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Negative Implications Of Discovery In William Shakespeare's The Tempest

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Discoveries are a culmination of an individual’s ability to reconsider their personal values as they gain new experiences and knowledge. As individuals are driven by different motives, the ramifications of their discoveries change depending on their ability to accept new perceptions themselves and others. William Shakespeare utilises his pastoral play, “The Tempest” (1611) to explore the negative consequences of colonialism and how an individual’s capacity to facilitate change impacts their aptitude to discover. This is depicted through the setting of the unknown island or ‘terra incognita’ which incites a sensation of wonder and disorientation, prompting the characters to reassess their actions and relationships. Negative impacts of discovery are also explored in ‘’The Book Thief’’ (2013) directed by Brian Percival as Liesel realizes how knowledge and words have the power to evoke new ideas but also restrict individual’s perceptions of themselves and others. Percival utilises the duality of human nature to criticize how appearances do not always reflect reality, hence individuals’ responses to discovery change as their interpretations of appearances differ. Through analysing these texts, the audience is able to gain a deeper understanding of how individuals’ process of discovering new notions is critically dependent on their capacity to reconsider what is known.
The process of discovery is often facilitated by the setting which encourages characters to discover what is

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