that during the Elizabethan era they were still feeling the revival of Greek and Roman ideas present during the Renaissance.

The discussion about Miranda’s virginity was also interesting. This shows the position of woman at the time and the formality and importance in the way things were done. It was necessary for the father of the bride to speak to the soon to be husband and establish rules and create an understanding. As a woman of today this bothers me because this is a discussion that should be with Miranda as it is her body but back then she was considered to have no mind of her own. And being Prospero I would be worried about Ferdinand who has had so much experience, it sounds like he might taint her and corrupt her.