Understanding the perspective of an outsider in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' | English

Starter quiz

Which of these characters are considered outsiders in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'?
- Gonzalo
- Ariel ✓
- Alonso
- Caliban ✓
Someone who is not accepted into a particular group and feels as if they don't belong is known as ...
- an outsider ✓
- an insider
- a mentor
- a villain
How long ago did Shakespeare write his plays?
- twenty years ago
- four hundred years ago ✓
- one hundred years ago
- seven hundred years ago
How would you expect Shakespearean society to be in comparison to modern society?
- exactly the same
- some differences ✓
- very similar
To feel separated from other people means to feel ...
- accepted
- isolated ✓
- included
- powerful
What does it mean to consider someone's perspective?
- consider how they'd feel in a situation ✓
- disregard how they'd feel in a situation
- consider how you'd feel in a situation
- plan out a situation in advance

In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', which of the following are reasons we can think of Ariel as an outsider?
- Ariel is a magical being. ✓
- Only Prospero speaks to Ariel. ✓
- The other characters dislike Ariel.
- The other characters say negative things about Ariel.
What does being unique mean?
- being the same as everyone else
- being unusual or special in some way ✓
- being liked by everyone
In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', why might we consider Miranda an outsider?
- she's the only female character ✓
- none of the other character speak kindly to Miranda
- Miranda is a magical being
- Miranda tries to harm the other characters
Which of the following are differences between Shakespearean society and modern society?
- Shakespearean society used Early Modern English ✓
- Shakespearean society used Old English
- Women only wore trousers in Shakespearean society
- Women generally only wore skirts and dresses in Shakespearean society ✓
What does it mean to feel intimidated?
- to feel rejected
- to feel accepted
- to feel frightened and nervous ✓
As well as being the only female character, why else might Miranda be considered an outsider in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'?
- she doesn't always conform to patriarchal expectations ✓
- she always conforms to patriarchal expectations
- she always subverts patriarchal expectations

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Characters such as Caliban can be used as inspiration, when creating characters who are outsiders
Ariel, Caliban and Miranda can be considered outsiders because they are all somehow considered different.
Caliban and Miranda in particular don’t always conform to how Shakespearean society would have expected them to behave.
Shakespearean society had different expectations and legal restrictions than today’s society.

That being an outsider is always a negative thing.

Sometimes people are considered outsiders because they don't fit society's expectations of normal and that's not necessarily negative.

Outsider - An outsider is someone who is not accepted by a particular group, or feels that they do not belong in it.
Isolated - To feel isolated means you feel separated from other people.
Unique - Unique means being the only existing one of its type or, more generally, unusual or special in some way.
Intimidated - If you feel intimidated then you feel frightened or nervous because you aren’t confident in a situation.