Prospero's Magic in The Tempest
In Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero's magic is the means that Prospero teaches his lessons to the plays various characters. Whether or not those lessons were learned or not is irrelevant. The main issue is that Prospero's character is indeed a complex one, and one that deserves much attention. Two essays that look at the complexity of Prospero and his magic are Stephen Miko's "Tempest," and Barbara Mowat's "Prospero, Agrippa, and Hocus Pocus." Both of these essays, in dealing with Prospero and his magic reveal things about Prospero that only enhance the mystery of his character.
Mowat's article deals more with the nature of Prospero's magic, and the type of character that it makes him. She gives three truths about the possible nature of magic. 1) Prospero's interest in magic reflects only his interest in the ultimate truths of existence. 2) Prospero's use of magic only allows him to control the physical world, and cannot help him control the minds and souls of people he influences. 3) Prospero's use of magic is tied to the fact that he is in an isolated place away from society. Each of these gives a different reading to Prospero's character, since his character is so reliant on the use of magic.
Mowat, in positing that Prospero's study of magic only reflects his desire to understand the truths of nature, makes Prospero out to be non-malevolent character. She says that here, he reflects the magus of old, or the philosopher-mage who studied the arts arcane only to become more knowledgeable about the world around him. This view is reflected within Prospero's story about his history to Miranda. If he is to be believed within this speech, then he was only concerned with betterin...
... middle of paper ...
...s not corrupt him, but rather makes him blind to the truths that he started studying magic for in the first place. In the end, through use of his magic, and ultimately its refusal, he learns that he didn't need the magic all along. He just needed to believe in himself and his own abilities.
Works Cited and Consulted
Corfield, Cosmo. "Why Does Prospero Abjure His 'Rough Magic,'" Shakespeare Quarterly. 36 (1985): 31-4 8.
Levin, Harry. "Two Magian Comedies: 'The Tempest' and 'The Alchemist,'" Shakespeare Survey . 22 (1969): 47-58.
Miko, Stephen J. "Tempest," ELH. 49 (1982): 1-17.
Mowat, Barbara A. "Prospero, Agrippa, and Hocus Pocus," English Literary Renaissance. 11 (1981): 281-3 03.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Frank Kermode. London: Methuen, 1962.
West, Robert. Shakespeare and the Outer Mystery. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1968.
When the declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, it marked the beginning of a country based upon the ideals of freedom and equality. For over two centuries, these core principles have remained completely intact. This would not be possible without the sacrifice of thousands of courageous men throughout America’s history both on the battlefield and at home. One person who perfectly embodies the idea of sacrifice in both military and civilian life is James Dowling.
The college athletes of their respective sports today, have the opportunity of showcasing their talents in competition on local and national programming on a regular basis which has lately brought attention this controversy, paying college athletes. The issue was brought on by the athletes over time, then caught onto coaches, sports columnists, and fans. The athletes dedicate themselves to the sport to a caliber comparable to the professional tier. The idea of paying the athletes could be considered as they play major factor in reputation of their schools, as well as funds for their schools. However most colleges do not have profitable sports teams. Thus, paying athletes would prove to be a very difficult endeavor and this could destroy college athletics as we know them today.
Prospero is the image of the ideal Renaissance magician; whose magic is obtained from his books and knowledge that, in contrast to Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, has domain over spirits, which represent the passions, Ariel and Caliban. B...
To be able to answer this question we must first understand why see Prospero as good or evil. It is fair to say that Prospero is a main protagonist to the plot of Shakespeare’s Tempest. It is due to Prospero's role as a key figure in the play that has put him under so much scrutiny. Many different Shakespearean critics have their own view of Prospero and those that read or see the play also have their own opinion of how they would have seen Prospero.
Shakespeare's play, The Tempest tells the story of a father, Prospero, who must let go of his daughter; who brings his enemies under his power only to release them; and who in turn finally relinquishes his sway over his world - including his power over nature itself. The Tempest contains elements ripe for tragedy: Prospero is a controlling figure bent on taking revenge for the wrongs done to him, and in his fury he has the potential to destroy not only his enemies, but his own humanity and his daughter's future.
