"Music and The Tempest"

Critic: Theresa Coletti Source: Criticism about: Music [(essay date 1974) In the following essay, Coletti describes how music informs the emotional, atmospheric, philosophical, and structural design of The Tempest.] The vital center of The Tempest is its music. ervadin! and informin! the action of the play" music is al#ays soundin!" al#ays affectin! and shapin! the lives of the characters. $ften directionless and am%i!uous in its meanin!" the music of The Tempest provides a conte&t for rospero's ma!ical machinations and %ecomes" throu!h the course of the play" a po#erfully evocative sym%ol of this ma!ic. (n The Tempest music is the medium throu!h #hich order emer!es from chaos) it is the a!ent of sufferin!" learnin!" !ro#th" and freedom. Critics #ho have noted the pervasiveness of music" son!s" and musical allusions in *ha+espeare's drama1 have often attempted to e&trapolate from the canon of his #or+ and posit a distinct philosophy of music #hich they insist he #as tryin! to communicate in his plays. This is most easily accomplished %y rather va!ue references to ,enaissance ideas of divine harmony and the -music of the spheres"- that macrocosmic heavenly order of #hich this #orldly microcosm #as thou!ht to %e a reflection. (t has also %een pointed out that durin! the ,enaissance" music came more and more to %e associated #ith a -rhetoric of emotion"- a +ind of lan!ua!e of the heart in #hich man could e&press his inmost feelin!s and communicate them to others.. Thou!h neither of these notions can account for our e&perience of a play as musically rich as The Tempest, to!ether they can provide us #ith helpful tools for understandin! ho# *ha+espeare employed music in his drama. /or from ideas of order #e can derive principles of structure" and if there is a providential desi!n in The Tempest, it is certainly an artistic and a musical one. /urthermore" this desi!n manifests itself in the manner in #hich it spea+s to deep human feelin!s) it is meanin!ful in the e&tent to #hich it can e&press the -lan!ua!e of the heart.- (n The Tempest these t#o modes of interpretation form a unity from #hich music emer!es as an emotional and philosophical idea. 0m%odyin! its o#n conceptual inte!rity" music %ecomes a force that transcends its po#er as melos, or in the case of son!" as melos and lexos, to achieve its status as the play's presidin! sym%ol of %oth feelin! and form.1 This e&planation #ill account" ( hope" for #hat may appear to %e my su%se2uent ne!lect of the melos of The Tempest's music. /rom contemporary son! %oo+s of the period one is a%le to conclude #ith a certain amount of assurance that some of the play's actual music still survives. eter *en! points out the e&istence of possi%le ori!inal melodies for t#o of the son!s" -/ull fathom five- ((" ii" 197) and -3here the %ee suc+s" there suc+ (- (4" i" 55).4 That the evidence for the remainin! %ody of the play's music is sparse !ives us" ( thin+" license to employ our -ima!inative- ears to evo+e in our o#n minds the presence of those -stran!e and solemn airs- that pervade The Tempest. The a%sence of considerations of melody in my discussion of the son!s #ill not" ( hope" %e perceived as an oversi!ht" %ut rather as a methodolo!ical step necessitated %y my thesis that the ontolo!y of music in The Tempest is an ideational as #ell as a melodic one. (f #e #ant to e&amine music as an informin! idea in The Tempest, #e can %e!in %y loo+in! at a play #ith #hich it has many affinities" As You Like It. $ne can vie# The Tempest and As You Like It as companion plays in more than one sense. (n terms of plot they share many common elements. 0ach %e!ins in medias res 6u+e *enior and rospero have %oth %een deposed %efore the plays' actions %e!in. 0ach drama presents a principal fi!ure #hose machinations orchestrate events to %rin! a%out a desired end) ,osalind #ishes to #in $rlando and rospero to recover his du+edom. 7oth plays 8u&tapose !roups of !ood and %ad characters) there are the evil9doers and the victims of evil. The primary actions of The Tempest and 1

