I realize this seems like a stretch for those of you familiar with J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Let me explain myself.
Someone (I can't remember who) mentioned the website Shmoop. I was curious, partly because that name is so ridiculous, so I looked it up. I read through some of what it has to say about The Tempest and came across this:
"For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Not only is the play chock-full of self conscious references to the workings of the theater, its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage."
(for the full section on The Tempest from Shmoop, follow this link: http://www.shmoop.com/tempest/)
I'm by no means an expert on Salinger but I know enough to see a connection between the excerpt above and Salinger with his character Holden Caulfield. Many scholars read Caulfield as a "stand-in" for Salinger. He left the literary scene shortly after writing the bestselling Catcher and spent the rest of his life in relative isolation in a cabin in the Northeast U.S., which is exactly what Holden suggests doing in the book.
Now it's impossible to say whether Salinger or Shakespeare really intended those characters to be stand-ins for themselves because both writers are dead and, as far as I know, neither ever commented on it. But it is interesting to think about.
Someone (I can't remember who) mentioned the website Shmoop. I was curious, partly because that name is so ridiculous, so I looked it up. I read through some of what it has to say about The Tempest and came across this:
"For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Not only is the play chock-full of self conscious references to the workings of the theater, its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage."
(for the full section on The Tempest from Shmoop, follow this link: http://www.shmoop.com/tempest/)
I'm by no means an expert on Salinger but I know enough to see a connection between the excerpt above and Salinger with his character Holden Caulfield. Many scholars read Caulfield as a "stand-in" for Salinger. He left the literary scene shortly after writing the bestselling Catcher and spent the rest of his life in relative isolation in a cabin in the Northeast U.S., which is exactly what Holden suggests doing in the book.
Now it's impossible to say whether Salinger or Shakespeare really intended those characters to be stand-ins for themselves because both writers are dead and, as far as I know, neither ever commented on it. But it is interesting to think about.
What an interesting connection! Thanks for sharing that. :)
ReplyDeleteI think that really is interesting and not just because you're my brother.
ReplyDeleteYes, I found the same quote in Shmoop and found it very interesting. If Shakespeare is Prospero, do you think that any of the other characters have significance?
ReplyDelete