The Tempest presents the character of Prospero the usurped duke of Milan. In the beginning Prospero’s character can be described as foul, spiteful, and selfish. This can be seen in various scenes in acts one and two of the play where he treats the people around him as his servants especially the fateful Ariel who reminded him of his promise only to be threatened of imprisonment. He’s selfish in the sense that he would do anything to accomplish his goal of executing his plan. Like a master puppeteer he is manipulative and deceptive. He even manipulates his daughter to fit according to his scheme. However, all of his foul characteristics left him as his plan nears its end. It is as if the shedding of his clothes represented his change is personality and attitude. After Prospero discarded his staff, drowned his magic book, and wore his duke garments he became more responsible and sympathetic. Instead of exacting revenge on the king of Naples a...
Gervinus, G.G. "The Tempest." The Shakespeare Criticism Volume 8. Gale Research Inc., Detroit. 1989: 304-307.
First of all, to start out with these two characters from two great plays, they both are great protagonist in their own respects. Macbeth is a different kind of main character. He doesn’t necessarily play the hero in the story. But we focus on his choices, his fates, and his faults. That’s why readers like him so much and why normal people relate to this story. Because Macbeth has his faults, a lot of them, and so does the normal human being. He is a great protagonist, while he is alive. According to many “Macbeth is his own worst enemy.” (Newton) Prospero, from Tempest is a very powerful Duke, magician, and speech giver. He is in fact a very powerful magician, but does he always use his power for good? That point can be argued for hours. Prospero is basically the definition of a good main character in my eyes. He and Macbeth have some similarities and some differences. They are both in positions of power. They both die tragically. Except one may be bad and the other is good. But which one is which? “...
... I 1944 [Over Warsaw - Warsaw Thermopylae 1939 and 1944], Warsaw: Fundacja Wystawa Warszawa Walczy 1939-1945, 2000.
Turner, M., & Baskerville, R. (2011). Assessment and Intrinsic Motivation. SSRN Working Paper Series, 1(December), 3. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1912132
The nucleus of the plot in Shakespeare's The Tempest revolves around Prospero enacting his revenge on various characters who have wronged him in different ways. Interestingly enough, he uses the spirit of Ariel to deliver the punishments while Prospero delegates the action. Prospero is such a character that can concoct methods of revenge but hesitates to have direct involvement with disillusioning his foes. In essence, Prospero sends Ariel to do his dirty work while hiding his involvement in shipwrecking his brother, Antonio, from his daughter, Miranda.
The illusions of justice and freedom, and what they truly are, has been a reoccurring theme throughout the works. The definitions of justice and freedom have become so construed throughout the times. In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero tries to enthrall his audience in his narrative of social justice. The idea of justice the play portrays represents one individual who controls the fate of all others. Their freedom is controlled by the interference of those around them. Although he spends most of the play righting the wrongs done to him, he is misdirecting so to hide his true motive. Prospero misconstrues the definitions of justice and freedom by enslaving Ariel and Caliban, using magic for his own good, and creating a false happy
Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, which is a main character in the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West. Monkey King can be found in many stories and adaptions. The novel Journey to the West or Monkey King tells of a simian’s revolt against Heaven, of its defeat by the Buddha, and of its later being recruited as pilgrim to protect the monk Tripitaka on its quest for scriptures in India (Lai, 1994). So far, Monkey King has become one of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, it has a colorful cultural history and varied background. Monkey King is also considered by some scholars to be influenced by both the Hindu deity Hanuman from the Ramayana and elements of Chinese folklore (Subbaraman, 2002). The original Chinese novel Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It published in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng’en (Babara S, 1994). The achievement of the novel has drawn widespread attention, various reasons support its popularity. This easy will analyse the varied background, cultural history, social environment of Monkey King, the novel Journey to the West and its author Wu Cheng’en. Furthermore why this novel for many years by the world's attention. It is obvious that the historical reasons of this extraordinary achievement are diverse.
Prospero uses the power of love to influence his daughter Miranda. Prospero knows that Miranda is devoted to him so he uses guilt to maintain her devotion. Miranda tells her father “Alack, what trouble/Was I then to you!” (I.2.153.154) her saying that to him shows that because of Prospero making her feel guilty, she is willing to do anything just for him. “Had I been any god of power, I would/Have sunk the sea within the earth…” (I.2.10.11). This quote indicates that she understood the extent of her father’s power and she had possessed the same amount of power, she would use it differently with Prospero. His power over Miranda is one that is continuously in this play. Prospero does say “I have done nothing, but in care of thee, /of thee, my dearest one…”(I.2.16.17) when he says that he makes it known that he does love his daughter and only trying to protect.
Women are looked at as less than males, and males are to be far superior because society thought male to be the better gender. “A Doll's House,” by Henrik Isben describes the sacrificial role of nineteenth century women , men in society and in the household.