ENGL 1153 Introduction to Reading and Writing about Literature
Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Spring Semester 2022 ENGL 1153 x208
Tues/Thus 2:00 – 3:20 PM Bea Wood 210
Dr. Peter Fields, assoc. professor of English
peter.fields@msutexas.edu
Office Hours: Mon/Wed – 1:00-3:00 PM; Tue/Thur-12:00-1:45 PM
OFFICE HOURS: I make a point of being in my office in the early afternoon MTWR. If you drop by in person, that’s great—but you may have to share this time with others who drop by.
APPOINTMENT IN PERSON OR BY ZOOM: Make an appointment with me by email for my undivided attention; it can be between 1:00 and 3:00 MTWR or a different time, including Friday. If you would like your appointment by ZOOM, I will send you the link just before the agreed-upon time.
OFFICE PHONE: My campus office phone is 940-397-4246. If I am unable to answer immediately, OUTLOOK will turn your message into an email to me. Tell me your number.
LAND LINE: My students may also call me on my landline 940-766-6319 in the evenings, on Friday, or on the weekend. If I am unable to answer immediately, leave a message with your name and number. Make sure I know you are a student in my class.
Required books:
The Arden Shakespeare: The Tempest. Revised Edition: Bloomsbury.
Paperback. ISBN 978-1-4081-3347-7. Hint: You cannot function without this book.
The Little Seagull Handbook with Exercises. W.W. Norton and Company. Fourth edition 978-0-393-422917 (3rd edition is also fine). Comments in rubric will refer to chapters and sections in the Little Seagull.
Required MOVIES related to Shakespeare’s The Tempest:
The RSC The Tempest (2016; directed by Gregory Doran), Forbidden Planet (1956; directed by Fred Wilcox), and The Tempest (2010; directed by Julie Taymor) are available for free any time in the library databases. The RSC Tempest is in DIGITAL THEATRE PLUS; Forbidden Planet and Taymor’s 2010 Tempest are in SWANK. Start at MSU Portal (user name & password); on the left in the TAKE ME TO list, click on LIBRARY DATABASES; then look under “D†and “S.â€
NOTE: Students have to purchase their own copy of (or stream) Disney’s 1998 English Language version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, which features Kirsten Dunst as the voice of Kiki and Phil Hartman as the voice of Jiji.
Course goals
Read Shakespeare’s The Tempest in our Arden book.
For PowerPoints, each paragraph describes a key moment in a scene.
For the Essay, compare TWO of our films.
Engage in a writing process that includes invention, drafting, and revision.
Utilize credible supporting sources in our essays.
Use our models for MLA citing.
Demonstrate proficient use of Standard Written English.
Each Power Point is 30 percent of the grade; the Essay is 40 percent.
The PowerPoint requires a title slide. For each description paragraph, the PowerPoint should have at least one relevant image.
To FIND IMAGES, enter search terms into “Google†and add the word “images.†Do not use the images in the Model PowerPoints provided by Dr. Fields. However, you definitely have permission to gut his Model PowerPoint and supply your own words and images.
For PowerPoint 1 – For the RSC Tempest and Forbidden Planet, we need ONE description paragraph for one of the movies, TWO description paragraphs for the other (your choice as to which movie gets two).
For PowerPoint 2 – For Taymor’s Tempest & Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, we need one description paragraph for one of the movies and TWO description paragraphs for the other (your choice as to which movie gets two).
A DESCRIPTION PARAGRAPH features vivid sensory details of something we see and hear in the movie—a key scenario or moment. The paragraph begins with a TOPIC IDEA about modern people (one or two sentences) and closes with a significant quote from the dialogue. Just before the quote is the WE insight. For the RSC Tempest and Taymor’s Tempest, the quote comes from our Arden Shakespeare. For Shakespeare, use forward slashes between lines of the quote; be sure to cite act, scene, and lines in parentheses.
Note: The TOPIC IDEA (a sentence or two) at the beginning of a DESCRIPTION paragraph speaks of MODERN PEOPLE in the third person plural—it is a GENERAL thought that would apply to all the characters in the moment or scenario that you describe. The WE insight (a sentence or two) uses “we†language to revisit the topic idea just before the quote at the end. The WE insight refines the TOPIC IDEA in light of the description that precedes it and the quote that follows it. Instead of saying “modern people†in the third person, we own the same thought with “we,†“us,†or “ourâ€/â€oursâ€â€”that is, with first person plural language referring to ourselves.
