Comparison of The Tempest and Translations Essay -- The Tempest Transl

Comparison of The Tempest and Translations ‘The Tempest’ begins with a enormous storm and signifies a great change for the people of the island, but we do not learn until later on in the play that it is Prospero who has caused the storm so that the characters on the ship will be brought to the island. The opening scene is very dramatic and shows the inner turmoil and change that will occur for the characters involved, whereas it is also quite confusing for the audience as we are not aware of what significance the storm has, and what has caused it until later. Characters run frantically about in this scene and we are unaware of their purpose; the audience is not communicated well at the beginning as we are left uninformed of the situation. Just as in ‘Translations’ where there is also a lack of communication as Manus is trying to get Sarah to talk but as she is unable to talk she cannot express her feelings and thought to him clearly and so the communication between the two has been broken. Manus says, â€Å"Soon you’ll be telling me all the secrets that have been in that head of yours all these years†. When Prospero tells Miranda the story of where he came from and how he used to be the Duke of Milan but was usurped by his brother, he asks Miranda if she is listening properly to make sure there would be no broken communication between the two of them. He says, â€Å"I pray thee, mark me† and â€Å"Dost thou hear?† But Prospero does not communicate well and sometimes talks nonsense so that it is hard to understand what he means. Prospero explains that he gradually grew uninterested in ruling his kingdom and turned his attention more and more to his studies and books, neglecting his duties as duke. As he did not commun... ...ers have to take each of the Gaelic names and anglicise it, either by changing it into the approximate English sound or translate it into the English word, they feel they have had their identity taken away from them. Without a cultural background, or if people have their cultural identity taken away from them, they feel they have lost a sense of the person they are. Owen says, â€Å"My job is to translate the quaint, archaic tongue you people persist in speaking into the King’s good English.† This quotation shows how the English do not see the Irish as civilised people because they speak a different language that they do not understand. They think that they are doing the Irish a great favour and making them more civilised by Anglicising their places names and teaching them English. They do not realise they are taking away the Irish’s identity and background.