A BANK OF ESSAY QUESTIONS ON THE TEMPEST - ENGLISH LITERATURE
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Course
SHAKESPEARE
Institution
CIE
A collection of exam questions for A LEVEL ENGLISH on The Tempest (taken from various examination board past papers); a couple of the questions also have indicative content in bullet point form
1. “Although the island is apparently far removed from the world of Milan, there is no
escaping the influence of the past.” Discuss this view of The Tempest.
2. How far would you agree that “in The Tempest, magic is presented as a distraction from
the main concerns of the play”?
3. ‘The storm in The Tempest both destroys and renews.’ Using your knowledge of the
play as a whole, show how far you agree with this view of The Tempest.
The storm in Act I, scene I (which candidates have just been invited to write about in the
context part of this question) is the only literal tempest in the play, though creative
shipwreck in elsewhere Shakespeare is not unusual (Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale,
Pericles). The fact that the storm has been conjured by a human being (Prospero)
suggests the god-like control this character exerts over the play’s action. Destructive
aspects of the storm tend to be registered in the play’s first half: Alonso and Ferdinand,
father and son, are portrayed (in different scenes) in a kind of desperate mutual lament;
Stephano and Trinculo seem to be set free to indulge baser appetites without
restriction. The shipwreck immediately facilitates two conspiracies: an upper plot aiming
at the crown; a satyr play aiming at murder. As the play winds on, softer products of the
storm appear: Miranda welcoming the world of men and plucking her prince from the
sea, Alonso re-born in repentance. Sebastian, Antonio and the ‘odd lads’ of Caliban’s
conspiracy are less obviously regenerated, however, so some candidates will think that
Prospero’s renewing storm is only partly effective, only working on those susceptible to
it. For his own part Prospero decides at the end of the play never to raise a vindictive
storm again, to be humbly human rather than to bend the elements to his will.
Candidates might choose to comment on the fact that – at the end of the play – there is
a sense of a metaphorical passing of the storm of events and brighter conditions seem
to be appearing on the horizon. Different interpretations and performances approaches
(and there are many available) could be considered by candidates as they explore the
ways in which others have considered the idea of storms and tempests as they relate to
this play. This indicative content is intended to indicate aspects of questions that may
feature in candidates’ answers. It is not prescriptive, nor is it exclusive; examiners must
be careful to reward original but well-focused answers and implicit as well as explicit
responses to questions.
, 4. How far do you agree that The Tempest is a play about the use and abuse of
power? Consider how Shakespeare dramatises the exercise of power and what
the play suggests about the responsibilities of power?
5. Discuss the role and significance of Caliban in The Tempest. Consider how the
character of Caliban is presented, Caliban’s contribution to the themes and dramatic
effects of the play.
6. ‘Caliban is a troubling mixture of brutality and sensitivity.’ Using your knowledge of the
play as a whole, show how far you agree with this view of Caliban. Remember to
support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
7. ‘The play encourages us to admire idealistic values such as those of Gonzalo.’ Using
your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you agree with this view of The
Tempest. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
The Tempest
Clearly the social vision presented by Gonzalo in Act 2, scene 1 is idealistic, but there are
others in the play who share this optimism. Prospero himself is surely one of these
(although it would certainly be possible to view him as more interested, at least during
the first four acts, in discipline and restraint). Miranda’s attitude is instinctively to
‘forgive all faults’ as the ‘brave new world’ speech demonstrates. Candidates might also
like to explore the world views of Prospero’s other ‘children’ Ariel and Caliban in this
context. Caliban, though earthy, loves dreams and poetry, Ariel helps Prospero discover
that the ‘rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance’. Ultimately this is a play in which not
only the characters on stage, but also the audience, can experience a ‘sea-change’ in
their values (idealistic or otherwise), much as Alonso does, and this question offers
plenty of opportunities for candidates to examine different interpretations (AO5) in that
context. Gonzalo expresses perhaps the strongest moral vision of the play in his ‘Was
Milan thrust from Milan . . .’ speech in the final scene, with its sense of felix culpa (a
happy sin, meriting such redemption.)
8. How far would you agree that “above all, The Tempest makes us question how best to
rule and be ruled”?
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