Motif The Tempest

1730 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on analysis of Tempest

The World Of The Tempest
Plot
Fourteen years before the play unfolds, the antagonist, Prospero is forced to flee the kingdom of Naples. His brother, Antonio, ruthlessly usurps his position as Duke of Milan, causing him to escape, thought dead, with his daughter Miranda. Now living on an undiscovered island whose inhabitants consist only of the evil witch, Sycorax and her son, Caliban and her slave, the spirit Ariel. As Prospero and Miranda arrive on the island, Caliban shows them its beauties and secrets. Making the island home, Prospero takes Caliban as his slave and frees Ariel from his/her painful ties to Sycorax. Fourteen years passed, Prospero has taken to practicing with magic so he can take revenge on those that plotted against him. …show more content…

Prospero uses magic to manipulate and control the island and those on it. He also uses the spirit, Ariel, to help achieve his desires. Prospero has his cape and wand and most importantly his books that appear the source of all his knowledge. Magic is what causes the ship to wreck in the beginning and continues to haunt the stranded noblemen.

Storm
As the play itself is called ‘The Tempest’, the storm acts as a symbol. It presents all the suffering and hardship Prospero endured himself; breaking down the ship and its royal voyagers as Prospero was broken down himself.

Acting Style
An overarching summary of the acting style in ‘The Tempest’ would be Melodramatic. This means their are the stock, stereotypical characters: The hero which is Prospero, the heroine which is Miranda, the joker which is Trinculo and Stephano, the villain who is Antonio, the villains accomplice who is Sebastian, the faithful servant who is Caliban and the lover, who is Ferdinand. Each of these characters would be exaggerated according to there stereotype. Melodramatic acting also presents emotions bigger and over the top; as suited to the Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre spaces and

Show More
Related

  • Archetype In The Tempest

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    The imagery of water is utilized to express Prospero’s sadness and misery. ‘’ When I have deck’d the sea with drops full salt,/ Under my burthen groan’d;’’ (Shakespeare, I, ii, 155-156), describes Prospero conveying his despair when Antonio, his brother, took his throne away from him by saying he had so many tears that they could have filled the sea. This shows to the audience how valuable his throne and kingdom were to Prospero. Water is an archetype that means life and growth. When his throne was taken away from him, Prospero ‘’grew’’ and became a different person. He had new goals and determination in life. In addition, the imagery of the sea and wind are also used to provoke emotion from the audience. The images used in the collage are of the sea and the wind blowing together. The quote used with the collage expresses the sadness Prospero went through. This helps the audience have a deeper understanding from Prospero’s perspective and the right he has to be angry and vengeful for all of the

    Read More

  • The Tempest: 3 Differences Between the Play and the Movie

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Tempest” is a play written by William Shakespeare in early 1600s that has been previewed in different kinds of movies, such as the one made in 2010, directed by Julie Taymor. It is a play containing themes such as; revenge, allusion, retribution, forgiveness, power, love and hatred. When it is compared to the play, there are specific differences seen in the movie, such as; Prospero is reflected as a woman in the movie. The time differences between the play and the movie and how the spirit Ariel is shown as a white man in the movie. The play starts with the story of Prospero, the Duke of Milan. He gets banished from Italy and was cast to sea by his brother Antonio. He has perfected his skills during twelve years of exile on a lonely island. Prospero creates the tempest to make his enemies’ ship to wreck and lead them to the island. Meanwhile, Antonio takes Prospero’s place and starts to make everyone believe he is the duke and makes an agreement with the King of Naples, Alonso. Besides the drama happening in the island, Prospero forgives Alonso and the others.

