The Essential Tempest/Hag Seed Cheatsheet that State-rankers use - Mod A with Concept

Module A: TEXTUAL CONVERSATIONS - THE TEMPEST/ HAG-SEED

Textual Conversations is all about unpacking the dialogue or discourse suspended between the two texts that you are studying. It’s also about pinpointing and then deconstructing what exactly the conversation the two texts are having with one another (that is, understanding what the composers are talking about conceptually/ thematically e.g., the power of introspection, identity, social hierarchy etc.) such that you are able to construct an essay that is anchored by ideas. Yet, the rubric wants us to look a lot deeper than just unravelling the concepts which the two composers explore and instead encourages (or demands) us to then disentangle the relationship between the two texts in terms of their exploration of certain ideas as they are mediated by divergent contexts and communicated via distinct forms. With the rubric using words like resonances, dissonances, collision, alignments and mirroring, it doesn’t take a genius to understand that NESA wants us to critically analyse the similarities and differences that surface when Shakespeare’s original work – The Tempest, a play manufactured by the prevailing assumptions and ideals of the Elizabethan era – is being  recrafted and reconstructed via Atwood’s postmodernist lens in her self-reflexive novel, Hag-Seed.

So let’s unpack the two core conceptual concerns, the ‘personal’ vs. the ‘political’ that will form the foundation of our essay.

‍

THE PERSONAL

On the surface Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, is the exploration of Prospero’s trajectory from a state of vengeance to redemption. However, the delineation that we as a critical audience must derive from his character arc, is actually a deeper commentary on the value of introspection as a vehicle to transcend one’s vices through the active confrontation of adversity. Both authors illustrate the way one’s act of exodus (fleeing from challenge) paradoxically imprisons the individual from psychological freedom, thus championing empathy and introspection as human virtues which lead to the transcendence of trauma and suffering (i.e. Felix’s loss of Miranda & Prospero’s loss of the throne).

However, whilst Shakespeare’s representation of Prospero’s transformation is underpinned by Christian Humanist values of forgiveness, Atwood reframes Shakespeare’s original discourse through the lens of her postmodern, secular landscape, embracing self-reflection as a way to achieve purpose in life (by letting go of grief and past traumas).

‍

EXAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCE (WHAT IS YOUR CONCEPT?) :

Shakespeare illustrates the way one’s act of exodus in their flight from challenge paradoxically imprisons the individual from redemption, thus championing empathy and introspection as a vehicle to transcend one’s vices.

‍

RELEVANT CONTEXT:

• Tempest: Christian Humanist values of forgiveness

• Hag-seed: Contemporary emphasis on individualism and the pursuit of purpose in life within our postmodern, secular landscape

‍

THE POLITICAL

On the ‘Political’ side of the conversation, both authors illustrate the universal injustice of imposing static archetypes on individual identities as a product of rigid social and political discourses which perpetuate the subjugation of marginalised groups. Shakespeare depicts how a hierarchical social structure stigmatises individuals, leading to an institutionalised cycle of oppression, which is reframed by Atwood to provide a further commentary on the way these archetypes have extended into the modern world. 

‍

Now let’s compare the two:

Tempest: Caliban’s tragic conformity to his imposed stereotype illustrates the detriment of imposing pre-deterministic values on individual identity, as his originally noble nature has been corrupted by social prejudices and oppression.

Hag-Seed: Atwood extends Shakespeare’s message on the injustice of social stigmas into the 21st century by asserting that such individuals may only be liberated from subjugating  cultural values through collective understanding.

‍

RELEVANT CONTEXT:

• Tempest: Colonialism, European paternalism (in the British people’s attempts to disseminate their language upon the natives), Predeterminism – Great Chain of Being, Elizabethan Physiognomy (belief that one’s inner self is dictated by their outer appearance)

• Hag-Seed: Postmodern destabilisation of moral binaries (understanding that human nature is dynamic rather than static, and thus identity is fluid rather than fixed), Omission of overt colonialist dynamics is replaced by the politics of the modern class system which continues to prejudice individuals based on their social status (prisoners).

‍

Hope this helped give you an insight into Mod A’s Tempest/Hagseed! Our full range of material is over 100 pages long co-authored by 6 state rankers. If you’d like to try out a lesson with us, visit our website: https://www.concepteducation.com.au/enquire or email admin@conceptenglish.com.au to enquire today!