As You Like It unfold in artificial #orlds #here the old e&i!encies of court life do not o%tain. rospero's island and the /orest of :rden %ecome places of self9discovery #here ne# standards of %ehavior are learned. 0ach play's deepest concern is #ith the process of reco!nition of error and re!eneration" and finally" each a%undantly employs music as a vehicle for commentin! upon this process or for helpin! to %rin! it into %ein!. As You Like It is richer in music than the plays that preceded it. /rom his e&perience #ith the earliest comedies *ha+espeare had pro%a%ly learned the value of music as an important dramatic device. ;ere the son!s are more carefully inte!rated" reinforcin! and illuminatin! the themes of the play. The first son!" -<nder the !reen#ood tree- (((" v. 1)" portrays the life of the e&iles in the /orest of :rden and focuses their dramatic situation. Cast from their position of security at court" the ne# inha%itants of :rden are learnin! that nature supplies a home that is in many #ays far superior to the one they have left %ehind= -;ere shall he see no enemy > 7ut #inter and rou!h #eather- (((" v. ?97).@ : musical statement of one of the themes of the play" the %eneficent effect of nature on man" the son! also reveals the character of its t#o sin!ers" :miens" the cheerful e&ile" and Aa2ues" the melancholy cynic. This is a fine instance of music as dramatic economy. *imultaneously fulfillin! t#o functions" the son! delineates the import of the play's action and displays antithetical responses to it. The placement of the son!s in As You Like It also intensifies the play's dramatic movement. -7lo#" %lo#" thou #inter #ind- (((" vii" 174) repeats the theme of the first son!" %ut it is more caustic" more e&plicit in its comment. The implications of this son!" #hich contrasts #inter's natural violence #ith the violence that human %ein!s inflict upon each other" are undercut %y its dramatic position. Comin! directly after $rlando carries in his faithful %ut de%ilitated servant :dam" the son! %ecomes an ironic comment upon itself" for #e have 8ust seen an e&ample of friendship that is not -fei!nin!"- of lovin! that is not mere -folly.- 3e have also discovered that 6u+e *enior's attachment to $rlando's father survives in his +indness to the son. Bi+e Aa2ues' misanthropic speech on the ultimate insi!nificance of human life" the son! ma+es a point #hich the events of the play 2ualify" and the a!ent of this 2ualification is the very %eni!nity of nature itself. $ne final instance of the use of music in As You Like It is #orth notin!. 3hile perhaps %earin! no e&plicit relationship to the pro!ress of the plot or the nature of character" the son! -(t #as a lover and his lass- (4" iii" @) has an evocative po#er that im%ues the entire conclusion of the play. Cele%ratin! a life of love and sprin!time" the son! %y contrast reminds us of the #inter of e&ile and misfortune that has 8ust passed. (t loo+s ahead to the marria!es that are a%out to ta+e place and %rin!s a sense of freshness to inform the repentance that 6u+e /rederic+ and $liver e&perience. More atmospheric than thematic" this son! su!!ests a ne# order of livin! and %ein!) it transcends the events of the play to provide a conte&t that e&presses their fullest meanin!. (n this sense it comes closer than any other son! in the play to the use of music that *ha+espeare employs in The Tempest. This %rief discussion of As You Like It illustrates ho# important to a drama music and son! can %e. Ta+en to!ether" the son!s of As You Like It form more than a decorative enhancement of the action. :miens' simplicity and ener!etic !aiety are so closely connected to its pro!ress that it is very difficult to ima!ine the play #ithout him or his son!s. The music of As You Like It moves #ith the play as an analo!ous structure of mood and motive. (t does not" ho#ever" %ecome the structural principle of the play itself. This is #here The Tempest ta+es its crucial departure from a play #ith #hich it other#ise shares many similarities. The difference %et#een the t#o plays is" of course" the chronolo!ical fact of t#elve or thirteen years. ;istorical considerations of dramatic presentation99the ac2uisition %y the Cin!'s Men of the 7lac+friars Theatre99can" in part" account for the uni2ue use to #hich music #as put in The Tempest. 7ut the deepest distinctions %et#een The Tempest and As You Like It are those that point to profounder 2uestions of ethics and the nature of freedom and responsi%ility. The ans#ers supplied %y As You Like It are essentially those .

