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Essay / The story of Joseph in The Tempest Vs. The spirit of vengeance in Montaigne's Cannibals
James Hoyle theorizes that the main sources of The Tempest revolve around the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers in which the spirit of envy and consequence predominates , reconciliation and forgiveness. This scenario contrasts sharply with the spirit of vengeance recounted by Michel de Montaigne in Les Cannibales (1580). A possible source of inspiration for Shakespeare's The Tempest is the news of the shipwreck and settlement of British colonizers during the period of American exploration and colonialism. There is a severe lack of authoritative Shakespearean sources for The Tempest, however, three suggestions put forward are the Italian commedia dell' arte, Die Schone Sidea and Jason and Medea. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay Although there are commonalities such as shipwreck and a princess's love for a shipwrecked prince, they do not do not correspond to the main motifs of The Tempest which include sibling rivalry, forced separation, experience in a new country, providential help, chance reunion with an enemy brother, test of conscience and the ultimate triumph of the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. These motifs harmonize perfectly with the biblical Genesis story of Joseph and his brothers and can therefore be established as an authoritative source for The Tempest. Modern studies often reject biblical influence in literature. However, there is no other solid source in classical mythology, nor in Renaissance literature, to support Shakespeare's inspiration for The Tempest. Some parallelisms are evident in the biblical story of Joseph and Prospero in The Tempest. They are both endowed with spiritual gifts: supernatural intelligence, clairvoyance and divination. Prospero also shares the power of magic rods in the biblical Exodus stories of Moses and Aaron. Prospero and Joseph are alike because of their fortune and prosperity despite adversity. Prospero's name is derived from the Latin prosperus (favorable), prosperare (to make fortunate), and the Hebrew prosperitie (peace and prosperity). Likewise, Joseph was a “man who prospered because God did him good” (Genesis 39:2, 3). To test the conscience of the rival brothers, Joseph and Prospero both accuse their brothers of being spies. In both cases, the rival brothers express genuine guilt, change their minds, and repent. The apparent scourge of the places of exile, Egypt on the one hand and Bermuda, does not prevent the heroes, Joseph and Prospero respectively, from prospering. In both situations with Prospero and Joseph, it is the undeniable hand of Providence that guides and preserves the innocent heroes. In both cases, Providence transforms misfortune into greater good, hence the theme of felix culpa. In a literary context, the term "felix culpa" can be used to describe how a series of miserable events will ultimately lead to a happier outcome. Ultimately, the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation prevails in both the story of Joseph and his brothers and The Tempest, even in the face of past wrongs and injustices. The central idea of The Tempest is not about the wild man as represented by Caliban, the Cannibal but focuses on the idea of forgiveness. Shakespeare reacts against Michel de Montaigne's classic work, Des Cannibales (1580), because it goes against the principle of forgiveness, justifies and ennobles the mind's insatiable thirst for vengeance. Indeed, Montaigne's essay rejects forgiveness and advocates primitivism, reprisals, calculated reprisals. Her. 358 – 362.