A Study of Island or Strange Place in Shakespeare

The purpose of this study is to explore the space of island or strange place represented in Shakespeare’s tragic and comic worlds. Especially, it will be studied how the dual perspectives of island as an isolated and romantic space are represented in Shakespeare’s literary world. Island or strange place sets the most effective space that portrays the tragic reality and the romantic ideal. In the tragic world of Othello, the meaning of the tragic space of island will be inspected by comparing Cyprus with the main land of Venice. In the comic world, the strange space of Ilyria of The Twelfth Night and Caliban's island of The Tempest will be treated. Cyprus of Othello is the isolated space from the mainland of Venice, the space of military strategy. It is a frontier area which detects the enemy’s move, and also a very dangerous space which is vulnerable at the enemy's invasion by sea. Furthermore, as Cyprus is separated from the mainland, it is the space comparatively free from the control of the power and the law. Therefore, it’s the space that reflects the desperate reality, and also the space that awakes instinctive desires of human being. It is the space where Iago’s betrayal and wicked intrigue are activated, and the space where Othello’s hidden jealousy and wildness arise, and finally the space of death which results in pain and destruction. On the contrary, the strange spaces in comedies are portrayed as mysterious but ideal spaces, where the troubled save their lives and realize their desires. Illyria in The Twelfth Night is the romantic space where Viola saves her life and gets her love by means of disguise. We can find the confusion of gender role and hierarchical order in the romantic space of Illyria. The island of The Tempest is also portrayed as a romantic space of life where the exiled Prospero and Miranda arrive and achieve their desires. It is a supernatural space where we meet witch, fairy, monster, and wizard. But Prospero’s control of the island and Caliban’s resistance reflect the colonial desire of the European and the critical perspective of such an idea. Therefore, the reality of island space in comedies is not ideal. In the romantic comic space of The Tempest, we can find hate, conflict, greed, and despair. Only the ideal vision for change, fortune, love, and happiness exist beyond the unfortunate reality.