The Tempest is a 5 act and 9 Scene play composed by William Shakespeare in 1610. This play fits alongside Pericles, Cymbeline and The Winters Tale. It is a late tragic-comedy and the story draws heavily on the tradition of romances. Shakespeare wrote more romances towards the end of his life and The Tempest is said to have been his last play written alone.
Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan who was robbed from his title and his daughter Miranda have been stranded for 12 years on an island. Ariel, a spirit whom Prospero rescued from being trapped in a tree by the witch Sycorax, unwillingly serves Prospero, who is a sorcerer. Sycorax died before Prospero arrived on the island. Sycorax’s son Caliban, who can be seen as the indigenous character towards the island, is a deformed monster like figure being half man and half beast. Caliban taught Prospero how to successfully survive on the island and in return Prospero taught Caliban their language. Caliban has come to resent Prospero and in return Prospero treats him with repulsion.
Prospero unleashes a Tempest resulting in the shipwreck. Prospero then dispatches the survivors throughout the island. The storyline then separates into three narratives. One of the survivors is Ferdinand, who is the son of Alonso, finds Miranda, who is struck by love at first sight, with the help of Ariel. During this time Sebastian Alonso’s brother and Stephano plan to murder Alonso but Ariel sabotages this plot. Meanwhile Stephano a drunken butler from the shipwreck and Trinculo a jester also from the shipwreck share a few drinks with Caliban as they agree to murder Prospero making Caliban the ruler of the island. Ariel shares these ideas with Prospero. Prospero creates a magical banquet for Antonio Pro...
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...t. The first time we hear Prospero address Ariel she says “ come away, servant, come! I am ready now. Approach my Ariel”. This shows that Prospero does not see Ariel as an equal. Ariel is more willing to do what Prospero says because he knows that in return he will get his liberty, or freedom. It is clear that Ariel has great respect for his master and he addresses Prospero with “ All hail, great master, grave sir, hail!” Ariel reports to Prospero with delight after completing each task because he finds great satisfaction in pleasing his master. When Ariel becomes disappointed that he does not yet have his liberty he shortly becomes shameful for demanding freedom when his master Prospero still needs him. He is constantly reminded that the witch, Sycorax (or Caliban’s mother) detained him into a tree and that his only way to become free is by doing as Prospero says.
Ariel’s use of subtext communicated to Prospero that his power and consumption with vengeance was causing him to become inhumane. Prospero experiences an epiphany when Ariel says, “[m]ine would, sir, were I human” (V i, Shakespeare). Ariel points out to Prospero that his power is so strong and the revenge consuming him is making him into an evil person. Once Prospero has this moment of realization, he turns his behavior around by first denouncing his magic. Prospero shows how he is done using magic when he says, “[b]ut this rough magic I here abjure; and, when I have required…And deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book” (V i, Shakespeare). This illuminating episode and reveal of Prospero’s true character is used by Shakespeare as the casement to emphasize the inner meaning of the work. Shakespeare’s intended meaning of the work as a whole was that things such as hatred or revenge should never overcome and alter your true identity. Prospero exemplifies that revenge is a dangerous tool and can consume the one who uses it. Prospero’s epiphany allows him to find the human part of himself again and he has a realization that he should no longer be a
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).
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...
He frees Ariel, pardons Caliban, and plans to return to Milan where Miranda and Ferdinand will be married. Prospero gets everything he wants—his dukedom, a powerful son-in-law, and a return to society. Works Cited and Consulted Corfield, Cosmo. "Why Does Prospero Abjure His 'Rough Magic,'" Shakespeare Quarterly. 36 (1985): 31-4 8.
The Tempest reflects Shakespeare's society through the relationship between characters, especially between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban, who was the previous king of the island, is taught how to be "civilized" by Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Then he is forced to be their servant. Caliban explains "Thou strok'st me and make much of me; wo...
To expound, after running Alonzo’s ship aground, Ariel verbally demonstrates his opposition to Prospero’s forced servitude, thus alluding to the anti-colonial nature of The Tempest play. Believing that his master will free him one year earlier as agre...
Prospero enslaved the spirit Ariel or other-worldly figure of sorts. And in-turn Ariel causes a violent storm that causes the shipwreck in the opening scene, due to Prospero's request, thus bringing those back that caused Prospero to lose his dukedom. After which Ariel asked for his freedom having done his deed for Prospero, but Prospero denied his request, saying to Ariel time must be served first. Prospero continues with something of a guilt-instilling speech, reminding Ariel that he had freed him and Ariel becomes submissive once again saying, “all hail, great master, grave sir, hail! I come to answer thy best pleasure; beat to fly, to Swim, to dive into the fire, to ride, on the curled of clouds”(1,2,189-190). This shows Ariel’s language is that of someone being oppressed imprisoned or enslaved and such is the relationship that of a slave and a master. Prospero does not only oppress Ariel but also enslaves Caliban the once ruler of the island simply because Prospero believed his new ideas were much better meaning slavery over freedom, which he did impose on Caliban by saying “Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban, Whom now I keep in my service.” (Act. I, Sc. II, Ln. 285-286). Furthermore Prospero makes it even clearer what he thinks of Caliban the native that had helped Prospero to survive on the Island has
This interpretation of the play places more emphasis upon the character of the spirit Ariel, who could also be considered as a native of the island. Prospero frees Ariel from a tree and then enslaves the spirit to do his bidding under the promise of total freedom.
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's magic is a display of power, a power which he only foretells renouncing. While in some stage productions Prospero will break a staff or burn a book, the text itself switches from a future tense first person description of the renunciation, in the play, to a past tense description, in the epilogue; the event itself is never enacted. The precise moment at which Prospero destroys his books, however, is irrelevant, as his power lies not so much in them as in Ariel. Ariel is not given freedom until the King's ship "shall catch/ [the] royal fleet far off . . . Ariel . . . that is thy charge" (V.1 315-17). By retaining Ariel after the reconciliation Prospero remains empowered, a necessity in the event that Alonso suffers ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
A master servant theme can be seen throughout the whole play. Prospero has a this relationship with both Ariel and Caliban clearly, but it is the way he goes about the relationship. He prefers Ariel because he is more compliant than Caliban and has more uses. Prospero’s relationship with Caliban is more toxic. These show what kind of person Prospero really is. He is a manipulative person that is willing to whatever he needs to get what he wants. This is compared to how the colonists interacted with the Native Americans. They would trade and help each, and were able to tolerate them. Eventually the colonist learned what they needed and then turned their backs on