In The Tempest, Shakespeare intended the introduction to stand out from the rest of the book, I think that Prospero's art is almost a metaphor of Shakespeare's art, when Prospero says "my so potent art", it maybe that he means the art of the writer, so I think this may have made the introduction more successful because Shakespeare is actually a part of the play himself.
I think that Act 1, Scene 1 is a very effective introduction to the play, steeping with magic and illusion.
The Tempest has a remarkable introduction, opening the play with a tremendous amount of spectacle, threatening to kill the characters before the play has even begun; this immediately seizes the attention of the audience and makes them feel as if they were almost caught in the tempest themselves, this adds to the success of the introduction.
In terms of stagecraft in the seventeenth century when the play was written the effect of the introduction would be very different considering that special effects were largely left to the audience's imagination. I think that in the seventeenth century the introduction to the play would have been more effective because it leave's things to the imagination. Shakespeare's stage would have been almost entirely bare without many physical signs that the actors were supposed to be on a ship. So therefore, Shakespeare used other ways to create this image and make the introduction as effective as possible. For example the first word, "Boatswain!" without delay indicates that the scene is the deck of a ship. In addition to this characters rush anxiously in and out, often with no purpose, for example when Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo exit at line 29 and re-enter at 33, this shows the general level of chaos on the ship and the amount of confusion.
Not only does the play have this outstanding amount of spectacle but the play also uses the first scene to hint at some of the illusions and deceptions it will contain. This is not so effective during the introduction but as the play goes on the audience can connect the introduction to the rest of the play. This shows that the introduction is very special because it is not forgotten through out the whole play.
What makes the introduction so effective is the fact that the scene is devoted to what appears to be an unexplained natural phenomenon, in which characters that are not initially named rush about, frantically in service of no apparent plot, this is the reason it is effectual because it brings you straight into the play and encourages you to concentrate on the rest of the play.
In fact the confusion of the opening is itself misleading, because as we learn later, the storm is not a natural phenomenon at all, but a deliberate magical conjuring by Prospero, designed to bring the ship to the island. The tempest is in fact, central to the plot. This is what gives the first scene so much impact, because we don't understand why the tempest happened we are immediately captured by the story.
Another thing that makes act 1, scene 1 so effective is the fact there is more then initially meets the eye. The apparently chaotic exchanges of the characters introduce the important motif of master-servant relationships. The characters on the boat divided into nobles, for example Antonio and Gonzalo, and servants or professionals, such as the Boatswain. The mortal danger of the storm seems to upset the natural balance of the hierarchy, and the Boatswain while attempting to save the ship, comes into direct conflict with these nobles, who, despite their helplessness, are extremely irritated at being spoken rudely to by a commoner. This gives a large amount of affect to the opening scene because the audience is beginning to see what kind of people they are, by seeing the way they behave in situations like these. I think that its effective because the nobles feel that having a social status is so important the fact that they could all die seems to be forgotten. The audience is left surprised that they are all behaving this way. The characters in the scene are never named outright; they are only referred to in terms that indicate social status, "Boatswain," "Master," and "King." This also shows that social status is still important in a life and death situation, where the audience knows that they should be working together.
Something else that makes the opening scene effective, is when Gonzalo jokes that the ship is safe because Boatswain is surely born to be hanged, not drowned in a storm: "I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is perfect gallows." Boatswain however can see the social hierarchies are useless at this point in the face of nature's wrath. "What cares these roarers," he asks, referring to the thunder, "for the name of the king"" The irony in this is very effective because of course the storm is not natural at all, but is in fact a product another kind of power, Prospero's magic.
I believe that the beginning of the play is like the ending to the lives that all the characters knew so well; it's the new beginning. That is why it is so effective because the change in the way things are, happen right at the beginning of the book.
I think that the opening scene is very affective because of the way it brings people into the play and the fact that at starts at such an important place in the story.
Shakespeare tells us the story in blank verse so that we feel more involved and gives the introduction a welcoming tone. So therefore I agree with the statement, the introduction is a very affective beginning to the play; it structures the rest of the play and shapes all the events that are to come.
I think that Shakespeare intended the introduction to stand out from the rest of the book, I think that Prospero's art is almost a metaphor of Shakespeare's art, when Prospero says "my so potent art", it maybe that he means the art of the writer, so I think this may have made the introduction more successful because Shakespeare is actually a part of the play himself.
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