Shakespeare »» l.s.

2: The Tempest

2: The Tempest

Harry Styles.

My eyebrows were furrowed as I scanned the words of Louis's document.

I like when things go my way. I like someone who can take control of a situation and make it better.

That one sentence was stuck in my head. I wondered what he was like as a student. Was he one of those students with the sharp tongue and couldn't care less about anyone but themselves, or was he a student that really focused on his work and didn't stop until he was done?

My eyes were glued to the screen. I barely noticed the fact that someone was standing in front of my desk. My eyes popped up, only to be met with the familiar sight of Louis's face. "Oh, hi, Louis. What are you doing here? Class doesn't start for another twenty minutes."

"Did you get my document?" He answered, dodging my question.

"Uh, yes. I was just reading it actually." I nodded. "Why?"

"So you read that I like to be in control, right?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I glanced at his arms, which were clutching his books close to his chest. I noticed a tattoo there, designed like a playing card wrapped around his wrist.

"I don't know how that question relates to the class." I said, folding my hands on my desk.

Louis set his books down on my desk, He licked his lip before placing his hands on the surface, leaning on them. My eyes followed his every move. "You teach this class, correct?" I nodded. "Therefore, it has to do with the class."

"I'm not sure I see where this is going..." I trailed off, watching as Louis rounded the edge of my desk. His lips were formed into a smirk as he placed himself on my lap. I let out a gasp, but not doing anything to remove his body.

He placed his hands on my chest, leaning close to my ear. "I expect you to give me an A in this class no matter what, and if you don't," He paused, leaning away from my ear. Unexpectedly, he dug his hips into mine. I swallowed, acting as if such action didn't affect me. But in reality, it did. His lips were at my ear once again. "I will put you in your place, using illusion and skillful manipulation."

My eyebrows raised, recognizing what he had just said. "Like Prospero did to Miranda in the Tempest."

Louis slowly got off my lap, nodding. "Exactly, except you will very much enjoy how I put you in your place." 

His words sparked something in me. I coughed, bringing my hand up to cover my mouth. I watched as Louis took his stuff from my desk and put it on his. He sat down, his eyes meeting mine, a smirk on his face.

The two of us sat in silence, the only sound audible was the clicking of the keys on Louis's laptop. I couldn't help but think of what Louis would do to put me in my place, but I knew I shouldn't be thinking about such things. He was my student, and I was his Professor. And it was going to stay that way for as long as possible.

Ten minutes later, students started filing into the classroom. Kylie, as I remember her name was, gave a small smile to Louis before slipping into the street next to him.

"How's it going?" I heard him ask her. I knew he felt me looking at him. He glanced over at me before smirking yet again.

Kylie looked between the two of us, a weird look on her face. "You good?" She muttered to him.

He only nodded.

//

Louis Tomlinson

"There is no obvious single source for the plot of The Tempest, but researchers have seen parallels in Erasmus's Naufragium, Peter Martyr's De orbe novo, and eyewitness reports by William Strachey and Sylvester Jordain of the real-life shipwreck of the Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda, and the subsequent conflict between Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers. In addition, one of Gonzalo's speeches is derived from Montaigne's essay Of the Canibales, and much of Prospero's renunciative speech is taken word for word from a speech by Medea in Ovid's poem Metamorphoses.

The story draws heavily on the tradition of the romance, and it was influenced by tragicomedy, the courtly masque and perhaps the commedia dell'arte. It differs from Shakespeare's other plays in its observation of a stricter, more organised neoclassical style. Critics see The Tempest as explicitly concerned with its own nature as a play, frequently drawing links between Prospero's "art" and theatrical illusion, and early critics saw Prospero as a representation of Shakespeare, and his renunciation of magic as signalling Shakespeare's farewell to the stage. The play portrays Prospero as a rational, and not an occultist, magician by providing a contrast to him in Sycorax: her magic is frequently described as destructive and terrible, where Prospero's is said to be wondrous and beautiful. Beginning in about 1950, with the publication of Psychology of Colonization by Octave Mannoni, The Tempest was viewed more and more through the lens of postcolonial theory-exemplified in adaptations like Aimé Césaire's Une Tempête set in Haiti-and there is even a scholarly journal on post-colonial criticism named after Caliban." Professor Styes said, and impressively, it was done in almost one breath. He glanced at me before speaking again.

"There are eight main characters in the Tempest. The first one, Prospero, the main character. The overthrown Duke of Milan. He now lives on an island and is a great sorcerer. The second is Miranda, Prospero's daughter, who falls in love with the Prince of Naples, Ferdinand.  The third, Ariel, a spirit who does Prospero's bidding and is, occasionally, visible to Prospero and only Prospero.  He became Prospero's "slave" because he was saved by Prospero from being trapped in a tree by Sycorax. Ariel obeys all of Prospero's demands and is eventually granted freedom. Fourth, Caliban, a villainous island native, the deformed son of a witch named Sycorax, whom I will explain shortly, who ruled the island before Prospero arrived. He now works as Prospero's slave but despises him. In the play, he is known to have spoken many colorful curses, an example being, "a southwest wind blow on ye and blister you all o'er".  The fifth character, Sycorax, as I mentioned before, a deceased Algerian sorceress and mother of Caliban, who was banished to the island before Prospero arrived and enslaved the spirits on the island, including Ariel. The six, seventh and eighth characters are Iris, Ceres, and Juno, they are spirits who perform the roles of goddesses in a masque presented to the young lovers." He paused, gathering up thick packets. "I will hand out the play and I expect you to be done with it by tomorrow. I will ask you share a certain piece of information, of which will be revealed tomorrow."

Professor Styles begun to hand out the packets, starting at my row. When he placed the packet on my desk, he did not acknowledge me. That made me frown for some unknown reason. The frown remained on my face for less then a second as my eyes were set on the bolded words on the front of the packet. "THE TEMPEST - William Shakespeare"

Professor Styles returned to the front of the classroom. "I hope all of you are dedicated to your work. Like I said in the first session, this is not an easy A. I expect the best from you, and if you do not deliver your best, you will face consequences." It wasn't subtle, but I noticed it, he looked at me when he said that. I bit my lip, adjusting my body in my chair. "I will allow you to take the rest of the class to skim through the text."

He sat as his desk, going through piles of papers. I looked at him one last time with a smirk on my face before opening the packet and started to read.

He had no idea what he was in for.