The Theme of Loss in The Tempest
Shakespeare's play, The Tempest tells the story of a father, Prospero, who must let go of his daughter; who brings his enemies under his power only to release them; and who in turn finally relinquishes his sway over his world - including his power over nature itself. The Tempest contains elements ripe for tragedy: Prospero is a controlling figure bent on taking revenge for the wrongs done to him, and in his fury he has the potential to destroy not only his enemies, but his own humanity and his daughter's future.
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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...est: An Interpretation." In The Tempest: A Casebook. Ed. D.J. Palmer. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1968. 225.
Kermode, Frank. Introduction. The Tempest. By William Shakespeare. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1958. xlii.
Palmer, D. J. (Editor) The Tempest - A Selection of Critical Essays London: MacMillan Press Ltd., 1977.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans, et. al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974.
Solomon, Andrew. "A Reading of the Tempest." In Shakespeare's Late Plays. Ed. Richard C. Tobias and Paul G. Zolbrod. Athens: Ohio UP, 1974. 232.
John Wilders' lecture on The Tempest given at Oxford University - Worcester College - August 4th, 1999.
Plessy vs Ferguson was a case decided in 1896 by the US Supreme Court involving the constitutional law on racial segregation. The plaintiff (Plessy) was arrested for violating Separate Car Act enacted in 1890 which allowed the state of Louisiana provide distinct accommodation for whites and blacks on the railroads. In 1892 the plaintiff was arrested and taken to court for violating the Act for using railways preserved for whites. The Supreme Court in a majority ruling of 7-1 upheld the state laws on racial segregation. Plessy was fined $25 for violating the law.
The law required that every one railroad running in the state offer equal but distinct accommodations for gray and African American passengers and prohibited passengers from getting into accommodations besides those to which they'd been given on the foundation of the race of theirs. In 1891 a number of Creole professionals in Orleans that is new created the Citizens' Committee to test the Constitutionality of Separate Car Law. They recruited Albion Tourgee Reconstruction-era judge, and public reformer, as the legal counsel of theirs. As plaintiff within the examination situation, the committee chose a person of mixed race to help its contention which the law couldn't be consistently applied since it failed to determine the colored and white races. Homer Plessy, that was seven eighths grayed and one-eighth African American, bought a rail ticket for traveling within Louisiana and also took a seat in an automobile reserved for cream passengers. (The express Supreme Court had ruled previously which the law couldn't be put on to interstate travel.) After declining to shift to an automobile for African Americans, he was arrested as welled as charged with violating the Separate automobile Act. At Plessy's trial found U.S. District Court, Judge John H. Ferguson dismissed the contention of his that the action was unconstitutional. After the express Supreme Court affirmed the district court's
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Inc., 1997.
In this brief examination of the Tempest, it becomes obvious that the play is a mirror image of the progression of events in the Bible. This use of Christian elements in the play is not obvious upon first reading the play, but becomes undeniable as the action progresses. The motif of Christianity in other Shakespearean works is not as structured and in-depth as the motif found in the Tempest.
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. When Miranda asks why they were not killed, Prospero sighs, "Dear, they durst not,/ so dear the love my people bore me" (1:2, p.7). From the beginning, Prospero portrays himself as a distinguished scholar and beloved leader unjustly victimized by his power-hungry brother. Who would suspect such a humble man of being psychologically manipulative? Prospero succeeds in deceiving many with this credible guise.
In 1896, Supreme Court decided the fate of thousands of Americans in the Supreme Court case of Plessy v.s. Ferguson. Homer Plessy sat in the white designed railroad car,of which he purchased a first class ticket for, and was arrested because being 1/8 black he had violated the Seperate Car
In 1896, Justice Henry Billings Brown made it clear in the majority opinion he wrote for Plessy v. Ferguson, that segregation of all facilities was constitutional under the doctrine “separate but equal”. Though this opinion was supported by most Americans at the time, John Marshall Harlan wrote a dissent expressing how segregation was promoting the concept of ‘white supremacy’ and creating hate between white and colored people. Considered a landmark of constitutional law, the Plessy v. Ferguson case reveals a lot about the stigma around its time. Colored people lost their right to equality, liberty, and consent at this time, due to the decision made on this case. It is what led to mass segregation and racism in the United States. Plessy v.
Clark, W. G. and Wright, W. Aldis , ed. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 1. New York: Nelson-Doubleday
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Snider, Denton J. "A review of The Tempest." The Shakespearian Drama a Commentary: The Comedies. (1890). Rpt. Scott. 320-324.
colonising discourse and expanding territory. The Tempest thus incorporates concerns of the Jacobean 17th century context, used to naturalise the resolution.
From all this, it is clear that, in a general sense, Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, is a drama of lost illusions, bitter wisdom and fragile hope, as many characters go through that cycle (lost illusions, leading to bitter wisdom and ending with fragile hope), or various parts of it. Also, this description can be used in a more precise manner, when dealing solely with individual characters, particularly Prospero, Miranda, Alonso and Ferdinand.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest, edited by Louis B. Weight and Virginia A. LaMar, published by Pocket Books, New York, 1961.
The Tempest. Arden Shakespeare, 1997. Print. Third Series Smith, Hallet Darius. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest; A Collection of Critical Essays, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969.
Shakespeare, William, and Robert Woodrow Langbaum. The Tempest: With New and Updated Critical Essays and A Revised Bibliography. New York, NY, USA: Signet Classic, 1998. Print.