Note: Most of the DESCRIPTION paragraph is just that: dynamic details—the sights and sounds of what we are seeing and hearing in our movies. Use “sensory†details: that is, details that are visual, auditory, tactile, and physical. The DESCRIPTION paragraph begins with a brief TOPIC IDEA and concludes with the WE insight and quote. In between should be lots and lots of descriptive detail that immerses us in the action of what we are seeing and hearing.
Here are MODEL DESCRIPTION paragraphs. Do NOT try to use or adapt the content in these models as your own paragraphs. Pick different moments and different quotes from mine for your own description paragraphs. NOTE: Choose different images from those in the models.
For RSC Tempest
[Note: Do not use the same quote or moment for your PowerPoint.]
[Topic idea:] Modern people condemn injustice and champion the helpless and innocent. They reject arbitrary authority and insist on fairness and empathy from those in power. [Description:] In the RSC Tempest, the storm reaches a loud crescendo as the sailors cry out for their loved ones. Then we see (projected on a curtain) what seem to be the shapes of drowned people sinking slowly into the depths of the sea. When we meet Miranda, she is rebuking her father, gesturing towards the horizon where she the ship seemed to break and sink with all onboard. As she confronts her father, he holds his staff before him as if he were bracing for a blow. He bows his head as she rebukes him, weathering his own storm of her passionate words and emotions. For a moment, he seems ashamed. His hunched-over figure seems contrite and remorseful. He closes his eyes and leans his forehead against the gnarled wood of his staff. Miranda’s words besiege Prospero the way the tempest seemed to beat against the ship. His shoulders sag with weariness and resignation. She is wet as if she had run into the waves to help people. Miranda cannot get the voices out of her head—the cries of those who were praying and calling to their loved ones just before the ship seemed to break apart and everyone sank into the sea. [Insight:] We tend to perform the role of two kinds of god. One is tyrannical and terrifying; the other is the merciful god who hears the prayers of the suffering: “O,†she wails to her father. “the cry did knock / Against my very heart!†(1.2.8-9).
For Forbidden Planet
[Note: Do not use the same quote or moment for your PowerPoint.]
[Topic idea about modern people:] Modern people aspire to creator status, and they forget that they play with people’s lives. [Description:] Dr. Morbius shows Cmdr. Adams and Dr. Ostrow a device used by the Krell to train their children. The Krell let their children play with the forces of creation the way we let our children use Crayola crayons to color the placemat at a restaurant. To demonstrate, Morbius attaches the machine’s three tentacles, or flexible hand, to his temples and forehead. Each fingertip features a glowing bulb. As he concentrates, a swirling cloud appears on a pedestal in the well of the machine below a transparent pyramid. Suddenly, the glistening particles of the cloud coalesce into a perfect rendition of Alta. She seems to be smaller than her creator but precisely the same as Alta in every way. Commander Adams is about to speak but stops dumbfounded. Did Morbius create the original Alta the same way? We suddenly realize that Alta may never have had a childhood, let alone a mother. The only child, so to speak, who has ever played with this device is the man who sits there now, his own fingers on a console that resembles two banks of keys, not unlike an organ. His gaze is impassive as the new Alta he just created looks back at the men, smiling with her twinkling eyes and very much alive. She seems to be showing off a little. Her hair is exactly the way we remember from the earlier scene. Her eyes seem to recognize not only her father but also Dr. Ostrow and Cmdr. Adams. To Dr. Ostrow’s horror, she abruptly vanishes when her father removes the three-fingered headset. [Insight:] We are destined to create what we imagine, including our own version of the Garden of Eden and our own image of Adam and Eve: “I call it the plastic educator,†Dr. Morbius explains. “As far as I can make out, they used it to condition and test their young in much the same way we employed finger-painting among our kindergarten children. I often play with it myself for relaxation.â€
For Forbidden Planet
[Note: Do not use the same quote or moment for your PowerPoint.]
