Appropriation vs. Adaptation: The Tempest

There are a number of literary and cinematic appropriations and adaptations of the classic Shakespeare play called The Tempest written in 1610. We defined an appropriation as “a more dramatic change to the original story. An appropriation can use a theme or element like plot or character from the original to create a completely new work with a very different essence.” We defined an adaptation as “an updating or translation of the original work that more or less tries to keep the essence and themes of the original.” An example of an adaptation is the 2010 movie based off this play called The Tempest. This movie is clearly an adaptation of the original play because despite of some certain changes within the details, this movie maintains the same themes, personality and language of characters and plot line.

In the original plot line of the play, the scene begins with a storm in the middle of the sea caused by the sorcerer Prospero. This storm wrecks a ship that carries Alonso (the king of Naples), his son Ferdinand, Gonzalo, Stephano, Trinculo, Sebastian and Antonio. Prospero ordered his servant, Ariel a spirit from the island, to cause this storm so that he can bring the people on that shipwreck to the island as revenge. Prospero, his daughter Miranda and his slave Caliban had been living on this island for 12 years now. Prospero and Miranda were sent off to this island by his brother Antonio so that Antonio could take Prospero’s position as Duke of Milan. So Prospero’s plan was to get them all stranded on the island together so he can solve his problems with them. When the men begin to wander about the island, Ferdinand is drawn away by the sound of Ariel’s voice to run into Miranda so that they can fall in love and she can marry off to this prince. This plan works and they fall in love instantly. Meanwhile the men know of Prospero’s presence on the island. They run into Caliban drunk and all together think up a plan to kill Prospero. Ariel hears of their plans and tell Prospero. Prospero and Ariel think of a plan to scare the men and do this by magic. They scare the men when they reach Prospero’s home with spirits of large dogs. At the end, Prospero forgives the men and gives up his powers. Miranda and Ferdinand agree to marry and the men return to Italy where Prospero regains his dukedom. He also frees Caliban and Ariel on the island.

In the movie adaptation of The Tempest, the main character of Prospero is switched to a woman sorcerer named Prospera. Miranda finds out that her mother caused the storm and in the book she just believed that it just happened. Also Prospero and Miranda’s house seems fairly modern even though this is supposed to be taken place a long time ago. At the end, it does not show Prospera returning to dukedom or returning to Italy at all.

I believe there are a couple of elements of the play and the movie that I do and do not enjoy. A writer for the Hollywood Reporter named Deborah Young, wrote a review on the movie, ""The Tempest"... looks disappointingly middle-of-the-road. Even the great Helen Mirren, who usurps the masculine lead as Prospera, is steady and reliable but unexciting," (Young, 2010). I disagree with this statement because a female is completely capable of being just as powerful and full of action as a male would be in overcoming the obstacles presented within this play. I would have to say that I enjoy the movie more than I do the book. I honestly like the fact that Prospero’s character in the movie is changed to a woman. Although Prospera did not have any feminine qualities in the movie, making the main character a woman changes the dynamic of the story. The only other girl on the island was Miranda and her character was not powerful female role. I think Shakespeare used her as a stereotype of women that their sole purpose is to marry and they should be as innocent as Miranda. Making Prospera a strong mother sets an example for Miranda, even if she was treated the same way in the play by her father, having a strong mother shows Miranda that women are perfectly capable of being powerful as well. Another element that I enjoy about the movie is that the relationship between Prospera and Ariel is very prominent. They seem to mean a great deal to each other even when Ariel is trying desperately to be set free from being her servant. They seem to rely heavily on each other, but especially how Prospera relies on Ariel to follow her orders. Ariel plays a large role is how the storyline plays out and influences many of the actions of Miranda, Ferdinand, Alonso, Trinculo, Gonzalo, Stephano, Sebastian and Antonio. In the movie, Ariel’s powers are extremely visual and dramatic and I enjoyed the effects that made Ariel’s actions very epic. In my opinion, the movie feels less harsh than the book and still follows what the Tempest is truly trying to portray.

Works Cited:

Young, Deborah 2010

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/tempest-film-review-30010