How far are Renaissance representations of the "New World- shaped by the writer's understanding of the "Old World-? .
In order to find an answer to this question, I chose to refer to William Shakespeare's Tempest and A Dialogue between Old England and New, poem by Anne Bradstreet. I will first oppose the two "worlds- and their representations, and then I will try to find why the writers represented the New World in the ways they described it and not another one. .
In The Tempest, the "Old World- is represented by Italy and the "New World- by a deserted Island. Italy is the cradle of the Renaissance but also as Dr. David Salter described it in his lecture as a country of "Machiavellian politics- which implied the ideas of "cunning, scheming, unscrupulous, conspiratorial and murderous people-. The image of the island is seen at the same time as the imaginative "New World- on the arrival of Alonso and others; I quote (act II sc. I, line 34, 37 and 51 respectively) "Though this island seem to be desert,-- .
"Uninhabitable, and almost inaccessible,--.
"Here is everything advantageous to life."".
However, it is in a real place in some way as it is said to be located in the Mediterranean Sea even though there is a reference to the Bermudas in Act I Scene II line 229. .
Shakespeare sees the Old World as a hierarchical society where order reigns - with the presence of kings, dukes and butlers - compare to the island where anyone can become king as Prospero or even Stefano did just by giving wine to Caliban. The island is shown as a magical place with the spirits and magic books that Prospero uses.
Concerning the characters, the Machiavellian image of Italy is represented by Antonio and Sebastian who try to kill Alonso, king of Naples, so Sebastian can take his seat, copying Antonio who had stolen the title of duke of Milan from his brother Prospero.
