Post by AlexY on Jan 24, 2009 20:17:53 GMT
So, right before SHF went down, I read the Tempest by Shakespeare and tried to compare it to SH:0. Here's the text in it's entirety. (I KNEW something bad would happen, so I backed it up. )
-----------------------------------------------
So, I'm a huge Shakespeare fan, and The Tempest is one of my personal favorites. You can imagine the reaction when I heard the lines in SH:0's theatre. It's a brilliant play with lots of symbolism. Supposedly the last play written exclusively by Shakespeare himself. Some say it's even unfinished. (I've got a big Penguin book on Shakespeare along with his every work and detailed analysis of each, so there's lots of info to be found. :_dark-str )
---------
SPOILERS abound for both The Tempest and SH:0 and SH in general! You've been warned!
---------
For a plot synopsis, go Wiki.
---------
There are several key things very much alike to the Silent Hill universe, which makes the play ideal to place in the foggy town.
Magic is one of the main oddities in The Tempest. Prospero is a great sorcerer, and his tomes of magical knowledge knows no bounds. With his magic he controls Caliban and Ariel. With Ariel's help he controls his targets (his brother and his son mainly) for his own gain, revenge. Generally speaking, paranormal activities are always around.
Let's take a look at Caliban. He is a primitive, stupid creature. Even though he is considered as a 'son' of the witch Sycorax, his deformed body makes him more of a monster. (Sycorax, e.g. breastfeeded him through adulthood.) He is extremely naive and easily believes others - when he met Prospero and his daughter Miranda his emotions took hold and he even tried to rape Miranda. For this, Prospero holds Caliban in chains and gives him tough tasks. Prospero and Miranda did teach him religion and their language. But it is precisely because of his own naivete that he believes the two shipwrecked sailors that they are from the Moon and tries to kill Prospero and fails at it. His fate is a tragic one - not knowing reason but blindly following his emotions, he is doomed to a sort of limbo and never fits in with anyone or anything.
Ariel, on the other hand, is an air spirit. She was trapped in a tree by Sycorax, and Prospero saved her from her prison. For that, she agreed to serve him until he somehow escapes from the island - Prospero's own prison. She appears as mythical creatures to others and retains her original beautiful form only when near Prospero. Her music and dance can enchant and put to sleep. She whispers softly to others and manipulates their thoughts. She is also the creator of the tempest in the title, which causes the shipwreck and begins Prospero's revenge. The key issue here is that she wants to be free - but in reality she needs mortal help to fulfill her purpose as an air spirit, otherwise her efforts of controling the elements go unseen. (That's more my take on her.)
Now, the main figure, Prospero, is a man of firm attitude and believes in justice. He manages to make his stay on the island as comfortable as possible, and his magic helps him a lot. Surprisingly, he only gives orders. Caliban and Ariel do the work. He is more or less the boss, so to speak, and he tries to balance between Caliban's and Ariel's chores. He knows everything that goes on on the island, and his power is beyond even his own comprehension. He swears he will get rid of his books and arcane arts at the end, when he shows his power to his pawns and then forgives them - an interesting decision - which shows his strength of character. In essence, he is the most reasonable person on the island.
Miranda is merely the love interest for Ferdinand, Alonso's (Prospero's brother) son. She follows her father wherever he goes. She does feel sorry for Caliban, even after the attempted rape. She, like the others, does not know about Ariel (at least not to a full extent).
The characters on the wrecked ship (Alonso, Ferdinand, the crew and the rest) are more pawns in Prospero's revenge scheme than anything else.
----------
So, some of the stuff is already obvious.
----------
Silent Hill is ancient ceremonial ground - filled with magic. Also, it is isolated and unknown, just like the prison island.
Alessa wants revenge.
Caliban represents the world Alessa hates - the harsh reality she endures. She suffers because of it, because of the Cult and the primitive, monstrous people she was surrounded with. Caliban is earthly, blind reasonless emotion and constant fear. (Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. )
Ariel is Alessa's dream world. Her nightmares. Her fantasy. Her safe haven. This is where she is hiding. With the powers from this world, she is able to control others, her pawns in the game (Travis, Harry). But, she is also linked to it in the way she is never able to resound it. (She is immortal. God sleeps in her womb. Since the power of the town is essentially dormant in her this way, she needs to live as long as the town does - much like Ariel is dependant on others for her function as an air spirit.)
Alessa is much like Prospero in one specific way - she also balances between Caliban and Ariel. She needs pieces from both worlds to fit into one puzzle to get what she wants. And she is dabbling in the occult.
Now, the lines seen in the game (in bold) are from Act I, Scene II:
Notice how Prospero seems adamant to kill off Ferdinand. Of course, it's a fabricated lie made by him, but Miranda does not know this (and if Alessa got into the theatre at this point, neither does she). Miranda feels helpless, while Ferdinand is charmed and has no real knowing of what is going on. A similar situation could very easily happen in Alessa's life. She could feel for Miranda at this point. As for Ferdinand... Maybe she liked a boy but Dahlia did something to him? ...Nasty.
