Macbeth vs Tempest

640 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fate is dictated by the choices one makes

William Shakespeare, one of the most inspirational authors, playwrights, and Englishman’s to ever walk the earth. During his time during the 1600's he wrote two great plays. “Shakespeare was prolific, with records of his first plays beginning to appear in 1594, from which time he produced roughly two a year until around 1611” (McDorment”) They share things that are similar but they also disagree with each other quite a bit. What we can really talk about is the two main characters from the two stories. These two stories are Macbeth and Tempest. The two main characters are Macbeth and Prospero. Three things can be compared with these two; they are both the protagonist, they have to do with betrayal, and the tragic loss of something.
First of all, to start out with these two characters from two great plays, they both are great protagonist in their own respects. Macbeth is a different kind of main character. He doesn’t necessarily play the hero in the story. But we focus on his choices, his fates, and his faults. That’s why readers like him so much and why normal people relate to this story. Because Macbeth has his faults, a lot of them, and so does the normal human being. He is a great protagonist, while he is alive. According to many “Macbeth is his own worst enemy.” (Newton) Prospero, from Tempest is a very powerful Duke, magician, and speech giver. He is in fact a very powerful magician, but does he always use his power for good? That point can be argued for hours. Prospero is basically the definition of a good main character in my eyes. He and Macbeth have some similarities and some differences. They are both in positions of power. They both die tragically. Except one may be bad and the other is good. But which one is which? “...

... middle of paper ...

...ses in the play itself. Here is a good question to ponder for a while “Is ambition okay in any context, or are we all supposed to let fate and chance toss us around?” (Muller)

Works Cited
Jones, Stephen. "Tempest." Shakepseare Navigators. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. .
McDorment, Teddy. "More information about: William Shakespeare." BBC. N.p., 2002. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. .
Muller, Thomas. "Famous Quotations." shakespeare online. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. .
Murdoch, Rupert. "To win you must lose first." Weebly. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. .
Newton, John. "Character Role Analysis." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between The Walking Dead And Macbeth

    194 Words  | 1 Pages

    The novel Macbeth is usually described as tragedy written by William Shakespeare presents how a good hearted man can develop to a cold-blooded failure due to his egotistical mindset. The character Macbeth is a tragic hero in this novel. He had too much faith in the three witches who promised that Macbeth will presume to be king of Scotland. Although Macbeth carried uttermost ambition and this only resulted to deficient bearings. His inferior behaviorism can only predict how much of a downfall lies ahead of him.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Macbeth - The Proud Characters of Macbeth and Duncan

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    Clark, W.G., and W. Aldis Wirhgt, eds. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol 2. USA: Nd. 2 vols.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Loss in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1985 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare's play, The Tempest tells the story of a father, Prospero, who must let go of his daughter; who brings his enemies under his power only to release them; and who in turn finally relinquishes his sway over his world - including his power over nature itself. The Tempest contains elements ripe for tragedy: Prospero is a controlling figure bent on taking revenge for the wrongs done to him, and in his fury he has the potential to destroy not only his enemies, but his own humanity and his daughter's future.

    Read More

  • Brooklyn Academy of Music's Production of "The Tempest"

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nowledge on The Tempest, both that it is Shakespeare’s final play and believed to be his farewell to theater Mendes unifies Shakespeare and Prospero. Prospero’s actions can be unified to Shakespeare himself, specifically in the final scenes of the play when Prospero relinquishes his magical abilities.

    Read More

  • A Character Comparison of Macbeth and Prospero from Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Tempest

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    These two Shakespearean characters, Macbeth and Prospero, from Macbeth and The Tempest can greatly compare to one another. From the very beginning, these two men are hard to understand and seem like your average warrior and ruler. Both of these characters are dealing with struggle of power; however, they both deal with this issue in different, interesting ways with different results. At the end of these two plays, we meet two entirely different characters than the ones that we were introduced to from the beginning. In Macbeth and The Tempest by Shakespeare, Macbeth and Prospero, the two main characters have a lot in common and can great compare to one another.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Othello

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. _Othello_. (_The Arden Shakespeare_) ed. E.A.J. Honigmann. 3rd ed. Surrey: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1997.

