Essay On The Renaissance In The Tempest

The Shakespearian plays The Tempest and Macbeth are alike, and I feel that they can also be compared to the Renaissance itself. Spanning the 14th through 17th century, the Renaissance, a so-called “platform” between the Middle Ages and modern history, took place in Europe. This period began in Italy in the late medieval period before spreading to the rest of Europe, and thus marking the cultural change that began modern history. Renaissance also means rebirth. Both The Tempest and Macbeth begin with the same theme of magic. They also both try to make the audience laugh on several occasions. I feel that the Renaissance is comparable to these plays.

The character Prospero in The Tempest is similar to the witches in Macbeth. Just as the witches in Macbeth are a shiny influence of wickedness and mayhem in the play, Prospero uses his wizardry for bad and not for good. Macbeth is haunted by the witches

prophecies, and this makes them want to stop and emphasize more of what they have to say. The witches filled his head with thoughts of being king by saying, "All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be hereafter!" This torture releases a great deal about the way in which they tease characters such as Macbeth with their illusions. Macbeth demanded reasons for the actions of the witches, and he was harassed when he was not aware of this information. These activities of the witches are contrasted to the effects of Prospero in using his power and Ariel to attain his motive. Prospero takes benefit of his arts to play everyone throughout where he wants them to be, similar to the stage manager of the play. These actions make him comparable to the witches in that they use their arts to take advantage of the characters.

The comedy in Macbeth is evident in the scene between the porter and Macduff in Act 2 Scene 3.

"Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine Lechery, sir, it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance:" In The Tempest, Trinculo, a court jester, shields himself under Caliban's foul-smelling cloak even though the Caliban is wearing it. Stephano mistook Trinculo and Caliban for an animal underneath the cloak. In Macbeth, instead of the porter promptly opening the door, he entertains himself as being a porter from hell and is amused by his jokes and with the kind of sinners he may let in.

Some may claim that The Tempest and Macbeth are nothing alike. They may say this because in the play Macbeth the people like blood and death while in the play The Tempest the people try to avoid death. They are wrong because the stories are more alike than not. This similarity is seen through the way in which there are elements of magic and comedy in both. Some people say that they try to avoid bloodshed in The Tempest, but yet people still

die.

The Tempest and Macbeth are alike. They both attempt to make the audience laugh on occasion. History tells us that the Renaissance spirit people go on a quest for knowledge, power and exploring new territories. In The Tempest, Prospero set out a quest for perfection knowledge, power, and exploring new territories, so he fits in well with the Renaissance period. In The Tempest, Prospero uses his magic to get everyone where he wants them. Macbeth uses magic through the witches. These are perfect reasons why these plays are alike.