The other line is heard in the alternate theatre 'forest', taken from the end of Scene II, Act I (again, the heard lines are in bold):
The sailors are profiteers. In an unknown land, they see vast treasure. But, what they get on the island is much more than they think. The same happens with those that choose to go deeper into the depths of Silent Hill. Caliban's description of the isle is eerily similar to that of Silent Hill - sights and sounds not familiar to the human eye, not knowing what is dream and what is real, those are all common themes in the Silent Hill universe. This also shows that Caliban has no understanding for these things, not because he doesn't want to, but because he isn't capable to. This is the way Alessa sees those who use her.
---------
I'll re-read it later on. There's a detailed analysis in the book too, I'll read it again. There's got to be more to this, this was just from the top of my head.
-----------------------------------------------
So, I'm a huge Shakespeare fan, and The Tempest is one of my personal favorites. You can imagine the reaction when I heard the lines in SH:0's theatre. It's a brilliant play with lots of symbolism. Supposedly the last play written exclusively by Shakespeare himself. Some say it's even unfinished. (I've got a big Penguin book on Shakespeare along with his every work and detailed analysis of each, so there's lots of info to be found. :_dark-str )
---------
SPOILERS abound for both The Tempest and SH:0 and SH in general! You've been warned!
---------
For a plot synopsis, go Wiki.
---------
There are several key things very much alike to the Silent Hill universe, which makes the play ideal to place in the foggy town.
Magic is one of the main oddities in The Tempest. Prospero is a great sorcerer, and his tomes of magical knowledge knows no bounds. With his magic he controls Caliban and Ariel. With Ariel's help he controls his targets (his brother and his son mainly) for his own gain, revenge. Generally speaking, paranormal activities are always around.
Let's take a look at Caliban. He is a primitive, stupid creature. Even though he is considered as a 'son' of the witch Sycorax, his deformed body makes him more of a monster. (Sycorax, e.g. breastfeeded him through adulthood.) He is extremely naive and easily believes others - when he met Prospero and his daughter Miranda his emotions took hold and he even tried to rape Miranda. For this, Prospero holds Caliban in chains and gives him tough tasks. Prospero and Miranda did teach him religion and their language. But it is precisely because of his own naivete that he believes the two shipwrecked sailors that they are from the Moon and tries to kill Prospero and fails at it. His fate is a tragic one - not knowing reason but blindly following his emotions, he is doomed to a sort of limbo and never fits in with anyone or anything.
Ariel, on the other hand, is an air spirit. She was trapped in a tree by Sycorax, and Prospero saved her from her prison. For that, she agreed to serve him until he somehow escapes from the island - Prospero's own prison. She appears as mythical creatures to others and retains her original beautiful form only when near Prospero. Her music and dance can enchant and put to sleep. She whispers softly to others and manipulates their thoughts. She is also the creator of the tempest in the title, which causes the shipwreck and begins Prospero's revenge. The key issue here is that she wants to be free - but in reality she needs mortal help to fulfill her purpose as an air spirit, otherwise her efforts of controling the elements go unseen. (That's more my take on her.)
Now, the main figure, Prospero, is a man of firm attitude and believes in justice. He manages to make his stay on the island as comfortable as possible, and his magic helps him a lot. Surprisingly, he only gives orders. Caliban and Ariel do the work. He is more or less the boss, so to speak, and he tries to balance between Caliban's and Ariel's chores. He knows everything that goes on on the island, and his power is beyond even his own comprehension. He swears he will get rid of his books and arcane arts at the end, when he shows his power to his pawns and then forgives them - an interesting decision - which shows his strength of character. In essence, he is the most reasonable person on the island.
Miranda is merely the love interest for Ferdinand, Alonso's (Prospero's brother) son. She follows her father wherever he goes. She does feel sorry for Caliban, even after the attempted rape. She, like the others, does not know about Ariel (at least not to a full extent).
The characters on the wrecked ship (Alonso, Ferdinand, the crew and the rest) are more pawns in Prospero's revenge scheme than anything else.
----------
So, some of the stuff is already obvious.
----------
Silent Hill is ancient ceremonial ground - filled with magic. Also, it is isolated and unknown, just like the prison island.
Alessa wants revenge.
Caliban represents the world Alessa hates - the harsh reality she endures. She suffers because of it, because of the Cult and the primitive, monstrous people she was surrounded with. Caliban is earthly, blind reasonless emotion and constant fear. (Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. )
Ariel is Alessa's dream world. Her nightmares. Her fantasy. Her safe haven. This is where she is hiding. With the powers from this world, she is able to control others, her pawns in the game (Travis, Harry). But, she is also linked to it in the way she is never able to resound it. (She is immortal. God sleeps in her womb. Since the power of the town is essentially dormant in her this way, she needs to live as long as the town does - much like Ariel is dependant on others for her function as an air spirit.)
