Sunday, November 08, 2009

Ten of the best: instances of invisibility in literature

For the Guardian, John Mullan named ten of the best instances of invisibility in literature.

One classic work on the list:
The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Ariel, Prospero's spirit-servant, invisibly torments Prospero's enemies when a storm brings them to his island. When, bent on mischief, the bestial Caliban arrives with the drunken Stephano and Trinculo, Prospero and Ariel, unseen, set "divers Spirits, in shape of dogs and hounds" upon them.
Read about a novel on Mullan's list.

The Tempest also appears on Mullan's list of ten of the best butlers in literature.

--Marshal Zeringue