Theme Of The Monster In The Tempest

On first glance, The Tempest is a romp through a fantasy land, everyone coming out unscathed and changed for the better. However, the two slaves in the work are ill-treated by their masters, and learn (and in turn, teach) a much different lesson than the lovers or the would-be murderers. Everyone in this play is either a man or a monster, and often times, the monster is not the one we would expect. William Shakespeare examines the idea of man vs. monster in The Tempest by challenging preconceived notions of good and evil within the moral codes of each main character. Shakespeare wrote many plays, and his morals seemed to fit with that of the time period - “faith in human reason was unshakeable”, and they preferred an “empirical and analytical approach” to issues (Dewald, et. al., vol 4: 460-461). “The Tempest was intended as Shakespeare’s farewell to the theatre” (“William Shakespeare”), and many scholars interpret the character of Prospero as being Shakespeare himself, as “He behaves like a dramatist in charge of the whole play as well, arranging her life and that of the other characters” (“William

Prospero is falsely sweet with Ariel, but doesn’t bother to do the same with Caliban. He seems to have wanted Caliban to revolt, in order to teach him a lesson before he leaves him and the other spirits on the island. He continues to dangle freedom in Ariel’s face like a carrot on a stick: “Shortly shall all my labors end, and thou / Shalt have the air at freedom” (Tmp. 4. 1. 295-296). It is worth contemplation that Prospero never really carries out the magic himself - he commands Ariel to do it for him. Perhaps Prospero never had magic powers, he was merely clever enough to use his book learning to make those less knowledged than him obey