The Gospel according to Shakespeare

Chapter 6: Epiphany

89 C h a p t e r 6 Epiphany I might call him A thing divine v The Tempest brings unusual and complex Good news. in this multiform , metamorphic, and ungraspable play, in which Shakespeare’s fantasy moves freely in many directions, there is both the telling of a human gospel and also the staging of something that possesses a sacred aura. Before claiming as much, however, we must read The Tempest attentively , listen to its music, imagine its action and its panorama. its plot (which has no sources) is simple, characterized—for once in Shakespeare’s work—by unity of space and time; and it is, indeed, the bearer of good news. in essence, what happens is that a ship en route from tunis to naples—carrying alonso, the king of naples, his brother Sebastian and his son Ferdinand, antonio, the usurping duke of Milan, the old counselor Gonzalo,and other courtiers and mariners on board— is shattered by a tempest and wrecked on the coast of a mysterious and enchanted island. 90 The Gospel according to Shakespeare on the island live prospero, the rightful duke of Milan, his daughter Miranda, the “slave” Caliban, son of the african witch Sycorax, and the spirit ariel, the only native of the island, whom Sycorax had imprisoned in a tree and whom prospero had rescued in exchange for his services. antonio, in agreement with the king of naples, had snatched the dukedom of Milan from his brother prospero, who, immersed in his studies, had entrusted its government to him. prospero and Miranda, as the protagonist reveals to his daughter, had been expelled from Lombardy and entrusted to the waves of the sea on a small vessel, which, by “providence divine,” had deposited them on the island. they survive here thanks to prospero’s great magical art and to Caliban’s services. once they have met, Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love. prospero is happy about this but pretends to place obstacles between them. Caliban offers his help to Stephano and trinculo, respectively , the butler and jester to alonso, to organize a coup against his master. Later, Sebastian and antonio plot to seize the kingdom of naples from alonso. having undermined such conspiracies, prospero rejects his magic and reveals himself to the newcomers, asking for restitution of the dukedom and pointing out to everyone Miranda and Ferdinand , now betrothed, playing chess. he then frees ariel and clearly suggests that he will forgive the repentant Caliban, who will remain the only inhabitant of the island. prospero, Miranda, and Ferdinand will set sail with the others towards naples and celebrate the marriage of the two young people. prospero will then retire to Milan, where, he declares, “every third thought” will be for his grave. instead of the recognition scenes of Pericles, Cymbeline, and The Winter’s Tale, we have three marvelous revelation scenes, three true epiphanies: the encounter between Miranda and Ferdinand, prospero’s unveiling of himself before the courtiers of naples and Milan, and the great scene of Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess. it is on these that i will concentrate. But i will do so following the unfolding of the action , which, like the island itself, is from a thematic point of view a true “maze”: full of surprises, mysterious twists, and enigmatic amplifications , accelerations and delays, lyrical and musical expansions, and moments of concentrated rapture. Epiphany 91 the tempest that has overwhelmed the neapolitan ship is immediately revealed as an illusion: it is in fact created by prospero, who, like the God of the Bible, “commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea” (ps. 107:25). the king, duke, lords, and mariners sailing from tunis to naples are all safe: “not a hair perished,” ariel confirms to prospero, echoing the words of St. paul in the tempest that throws his ship onto the shores of Malta during the apostle’s voyage to rome (1.2.217; acts 27:34). While the fake tempest and the fake shipwreck take place, Miranda and her father are in front of the “cell” that is their home. prospero reassures his daughter, who had suffered with those whom she had seen in distress, that they have been done “no harm,” that he himself has “ordered” the tempest “with such provision in my art,” and that he has acted for her own good. he then tells her of his...