The Rhetorical in the Music of The Tempest
In the midst of a Shakespearean play, there has and always will be a ghost that hovers over the actors and the audience. This is a ghost with a purpose, a ghost I call rhetoric. In every Shakespeare play, there exists an energy that has the power to persuade the audience to feel or believe something that Shakespeare believed. This energy breathes through the dialogue, the props and especially the music. The audience and the play engage in an exchange of question and answer to assist society in working through human dilemmas. What I hope to point out in this paper is how that ghost, rhetoric, manifests in the music in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest.
I assert that Ariel is a bridge, a sort of servant, not just to the character Prospero, but also to Shakespeare’s audience. In Peter Seng’s book, The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare, he reflects upon the idea that Shakespeare use of song was to incite characters to action. As Ariel sings, he is causing the characters to move into a certain dramatic action. Seng says, "Ariel draws Ferdinand from the coast to Miranda’s presence, by singing, ‘Come unto these yellow sands,’ and that in the second song Ariel ‘persuades the prince of his father’s death, thus recalling his grief and preparing him for a new and unreserved affection" (248). The purpose of Ariel’s song in the play, to call Ferdinand forward unto the island, was the plan of Prospero to get Ferdinand and his daughter Miranda together. He enchants them with his magic to fall in love when they meet. This relationship serves a rhetorical purpose for the Elizabethans as Seng suggests,
Ariel is here issuing an invitation to the dance. It is addressed to Ferdinand. Miranda, t...
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Throughout the play, Prospero is a figure who talks at rather than to the other characters, including his daughter Miranda, Prince Ferdinand, and Ariel, his airy servant. At the end of Act IV Prospero is caught up in the ecstasy of punishing and determining the fate of his foes. The beginning of Act V, however, marks a change in the character of Prospero, which averts a possible tragedy. Prospero is unsettled even though his plans are reaching fruition. In his talk with Ariel for the first time we see an actual conversation take place. In addition, in the line "...And mine shall." (Shakespeare V.i.20) we see a change of heart on the part of Prospero, and in the following monologue the audience is privy to introspection and contemplation even beyond that of the end of the masque in Act IV "We are such stuff as dreams are made on..."(Shakespeare).
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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.
Ariel brings compassion and sympathy to situations where those two characteristics are hidden in power seeking Prospero. Gradually throughout the play Ariel is able to provoke understanding and sympathy from Prospero, by using reasoning to decide what Prospero needs and wants to hear about the men on the island. Through Ariel, Shakespeare influences the final choices of the play. Prospero decided to allow the men to return to their normal mindset, rather than a weak and pathetic state. Ariel guides Prospero to find his way out of a controlling and power seeking mindset, into a compassionate man and father. Shakespeare proves through compassion, sympathy, reason, and cleverness one can be successful. Ariel is not only successful in manipulating Prospero, but he is also successful in effectively completing his tasks for Prospero and eventually becoming a free spirit.