    Read More

  • Vengeance and Forgiveness in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before considering the purpose of Prospero's experiment, we should note how central to all his magic Ariel is. And Ariel is not human but a magical spirit who has been released from natural bondage (being riven up in a tree) by Prospero's book learning. The earlier inhabitants of the island, Sycorax and Caliban, had no sense of how to use Ariel, and so they simply imprisoned him in the world which governs them, raw nature. Prospero's power depends, in large part, on Ariel's release and willing service. In that sense, Ariel can be seen as some imaginative power which makes the effects of the theatre (like lightning in the masts of the boat) possible. One of the great attractions of this view of the play as a celeb...

    Read More

  • The Tempest

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ith humane care, and lodged their in mine own cell, till thou did’st seek to violate the honour of my child”(Act I, Scene II, 343-348). Prospero believed that Caliban had this coming to him, and should he had been a vengeful man could have killed him. From these examples we see that Prospero perceives his power over all since he had spared them from horrible existences and given then a taste of the civilized world. Lastly, Prospero believed so deeply that since he was the first noble to set foot on the island that it was his right to claim it as his own. For before him this isle was nothing till he brought his language, education, and culture to it.

    Read More

  • Prospero’s Abuse of Power in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    He takes advantage of his authority over the people and situations he encounters while wearing a facade of integrity and compassion to disguise his wily intentions and to retain love and respect. In Act I of the play, Prospero finally tells Miranda the woeful story of how she and he arrived on the island. From the beginning, Prospero plays his subjects and his sympathetic audience as pawns in his game of manipulation. He explains that twelve years ago he was the Duke of Milan, but being enthralled with his studies, he left most of the governmental responsibilities to his brother Antonio. Antonio, hungry to be "Absolute Milan" himself (1:2, p.6), proceeded to betray him with the help of King Alonso of Naples.

    Read More

  • Individualism vs. Conformity

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...acter, who is patriotic and stands by what he beliefs, attributes that are important even today. His final decisions exemplify his courage, his loyalty and his individualism, urging the reader to follow these traits of Okonkwo into the 21st century, but also see history from more than one point of view. On the other hand, the Tempest illustrates the world of Elizabethan England, with Prospero being Shakespeare, who had to cater to his rich and poor audiences, in order to make a living. His play might end as a light comedy but it shows the serious restraints of society, where no one is free to act according to his own thoughts and one’s fate rests in the hands of someone else. These two stories, while different in so many ways, challenge the audience to think about life today and see how much the aspects of conformity and individualism continue to battle to this day.

    Read More

  • Essay on Social Hierarchy in The Tempest

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    During Shakespeare's time social classification was much more rigid than today and some members of society were considered superior to other members. Shakespeare provides an example of this rigid social structure through his play, The Tempest. Shakespeare illustrates how superior men differentiated themselves from lesser beings on the basis of race, financial status, and gender. Through the character of Prospero, Shakespeare provides and example of one, who had reason to feel superior, yet treated others equally and with the respect due to them.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's The Tempest - Is Prospero Good or Evil?

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having been usurped and wrecked on an Island Prospero and his young daughter Miranda have to settle. It is here in Prospero's past that it first clear to see where any confusion about his character may appear. As a learned and powerful man Prospero is able to take direct control of the island, he frees a trapped and tortured spirit (Ariel) and befriends the inhabitants (Caliban). Prospero 'helps' Caliban, he tries to educate him and teaches him to communicate, in exchange Caliban helps Prospero to survive on the Island. But in taking power of the Island Prospero is committing the same act that happened to him as Duke of Milan, now Prospero himself has become the usurper. In this act of goodness Prospero has unknowingly shown his evil side.

    Read More

  • Deception in The Tempest

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play opens with a fearful tempest threatening to destroy the king's ship and all of its passengers. This situation along with the terrified emotions of the characters appears to the reader to be very real. However, in the second scene, the reader meets Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Through their conversation we learn of Prospero's magical powers, his brother's unjust claim as the Duke of Milan, and the exile of the two to this mysterious island. Next unveiled is Prospero's plot of revenge to regain his rightful title, the first step being to shipwreck the royal party on his island with the creation of the magical tempest. The reality of the situation is that there never was any danger from the storm at all.