of the comic vision99that human nature is suscepti%le to !oodness and that man" if not perfecti%le" is at least reforma%le. 7ut *ha+espeare's romances follo# the #ritin! of the tra!edies" and they are cau!ht in a delicate %alance %et#een the affirmation of the earlier plays and the dar+ and ponderous pro%in!s of !acbeth and "ing Lear. :nd if they are a%le to sustain or even su!!est a positive vision" it is only after an e&cess of sufferin! and the painful passa!e of time. The diver!ent attitudes to#ard time that As You Like It and The Tempest reveal are perhaps a +ey to understandin! the very different roles that music ta+es in each of these plays. (n one sense" time seems to %e of little si!nificance in As You Like It. 6u+e *enior and his company re!ret their unfortunate e&ile" %ut the /orest of :rden has a medicinal effect that tempers the %urden of the past and ma+es the present liva%le" even en8oya%le. The future" too" looms in their consciousness as neither a promise nor a threat. There is in the play" ho#ever" the repeated appearance of #hat ( call -the salutary moment"- those uni2ue instants #hen men and #omen fall in love and #hen #ron!9doers reco!niDe their errors and see+ for!iveness. This is the -love at first si!ht- of ,osalind and $rlando" of Celia and $liver. (t is also the instantaneous conversion of 6u+e /rederic+ %y his encounter #ith a reli!ious hermit and the 2uic+ reformation of $liver #hen saved from the devourin! 8a#s of a lion %y the intervention of his %rother. Time" then" in As You Like It is fra!mented and dispersed) it is important insofar as it coincides #ith certain si!nificant incidents. ;elen Eardner" spea+in! of the -unmeasured time- of this play" points out that comedy %y its very nature ma+es use of chan!es and chances #hich are not really events %ut -happenin!s.-? Comedy e&ploits adapta%ility) it tests a character's #illin!ness to !rasp the proper moment and fashion it to his o#n end. 7riefly" it dramatiDes ,osalind's advice to hoe%e= -*ell #hen you can" you are not for all mar+ets- ((((" v" ?F). This carpe diem attitude to#ard livin!" #hich depends on the coincidence of situation and desire" posits a sense of time that locates value in the particular moment. Time's effect" then" is not cumulative %ut instantaneous) it is not the fulfillment of destiny %ut life lived -as you li+e it.( stated earlier that the music of As You Like It formed a structure analo!ous to the movement of the play" and ( thin+ my point is reinforced if #e notice that the son!s tend to em%ody this special -momentary2uality as #ell. They either occur in relatively short scenes devoted to the consciousness of -havin! a son!- (((" v) (4" ii) 4" iii)" or they e&ploit a si!nificant moment %y providin! an ironic or thematic comment (((" vii) 4" iv). The possi%le e&ception is -(t #as a lover and his lass- (4" iii)" the import of #hich has already %een discussed. (f the musical instances in As You Like It parallel in theme and tone the movement of the play" the music of The Tempest orchestrates its developin! action at every point. The son!s of As You Like It are lar!ely situational) for the most part" they do not re2uire a comprehensive vie# of the drama to render them meanin!ful. They do not depend upon time as a movin! force that %rin!s events and feelin!s to a certain issue. Time" ho#ever" is of utmost importance in The Tempest. rospero has four hours to complete his ma!ic revels) this sense of time (and timin!) thus ma+es e#ery moment meanin!ful. :n intuition of ur!ency" a reco!nition of catastrophe 8ust %arely avoided" im%ues our e&perience of The Tempest. $ur perception of time in the play includes %oth a sense of the -proper moment- and a feelin! of necessary duration. :riel saves EonDalo and :lonso from the s#ords of :ntonio and *e%astian in -the nic+ of time"- %ut :lonso saves himself %y endurin! a period of sufferin!. :nd ( thin+" too" #e can see ho# the shape of time in The Tempest is lar!ely coe&tensive #ith its music. /or music informs the play not only as an a!ent of the -proper moment-) it also directs and inte!rates all of the play's moments into the total vision that is the play. The Tempest could not e&ist #ithout its music" #hether it is the stran!e and solemn airs that accompany the ma!ic %an2uet" the spri!htly sin!in! of :riel" or the drun+en cavortin! of Cali%an" *tephano" and Trinculo. :ll of these %ear an intimate relationship to each other) all relate to rospero's one si!nificant action99his effort to recover his du+edom and to %rin! his enemies to a reco!nition of their past and their errors.

