Imperfect Comic Resolution in The Tempest

Imperfect Comic Resolution in The Tempest

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's late comedies, in which the typical comic conventions are blended with darker elements of tragedy. One of the ways this manifests itself is in the imperfect conclusion of the play. Although comic traditions such as marriage and the restoration of order are followed, not every character is disposed of perfectly.

The character in whom this is most evident is Antonio. Although Prospero forgives him for his removal of Prospero from Milan, and does not reveal his plot to kill Alonso, we receive no evidence that Antonio repents of his actions. At the banquet scene that causes Alonso to repent, indeed, drives him temporarily to insanity, Antonio's conscience is apparently unaffected. His only line after the harpy's appearance -- "I'll be thy second" -- implies that he will follow Alonso and aid him in suicide. At the concluding scene of the play, Antonio says almost nothing, even when Prospero promises not to give him and Sebastian away to Alonso. This seems to indicate that he does not share in the general mood of repentance and reconciliation, especially as his sole line is a sarcastic remark about Caliban. This is so reminiscent of his earlier bantering with Sebastian that it seems a statement that he has not changed. It seems that Antonio is not a character who can be brought to repentance. However, it must be questioned whether this is due to the innate imperfection of his nature -- which should be noble, having been inherited from a "good womb" -- or whether it is by choice that he embraces evil.

When considering Antonio, Sebastian cannot be forgotten. He is a foil for Antonio, and in danger of being led by Anto...

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...lay, but these will only cause serious threat if they are not watched over. From the beginning of the play, it is made clear that Prospero will not relinquish trust as freely as he did in Milan. Because Prospero now knows these characters' limitations, we are fairly confident that he will watch over them, and that the ending of the play is truly a comic resolution.

Works Cited and Consulted

Davidson, Frank. “The Tempest: An Interpretation.” In The Tempest: A Casebook. Ed. D.J. Palmer. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1968. 225.

Kermode, Frank. Introduction. The Tempest. By William Shakespeare. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1958. xlii.

Solomon, Andrew. “A Reading of the Tempest.” In Shakespeare’s Late Plays. Ed. Richard C. Tobias and Paul G. Zolbrod. Athens: Ohio UP, 1974. 232.

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Frank Kermode. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1958.