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Theme of forgiveness and reconciliation in the tempest
Power and control in the tempest
Theme of forgiveness and reconciliation in the tempest
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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.
Nearly every scene in the play, either intentionally or unintentionally, portrays a struggling relationship between a figure that possesses power and a figure that is suppressed by that power. The play explores the relationship between master and servant very dynamically. In the opening scene, the boatswain (servant) is very oppressive towards the noble men (master) due to their sophomoric attitude in a dangerous situation like that. This is especially visible when Antonio, the usurping Duke of Milan, asks the boatswain where the master is, to this, the boatswain replies, “Do you not hear him? You mar our labour. Keep your cabins! You do assist the storm,” (1.1.11-12). After being told to be patient, the boatswain once again replies with strong attitude, “What cares these roarers for the name of king/None that I more love than myself,” (1.1.14-17). This shows that despite the noble men having great amounts of political “authority” over the boatswain, they do not have enough “power” to substantiate that. This authority is not gained by strength or inheritance, but knowledge. ...
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...on seeing Ferdinand for the very first time, Miranda says that he is “the third man that e’er I saw,” (1.2.449) This shows the audience that Prospero’s power of love and magic have worked again, since Miranda has fallen in love with Ferdinand. This time however, Prospero used his daughter as bait in order to draw Ferdinand closer in the hopes of getting them married. He wants to regain his title as the Duke of Milan.
Prospero presents himself as a victim of injustice, however his belief of justice and injustice is somewhat contradicting. He takes advantage of this authority over other people and situations he encounters while using his integrity and compassion to mask his dangerous plans and to retain love and respect. The Tempest in the end suggests that love and compassion are more effective political tools than violence, hatred or even abusive magic.
Confronting experiences may prompt inner discoveries which result in the re-evaluation of the importance of power. Shakespeare’s The Tempest follows Prospero, an exiled megalomaniac’s plan to exact revenge
In the comedic, yet thrilling play, The Tempest, William Shakespeare uses characters such as Caliban, Alonso, and Ariel to show Prospero’s immense cruelness and pure monstrosity. Moreover, these Shakespearean characters are also used to highlight Prospero’s change in character into a kinder and more forgiving person. Prospero starts the play out as a vengeful monster, after an illuminating moment however, his persona transforms into his true identity of a compassionate man.
This is presented through the emotive language of Miranda “I have suffered with those that are suffering”, through the empathy that is displayed by Miranda the violent action of Prospero on the ship that carries Antonio and the royals are demonstrated. Through this violent action Prospero demonstrates his desire to get revenge on all the people that have harmed him and his daughter. However, Prospero also commands Ariel to protect the people on board, coupled with this, the metaphor “The government I cast upon my brother and to my state grew stranger” shows that he is on the path to self-enlightenment due to his acknowledgement of his own downfall. Prospero through the order to protect the people and the use of the personal pronoun in the metaphor displays that he has identified his own role in his downfall. By accepting his role he is able to start to forgive Antonio and progress on the path to enlightenment. However, he is presented to not have reached complete self-enlightenment through his vengeful treatment of Caliban seen through the metaphor “A devil, a born devil on whose nature, nurture can never stick”. Through this metaphor, he illustrates that he
“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.
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.
Here, the imaginative sympathy for the sufferings of others leads to an active intervention based upon "virtue" rather than "vengeance." This is a key recognition in the play: virtue expressed in forgiveness is a higher human attribute than vengeance. And in the conclusion of the play, Prospero does not even mention the list of crimes against him. He simply offers to forgive and accept what has happened to him, in a spirit of reconciliation. Unlike other Shakespeare plays, the ending of The Tempest requires neither the death nor the punishment of any of the parties.
... For instance, Miranda and Ferdinand believe that they have chosen each other, when in fact Prospero orchestrated their falling in love from the outset. By using reverse psychology to make the couple think he does not approve of Ferdinand, Prospero catalyzes a rebellion against himself with the purpose of bringing the couple together. In the end, Prospero reveals himself to King Alonso and his men.
kindness and innocence portray heart" (line 8/9) and this contrasts. to her father who is not as concerned as she is "Tell your piteous heart there's no harm done" (line 14). Prospero's power and control over Miranda is something that really stands out, "obey and be attentive" (line 38) and it is clear that she. respects him, "my dearest father" (line 1.) At first one may presume that Prospero is an evil man for causing the tempest, but I feel that He loves Miranda very much and would do anything to protect her.
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.
But with Prospero informing Miranda of this at such a late stage in her life is this Prospero as a control freak only allowing his daughter Miranda to know the truth when he feels it is time or is it Prospero being caring keeping this information from Miranda until she is of an age when she can fully understand who she is and where she came from?, again it is not clear to see if Prospero's intentions are for his own good or the good of his daughter.
Ferdinand and Miranda’s type of relationship shows Shakespeare’s ideas about true love, recognising not just the emotional side of love, but the physical nature too. Miranda promises Ferdinand “The jewel in my dower” which is her virginity, a prized thing in Jacobean times. This knowledge would have been known by Shakespeare’s audience and knowing this helps us to understand Prospero’s protection of his daughter from Caliban.
The Tempest, like any text, is a product of its context. It is constructed in relation to moral or ethical concerns of 17th century European Jacobean society. The resolution of conflict appears 'natural' or an inevitable consequence if regarded in relation to the concerns of its context. The resolution of conflict in this play incorporates Prospero being returned to his 'rightful' or natural position as Duke of Milan, his daughter Miranda getting married to Ferdinand, and the party returning to Milan leaving the island to the 'monster', Caliban. The resolution is a consequence of the concerns of the time, including the idea of the divine right of kings, courtly love, and colonisation.
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
Prospero uses the power of love to influence his daughter Miranda. Prospero knows that Miranda is devoted to him so he uses guilt to maintain her devotion. Miranda tells her father “Alack, what trouble/Was I then to you!” (I.2.153.154) her saying that to him shows that because of Prospero making her feel guilty, she is willing to do anything just for him. “Had I been any god of power, I would/Have sunk the sea within the earth…” (I.2.10.11). This quote indicates that she understood the extent of her father’s power and she had possessed the same amount of power, she would use it differently with Prospero. His power over Miranda is one that is continuously in this play. Prospero does say “I have done nothing, but in care of thee, /of thee, my dearest one…”(I.2.16.17) when he says that he makes it known that he does love his daughter and only trying to protect.