Modern people ponder the fall of great civilizations because they know they have their own dark side—their own capacity for self-destruction. Dr. Morbius surprises Cmdr. Adams and Dr. Ostrow rummaging through the things in his office. For a moment, Morbius stands imperiously in the center of the doorway that leads to the control room of the Krell’s big machine. The doorway was designed for the Krell, but Morbius stands under the arch as if he too were one of the Krell. When he explains the tragic, mysterious history of the Krell, Morbius folds his arms across his chest as if he is hiding something he does not want Cmdr. Adams or Dr. Ostrow to see. Perhaps he is hiding something from himself. Behind him, we see a vision of the galaxy. To his right, we see his lamp. The golden shade reflects the twinkling stars in the window. To his left, we see what looks like the white cover of a book (almost like a Bible or perhaps a volume of Shakespeare). Perhaps the book is his own account of the noble Krell whose planet was devastated by some unknown catastrophe. We suspect a noble people—like ourselves—are nonetheless capable of destroying themselves: “In the 2000 centuries,†Dr. Morbius explained, “since that unexplained catastrophe even their cloud-piercing towers of glass and porcelain and adamantine steel have crumbled back into the soil of Altair-4, and nothing, absolutely nothing, remains above ground.â€
For Taymor’s Tempest
[Note: Do not use this quote or moment for your PowerPoint.]
Modern people express themselves creatively and shape themselves as they shape their world. Taymor depicts Prospera on the edge of a basalt clift. She holds her obsidian staff above her head. She is open-mouthed and wide-eyed as if possessed by something that drives her to madness. She is completely absorbed by her art and incantation. Her cloak is also glassy obsidian. It seems to be wing-like with feathers that reflect the green, blue, and indigo light of the sea and sky. The cliff’s edge, the staff, and the cloak all derive from lava, the same material as the island. We see a woman of great power who may have lost her mind and cannot be trusted. She seems to have become a force of nature just like the tempest she conjured. Her face inspires terror like a mirror reflecting the horror of the storm beating down upon the ship, setting it on fire and smashing it into pieces. The storm is so destructive and specific that it seems like the malevolent act of a vengeful god of the sea. We are blind to our own dark side and see our power as providential. We see ourselves as enlightened and benevolent creators: “I have,†she says to Miranda, “with such provision in my art, / so safely ordered, that there is no soul--/ No, not so much perdition as an hair, / Betid to any creature in the vessel†(1.2.25-30).
For Miyazaki’s Kiki
[Do not use this moment or quote for your PowerPoint]
Modern young people answer a call only they seem to hear. The universe whispers to their imagination, and they seek their place within it. Kiki stirs and sits up. The hillside world seems to be moving, pushing her to do the same. She is wearing a pink apron tied in a big bow behind her that doubtless required someone else to tie for her. Her gray-green dress has blousy shoulders. Her outfit is not what someone her age ordinarily might wear to lounge in the grass. She wears an oversized red bow in her hair that little children might wear. She seems too tall, too big for a little girl’s outfit. The waves in the lake below her are white-capped and twinkle in the sun as if trying to catch Kiki’s attention. The hillside world is green and swaying in a chorus, waving in the same direction as the movement of the cottony clouds. The breeze catches Kiki’s hair, bends the grass, and drives the clouds towards the west. She gazes intently at something only she can see in her imagination. Miyazaki directs our gaze past the back of her head and red bow towards her horizon as if we too are mysteriously summoned. We are just behind Kiki, ready to follow and share what she sees in her mind’s eye. As youngsters, we are on hair trigger alert, poised to launch out on the magic broom of our dreams, whether we are ready or not. Nature expresses itself in all its wild splendor through our imagination: “So if you have been planning something special,†intones her father’s portable red radio, “tonight might be the night.â€
For Miyazaki’s Kiki
[Note: Do not use this moment or quote for your PowerPoint]
Modern parents are not ready to let go of their children. We strike our parents as ill-equipped to face the world. Kiki’s mother mixes potions in a workshop where all kind of herbs are hanging around her in bunches. Below the hanging plants, she carefully measures her potions in glass beakers and test-tubes. Suddenly, Kiki bursts into the greenhouse. She is polite and sincere to the older woman sitting at a table, but she cannot help but cause a commotion. The older woman chuckles and smiles, reminiscing about when Kiki’s mother was the same age. Until this moment, the potions of Kiki’s mother had been bubbling quietly. Now Kiki’s mother turns to Kiki, alarmed by her sudden entrance and her plan to leave home that very night. In her mother’s hand the potion darkens, bubbles over, and explodes, cracking the glass of the test tube. [Insight]: As adolescents, we are irrepressible, even destructive, and disrupt old systems before we are ready to take on the world: “And I have had no time,†laments Kiki’s mother, “to teach her how to mix potions like me.â€
The ESSAY
Prompt: WHAT DO THE MAIN CHARACTERS LEARN ABOUT THEMSELVES?