    Read More

  • Essay on the Perfect Women of As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing

    2758 Words  | 6 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. The First Folio of Shakespeare: The Norton Facsimile. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1968.

    Read More

  • Anti-Colonialism in Shakespeare´s The Tempest Play

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through The Tempest play, William Shakespeare weaves together a tale that is characterized by anti-colonialist sentiments. Prospero - the deposed Milan Duke - adopts a colonialist mentality by treating his colleagues as slaves who have no rights. Characters who suffer mistreatment under Prospero include: Ariel - the spirit creature; Ferdinand - the Naples Prince; and Caliban - Sycorax’s son. Prospero possesses much magical power which he uses to oppress his compatriots. Consequently, Prospero is portrayed as a colonial tyrant who abuses his immense power. Anti-colonialism feelings are especially evident through the actions, utterances and disposition and of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel. To illustrate, Caliban berates Prospero for the former’s forced labor. Likewise, Ariel protests Prospero’s reluctance to release the former as earlier agreed. Miranda also expresses her dissatisfaction with Prospero’s unfair imprisonment of Ferdinand. Similarly, Ferdinand appears to challenge Prospero’s authority by briefly stopping dragging timber so as to flirt and chat with Miranda. The foregoing four characters exhibit conduct that highlights their displeasure with Prospero’s colonial-style authority over them. From the preceding expose, it can thus be concluded that Shakespeare’s The Tempest play is about anti-colonialism based on its depiction of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel’s opposition to Prospero’s oppressive authority.

    Read More

  • Othello is Not a Tragic Hero

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Love in Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest

    1958 Words  | 4 Pages

    Clark, W. G. and Wright, W. Aldis , ed. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 1. New York: Nelson-Doubleday

    Read More

  • Julie Taymore´s Film Interpretation of The Tempest by William Shakespeare

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, one of Shakespeare’s final plays and debat-ably his final play ever written, focused on man’s gluttonous desire for power. Power manifests itself in “The Tempest” in many different ways, including the exploration of the power of betrayal, the universal desire for power between men. The power of a mas-ter over his slave, and the power of magic and illusion. Although this is clear, many in-terpretations over time have changed regarding the theme of power, which has resulted in questions as to whether power in the play is represented as good or bad. Shakespeare pre-sents these forms of power in different ways. Namely, through his character Prospero, who was once the duke of Milan but was betrayed by his brother, Antonio, and Alonso, the king of Naples. Prospero was kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, but Prospero and his daughter survive because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero’s books, which are the source of his magic and power. Prospero and his daughter Miranda arrive on an island where Prospero takes control after the witch dies. Also on the island is the spirit, Ariel, and the witch’s son, Caliban. Prospero appears to hold the majority of the power throughout the play.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth And The Tempest Essay

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many important characters in the Shakespeare plays “Macbeth” and “The Tempest.” The characters that are in the play “Macbeth” are: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, The Three Weird Sisters, Macduff, Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, Fleance, Ross,Lennox, Lady Macduff, a Boy, Siward, Young Siward, a Scottish Doctor, a Gentlewoman, a Sergeant, a Porter, Hecate, a Messenger, Seyton, and Manteith (Personae). Many of these characters played a huge role in the play “Macbeth.” In the play “The Tempest” there is also several characters that had a important role in the play. Those characters are: Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, Gonzalo, Ariel, Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo (Smith). There are two characters from these plays that are very important from each play; those characters are Lady Macbeth from the play “Macbeth” and Ariel from “The Tempest.”

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Use of Language, Imagery and Setting to Illuminate Prospero's Journey from Revenge to Reconciliation

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare's Use of Language, Imagery and Setting to Illuminate Prospero's Journey from Revenge to Reconciliation

    Read More

  • Romance and Tragedy in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale

    1621 Words  | 4 Pages

    Clarke, Charles Cowden. Shakespeare-Characters; Chiefly those Subordinate. London: Smith & Elder, 1863. Reprinted by AMS Press, NY, 1974.

    Read More

More about Macbeth vs Tempest

Open Document