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
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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.
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Bard, Mitchell G. “Ferdinand & Isabella.” Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.
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
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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.
In summary, Shakespeare’s The Tempest play explores the theme of opposition to the colonial-style authority of Prospero based on various characters’ covert and overt reactions to the master’s antics. For instance, Ariel opposes Prospero’s continuous detention of the former regardless of an earlier agreement to the contrary. Moreover, Caliban expresses his dissatisfaction with the forced labor that her does for Prospero. To prove his opposition to Prospero’s authority, Caliban plans the master’s death. Miranda also makes a statement that indicates her displeasure with the way Prospero executes his authority especially with regard to Ferdinand. The imprisoned Ferdinand also indicates his opposition to Prospero’s power through a disproving statement made before Miranda.
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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.
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 ...
Prospero, the "rightful" duke of Milan, primarily seeks revenge against two people, Antonio and Caliban. But, Prospero allows his anger toward them to trickle to the other castaways on the island. He encourages Ariel to separate Sebastian, Duke Alonso's brother, from his son Ferdinand during the raging sea storm, causing Sebastian to assume his son has drowned. (1.2.213-224) The other "drunkards" on the island also feel the brunt of Prospero's revenge against Caliban when Ariel tempts them with a banquet stocked with alcohol and then disillusions them into thinking the banquet was a figment of their imagination. (2.1)
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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Prospero’s trust is broken with Caliban because he tried to rape Miranda. There is no evidence of rape, however Miranda was the only female on the island practically supports the idea. Caliban being a natural creature he would not know the different in societies rule against sexual engagement. Prospero learns from his second betrayal, apparently tyrannical state is revealed in verbal abuse ...
portray his degraded, brutish nature. In Act 1 Scene 2 Caliban complains of how Prospero used h...