Who Is The Most Powerful In The Tempest

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When it comes to power, it can be many things. Power can be a good or bad thing depending on who is in control of the power and whether they will use it accordingly. To have the most power in a situation does not necessarily make someone the most powerful, but rather gives them a false sense of being the most powerful. In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Ariel is the most powerful character because he can do the most powerful magic, he is good-hearted, and he is not human. To begin, Ariel can do more powerful magic than anyone else the play. In the beginning of the play Prospero calls for Ariel and asks him if the task he has requested has been completed. Ariel enthusiastically lets Prospero know he has set the King’s ship on fire and that he has …show more content…

Prospero is pleased with Ariel’s work, but quickly reminds Ariel that there is more magic to be done. Ariel politely reminds Prospero that he has been promised his freedom soon , but Prospero takes Ariel's implications offensively and feels he must harshly remind Ariel of his past when he says, “Thou liest, malignant thing. Hast thou forgot/ The foul witch Sycorax, who with age/Was grown into a hoop? Hast thou forgot her?”(pg.31, 308-311). Ariel listens to Prospero’s remarks and asks Prospero for forgiveness. Prospero tells Ariel to finish his tasks without complaining and Prospero will set him free in two days. Prospero knows that he needs Ariel’s magic and that is why he gets so upset when Ariel reminds him of his freedom. It is quite obvious to the reader by this point that Prospero has a clear motive and that after the next two days Prospero will no longer need Ariel’s magic. That being said, Ariel is necessary to Prospero if he wants to successfully claim revenge on his brother Antonio. Prospero’s next task for Ariel is to retrieve Ferdinand so that he can fall in love with Miranda. In the text the stage directions note that Ariel is invisible, “Enter...Ariel, invisible” (pg.39, btm.). Prospero

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