Prospero as an Ideal Ruler in The Tempest
Prospero's magical powers allow him to single-handedly take control of a situation of slowly developing chaos, caused by his eviction from Milan, and turn the plot of The Tempest. Prospero has powers over his surroundings, far greater than those of an ordinary mortal, and he uses them for good in the course of the play. This essay will discuss whether Prospero combines his magic with power over the self, and whether Shakespeare actually presents him as an ideal ruler.
Although we hear the story of Prospero's eviction from Milan from him, the manner in which he tells his history inspires distrust -- Prospero is pompous, self-pitying and apparently unforgiving. The nature of Prospero's rule as revealed by Act I is not pleasant. When duke of Milan, he trusted his brother Antonio too much, and consequently nearly lost his life, as well as his dukedom. On the island, he befriended Caliban, brought him into his house and treated him as a member of the family -- and repeated the pattern of trust, which was again betrayed, when Caliban attempted to rape Miranda. Although Prospero learns from this second betrayal, he goes to the other extreme. Prospero's apparently tyrannical stance is revealed in his exile and verbal abuse of Caliban, as well as his tirade and threat to imprison Ariel again "till / Thou hast howl'd away twelve winters".
Aside from the sin of tyranny, Prospero also seems unforgiving towards Caliban and Antonio. When we see Caliban willingly serving Stephano and Trinculo, we begin to realize that Caliban is not evil of himself, and could in fact be a most affectionate servant. Seeing Caliban fear cramps and speak of Prospero as a "tyrant", Shakespear...
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Shakespeare does not present us the perfect ruler immediately. Instead, he develops Prospero from a basically good, but flawed man, to one who, while retaining some vanity and therefore some imperfection, will certainly act in a manner befitting an ideal leader.
Works Cited and Consulted
Corfield, Cosmo. "Why Does Prospero Abjure His 'Rough Magic,'" Shakespeare Quarterly. 36 (1985): 31-4 8.
Levin, Harry. "Two Magian Comedies: 'The Tempest' and 'The Alchemist,'" Shakespeare Survey . 22 (1969): 47-58.
Miko, Stephen J. "Tempest," ELH. 49 (1982): 1-17.
Mowat, Barbara A. "Prospero, Agrippa, and Hocus Pocus," English Literary Renaissance. 11 (1981): 281-3 03.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Frank Kermode. London: Methuen, 1962.
West, Robert. Shakespeare and the Outer Mystery. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1968.
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In Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, the character Prospero embarks on a journey of self discovery, undergoing a transformation that allows him to achieve a renewed perception of himself and others Prospero who was initially a duke, but later overruled by
By using identified gene mutations that are known to cause diseases, asymptomatic individuals are able to discover if they are at risk for specific genetic conditions; this is known as genetic testing. Unfortunately, genetic testing can vary in its predictive ability. For example, Huntington disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Fragile X syndrome and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 are conditions that can be determined by genetic testing (Samen, 1996). In contrast, for multifaceted diseases like Alzheimer’s, breast and ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer, predisposition can be determined with genetic testing. However, an absolute diagnosis of those diseases cannot be made (Heshka et al., 2008).
Prospero’s Abuse of Power in The Tempest. In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda on a deserted island. On the surface, he appears to be a benevolent leader doing his best to protect and care for the inhabitants of the island, especially for Miranda. On closer inspection, however, Prospero plays God, controlling and creating each individual to fit the mold he desires.
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.
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.
Prospero appears to be a ruthless tyrant that strikes fear into Caliban to make him work but further on in the text we learn that this is not the case. Caliban's foul-mouthed insults,
The play, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare is a very cleverly thought out piece of work. Shakespeare very deliberately inter-relates several different forms of power during the course of the play. There is political power, shown through the plethora of political characters and their schemes, while at the same time parodied by the comic characters. The power of magic and love, and its ability to reunite and absolve also plays a major role in the play. Throughout the play, Prospero, the main character, takes great advantage of his power and authority, both properly and improperly. The epiphany of this however, is realized at the end of the play.
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Prospero and Lear are, without a doubt, the two most compelling mature figures in Shakespeare. In a way, one is the flip side, so to speak, of the other. Each represents an aging man's relationship to family, environment, and, most importantly, himself. One might even be so bold as to venture that had Lear lived, he might, through the enormity of his painful transformation, have become a character much like Prospero, a man who has learned bitter lessons from his intercourse with the world and has utilized them to create his own unique reality, becoming, finally, the true master of his destiny.
Diversity is defined as race, gender, age, language, physical characteristics, disability, sexual orientation, economic status, parental status, education, geographic origin, profession, life-style, religion, personality, position in the company hierarchy and any other difference[3]. In other words, diversity refers to ...
But why the tendency toward revenge in the first place? What was it about the personality and mental disposition of Prospero that caused him to lust for revenge against his brother, Antonio? And Caliban. Why couldn't Prospero overlook his social naïveté when it came to handling a woman? (1.2.350) In this portion of the website, I will examine those questions and attempt to provide an answer and an insight into the psychology of Prospero.
The illusions of justice and freedom, and what they truly are, has been a reoccurring theme throughout the works. The definitions of justice and freedom have become so construed throughout the times. In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero tries to enthrall his audience in his narrative of social justice. The idea of justice the play portrays represents one individual who controls the fate of all others. Their freedom is controlled by the interference of those around them. Although he spends most of the play righting the wrongs done to him, he is misdirecting so to hide his true motive. Prospero misconstrues the definitions of justice and freedom by enslaving Ariel and Caliban, using magic for his own good, and creating a false happy
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