I read this, this year because I had to read it in prep for a uni assignment, and I am so glad I got to re-visit this again. I actually read Hag-Seed – a retelling of The Tempest written by Atwood (review here)- before I read this and I am so glad I did because it allowed me to have more of an understanding and to an extent allowed me to connect to it more. I think I said in my Hag-Seed review but I first encountered this play during high school Drama where in small groups we had to act out a scene. Researching the play, getting to know the characters being a part of the production and acting out the play is the best thing and was actually a factor in getting me into really liking Shakespeare.
I love watching Shakespeare’s plays live there is nothing like it (with this and Othello being my top two), but there is something in reading the play and pretending to be the director yourself. How are you going to interpret it, what does the play tell you, and what themes are you going to focus on? Analysing it for an assignment and questioning it and looking at it from a different angle allowed me to have a different insight that I didn’t have before. The fact that it is a political allegory, the references to freedom, the seduction of power and its dangers of it, and the language that is so rich.
The setting of the Island also reminded me of Lord of the Flies by William Golding which I read earlier this year and I loved making comparisons and similarities between them. Studying the novel allowed me to how many realist novels reference The Tempest but also highlighted how much The Tempest uses realist elements. It highlights European Colonialism, racism and exploitation and it was interesting how Shakespeare represented this through the characters but especially Caliban. If you’re a Shakespeare lover or love seventeenth-century literature this would be a great recommendation, I would also say to get the Oxford World’s Classics edition because it has an extensive commentary on the play, brilliant footnotes and intro-conclusion and is very accessible.
Favourite quotes-
‘This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine’.
‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with sleep.’
‘Hell is empty and all the devils are here.’
Shakespeare’s The Tempest was the first-ever play of his I ever read/studied. It was for drama in high school and because we had to interpret the play and act it out, it got me really engaged and into reading/watching Shakespeare. I am looking forward to revisiting it again because I get to study it for uni and when I saw this book, I thought what a great opportunity to read it and I mean the timing is kind of great too.
I actually didn’t know this was a part of a series- which it is, it is called the Hogarth Shakespeare Series celebrating 400 years (I think) of Shakespeare in which writers come together to retell a Shakespeare play- I definitely want to pick up the retelling written by Anne Tyler and Jeanette Winterson (as I have read other stuff by them) but to read the series as a whole would be really good. Atwood’s interpretation of The Tempest was exceptional.
I loved reading the play in prose form because it gave a different insight (I mean last year Hamnet was one of my favourite reads of the year). I loved how the characters put on a play and behind the scenes and the build-up to it because it made me think of when I did it in drama (of course there was no prisons involved or some crazy revenge plot) and the way she incorporated the plotlines so seamlessly she really is such a talented writer.
I have to say I really felt for Felix he lost his wife and daughter then his job, but then Felix wasn’t going to take this lying down he was going to take revenge Shakespeare style. I also loved how the character of his daughter Miranda was included-albeit as a hallucination- but it showed the depths of how grief affects you and never leaves you and I felt that quite powerful. I loved how the prison was the setting backdrop I think it is important that they have the chance for re-education and as Atwood portrays in most cases it is vital and does really help when they get out.
I thought it was quite comedic in places and I feel like it balanced out the darkness of it. Overall, I really loved it and made me reminisce about the actual play itself (which I will be revisiting soon) with some crazy characters a twisty and revengeful plot this is one not to be missed. And of course, it’s Atwood, as if you need an excuse.
Quotes- “A door of hope has opened. They like doors of hope. But then, who doesn’t”.
“There was a feverish desperation in those long-ago efforts of his, but didn’t the best art have desperation at its core?”
“It’s the words that should concern you, he thinks at them. That’s the real danger. Words don’t show up on scanners.”
“We are such stuff as dreams are made of.”
See these reviews on Goodreads- Fiz|فيز (The United Kingdom)’s review of Hag-Seed | Goodreads
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