Ariel, Chick The Body of Prospero's Servant

Lacy Cox

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Myhill, Nova

Keywords

Theater, Performance, Gender, Shakespeare, William

Area of Concentration

British and American Literature

Abstract

This thesis addresses the changing shape of Ariel, the magic spirit of Shakespeare's The Tempest. The play-text itself offers few clues as to how Ariel should be interpreted; little information is provided in either the verse or the stage directions about the spirit's attitude and appearance. Thus, Ariel is indeterminate, and it is this indeterminacy which makes this character particularly subject to changing fashions of interpretation. By unpacking each iteration of Ariel and placing it within a chronological framework, I trace a history of how the representation of power has been invested in gender, and how threads from this history are still in play today. The attributes of Ariel's body- gender, dress, size, and gesture- reveal cultural expectations of how the submissive body is constituted. Often, the submissive body is imagined in stage and film as female; however, throughout the past four centuries, male bodies in varying degrees of submission have been placed in Ariel' s role in order to create a variety of effects. However, the (re)presentation of Ariel may step outside binary gender; strategies of this kind employ transvestitism, androgyny, and/or bodily non-humanness. The first two chapters of this thesis survey stage and film presentations of Ariel with particular attention to the relationship between the spirit and Prospero. The third chapter describes the creative process of producing The Tempest at New College in 2006, with particular attention paid to the staging of Ariel and to the possibilities of resistance for a female Ariel. Additionally, this chapter explores issues pertinent not only to Ariel, but to The Tempest as a whole, especially in terms of design and atmosphere. Throughout the project, I strive to give as much visual information as possible.

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