Essay on the Importance of Language in The Tempest

The Importance of Language in The Tempest In discussing Derridas view of Western literature, Geoffrey Hartman writes that Western tradition has been marked . . . by a metaphysics of light, by the violence of light itself, from Apollonian cults to Cartesian philosophies. In the light of this emphatic light everything else appears obscure; especially the Hebraic development of aniconic writing and self-effacing commentary of textuality (xix). This point is well illustrated by the nature of Prosperos power in The Tempest for his control of natural and supernatural forces is achieved through book-learning the bringing to life of Logos. That which Prospero does not control completely is the vilified character of Caliban. The†¦show more content†¦Although the text suggests that Prospero is aware of what he needs to integrate when he states That this thing of darkness is mine, it is simply an implied movement towards assuming responsibility for all he has done to cause his shadow to fester a true integration does not occur (Shakespeare V, i, 275-76). Certainly the thrust of the Prospero/Caliban relationship connotes that the Greek metaphysics of light can succeed only by dominating darkness; it does not successfully integrate it. Perhaps Hartmans comments regarding the healing power of the word may shed some light on the Wests apparent incapacity to integrate the shadow. It may also provide a clue as to how a healing relationship with the word can be achieved by transcending the dualism inherent to our Western culture. Hartman points out the fact that words can wound is a much clearer fact than their healing virtue (Hartman 122). His perspective lends itself nicely to the medium of theater where the texts words are spoken aloud and thus may affect the member of an audience to a greater degree than the same words would affect a reader of the text. Lending credibility to this argument, Hartman describes the word and the organ which perceives it: Let me suppose, then, that words are always armed and capable of wounding; either because, expecting so much of them, looking to them as potentially definitive or clarifying, we are hurt by their equivocal nature; or because the ear, as aShow MoreRelated Importance of Language in Shakespeares The Tempest Essay1866 Words   |  8 Pagesand differences of opinion regarding the genre of The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare. In the essays The Backward Voice: Puns and the Comic Subplot of The Tempest, by Maurice Hunt, and The Tempest as Romance and Anti-Romance, by Richard Hillman, the genre of the play is discussed in depth. 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