The process of discovery can have transformative impacts as they can be both emotionally and intellectually enriching. William Shakespeare explores these impacts of discovery in the text The Tempest (1623), through the characters, Prospero and Miranda. Similarly, in Tim Storrier's self-portrait The Histrionic Wayfarer (2012), which does not depict a face or body, we are able to see transformation which is a result of emotional and intellectual enrichment.
The character Prospero in The Tempest, through the process of discovery, undergoes intellectual enrichment. Prospero is a character who values knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge but has lost his rightful throne. Prospero's magic has been learned from his books as Caliban mentions in his advice to Stepahano that "without [his books]/he's but a sot, as I am." The simile shows how important Prospero's books, a symbol of knowledge and discovery, are and how not being able to gain knowledge will make him as crude and as beastly as Caliban. Ironically, however Prospero's books, due to his obsession with knowledge, are the cause of his downfall as they drew him away from his proper duties as a ruler. Therefore, Prospero's humanistic tendencies lead him to self-discovery and a determination to resume…show more content… The adventurer is carrying a backpack which is usually depicted as a burden, but the backpack filled with many objects represents his preparedness to discover. This conveys that the adventurer is on a perpetual journey and is gaining knowledge from each experience adding to his preparedness to face obstacles and the discovery itself. This is emphasised through Storrier's exaggerated posture showing his excitement and curiosity at the thought of discovering something. Therefore, Storrier's self-portrait conveys the gaining of knowledge because of perpetual and consecutive
