MYTHOLOGICAL PLOTS IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY "THE TEMPEST"

Abstract

The article examines the appeal to ancient mythological subjects in English literature of the Renaissance. Special attention is paid to the reflection of mythological plots, motifs and images in William Shakespeare’s tragicomedy «The Tempest». In the works of W. Shakespeare, mythologism is present in various forms: both at the level of individual images, names, color, and entire plots from ancient mythology are borrowed. For example, the poem «Venus and Adonis» was written on a mythological plot. But turning to mythological subjects, W. Shakespeare often reinterprets them in his own way. In his interpretation, they acquire a new meaning. For example, as in the play «Troilus and Cressida». D. Zatonskyi writes that this play was initially «counted among tragedies, now it is more often mentioned among comedies. The end is really bloodless, but only for the main characters. And the noblest, most impeccable hero – Hector (according to the mythological plot) dies. But the evaluations of the Trojan War are in no way consistent with the mythological plot. Homer seems to have been recast here. The greatest war in human memory seems like a senseless, useless, farcical murder. However, «Troilus and Cressida» is not at all a parody of the «Iliad», not a travesty, not a burlesque. Everything that happens in Shakespeare’s is, in principle, not funny, but terrible, infinitely sad. However, both fear and sadness here are prosaic, reduced» [10]. When considering the tragicomedy «The Tempest» from the first page of the play, we meet a variety of mythological characters. The entire artistic world of the work is on the border between real and unreal. Along with human characters, it is inhabited by various otherworldly creatures, spirits and mythological characters. A special role in «The Tempest» is assigned to the natural element, which is beyond the control of an ordinary person and even does justice to him. Very often, natural forces are personified, which is also a reflection of the mythological worldview.