<ltimately one's vie# of the importance of music in The Tempest #ill depend upon #hat one thin+s the play's dramatic import finally is. (f one %elieves that rospero's island is an harmonious one #here redemptive !race allays and triumphs over evil" one is apt to find its music sym%olic of a celestial concord #hich #ill eventually o%tain on earth. (t is true that The Tempest's music revolves around the opposition of concord and discord and that the a!ents of these t#o modes of %ein! respond (or do not respond) to it in their respective #ays. 7ut rather than seein! the play as the victory of harmony over disorder" ( thin+ The Tempest su!!ests ho# very difficult it is to %rin! order into %ein! and that order" once achieved" is indeed a fra!ile thin!" precariously %alanced %et#een the violent past from #hich it has emer!ed and the threatenin! future #hich may consume it. Music" then" assists at the %irth of this tentative order" and rospero's music must %e considered in terms of %oth the e&tensions and limitations of his art.7 The first son! of the play is :riel's -Come unto these yello# sands- ((" ii" 17@)" #hich he sin!s to a !rievin! /erdinand. The tempest has finally su%sided" and :riel's son! cele%rates the simplicity of the calm earth into #hich /erdinand has %een transported. :s an invitation to the dance" -then ta+e hands"the son! loo+s ahead to that moment at the end of the play #hen all of its characters are 8oined inside rospero's ma!ic circle. The ma!ic #hich rospero had used to invo+e the tempest no# enchants /erdinand" dra#in! him further into the island and to#ard Miranda. This is the first crucial step to#ard their marria!e" #hich #ill in part resolve the parental strife that had %een rospero's cause for raisin! the tempest. $ne critic has su!!ested that this son! is the musical counterpart of the s#eet9sin!in! *irens' invitation. -The island has all the ma!ical charms of Circe's island= stran!ers from afar have %een lured to it and rospero provides a ma!ical %an2uet and charms his visitors %y music's po#ers" so that they are no lon!er a%le to o%ey their reasonin! po#ers.-5 ;ere rospero's more %enevolent po#ers replace the lust and destruction of the *irens" and the music leads /erdinand" not to an easy satisfaction" %ut to a test of discipline and faithfulness. /erdinand's response to the son!" -3here should this music %eG (' th' air or th' earthG- ((" ii" 155)" esta%lishes the ma!ical 2uality of this island" #here the very air is music. 3. ;. :uden has #ritten that -the son! comes to him as an utter surprise" and its effect is not to feed or please his !rief" not to encoura!e him to sit %roodin!" %ut to allay his passion" so that he !ets to his feet and follo#s the music. The son! opens his present to e&pectation at a moment #hen he is in dan!er of closin! it to all %ut recollection.-9 :s /erdinand follo#s this elusive music" :riel %e!ins his second son!" -/ull fathom five thy father lies((" ii" 197). ro%a%ly no son! of The Tempest is so #ell remem%ered and perhaps no other is thematically so important. /erdinand is made to %elieve that his father is dead) similarly" :lonso #ill %elieve that /erdinand is dead" and in that %elief he #ill under!o the madness" the -sea chan!e- of !rief and humility" from #hich he #ill emer!e transformed. The poetry of the son! transports :lonso from the #orld of muta%ility and flu& to a +ind of permanence. ;is %ones and eyes %ecome coral and pearls) the -sea- !ives form to #hat #as su%8ect to decay.1F Thus the son! reminds us that the life of Milan99the disordered #orld of usurpation and potential tyranny99is no# under the shapin! influence of rospero's art. /erdinand reacts to the son! not #ith !rief %ut #ith a#e= -This is no mortal %usiness" nor no sound > That the earth o#es- ((" ii" 4F794F5). The music" in the play's first triumph over history" moves /erdinand to accept his past and leads him to the future99and Miranda. The s#ift a!ent of rospero's #ell9timed music" :riel plays a -solemn strain- (((" i" 175) that lulls the Milan travelers to sleep. EonDalo" in his simplicity and #arm9heartedness" su%mits most easily" %ut :lonso soon follo#s. *e%astian and :ntonio" ho#ever" are si!nificantly e&empted from the effect of the music. rospero's ma!ic has no po#er over them. Their o#n imperviousness to this music" their ina%ility to hear it" contrasts sharply #ith Cali%an" #ho" even in his vile earthiness" is su%8ect to the music's seduction. -The isle is full of noises"- he tells *tephano and Trinculo" -*ounds and s#eet airs that !ive deli!ht and hurt not- ((((" ii" 11.9111). 3hen *e%astian and :ntonio plot to ta+e the lives of :lonso and EonDalo" rospero's music ur!ently intervenes. :riel sin!s a #arnin! son!" -3hile you here do snorin! lie- (((" i" .9F)" into EonDalo's ear" and the sleepers a#a+e. The music that had induced their slum%er %ecomes the a!ent of their deliverance) :lonso and EonDalo escape catastrophe. 4