    Read More

  • Relationship between Prospero, Caliban and Ariel in The Tempest

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest is set on a mysterious island surrounded by the ocean. Here the magician Prospero is ruler of the isle with his two servants Caliban and Ariel.  Caliban is the abrasive, foul-mouthed son of the evil witch Sycorax. When Prospero was shipwrecked on the island Prospero treated him kindly but their relationship changed when Caliban tried to rape Prospero's daughter, Miranda. Caliban then became Prospero's unwilling servant. Caliban serves his master out of fear Prospero's wrath. Prospero's other servant Ariel is a graceful spirit who has courtesy and charm. Ariel has put her services at Prospero's disposal out of gratitude for his kind actions towards her. Prospero saved Ariel from the confinement of Sycorax who held her prisoner.

    Read More

  • Sycorax in The Tempest

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the background characters hold great importance in the overall plot of the play. Characters such Sycorax establishes the setting of the play, providing the readers with background knowledge leading up to the play. Sycorax, in many ways, serves as a mirror image to Prospero. However, as Frey and Skura suggests in their literatures, The Tempest reflects much about the events happening in the real world (Frey, Skura). The life of Sycorax is a representation of what’s happening in the Old World as well as the New World.

    Read More

  • Illusion and Reality in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    To reassure her further, he continues by explaining his motives in creating the storm. Here the reader learns that Prospero and Antonio are brothers, and that Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan but that his brother usurped his kingdom and exiled Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Fortune saved the two from their rotting ship which had been set to drift, and brought them to the island where Prospero has been granted supernatural powers by the enemies of Antonio. From the above description, it is clear that the play embraces both the natural and the supernatural world. Twelve years before the action takes place, we are told that Prospero was a prince who had a different type of power than he has now.

    Read More

  • Revenge in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    3160 Words  | 7 Pages

    The nucleus of the plot in Shakespeare's The Tempest revolves around Prospero enacting his revenge on various characters who have wronged him in different ways. Interestingly enough, he uses the spirit of Ariel to deliver the punishments while Prospero delegates the action. Prospero is such a character that can concoct methods of revenge but hesitates to have direct involvement with disillusioning his foes. In essence, Prospero sends Ariel to do his dirty work while hiding his involvement in shipwrecking his brother, Antonio, from his daughter, Miranda.

    Read More

  • Elements of the Masque in The Tempest

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Tempest was written when masques were becoming exceedingly popular in England, and were often performed at weddings to honor marriages. The Tempest is heavily influenced by elements of the masque, and can be performed with the same purposes as one, although it is far too rich to be classified simply into that genre of plays.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Justice In The Tempest

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sometimes it takes any advantage to attain power. Prospero secures power on the island through his use of magic and manipulation. He is in control of all of the events in the play since he essentially has all of the power. It is also revealed how he maintains his power by exploring the use of his manipulative magic and the hold he has over those around him. By using his magical influence over the natives he has enslaves, Prospero invokes fear in Ariel by stating, “If you complain any more, I’ll split an oak tree and lock you up in it till you’ve howled for twelve years” (Shakespeare 37). He uses his power as a fear tactic to make the native people do his bidding for him. He also uses his magic against those he has shipwrecked on the island. He puts them in a trance to keep him busy until he needs them again, “My magic powers are in full swing, and my enemies are confused and running around in circles. They’re under my control, and I’m keeping them in their crazy fits” (Shakespeare 143). By entrancing the men from the boat, Prospero can keep them under his bid until he sets himself on a course of action. As he states, “.., my enemies have happened to wreck their ship on this island. As I see it, my fate hangs on this lucky event”, he must be precise in how he handles cultivates these people or he will risk the possibility of his plan unraveling before him (Shakespeare 27). The idea behind him having magic is to set him apart

    Read More

More about Motif The Tempest

Open Document