EN251: British Literature I

Fall 2005

 

Response Paper 4

 

For Monday, October 3, read Act 2 of The Tempest and write a response paper on one of the following topics:

  1. What does Caliban look like? (In place of a description, a drawing may be substituted.)
  2. Why does Prospero set seemingly arbitrary tasks for Ferdinand as obstacles to his wooing of Miranda? Does he want Miranda to marry Ferdinance, or not? Is he being a good father, or not?
  3. In a speech beginning, “Had I plantation of this isle…” (2.1.127-47), Gonzalo praises Prospero’s island as a kind of potential Utopia. Antonio and Sebastian, a couple of cynics, mock him for his pretensions. Who’s right? What, if anything, is wrong with Gonzalo’s vision?
  4. Stephano is drunk and stupid. Why does Caliban serve him? What does this reveal about Caliban? What is revealed by the way in which Stephano rules?