$ne of the primary distinctions to %e made a%out music in The Tempest is" of course" that there is :riel's music and there is Cali%an's music. :nd #hile there is that moment #hen Cali%an seems to come close to understandin! %oth of these musical lan!ua!es" he remains" for the most part" on the side of the raucous and the %a#dy. This is the music of *tephano and Trinculo as #ell. *tephano's first t#o son!s" -( shall no more to sea- (((" ii" 41) and -The master" the s#a%%er" the %oats#ain" and (- (((" ii" 4@)" are indeed the -scurvy tunes- that he calls them. The son!s are a +ind of comic diversion and an introduction to the %uffoonery of the three that is to follo#. Their lustiness and earthiness offers a clear antithesis to the o%edient chastity of /erdinand and Miranda" #ho are learnin! that fulfillment must %e %y desert and not demand. Cali%an" no# under the influence of his ne# !od -sac+"- raises his o#n voice in son!. ;is -/are#ell master- (((" ii" 171) and -Ho more dams ('ll ma+e for fish- (((" ii" 17@) si!naliDe his revolt from rospero. The latter son! ends #ith a call for freedom" remindin! us" perhaps" of :riel's %ehest early in the play that rospero release him. :riel must #or+ for his freedom) Cali%an e&pects his to fall into his lap. (t is important" too" ( thin+" and perhaps ironically si!nificant that the only t#o characters in the play #ho ask for freedom are the non9human ones" #hile all the other characters are very much involved in a stru!!le to %e free from history" from each other" and from themselves. Cali%an's -scurvy son!- heralds the delusion he is a%out to come under in thin+in! *tephano and Trinculo the vehicle throu!h #hich his freedom may %e realiDed. To!ether the comrades plot to +ill rospero and ta+e the island" and they seal their %ar!ain #ith their son! -/lout 'em and scout 'em- ((((" ii" 115). Cali%an remar+s" -That's not the tune- (1.1)" and :riel enters #ith his ta%or and pipe and a #holly different +ind of music. This evo+es different responses from the three) *tephano thin+s it the devil" Trinculo e&presses penitence" %ut Cali%an counsels them not to fear this intervention. Curiously" the t#o scenes of the drun+en son!s frame the scene of lo!9%earin! /erdinand" en!a!ed in his trial to prove to rospero his fitness for Miranda. /erdinand's so%riety in performin! his tas+ and his #illin!ness to accept control and responsi%ility99his efforts to %rin! a%out his o#n freedom99are thro#n into relief %y this contrast #ith desire run #ild. This reminds us that rospero's attempt to %rin! a ne# order into %ein! is threatened on all sides %y stron!ly motivated self9satisfaction and potential anarchy. :riel's music" then" has intervened a second time to hinder the enactment of a plot hatched to assassinate a ruler. *imilarly" shortly after the maneuvers of *tephano" Trinculo" and Cali%an to do a#ay #ith rospero" #e see :ntonio and *e%astian once a!ain involved in machinations to +ill their +in!. :!ain :riel interrupts" this time #ith -solemn and stran!e music- ((((" iii" 15)" and he produces the dance of the stran!e shapes and their %an2uet. :lonso and EonDalo admire the apparition" callin! it -harmony- and -s#eet music.- :ntonio and *e%astian" still %eyond the pale of the island's music" can only relate the phenomenon to mundanities of !eo!raphy and travelers' tales. EonDalo thin+s the shapes' -manners- more !entle than human +ind" #hile *e%astian #ants to eat the food they have placed in front of him. Bi+e *tephano" Trinculo" and Cali%an" his earthly9mindedness has no access to the %eauty that affects EonDalo and :lonso. :riel enters a!ain" this time dis!uised as a harpy" and the %an2uet disappears. ;e e&plains to them the initial effect and purpose of his music= -you 'mon!st men > 7ein! most unfit to live" ( have made you mad- ((((" iii" @79@5). :riel reminds them of their deposition of rospero and promises them -lin!erin! perdition- unless they are a%le to e&perience -heart's sorro# > :nd a clear life ensuin!- (5.). :riel is tellin! the representatives of Milan that they must su%mit to the music of the island and endure the pain that the achievement of freedom involves or continue to %e a!ents of chaos and evil. This is the point #here the po#ers and limitations of rospero's art mer!e. 3hile it is true that the play has revealed that there are those amena%le to order and those that are not" rospero can only use his music to %rin! his captives to a consciousness of their o#n disordered" threatenin! %ehavior. ;is music cannot perform that transformation %y itself. :s /erdinand had to choose #hether or not he #ould under!o the ordeal of lo!9 %earin!" :lonso must choose #hether or not he #ill repent. (n doin! so he must e&perience a depth of @

despair as a necessary prelude to his recovery= -My son i' th' ooDe is %edded) and > ('ll see+ him deeper than e'er plummet sounded > :nd #ith him there lie mudded- ((((" iii" 1FF91F.). erhaps the most ma!nificent use of music in The Tempest is that #hich introduces and informs the mas2ue that rospero produces as a #eddin! %lessin! for /erdinand and Miranda. The son! -;onour" riches" marria!e" %lessin!- ((4" i" 1F?) loo+s for#ard to the happy union of the couple. Iet #hile the son! of Auno and Ceres %espea+s a life of plenty" this is not the same +ind of richness that EonDalo had envisioned #hen he dreamed of his ideal common#ealth= -7ourn" %ound of land" tilth" vineyard" none) > ... all men idle" all- (((" i" 145" 1@F). Auno and Ceres sin! of the %ounty that is the result of cultivation= -7arns and !arners never empty" > 4ines #ith clust'rin! %unches !ro#in!- (111911.). This copiousness is the result of dedicated #or+" of nature and nurture" and the dance #hich concludes the mas2ue is one of nymphs and -:u!ust9#eary- reapers. 3e should remem%er" too" that rospero's ma!ic is also the outcome of his hard -la%ours.- (f #e #ould chide EonDalo for his innocent simplicity in ima!inin! a !olden #orld" the mas2ue son! %alances his dream #ith one that must admit the necessity of the human #or+ that %rin!s fruitfulness and %ounty. This mas2ue is perhaps revelatory of rospero's ima!inative desire to see order and !oodness" %ut it e&presses this !oodness as the result of meanin!ful human effort. The frailty of this vision" ho#ever" sho#s itself %y rapidly dissolvin! as rospero remem%ers Cali%an's -foul conspiracy- a!ainst his life.11 Aan Cott has called this play -the !reat ,enaissance tra!edy of lost illusions"-1. and #hile one may hesitate to see it as the dar+ and mur+y drama #hich he thin+s it is" one must" ( thin+" !ive credence to the sense of incompleteness that emer!es as the play comes to a close. /or there are !aps" empty spaces in our perception of the human lives #e have seen portrayed" #hich #e suspect even rospero's finest ma!ic and !reatest music cannot touch. ;is famous -$ur revels no# are ended- speech ((4" i" 145) seems" in fact" to point to the limitations of the musically enchanted spectacle he has produced. Aust ho# fra!ile it really is is evidenced %y its am%i!uous effect on rospero himself. /or he has yet to %e reminded %y :riel that -the rarer action- is one of lovin! for!iveness" and there is that crucial moment #hen it seems as if his -no%ler reason- #ill %e as %aseless as the fa%ric of his vision. 3hen -the insu%stantial pa!eant- fades" #hat is left is rospero and his %eatin! mind. ;is la%ors" ho#ever" are not #ithout positive issue. rospero's music had made :lonso and his company mad" yet that madness #as a necessary prelude to their reco!nition of !uilt and repentance. (f rospero's music led the ship#rec+ed travelers to an a#areness of their o#n history" it also provided a vehicle throu!h #hich this a#areness99this madness99could %e healed. They enter rospero's ma!ic circle to a -solemn air ... the %est comforter > To an unsettled fancy ...- (4" i" @59@9). Iet if they have attained a freedom from madness" it is a freedom that must accept the %urden of responsi%ility for its past and future. (n this conte&t" :riel's final son!" -3here the %ee suc+s" there suc+ (- (4" i" 57)" is si!nificant. $ne critic has su!!ested that this son!" #hich is a%out :riel's freedom" is really a lyric coda to the entire play" cele%ratin! the attainment of freedom on the part of all #ho have %een involved.11 ( thin+ the son! has a different and !reater function. :s it su!!ests :riel's approachin! happiness" it points to the #orld %eyond the play" the #orld #hich must remain that of our ima!inin!s. :nd in !oin! %eyond the #orld of the play" #e must inevita%ly consider not only the -co#slip's %ell- and the merry summer that :riel loo+s for#ard to #ith deli!ht" %ut also Milan and the #orld to #hich the reinstated rospero must return. :riel's son! most poi!nantly reminds us that his freedom is not the freedom of a rospero or an :lonso" that only a spirit can %e free to the four elements. /or the court of Milan freedom must no# reside in responsi%le action emer!in! from the reco!nition of the pain of history. Throu!hout The Tempest rospero's art99his music99had %een the measure of the shapin! influence he had on the lives of other people. (ts po#er finally" ( thin+" must %e as tentative as the conclusion to #hich it %rin!s us. (t has united /erdinand and Miranda and created a ne# future for :lonso" %ut :ntonio is still trapped in vile self9see+in!" and the cases of *e%astian and Cali%an are 2uestiona%le. Music has helped to %rin! a%out some order in #hat had %een chaos" some concord from #hat had %een discord.14 7ut ?

