The Tempest and Film

The Tempest is analyzed in many different ways. When we look through the eyes of a director of Film we are seeing their interpretations of this piece of literature. When we consider these interpretations art and not fact there is a very interesting occurrence. We start seeing the text as a material and the interpretation (in this case Film) as the creation.

I enjoyed researching the different types of productions that have been done of The Tempest. One very interesting interpretation is that of director Peter Greenaway. His film entitled "Pospero's Books"

With many different images based upon, but not necessarily given by, The Tempest this film is criticized a great deal questioning its validity. However, popular critic Roger Ebert states;

"Prospero's Books really exists outside criticism. All I can do is describe it. Most of the reviews of this film have missed the point; this is not a narrative, it need not make sense, and it is not 'too difficult' because it could not have been any less so. It is simply a work of original art, which Greenaway asks us to accept or reject on his own terms." - Roger Ebert ***

http://petergreenaway.co.uk/prospero.htm

Modern Literary Theory

Modern Literary Theory comes in so many different forms. When I viewed Dr. Kristi Siegel's website I found the information about different types of Literary Theory to be much more clear.

One type of literary theory that I found very interesting was Psychoanalytic Criticism. We have considered how authors use different voices and/or mindsets while writing in order to depict what the characters in the text are thinking/feeling/doing. I find it somewhat contradictory to suggest that we can tell what the author is feeling. Yes, maybe we can analyze what the text is making the reader feel. But to consider what an author is thinking takes away from their art I believe. Although this type of theory may be appropriate for certain types of texts, I feel that if we were to analyze novels, especially fiction, in this way that we would take away from the fact that literature is supposed to make us feel on many different levels and in many different ways.

Literary Theory

Literary Theory seems quite appropriate to everything that has led us up to this in class. I find it interesting to view other's interpretation of literature and how many different insights that can be found within one given text.

I was looking at the history behind literary theory and found it interesting how the acceptance of what we now know as lit. theory was not truly established until 1950. Although opinions in the opposing view of an author would seem controversial and no one really wants to be criticized, I still thought that the history of common Lit. theory would have gone farther back to Shakespearean time period. However, I was not surprised to see that the profession was not established until the 20th century.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_theory#History