Endgame

Summary: In a meaningless and desolate world, Hamm, a blind man who can't stand, Clov, Hamm's servant who can't sit, and Hamm's legless parents participate in ritual dialogues and activities while awaiting their death.

Paraphrase:

Hamm: I used to know a crazy man who believed the end of the world had arrived. He painted and engraved. I really liked him. I would visit him in the mental hospital. I would take him over to the window. I implored him to see all the life outside in the world. The lovely life. But he would retreat to his corner with disgust. All he saw was desolation. He thought he was the only one left. Forlorn. In retrospect, this instances is...was not so...so strange.

Close Reading: Pg. 44: "It appears the case is...was not so...so unusual."

Throughout this play, a certain level of uncertainty regarding the perception of time is expressed. On several occasions, Hamm comments on the constant nature of his existence. For example, on page 13, he asks Clov, "It's the end of the day like any other day, isn't it, Clov?" and on page 45 he states "Then it's a day like any other day." Because Hamm's days revolve around a series of rituals, they are all essentially the same. This makes any attempt to distinguish between days very difficult.  This difficulty is expressed by Hamm on page 43. After Clov mentions yesterday, Hamm yells back at him, "Yesterday! What does that mean? Yesterday!" Because of the ambiguous nature of Hamm and Clov's previous days, any mention of the past in this play cannot be viewed as temporally precise. This makes the story preceding the line I have chosen inherently unreliable. In this story, Hamm describes a madman who believed the world had ended, and he was the only person left alive. In the final line of his speech, the line I have chosen to close read, Hamm once again expresses a level of uncertainty regarding time. He first uses the word "is" to describe" the case", but then hesitates and switches to the word "was". By switching to the word "was", the meaning of the sentence is greatly altered. This would suggest that during the time that "the case" occurred, it was not "so unusual". On the contrary, if Hamm had stuck with the word "is", it would have meant that "the case" is not "so unusual" in their present time. This second reading seems to make more sense, as the story of the madman closely parallels Hamm and Clov's current situation. But, because of Hamm's inability to accurately distinguish between his past days, he is not certain of the applicability of his story. This adds to the ambiguity of this play.

The Tempest: Act 4

Summary: After the marriage of Miranda and Ferdinand, which is blessed by the spirits Juno, Iris, and Ceres, Prospero suddenly remembers Caliban's plot against him and summons Ariel to aid him in ruining Caliban's plot.
Paraphrase: Lines 146-156
You seem to be a little disturbed sir. Don't worry, this festive performance is now over. The performer's, as was said earlier, were all deities who have now left our presence. Just like the fantastical nature of this performance, every physical thing in existence shall also disappear over time, and leave no trace of its presence behind. Our existence is not much unlike a dream.
Close Reading: Lines 148-150 "These our actors, / As I foretold you, were all spirits and / Are melted into air, into thin air;"
In this line, Prospero is addressing Ferdinand after the nymphs and reapers were finished with their dance. The first interesting thing I see in this line, is the use of the word "actors". This is an interesting word to use in this situation. Within the world of the play, the spirits that Prospero summons in this scene are real figures. It seems strange that he would refer to them as "actors". For this reason, I feel that this line is referring to the actual people acting out the play. During Shakespeare's time, this play would have been acted out without any props or special effects. This would have made it difficult for the audience to follow particularly intricate scenes, such as the one acted out by the nymphs and reapers. There would have been no way for the audience to know that the actors performing this dance were meant to be seen as spirits. This is why Prospero has to tell them that this is so. And, because Prospero is addressing another player with this line, Ferdinand, it still flows with the play. Another indication that this line addresses the audience is the last five words: "into air, into thin air,". This repetition suggests that the speaker is attempting to be very clear about what he is saying. He does not want there to be any confusion about where the spirits / actors went. Without this clarification, the audience would have been very confused as to what happened to the actors.