rospero %rea+s his staff and dro#ns his %oo+" and thus he a%andons his music as #ell. There is the su!!estion" ( thin+" that from no# on the attainment and preservation of freedom and for!iveness #ill %e a thorou!hly human effort in #hich music can no lon!er intervene. Notes 1. 3or+s often cited are= Aohn Bon!" $hakespeare%s &se of !usic' A $tudy of !usic and Its (erformance in the )riginal (roduction of $e#en Comedies (Eainesville= <niversity of /lorida ress" 19@@)) Aohn ,o%ert Moore" -The /unction of the *on!s in *ha+espeare's lays"- $hakespeare $tudies by !embers of the *epartment of +nglish of the &ni#ersity of ,isconsin (Madison" 191?)" pp. 7591F.) ,ichmond Ho%le" $hakespeare%s &se of $ong with the Text of the (rincipal $ongs (Bondon= $&ford <niversity ress" 19.1). .. Aohn *tevens" -*ha+espeare and the Music of the 0liDa%ethan *ta!e"- $hakespeare in !usic, ed. hyllis ;artnoll (Bondon= Macmillan J Co." 19?4)" p. 45. 1. ( am !rateful to rofessor Aarold ,amsey of the <niversity of ,ochester for pointin! out to me this distinction %et#een melos and lexos and for his helpful advice throu!hout the preparation of this paper. 4. The -ocal $ongs in the (lays of $hakespeare (Cam%rid!e= ;arvard <niversity ress" 19?7)" pp. .@?9 @7" .71. @. :ll line citations are from ,illiam $hakespeare' The Complete ,orks, ed. :lfred ;ar%a!e (7altimore= en!uin 7oo+s" 19?9). ?. -:s Iou Bi+e (t"- !ore Talking of $hakespeare, ed. Aohn Earrett (Bondon= Bon!mans" Ereen J Co. Btd." 19@9)" pp. .19... 7. ,ose Kim%ardo in her article -/orm and 6isorder in The Tempest,- $hakespeare .uarterly, 14 (19?1)" 499@?" very capa%ly notes that the opposition of order and disorder is the crucial tension set forth in the play and su!!ests that rospero's art must %e seen in terms of this opposition. My intention is to sho# ho# the play's use of music au!ments this tension dramatically and sym%olically at every point of the action. 5. Aohn Cutts" -Music and the *upernatural in The Tempest' : *tudy in (nterpretation"- !usic and Letters, 19= 4 ($cto%er" 19@5)" p. 145. 9. -Music in *ha+espeare= (ts 6ramatic <se in the lays"- +ncounter, 9 (6ecem%er" 19@7)" p. 41. 1F. Kim%ardo" p. @1. 11. Kim%ardo" p. @?. 1.. $hakespeare )ur Contemporary (He# Ior+= :nchor 7oo+s" 19??)" p. .71. 11. *en!" p. .71. 14. Kim%ardo" p. @@. Source: Theresa Coletti" -Music and The Tempest./ Source Database: Literature 0esource Center 7

