The Tempest Act 1-2

From the very beginning of Act 1, Scene 1 there seems to be tension between the Boatswain and mariners such as Alonso, Antonio and Gonzalo.. Why is that so? Do they feel he is not competent? They even begin to curse him, “A pox o’your throat, you bawling, blasphemous incharitable dog!” Sebastian says to Boatswain in lines 36-37.

While answering the first part of the blog post I decided to do my second anti-blog post for the semester because I am particularly intrigued by Shakespeare’s use of language in Scene 1. I think the use of vile language in this scene sort of prepares the reader on what type of dialogue to expect in the future. Antonio says to Boatswain, “Hang, cur, hang, you whoreson insolent noisemaker” in line 39. I would like to list a few terms and then reflect on them in the context of the play as well as Shakespeare.

·      Cur- It is defined as a dog, now always depreciative or contemptuous; a worthless, low-bred, or snappish dog by OED. I think it is important to note that a cur is often low-bred or mixed breed because this signifies a conflict of class within the boat. Antonio, who is the Duke of Milan, felt the need to point out the low position of the Boatswain. He is determined to assert his higher social rank even in the confines of a ship that is headed for disaster, which implies much about Antonio’s character, a man who usurped the throne from his own brother. The snappish dog reference in the definition can also be seen by Boatswain, who has no qualms about snapping to his superiors. He says in line 34, “Yet again? What d you here? Shall we give o’er and drown?”.

·      Whoreson- This term was clearly meant as a means of degradation and insult. We have previously witnessed issues of illegitimacy and offense that is associated with the offspring of “whores” or other women in plays such as King Lear. This once again signifies the shame that is correlated with being illegitimate. Antonio does not even state “bastard” but instead tries to undermine every bit of identity with saying “whoreson”.

·      Noisemaker-Is a person or device that functions primarily for creating loud noise. I thought this term was most interesting. It seemed to imply that Boatswain’s instruction was considered as nothing more than noise, rather than direction. This sort of resistance goes back to the lack of respect that these men have for Boatswain as someone who is in charge of the ship.

By reflecting on a few words within a curse directed towards a character, we are able to arrive to significant and continuing themes of class, legitimacy and identity in Shakespeare’s play.