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the ESSAY: These are two DESCRIPTION paragraphs you chose from your PowerPoints. Make sure paragraph TWO pertains to a DIFFERENT movie from paragraph THREE. Students may IMPROVE these paragraphs according to comments in the PowerPoint rubrics.
Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the ESSAY: In each paragraph, you address a supporting source and quote from it. After the quote, provide a couple sentences of relevant description.
SUPPORTING SOURCES TO CHOOSE FROM FOR PARS 3 & 4: For either RSC TEMPEST or the TAYMOR TEMPEST, choose a supporting source from Bulger, Flagstad, Hunt, or Sanchez. Go to the MSU portal (your user name & password). On the left-hand size is the TAKE ME TO list. Click on library databases. Bulger, Flagstad, Hunt, and Sanchez are in the library database Academic Search Complete—use the PDF version of each article.
For the TAYMOR TEMPEST, here are two more choices: either Maria Garcia or Ralph Turner. They also may be found in Academic Search Complete—use the PDF version.
For FORBIDDEN PLANET, choose from Lindsey Michael Banco or Ian Roberts. Find their PDFs in the library database America: History and Life.
For KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, we do not use the library databases. GOOGLE either Christine Jean-Baptiste or Erica Russell. These sources can be copied and pasted to your paper from my Works Cited in this syllabus. Since these are online sources, we do not have a page number for quotes.
The introduction (paragraph 1) examines TWO of our productions and answers this question: WHAT DO THE MAIN CHARACTERS LEARN ABOUT THEMSELVES? Be as complete as possible in this discussion. You can compare the characters. This paragraph should also anticipate some of the descriptive details we will find in paragraphs TWO and THREE.
WE WILL WRITE PARAGRAPH 6 IN CLASS FOR OUR FINAL. The conclusion (paragraph 6) should be NO MORE THAN FIVE SENTENCES and begin with TWO-THREE SENTENCES of dynamic descriptive details, taking us back to a scene in one of your description paragraphs or offering us a new (but relevant) moment from one of the two films you are comparing. The paragraph ends with a relevant thought.
WORKS CITED: For your bibliography (Works Cited), you may copy and paste from my Works Cited (pp. 11-12) in this syllabus to your own paper.
Here is a check-list for what a supporting paragraph (pars. 4 and 5 of the Essay) needs:
Provide a relevant TOPIC idea about modern people (one or two sentences).
Provide ATTRIBUTION. According to Karen Flagstad in her article “’Making This Place Paradise’: Prospero and the Problem of Caliban in The Tempest†for Shakespeare Studies, … OR According to Maria Garcia in her article “The Tempest†for Cineaste, …
Finish the attribution statement with a main clause that states the idea that caught your attention. Then for several sentences explain the author’s idea in your own words. End the discussion on a colon:
Follow with a significant quote from the same supporting source. It should be a complete stand-alone thought—not half your words, half the author’s. Make sure this quote is the author’s words about Shakespeare’s play, FORBIDDEN PLANET, TAYMOR’S TEMPEST, or KIKI (not the character’s words from the play or a movie). If the source is a PDF from the library databases, you will have a parenthetical page number. BUT WE STILL NEED ONE MORE THING—some brief DESCRIPTION!
TWO SENTENCES OF DESCRIPTION: After the quote, end the supporting paragraph with a couple sentences of dynamic descriptive details from a relevant moment on the screen.
DISCUSSION FORUM, TOPIC, and the THREAD
The most dynamic point of contact between your thinking and that of the instructor is the THREAD. Go to CONTENT in D2L. Click on the relevant Discussion Forum. Next to the forum’s title is a drop-down arrow for VIEW TOPIC. Click on that topic for an opportunity to start a THREAD.
Click on START A NEW THREAD. You will see a text box for a paragraph.
If you want me to see where you are with your images (the slides), click on ATTACHMENT. Then click on UPLOAD and POST.
Posting a thread IS a quasi-public. If students wish, they can click on your thread & see your words and my reply and suggestions.
The THREAD is optional; it is for those who want input before submitting their assignment to the drop box for a grade.
SUBMISSION TO THE DROP BOX
Students must submit their PowerPoints to the DROP BOX in order for them to be evaluated (by feedback box and attached rubric) and graded. The PowerPoints cannot simply be a link or URL. I do NOT have permission to open password-protected links in Google.
LATE WORK MAY BE SUBMITTED TO THE DROP BOX (Late penalty is 10 points)
Even if your work is late, please submit it to the drop box. The late penalty is capped at minus 10 points from 100—it won’t go higher as time goes by.