I. Introduction
The Tempest is full of music, singing, and dancing. Every act and every scene has at least one musical element. This is not very surprising, as Shakespeare had his own musicians, whom he did not have to pay, and thus he could afford such a variety of music. The whole play takes place on a desert island which is inhabited by only three people. Particularly, the unusual soundscape [shall underpin[s the strangeness of the island! "Shakespeare, #ntroduction $%&'(. )earing all the songs accompanied by solemn! music is not only spectacular for the audience, even *aliban, whom we know as a rude and uneducated native of the island, is fascinated by the isle [which is full of noises, + Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not! "%. $. ,$-&,$.(. Thus he wants to calm his new friends Stephano and Trinculo, who had never seen and heard such things. /oreover, 0riel casts a spell over 1erdinand with his music and he follows it, although he has 2ust shipwrecked and a different behaviour would be e3pected in the case of such a catastrophe. 4e can see that music has a huge impact on both the figures in the play and the audience, as this drama was actually written to be performed rather than to be read. 5onetheless it is not enough to say that music is only used to create a nice background sound for the play. 6ne can even go so far and say that music plays the main role and the whole play only revolves around music. #n order to prove this, # will show in the following the important functions of music and musical elements. 1irstly, # would like to demonstrate the music7s function as a message for both the figures and the audience, secondly, the music7s function as an essential part of the play and last but not least, the most important function & music as a 7power&tool7 for Prospero and in a sense also for 0riel.

II. Analysis and Interpretation 1. Music as a Message

1ollowing a tradition of neo&platonic ideali8ation!, music can be the imitation of divine order, but also a source of riot and disorder! "Tr9stedt(. :oth definitions fit to The Tempest, as we have the awful storm at the very beginning, deliberately caused by Prospero, and on the other hand we have a lot of heavenly music and songs performed by 0riel. /ost of his songs have a message for the hearers, be it for the actors or only for the audience. This can be seen in act #, scene ii, %;<&'=%, when 0riel sings his second song. )e is invisible for 1erdinand and his song tells 1erdinand that his father has not survived the shipwreck and drowned. )e does not mention even once the words died, dead or drowned, but e3plains that 0lonso has now turned to precious sea treasures on the seabed. 1erdinand understands the message at once but he is not surprised at all, as he already believed his father to be dead and this ditty [> remember[s [his drowned father.! ",. $. '='(. 6f course his father is not dead and therefore the change that is reported [in the song , happens not [> at sea [> , but rather here, in and throughmusic.! "Tr9stedt(. #n the ne3t scene 0riel makes 0lonso, ?on8alo, and the rest of the company fall asleep, e3cept for Sebastian and 0ntonio. :eing invisible, he listens to the conspiracy plans of those two. 0riel wants to prevent the murder on 0lonso and sings in the ear of the sleeping ?on8alo, in order to wake him up. 0riel7s message in this song is very direct and clear, in contrast to the first one, and ?on8alo suddenly awakes. This time 0riel did not lie, as ?on8alo sees at once the swords waving Sebastian and 0ntonio. #n both scenes 0riel was invisible for the actors and the concerning persons might have had the impression of a divine afflatus. 1or the figures, this way is more credible than if 0riel appeared in person and would tell them what is going on@ it is very unlikely that any of them would believe him as 0riel is a stranger for all of them. Everyone has their own theory on where the music and singing might have come from, whether it is i7th7air, or th7earth! ",. $. %.-(. The masAue, which is performed for 1erdinand and /iranda in act #B, scene i, can be seen as a play&within&a&play. 4e can assume that the song sung by Cuno and *eres "ll. ,=<&,,-( has a message for the engaged couple and they transmit their blessings on the young people in their song. 1urthermore, like music and poetry, dance was believed to reflect through its ordered patterns the sacred harmony of the spheres.! "Simonds, -'(. This time, it is not the invisible 0riel who brings the message but here we have a direct allusion to divinity and supernaturalism on the island, established by the goddesses and the nymphs. 6f course, this masAue & with its huge variety of musical elements & should also show the audience the importance of that scene. #n addition to this, the catch of *aliban, Trinculo and Stephano can also be considered as a messageD [They sing] 1lout 7em, and scout 7em 0nd scout 7em, and flout 7em. Thought is free. "%. $. ,,'&,,<(Thereby they e3plain clearly their attitude towards the authority and want to motivate others to scout the sovereigns and mock at them "Tr9stedt(. #n the end of the play 0riel again performs a song, but this time without any directions of Prospero@

he sings about his future in freedom without his master, which is already within his reach. 1rom his song we get to know that 0riel is going to go a different way than Prospero@ the former wants to retire in the nature and live under the blossom that hangs on the bough.! "E. ,. ;'(, whereas the latter is determined to become active in politics again.

