The Tempest/Hagseed

Forgiveness/Revenge TS

Through symbolism, ‘The Tempest’ encapsulates forgiveness as a concept that one must follow through with to regain their personal freedom, which is continued in Atwood’s novel through her direct allusions to Shakespeare’s text, reflecting Jacobean Christian values which subsist in today’s modern secular society and encouraging their respective audiences to recognise the importance of forgiveness and inviting new beginnings whilst warning against the temptation of revenge.

Forgiveness/Revenge Quotes (7)

POINT	TEMPEST		HAGSEED
Revenge is inhumane	“I would sir, were I human”  Allusion to the Tempest  Irony?  “Am I supposed to say ‘I would sir were I human?”
Revenge important	“At this hour/ Lies all mine enemies”	“He’d gotten his revenge… which had been a pleasure”
Forgiveness is more important	“The rarer act is / in virtue than in vengeance” in HS this is Felix subconscious right after finishing revenge on Sal and tony
Felix internal vs Shakespeare external; reflects their internal vs external contexts	“I do forgive thee”  “I pardon all of you, and we’ll let bygones be bygones”		Forgives himself – letting go of Miranda ‘growing up’ and fully accepting she’s gone  “To the elements be free”

The Power of Theatre TS

In showcasing the power of theatre to transform an individual, Atwood and Shakespeare both use their texts to warn their audiences of the power of language and theatre to influence and confine an individual yet also advocates for the positive transformations it can encourage.

The all-consuming nature of theatre

Island stage - his director for both

The Power of Theatre Quotes (7)

POINT	TEMPEST	HAGSEED
Their life is consumed by theatre  ALSO WORKS FOR IMPRISONMENT	“As you from crimes would pardoned be, / Let your indulgence set me free” must be freed from cycle of theatre IF APPROPRIATE COULD MENTION SHAKESPEARE MAYBE PROJECTING	“My island domain. My place of exile. My penance. / My theatre.” Parataxis is apparently the technique idk what that is tho so look it up
Power of language	“’Well, I am standing water/I’ll teach you how to flow” Seb then Antonio: will get him to do it with words	“It’s the words… thats the real danger” hyperbole
Power of illusions/theatre	Ariel illusion stuff  “We are such stuff as dreams are made on”  Dreamlike & illusitory nature of life, temporary nature of existance, intersection bewtween theatre and real life  Eventually the play will end  “These our actors... were all spirits”	Felix mentions “the redeptive power of art”

Gender TS

Shakespeare’s characterisation of women reflects Jacobean expectations for women to be obedient and virtuous, however offers moments of defiance to interrogate their patriarchal oppression, whereas Atwood reconstructs Miranda to satisfy her contemporary feminist audience while still criticizing the oppression women face in modern day.

Gender Quotes (17)

POINT	TEMPEST	HAGSEED
Miranda/Estelle (used by their respective Prospero)	“I ratify this my rich gift” Act 4  “Then, as my  gift  and thine own acquisition  Worthily purchased, take my daughter.” Prospero Act 4	“[Estelle] had done him quite a few favours over the years, acting discreetly in the background”  “He had captured his Miranda” (abt Anne Marie)  “I’m hiring a professional actress... an actual woman... already the Tempest was more appealing to them”
Miranda/Anne Marie (standup against assaulter, choose own lover)	Calls Caliban an “Abhorrèd slave”, out of character for her otherwise  Chess scene, chooses own husband  “I’ll bear your logs the while”  “I am your wife if you will marry me.” “You may deny me, but I’ll be your servant  Whether you will or no.”	“His feelings were hurt, more than anything”
Miranda/Miranda (purity)	“My modesty, the jewel in my dower”  “Good wombs have borne bad sons” Miranda says these both  “O, I have suffered  With those that I saw suffer!”	“She remains simple, she remains innocent. She’s such a comfort.”
Fathers possessive over their daughetrs	“For I too have lost my daughter”  “	“His Miranda”

Power and Manipulation TS

Through unreliable narration, Atwood recontextualises the entitlement to power individuals possess, joining Shakespeare’s critique of the lack of morality in those who crave power, while providing new modern insights into what should be valued in a leader.  Due to the belief in the Great Chain of Being in SHakespeare’s time, individuals in The Tempest are given a birthright to their power, contrasting with the need to earn power through the respect of others seen in Hagseed. 