Alessa is much like Prospero in one specific way - she also balances between Caliban and Ariel. She needs pieces from both worlds to fit into one puzzle to get what she wants. And she is dabbling in the occult.
Now, the lines seen in the game (in bold) are from Act I, Scene II:
(Prospero ordered Ariel to guide Ferdinand to Miranda and make them fall in love. He sees them together and decides to make his move, as part of his plan. He 'threatens' Ferdinand and tries to break up the couple, which, of course, results in backlash.)
PROSPERO (to Ferdinand) Follow me.
(to Miranda) Speak not you for him; he's a traitor. (to Ferdinand) Come;
I'll manacle thy neck and feet together:
Sea-water shalt thou drink; thy food shall be
The fresh-brook muscles, wither'd roots and husks
Wherein the acorn cradled. Follow.
FERDINAND No;
I will resist such entertainment till
Mine enemy has more power.
(Draws, and is charmed from moving)
MIRANDA O dear father,
Make not too rash a trial of him, for
He's gentle and not fearful.
PROSPERO What? I say,
My foot my tutor? Put thy sword up, traitor;
Who makest a show but darest not strike, thy conscience
Is so possess'd with guilt: come from thy ward,
For I can here disarm thee with this stick
And make thy weapon drop.
MIRANDA Beseech you, father.
PROSPERO Hence! hang not on my garments.
MIRANDA Sir, have pity;
I'll be his surety.
PROSPERO Silence! one word more
Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What!
An advocate for an imposter! hush!
Thou think'st there is no more such shapes as he,
Having seen but him and Caliban: foolish wench!
To the most of men this is a Caliban
And they to him are angels.
MIRANDA My affections
Are then most humble; I have no ambition
To see a goodlier man.
PROSPERO (to Ferdinand) Follow me.
(to Miranda) Speak not you for him; he's a traitor. (to Ferdinand) Come;
I'll manacle thy neck and feet together:
Sea-water shalt thou drink; thy food shall be
The fresh-brook muscles, wither'd roots and husks
Wherein the acorn cradled. Follow.
FERDINAND No;
I will resist such entertainment till
Mine enemy has more power.
(Draws, and is charmed from moving)
MIRANDA O dear father,
Make not too rash a trial of him, for
He's gentle and not fearful.
PROSPERO What? I say,
My foot my tutor? Put thy sword up, traitor;
Who makest a show but darest not strike, thy conscience
Is so possess'd with guilt: come from thy ward,
For I can here disarm thee with this stick
And make thy weapon drop.
MIRANDA Beseech you, father.
PROSPERO Hence! hang not on my garments.
MIRANDA Sir, have pity;
I'll be his surety.
PROSPERO Silence! one word more
Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What!
An advocate for an imposter! hush!
Thou think'st there is no more such shapes as he,
Having seen but him and Caliban: foolish wench!
To the most of men this is a Caliban
And they to him are angels.
MIRANDA My affections
Are then most humble; I have no ambition
To see a goodlier man.
Notice how Prospero seems adamant to kill off Ferdinand. Of course, it's a fabricated lie made by him, but Miranda does not know this (and if Alessa got into the theatre at this point, neither does she). Miranda feels helpless, while Ferdinand is charmed and has no real knowing of what is going on. A similar situation could very easily happen in Alessa's life. She could feel for Miranda at this point. As for Ferdinand... Maybe she liked a boy but Dahlia did something to him? ...Nasty.
The other line is heard in the alternate theatre 'forest', taken from the end of Scene II, Act I (again, the heard lines are in bold):
(Caliban met the two shipwrecked sailors and believed their drunken lies. He plans with them the murder of Prospero. Ariel sees this and begins playing a tune the sailors recognise, to lead them intentionally to Prospero's location. The sailors are brieftly startled by it.)
CALIBAN Art thou afeard?
STEPHANO No, monster, not I.
CALIBAN Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
STEPHANO This will prove a brave kingdom to me, where I shall
have my music for nothing.
CALIBAN Art thou afeard?
STEPHANO No, monster, not I.
CALIBAN Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
STEPHANO This will prove a brave kingdom to me, where I shall
have my music for nothing.
The sailors are profiteers. In an unknown land, they see vast treasure. But, what they get on the island is much more than they think. The same happens with those that choose to go deeper into the depths of Silent Hill. Caliban's description of the isle is eerily similar to that of Silent Hill - sights and sounds not familiar to the human eye, not knowing what is dream and what is real, those are all common themes in the Silent Hill universe. This also shows that Caliban has no understanding for these things, not because he doesn't want to, but because he isn't capable to. This is the way Alessa sees those who use her.
---------
I'll re-read it later on. There's a detailed analysis in the book too, I'll read it again. There's got to be more to this, this was just from the top of my head.