HSC English AOS Discovery: The Tempest Essay

Discoveries can stimulate new Ideas.  How is this idea explored in your prescribed text and ONE other related text of  your own choosing? William Shakespeare’s 17 th century play The Tempest and Paulo Coelho’s contemporary novel The Alchemist  demonstrate  demonstrate the stimulation of

newfound ideas regarding the inner self and outer world through a process of discovery. The Tempest illustrates a world enchanted y magic! where the characters discover for the "rst time! love! forgiveness and virtue# characters are ale to reassess their values and ecome awakened to reality. reality. The $lchemist e%plores a range of similar discoveries in which the protagonist Santiago emarks on a &ourney to "nd treasure! however instead! discovers that the real treasure lies within himself! and is ale to develop new ideas aout love! wisdom and the unity of the world. 'oth  The Tempest Tempest and The $lchemist illustrate illustrate deeply transformative discoveries which provide individuals with renewed insights and perceptions of themselves and the world they live in. Through this skilful e%ploration of discovery oth composers illuminate themes of knowledge! emotion! power and transformation all of which transcend time and conte%t. Shakespeare’s Shakespeare’s use of character developments reveal the new ideas which propel characters forward to a greater understanding of themselves and the world. $s evident in the momentous transformation Prospero Prospero e%periences towards the end of the play as result of his newfound ideas regarding power and forgiveness. $t the eginning of the play Prospero Prospero is driven y a desire for revenge! the tempestuous storm in $ct ( serves as a manifestation of Prospero’s anger and is symolic of his magical power. power. )owever the audience oserves as Prospero egins to discover *truth+ and sees that he has e%ploited his knowledge with his desire for power! "nally Prospero realises realises that true power is wisdom! not magic and that knowledge without wisdom is worthless. These new ideas egin to develop until he reaches the ultimate antithesis in $ct ,! when he renounces his magic! thus letting go of power and control *this rough magic - ( here a&ure $nd deeper than did ever plummet sound - (’ll drown my ook+ symolising the profound metamorphosis of his desires from vengeance to virtue. (t is clear that through Prospero’s Prospero’s discoveries! his newfound ideas regarding wisdom! knowledge and power drove the emotional and moral alterations to his character and led to a greater g reater understanding of himself. Similar to the discoveries within The Tempest! Tempest! the discoveries within The $lchemist lead to many new ideas which shape and transform an individual’s understanding of self. The inherent concept of alchemy within the novel works as an e%tended metaphor of the alteration which Santiago e%periences when he discovers love and wisdom. Santiago’s initial dream at the eginning of the novel symolises his  personal destiny  and  and *maktub” – that which is already written and egins his &ourney in the

hopes of "nding his treasure and ful"lling his destiny. Through the use of an omniscient narrator the readers are ale to oserve the sutle changes and new ideas that grace Santiago as he discovers a new life unparalleled to that of his old comfortale life as a shepherd. The contrasting imagery of the sycamore tree growing in the aandoned church estalishes the signi"cance of oth religion and nature in his discovery and is further emphasised y the religious allusion of /elchi0edek king of Salem. The ing of Salem is a source of wisdom for Santiago and guides him on his  &ourney as he realises that it is not a physical treasure which he is seeking. Santiago gradually comes to understand the wisdom ehind much of what oth the ing and the $lchemist have said and develops the new idea of his treasure as the true love and wisdom he gains when he "nally reaches the end of his &ourney. 2ew ideas can e stimulated when individuals ecome awakened to reality and thus have a roader understanding of the world. The concept of illusion versus reality is a strong thematic concern within The Tempest and is actualised through the discoveries of various characters! particularly /iranda and 3erdinand. /iranda’s perception of reality is initially rather skewed as it is limited to her con"nes of the island! this world is unlike the *real+ world which she is isolated from. When the storm rings to the (sland a and of shipwrecked men her world opens up and she is immediately rapt with wonder! as e%pressed in her famous lines *oh rave new world- that has such people in it+! and "nds herself hopelessly in love with 3erdinand. 3erdinand on the other hand is lind to reality as he has een placed in an illusionary situation y Prospero in which he has een shipwrecked in a storm! made to elieve that his father is dead and that he is imprisoned# although ecomes awakened to reality when Prospero renounces his power. The entire event has gifted him with the new concept of love with his "anc4 /iranda who! as he e%presses is unlike any other woman he has admired. 'oth /iranda and 3erdinand suddenly have an array of new ideas and possiilities regarding themselves! the world and their future life together. $kin to the e%periences of /iranda and 3erdinand! Santiago "nds that through developing a roader knowledge and understanding of the world he has come to hold renewed ideas and perceptions of it. The most signi"cant discovery that Santiago makes on his &ourney is the discovery of the *language of the world+! this is essentially what allows him to complete his &ourney and the mechanism through which he was ale to make further spiritual discoveries. 'y communicating with anthropomorphised elements of nature such as the wind! desert! and the one hand that wrote everything 5 understood to e 6od! Santiago understands the idea of the soul of the world which unites all animate and inanimate o&ects. This is emphasised through the use of dialogue when Santiago is speaking to the wind and says *( have inside me the winds! the deserts! the oceans! the stars! and everything created in the universe.

We were all made y the same hand! and we have the same soul+. $t this point it is evident that y discovering how to speak the language of the world Santiago has accepted the idea that his soul is a part of the Soul of the World which in its essence is 6od. The new ideas which transformed Santiago’s sense of the world and his place in it arose only through his discovery of the unity and oneness of the world. $s evident in oth Shakespeare’s play The Tempest! and Paulo Coelho’s novel The $lchemist! discoveries are often a catalyst for new ideas and possiilities which propel individuals forward and assist in gaining a greater understanding of themselves and the world. These transformative discoveries may e stimulated y either personal desires or careful e%ternal manipulation! however despite these discrepancies the signi"cance of the new ideas formulated are not aected.