Isolation of the Individual in Society in The Tempest

Isolation of the Individual in Society in The Tempest

In William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, characters such as

Caliban, Prospero, Miranda and Ferdinand, experience varying degrees

of consequences, due to their change in behaviour, while isolated from

society. Although isolation from society affects the characters in

different ways, some see it as being advantageous while others see it

as being a curse. This essay will show how characters in The Tempest

suffer consequences due to their isolation from society.

Caliban is possibly the only character in The Tempest who is not

originally affected by his isolation from society. Caliban is the only

character that is native to the island and he was utterly alone on the

island until Prospero and Miranda were banished to the very same

island. It was when the latter arrived that Caliban was exposed to

people for the first time in his life. Prospero and Miranda taught

Caliban to read, speak, and how to behave in the same way as them

(sparknotes.com).

Miranda: Being capable of ill! I pitied thee,

Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour

One thing or other. When thou didst not, savage,

Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like

A thing most brutish, I endowed thy purposes

With words that made them known. But thy vile race,

Though thou didst learn, had that in't which good natures

Could not abide to be with. Therefore wast thou

Deservedly confined into this rock, who hadst

Deserved more than a prison. (Shakespeare 77)

However, it is because of the 'educating' of Caliban that he realises

how different he is compared to Prospero and Miranda....

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...heir

situation. None of them chose to be isolated from society, yet that

became the situation they found themselves in. All the characters

suffered one consequence or other due to their isolation from society

and their own secret desires which only became evident when in an

isolated situation. In isolation, a person's character changes, and

this is due to how each of the characters handle the position they

find themselves in.

Bibliography:

1. Shober, Dianne. "The Tempest" English Literature Manuel. Department

of English.

UFH East London Campus, Semester 2, 2004.

2. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. England: Penguin Group, 1968

3. Sparknotes. "Plot Overview" and "Analysis of Major Characters"

available at

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/tempest/summary.html [accessed

on 15 August 2004]