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....
... middle of paper ...
...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]
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print
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Mowat, Barbara A. & Co. "Prospero, Agrippa, and Hocus Pocus," English Literary Renaissance. 11 (1981): 281-303. Shakespeare, William. The. The Tempest.
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Through the years there has been much debate as to whether Shakespeare’s The Tempest is an Allegory to European colonization and colonial life, or if it is his “farewell to the stage” with a complete overview of the stage and a compilation of all of his characters into a few, in which the playwright himself being presented as Prospero. Is The Tempest an allegory to European colonization, or is it Shakespeare, presenting his formal farewell to the stage?
Throughout a person's life everyone goes thru a tough situation, where they may lose control of themselves. At the end everything turns back to normal. The play "The Tempest" written by William Shakespeare introduces the idea of chaos to order. In the play a violent storm occurs which leads to a shipwreck, nobody was harmed. Characters in this play wanted to gain power to rule the island. At the end of the play, two characters who were strangers got married. In "The Tempest," Shakespeare uses the setting and the conflicts to analyze the process from chaos to order.
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
The Tempest was written in 1610 by William Shakespeare. Now I ask, how could it relate to the new world when it was written centuries back. Such as the treatment of Caliban, the indigenous slave, is compared to racial attitudes in the 17th century. Other relations include more that compare characters to important parts of the new world, as well as very specific explanations that trace over to new world ocurrances. Here is how Shakespeare’s The Tempest relates to the new world.
Freudian Theory suggests that every being is made up of three parts. Firstly, the id, our most primitive selves, contains our basic instinctual drives and acts to make ourselves happy. Secondly, the ego, which is based on the reality principle, is the mediator between the id and the super ego, and helps people determine what can realistically occur, taking into consideration the repercussions of every action. Finally, the super ego is an internalisation of authority, and is thought to originate from parental guidance as they are the first authority figure we are exposed to. Within a civilisation, this super ego restrains natural, Id desires and demands that we succumb to social pressures of what is right and wrong in society, and makse us feel guilty for even thinking about doing otherwise. The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, gives examples of all three of these parts of the human psyche. Through Caliban, Miranda and Prospero we can see examples of how the Super Ego restrains the basic instincts and drives, leading to unhappiness and malaise in civilisation.
During England’s Elizabethan period, people were captivated by magic and the supernatural. During this period there was little distinction between science and magic. Educated people practiced medicine, astrology, alchemy, sorcery, and tried to control the elements. Some scholars conclude that controlling the elements of nature is an underlying basis for early science and some religions (Hopfe). One of the most famous Elizabethan scientists, and one who Queen Elizabeth herself kept on staff was Dr. John Dee (Woolley). John Dee was also known as a magus, a title given to someone who was considered a master magician or adept in astrology, alchemy, or sorcery (Melton). Evidence for this cultural preoccupation with magic during the Elizabethan period can be found in many of William Shakespeare’s plays, including his final work, The Tempest, which was written between 1610 and 1611. It is widely believed that Shakespeare may well have had Dr. John Dee in mind when creating the character of Prospero (Woolley). Prospero, the play’s protagonist, is a master magician. At its core, The Tempest entertains an underlying theme of justice and forgiveness for Prospero’s brother usurping and exiling him and his daughter to a desolate foreign isle, but more prominent is Prospero and Ariel’s use of magic and manipulation of the elements. Magic plays such a key role in the play, that it could be defined as an additional character. In fact, if it weren’t for the plays heavy use of magic, The Tempest Would be boring and uneventful, and we would be left with only a man stranded on an island with his daughter and a helpful and deformed native inhabitant named Caliban.
The Tempest. Arden Shakespeare, 1997. Print. Third Series Smith, Hallet Darius. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest; A Collection of Critical Essays, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969.
Echoes of both The Tempest and Marivaux's complicated comedy Triumph of Love sound in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The action of this play begins shortly after a damaging tempest shipwrecks the heroine, casting her upon foreign shores. Upon arrival in this strange seaport, Viola--like the Princess Leonide--dons male disguise which facilitates both employment and time enough to orient herself in this unfamiliar territory.