The play is awash with references to water. The /ariners enter Fwet in 0ct #, scene i, and *aliban, Stephano, and Trinculo enter Fall wet, after being led by 0riel into a swampy lake "#B.i. ,;% (. /irandaGs fear for the lives of the sailors in the Fwild waters "#.ii. $ ( causes her to weep. 0lonso, believing his son dead because of his own actionsagainst Prospero, decides in 0ct ###, scene iii to drown himself. )is language is echoedby Prospero in 0ct B, scene i when the magician promises that, once he has reconciled with his enemies, Fdeeper than did ever plummet sound + #Gll drown mybook "B.i. E< H E(.These are only a few of the references to water in the play. 6ccasionally, thereferences to water are used to compare characters. 1or e3ample, the echo of 0lonsoGs desire to drown himself in ProsperoGs promise to drown his book calls attention to the similarity of the sacrifices each man must make. 0lonso must be willingto give up his life in order to become truly penitent and to be forgiven for his treacheryagainst Prospero. Similarly, in order to re2oin the world he has been driven from,Prospero must be willing to give up his magic and his power.Perhaps the most important overall effect of this water motif is to heighten the symbolicimportance of the tempest itself. #t is as though the water from that storm runs throughthe language and action of the entire play I 2ust as the tempest itself literally andcrucially affects the lives and actions of all the characters. Mysterious Noises The isle is indeed, as *aliban says, Ffull of noises "###.ii. ,%= (. The play begins with a Ftempestuous noise of thunder and lightning "#.i. , , stage direction(, and the splitting of the ship is signaled in part by Fa confused noise within "#.i. E' , stage direction(. /uch of the noise of the play is musical, and much of the music is 0rielGs. 1erdinand is led to/iranda by 0rielGs music. 0rielGs m usic also wakes ?on8alo 2ust as 0ntonio andSebastian are about to kill 0lonso in 0ct ##, scene i. /oreover, the magical banAuet of 0ct ###, scene iii is laid out to the tune of FSolemn and strange music "###.iii. ,. , stagedirection(, and Cuno and *eres sing in the wedding masAue "#B.i. ,=< H ,,(. The noises, sounds, and music of the play are made most significant by *alibanGs 9

speech about the noises of the island at ###.ii. ,%= H ,%. . Shakespeare shows *aliban inthe thrall of magic, which the theater audience also e3periences as the illusion of thunder, rain, invisibility. The action of The Tempest is very simple. 4hat gives the playmost of its hypnotic, magical atmosphere is the series of dreamlike events it stages,such as the tempest, the magical banAuet, and the wedding masAue. 0ccompanied bymusic, these present a feast for the eye and the ear and convince us of the magical glory of ProsperoGs enchanted isle
music in the tempest introduction of music in shakespeare's plays. shakespeare knew the importance of music and songs and introduced songs and music in almost all his plays, even in his tragedies. as he said in one of his plays-"the man that has no music in himself is fit for treasons and stratagems" music shows the character of a person. usually song are sung in shakespeare's plays by clowns. but in

the tempest songs are sung by ariel, caliban and stephano

their songs reveal their characters.

these songs have a charm of their own. moreover the whole atmosphere of the enchanted island of prospero is full of noises, sweet sounds and sweet airs and it is highly musical. the charm of the songs in tempest. the tempest was one of the last plays written by william shakespeare. it was written when his dramatic genius and art had reached their full development. therefore, the songs in the tempest shakespeare's full and final development. the songs do not come in the way of the action f the tempest. indeed the songs help to developthe action of the play and raise dramatic situations. so the songs can be called action songs. they are written in rhymed measures. ariel's songs. ariel is a delicate airy creature. he is music itself. his songs are poetry. even his speech is songs. his songs are characteristic of him. in his song "full fathom five thy father lies," he informs ferdinand of his father's death and illustrates it in the language of nature. his song "come unto these yellow sands" is delicate and rippling. his song "where the bee sucks, there suck i" shows the joy of living in natural surroundings. it is a song of farewell to prospero. ariel's songs are beautiful examples of lyrical poetry. the other songs in the tempest caliban's song " ban ban caliban" is the howl of a monster. hence it is characteristic of him and reveals his character. stephano's two songs-"i shall no more to sea" and "the master, the swabbler" are sea songs quite characteristic of sailors. songs in the tempest are poetic. in the tempest music and magic are integral parts of the play. the tempest minus music and magic would be worthless. as george gordon says "to miss music and the singing is to miss the two things that are the very pulse of the play 1F

& E% & Musical Interlude! The Soundtrackof TheTempest "verview! /usic has the power to stir strong emotion, and there are many songs thatShakespeare writes into the play itself.

11