William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. You are also researching relevant secondary sources—what other literary critics have to say about the play—to help clarify and enhance your own interpretations. Finally, we have viewed a documentary, Shakespeare Behind Bars, that follows a group of inmates over many months as they prepare to stage a performance of the play. That’s a lot to process! But the hope is that by engaging with several different sources—the play itself, secondary research, and an application of the play to the “real world” To what extent does the island function as a prison—or an escape—for the characters who find themselves there? B) In what specific ways does the island resemble a prison? For which characters in particular? Do these conditions change over time, or for different characters? Are some freedoms possible on the island that wouldn’t be possible in the normal world? Can “an island” ever be a positive thing? Some issues to consider from Shakespeare Behind Bars: What do you think of the comparison one prisoner makes between prison and being on an island? What is the significance of language and expression to the inmates’ self-realization, considering one prisoner’s reflection that “not talking is what got me here [incarcerated]”? Does acting—and performing this play in particular—provide meaningful relief from prison life? What is liberating about exploring different selves through acting and understanding characters? How does the prisoners’ search for redemption affect your understanding of vengeance and forgiveness in the play?