Shakespeare's the Tempest

Erich Fromm‘s declaration “Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.”   resonates the perception that the world of imaginative journeys involves unexpected destinations.   The idea that along the course of an imaginative journey a character, composer or responder faces both internal and external impediments that result in the unanticipated is one which many composers employ within texts.   Without the capacity to leave reality behind one cannot step into the realm of the imagination to learn from the possibilities that imaginative journeys offer.   Unexpected destinations within imaginative journeys can involve an unexpected self-awareness, self-renewal and an unforeseen change in perspective.   This is clearly depicted through texts such as William Shakespeare’s fantastical play The Tempest and Colin Thompson’s wonderfully illustrated picture book The Violin Man.   Both these texts encompass the notion that an unexpected destination is the result of an imaginative journey and that the unexpected comes in the form of a greater perspective of the world.
The Tempest by William Shakespeare uses the idea of the character’s and responder’s journeys to depict the notion that journeys involve unexpected destinations.   From the outset, Shakespeare uses a tempest to take the characters from reality to the realm of the imaginative.   The Jacobean and contemporary audience is transcended into the imaginative world through effectively crafted dramatic techniques and sound devices.   “A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard” drags the responder into the world created by Shakespeare.   We recognise the relevance of this scene and are instantly made to understand that this is no ordinary tale but a story of mystery and surprise.   It is this turbulent scene that allows the...