Both texts recognise that true control comes from an ability to control othersggss

Power and Manipulation Quotes (9)

POINT	TEMPEST	HAGSEED
Manipulating prisoners/Ariel	“Dost thou forget/From what a torment I did free thee”	The centre closing hes happy abt the threat bc “it will be very motivating”
Their power comes only from manipulating others	“Hast thou, spirit, / Performed to point the tempest that I bade thee?” He told Ariel to make the Tempest, the main thing and he didnt make it himself	“The Goblins, thinks Felix. The ultimate weapon”
Want for power/power over others	“And I the king shall love thee”  Contrasted with “Am I this patient logman”	“The theatre isn’t a republic. It’s a monarchy”
Power must be balanced with morality	“I would sir, were I human”  Not ‘human’ what they’re doing for power	“Is extreme goodness always weak? Can a person be good in the absense of power? The Tempest asks these questions”

Imprisonment TS

In The Tempest, Shakespeare explores the effects imprisonment have on an individual by using a theatrical setting to create an external prison, whilst Hagseed uses unreliable third person close narration to examine the internal thoughtscape of a person trapped in their own grief, reflecting the heightened value the modern world places on the ‘internal’ and showing there are still conversations to be had about humanity

Imprisonment Quotes (12)

POINT	TEMPEST	HAGSEED
Miranda (T)/Miranda (HS) trapped; their fathers need him	"that did preserve me”  talking abt their respective Mirandas –  In Tempest MIranda helps Prospero  In HS Miranda keeps Felix trapped unintentfully
Ariel (T)/Miranda (HS) also trapped	Ariel states he wants “my liberty”	Her “silver frame” - she’s trapped too; until the end she can’t rest properly  “Get me out of here! Is what she;s really saying to Ferdinand, isn’t it?”  Meta  How Felix sees tempest therefore how Felix sees himself  “Keeping her tethered to him all this time”
Their respective prisons (minus theatre)	“this island”	“his endless grief”   “Lost at sea, drifting here, drifting there”  “Prospero is a prisoner inside the play he himself has created”
Their prison = theatre	“By your indulgence set me free”	“As if the cloak is wearing him”  “My island doman,. My place of exile, My penance. My theatre”

The Other TS

In accordance with the age of exploration, Shakespeare reflects Jacobean stereotypes and beliefs by demonising the ‘other’ who refuse to assimilate and adopt Colonial values, which Atwood critiques by putting a post colonial perspective on The Tempest and humanising margionalised characters in Hagseed interrogating the system of incarceration and humanising those who are margionalised in contemporary society,

The Other Quotes (12)

POINT	TEMPEST	HAGSEED
Society view	“no double marketable”	“Those who cannot, by their very natures, be educated”  “Nature vs Nurture, something like that” Both said by Sal
Dehumanisation	“savage” “deformed slave”  “A devil, a born devil, on whose nature/nurture can never stick” said by Prospero	“Because they’re animals!’ … “They should all be in cages”
Humanisation by book vs dehumanisation by book	“I had peopled else This isle with Calibans.” Confirming colonist narrative of indigenous peoplevrffs	“That’s how the guys feel about it, with their kids”
ANOTHER humanisation by book vs dehumanisation by book	“ she will become thy bed”  Will overtake the Europeans and steal their women	“’we get him’ ‘everyone kicks him around but he don’t let it break him”” they humanise Caliban   “Caliban should be first nations... he’s african”