Importance of Dialogue in The Tempest

Importance of Dialogue in The Tempest

Dialogue is one of the most important features in a play, where the audience has the story acted and spoken out in front of them. For this reason, in a play such as The Tempest, relationships are written and constructed mainly through the spoken word. The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, in the genre of both a romance and a pastoral tragicomedy.

Since Prospero is the central character of the text, most of the relationships shown and developed in the play concern him. He has his main dealings with Miranda, Ferdinand, Alonso, Antonio and Caliban. Miranda is his daughter, and was exiled along with him to this island. Prospero has cared solely for her in the last sixteen years, and thus is very protective. He helps Miranda and Ferdinand to become betrothed, and as a kind of test he makes Ferdinand do chores. When he sees the true love between them, and that his little girl is not sop little anymore, he consents to their marriage. His relationship with Ferdinand is much shorter, but basically he tests Ferdinand to see if he is a worthy husband for his daughter. He accuses him of various things, such as being a spy, but the fast that Ferdinand repeatedly exclaims that any burden is made, light if he can see the face of Miranda pleases Prospero. Part of Miranda's new status as being grown up is shown in the long exposition where Prospero finally tells her the truth about her background and how they came upon the island, and her exclamation of ""Oh brave new world, that hath such people in't."" when she sees the noblemen, more people than she has ever seen singly before, all at once.

Caliban is the monstrous son of the dark witch Sycorax, who was the ruler of the island previously. As heir apparent, Prosper actually usurped rule from him, a fact which is never given thought to in the play! Prospero did look kindly onto Caliban at first, but after his attempted rape of Miranda he was reduced to the status of common slave, with Prospero as his master. After the attempted crime, it is no wonder that the relationship between them is quite testy.