New Historicism applied on William Shakespeare's'The Tempest'

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1.3, Technical University of Chemnitz, language: English, abstract: The power that makes us handle ourselves and others around us is something we do not even notice, but that is central to all our lives. While actual physical violence is far away for many of us, nobody can deny how society has a certain rule over each of us. We have expectations towards others and ourselves that are central for the way we think and behave. Cultural values do not only shape our daily lives but also every text that is written. These texts on the other hand have the power to influence our values and believe on what is wrong and right. Because I am very interested in this topic and also how texts form our picture of the world I chose to write about New Historicism. New Historicism is a literary theory that, in my opinion, everybody can understand and relate to. A central idea is how every text shows signs of the time and the society it is produced in. A logical consequence, since the author is never free of perceptions of his time and never subjective. On the other hand a text, read by many people, can easily influence their opinions and believes. For example the texts written about Queen Elisabeth contributed to her image of the Virgin Queen. These ideas, bought up as literary theory in New Historicism, are important until today. While books and theater plays might not be as important for many of us we are influenced, not only by television, but also by newspapers and articles we read. Our 'self' is still created through the society we live in.