A New Historicist Study Of The Tempest

The Tempest is Shakespeare's last play composed in 1611.It mainly tells the story of Prospero,the duke of Milan's banishment to an isolated island by his usurper Alonzo,and his reencounter with enemies by conjuring up a storm with magic.With Stephen Greenblatt's theory of social energy,this paper purports to analyze the circulation of cultural energy,religious energy and political energy inside and outside of The Tempest,and how Shakespeare's composition strengthened prosperity and unity of the kingdom.This paper consists of three parts:introduction,the main body and conclusion.In introduction,the general content,sources of composition,literature review and literary theories applied in The Tempest are introduced.Chapter one analyzes the circulation of cultural energy in The Tempest.At the end of 15^th century,humanism was circulated to England from Italy and made great changes in people's thinking of this world.Self-awakening is one of the most obvious attributes of humanists,and it participated in the reconstruction of the society as a kind of social energy.Prospero pursues liberation of his mind,what he dreams is to return to Italy and become the duke of Milan again,and realize his“ideal kingdom.”Shakespeare wrote this cultural energy into his play and depicted Prospero as a noble who forgives his enemies and return to his kingdom.In reverse,this cultural energy reconstructed a country image with cultural prosperity.Chapter two analyzes the circulation of religious energy in The Tempest.Heresies prospered in Renaissance England,for Protestants,Catholicism was another unorthodox religion in England.Elizabeth I didn't suppress Catholics but balanced the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics,and the national religion---Anglicanism was finally solidified.Prospero is a defender of Catholicism,and his magic also symbolizes traditional Catholic doctrines.After a series of vengeance,he chooses to yield to the new king and gives up his magic.Shakespeare wrote Elizabeth's policies on heresies into the play and depicted three characters:Prospero,Alonzo,and Caliban,who represent different religions in the play,and reconstructed a country image with mild religious conflicts.This image revealed indestructible religious unity to the audience.Chapter three analyzes the circulation of political energy in The Tempest.New forces'subversion of authority was common in Renaissance England.The imprisoned Elizabeth's succession was objected by the rightful heir to Henry VIII and many nobles in court.Prospero employs magic to make a shipwreck and realizes his subversion of Alonzo's new authority,and Caliban the monster also attacks Prospero with weak power to realize his subversion.By describing and staging the political energy“subversion”to the audience,Shakespeare depicted characters who represent different authorities and reconstructed a country image that Elizabeth's royalty cannot be overthrown.The national authority was invisibly consolidated.By summarizing circulations of three social energies it can be concluded that The Tempest publicized humanism,alleviated religious conflicts and consolidated royal power.