Transcript 08_TempestBanquetRit..

Strange Moments in Tempest
Vanishing banquets and fertility rites.
Act III
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presents further test of Ferdinand’s love for
Miranda, more adventures of Caliban and
company, and vanishing banquet to which
Alonso and his men subjected
more display of Prospero’s strength/magic,
via Ariel’s tricks
Context for the banquet
[eroded...] (Meads 181)
Meads, Christopher. Banquets Set Forth: Banqueting in English Renaissance Drama. Manchester:
Manchester UP, 2001.
Act IV
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noted for its masque (i.e., show presented for
the young lovers)
inspiration are court masques popular at court
of James I (r. 1603-25); present ruler as
supreme and positive orderer of realm who
banishes forces of chaos; low on plot but big
on special effects
This masque is a fertility rite
Ceres, Roman goddess of plant growing and motherly relationships; equated with
Demeter, Greek goddess of grain and fertility
Compared to banquets
The Banquet (c. 16th cent.; painter unknown)