Literature and Science :  

An Experiment on Shakespeare and 'Science' in The Tempest

 

This experiment needs four essential elements: First, a copy of

Shakespeare's The Tempest. (find it free online)

 

Secondly and Thirdly: Take a look at these two short essays

from the British Library. The first is by Emma Smith on the

role of Prospero in the play and the second by Malcolm Hebron on his status as a 'magus.'

 

Fourthly, and it might be a bit heavy going, but if you read the two short essays first it will go over familiar territory: try this award winning article by Elizabeth Spiller:

 

• 'Shakespeare and the Making of Early Modern Science: Resituating Prospero's Art by Elizabeth Spiller South Central Review, Vol. 26, No. 1/2, Shakespeare & Science (Spring - Summer, 2009), pp. 24-41

          Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40211290

 

To develop and expand your research on this issue start by locating some of the resources on Spiller's Works Cited page.

 

Sample Essay Prompt: In what ways is The Tempest dealing with what Elizabeth Spiller calls "Aristotelian conceptions about the divide between art and nature." ?

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