The Tempest

Summary: Prospero, with the help of Ariel, creates a storm which causes his former enemies along with Gonzalo, Alanso, Ferdinand, Trinculo, and Stephano to come to his island. Antonio and Sebastion plot to kill the king, while Caliban teams up with Trinculo and Stephano and plot to kill Prospero. Both are unnsuccessful, and the play ends after Miranda and Ferdiand marry and all leave the island except Ariel, who is set free by Prospero, Prospero, and Caliban.
Paraphrase: Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 132-141
Don't be afraid. This land is full of joyous and innocuous sounds. Occasionally I hear instumentals. Other times I hear voices that put me back to sleep even after I have just woke. Sometimes in my dreams, I believe that the heavens are poised to shower me with riches. However, after I wake, I see that they haven't, and I long to dream again.
Close Reading: Line 141 "I cried to dream again."
The first thing I noticed about this line, was that it does not follow the pentameter present in the rest of the work. This line only has six syllables, as opposed to ten. This fact drew my attention to this line. The second thing I looked at was what tense this sentence was in. The word "cried" establishes that this sentence is in past tense. This means that the act of crying has already occurred. The next two words in this line, "to dream", describe the reason why Caliban cried. He "cried to dream". Taken alone, this statement doesn't seem to make much sense. Dreaming is something that is easily done. We all have the ability to dream at any time, so why would Caliban desperatly cry out for dreaming? If we look at the context in which Caliban is making this statement, we can make some more sense out of it. In the two preceding lines, Caliban describes a dream he had. In this dream, Caliban saw riches about to be bestowed upon him. After waking from this particular dream, Caliban "cried to dream again." Because of the content of this specific dream, I would say that Caliban is crying not for the act of dreaming itself, but for the riches he was about to recieve in this dream. This is very important in understanding the character of Caliban. Although he is a slave in a very poor situation, he still has hopes of becoming rich and prosperous. He does not simply hope for his freedom, as Ariel does, but rather he hopes to become the rich and prosperous ruler of his island. These lofty goals explain why Caliban wants so desperatly to take down Prospero. If he simply wanted to be free and live a humble existence, he would not have attempted to usurp Prospero so hastily.

A Tempest

Summary: With the help of Ariel, Prospero conjures up a storm that brings Gonzalo, Alonso, Antonio, Trinculo, Stephano, and Ferdinand to his island. Prospero holds a ceremony with all present to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, Miranda, to Ferdinand. All the characters, except for Ariel, Caliban, and Prospero, then sail back to Europe.
Paraphrase: Act II, Scene i, Page 27
Caliban: Do you believe in being a coward? In surrender? In submission? If someone hits you once, you would allow them to hit you again. That is not the way I operate.
Ariel: That is not what I meant, and you know it. I don't believe in physical retaliation, or surrender. We need to change the person in charge. Unsettle his peace of mind, so he is forced to reevaluate his actions towards us.
Close Reading: "No violence, no submission either. Listen to me: Prospero is the one we've got to change."
In these lines, Ariel is clarifying to Caliban his position regarding their servitude. One thing I find interesting about the first sentence, is the way that violence and submission are juxtaposed. The structure of this sentence sets up this juxtaposition. By having both these words follow the word "no", it demonstrates that neither are desirable. The word "either" at the end suggests that the two words are antonymous. Looking at the denotations of these words, this is not necessarily true. However, the context in which these words appear makes this true. When Ariel refers to violence, he is referring to a violent opposition of authority. His reference to submission is referring to giving up to authority, or not opposing in any way. These are the two extreme options that Ariel and Caliban have for dealing with Prospero's authority. By stating that he does not want to pursue either of these options, Ariel is declaring that he wants to oppose the authority by non-violent means. This view starkly contradicts Caliban's plan for opposing Prospero. Caliban, as he states earlier in this act, wants to violently oppose Prospero. Caliban also states earlier in the play that he wants to be referred to as X from that point forward. Caliban's violent opposition, and his insistence upon being called X, makes me think that his character is meant to represent Malcom X. Ariel, on the other hand, is meant to represent Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I say this because of his non-violent views as well as the second sentence in the passage I have chosen. Ariel states that "Prospero is the one we've got to change." Throughout his life, Dr. King Jr. repeatedly stated that in order for blacks to gain equal rights, they had to change the way white people thought about them. I believe that Prospero, the force that is controlling Ariel and Caliban, is meant to be an embodiement of white oppression against blacks in this play. Therefore, when Ariel makes this statement about Prospero, he is really saying that the whole mindset of white people needs changing.