Examples Of Politics In Dr Faustus And The Tempest

Shakespeare’s King Lear and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus are two examples of early modern texts, one a tragedy and the other a morality play respectively, which deal with the theme of power at the crux of its narrative. Between both texts it is evident that different characters utilize their power or authority differently – some ‘unwisely’ whilst some ‘maliciously’. In either case, the use of power progresses the plays and drives the majority of main characters.

    In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda on a deserted island.  On the surface, he appears to be a benevolent leader doing his best to protect and care for the inhabitants of the island, especially for Miranda.  On closer inspection, however, Prospero plays God, controlling and creating each individual to fit the mold he desires.  He takes advantage of his authority over the people and situations he encounters while wearing a facade of integrity and compassion to disguise his wily intentions and to retain love and respect.

Prospero enslaves Caliban and Ariel, seizing the island for him and Miranda, just like Alonso and Antonio had done to him. The rightful ruler of the island is Caliban, and although Caliban at one time tried to rape Miranda, Prospero repeatedly punishes him for this one event that occurred much before this play takes place. Prospero initially “helps” Caliban by educating him and in exchange, Caliban taught Prospero and Miranda how to survive on the island. Prospero uses the act of attempted-rape to justify his seizure of the island. This take-over should have been enough punishment but Prospero enslaves Caliban, threatening to hurt him if he does not do his bidding. By endlessly punishing Caliban, Prospero inadvertently shows his malicious side. Although Prospero freed Ariel from the tree he was bound inside, Prospero blackmails Ariel and essentially enslaves him too. Prospero repeatedly tells Ariel that he will set him free but, it seems as if that is an empty

Prospero's intent throughout the course of The Tempest is neither to revenge himself upon his enemies, nor to reconcile himself with his estranged brother. It is, rather, to orchestrate the reclamation of his lost duchy, Milan, through both his magic and a shrewd manipulation of both the shipwrecked party and the islanders (Caliban and Miranda).

Originally, he was a fair duke that showed love to everyone he met; however, his love of magic gets him exiled by his own brother. Once on the island of his banishment, Prospero develops monstrous characteristics of greed and domination. He imposes his beliefs upon initial inhabitants by teaching them his own language so that they could communicate with him (Tempest. I.ii.352-364). Prosper felt he had the superior form of communication and higher level of intellect, so the previous occupants should have to learn his language. He also forced his self-proclaimed authority on this creature who was the birth-right land-owner. This creature, Caliban, is upset and claims, “This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou tak’st from me” (Tempest. I.ii.331-332). Just as Prospero’s kingdom was taken from himself, he retaliated by taking Caliban’s kingdom from him. To do this, Prospero enslaved Caliban as well as another he finds on the island through use of his magic and forces them to do his menial tasks. It is through his exploiting and dominating actions that Prospero is seen as a monster. He cultivated his supremacy over everyone to a malicious extent that he was a malevolent monster disguised as a

Caliban’s strong emotional attachment to the island in The Tempest motivates him to actively respect nature. During Caliban 's first interaction with Prospero in the play, he states, “This Island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother.” This assertion of dominion by Caliban sparks a desire for him to protect the nature on the island. As a result, he values nature like it is an extension of himself and strives to maintain harmony with it. Caliban follows this up by reminding Prospero, “And then I loved thee and show 'd thee all the

Shakespeare's "The Tempest" forms a world within itself. Within this world, many topics regarding government, power and colonization are addressed. Shakespeare tackles the discovery of new places and races, the relationship between the colonized and the colonist, old world ideologies on new soil, as well as theories on civilization and government. These aspects at the core reveal a very clear struggle for political power. Prospero's first major monologue creates the foundation of such a theme. In 1.2 lines 30-175 Prospero tell his story recounting the usurpation of the power he had as Duke of Milan, then quickly

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.

In Shakespeare's play, “The Tempest”, Prospero, the main character, is the rightful Duke of Milan. He found refuge on a distant island after his brother, Antonio, seized Prospero’s title and homeland. These events and experiences of being exiled advance character to become isolated and enriched at the same time. As a comic hero, Prospero start off as being frustrated and vengeful due to his separation from his title and homeland, but is later refined due to those experiences.

       The Tempest is a classic example of Shakespeare’s dichotomized notions of right and wrong within the context of racial inherencies, a social commentary of the colonialism of the New World. An important theme in the play is the racial differentiation between Caliban and the other antagonists, primarily, Prospero, who comes to the island and enslaves Caliban to enforce his own rule. This relationship, as portrayed through the play, is a reflection of the historical social and racial tensions that existed between the colonizers of New Europe and the Native Americans and is illustrated through the language employed by Shakespeare and the interactions that take place between the characters. The Tempest

The Tempest, often regarded as Shakespeare’s last play, displaces the theme of possession of control and command over other, commonly known as power. Ariel, Caliban and the courtiers from Milan, all demonstrate different levels of control. Prospero, the protagonist of the play, especially displays his ability to cast influence and affect others psychologically. The characters, their relationships and their use of power can be compared to the English government and society of the 17th Century.

William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” speaks about multiple authoritative relationships throughout the play and the abuse of power and authority. The main character Prospero lives on a deserted island with his daughter Miranda. Prospero used to be the Duke of Milan until he has been usurped by his brother Antonio with the help Alonso the King of Naples and his brother Sebastian. Prospero and Miranda were banished to sea in a rotten boat and eventually lands in a deserted island who was once ruled by a witch named Sycorax but is now only inhabited by her son Caliban and a spirit named Ariel. Since arriving at the island, Prospero has been ruling the island and enslaved Caliban and Ariel by the use of magic. He acts as if he is God by creating a storm in order to shipwreck the King of Naples and Antonio. Prospero uses his powers to get revenge on his brother for having been exiled to the island. Prospero is a controlling character who seems to be obsessed with getting revenge in order to regain his status. He abuses his authority and takes advantage of his slaves and his daughter Miranda to fulfil his evil plan.

As stated by Deborah Willis in her article Shakespeare's Tempest and the Discourse of Colonialism, “Prospero dominates this play in a way few Shakespearean characters do in others” (279), though with that being said the play does not favor him nor does it endorse his treatment and abuse of the Islands natives, but simply accepts it as is. Prospero does this through his overall power seen continually throughout the play, and it is this idea of power that divides the colonizer from the colonized or in this case Prospero from Caliban and Ariel. Furthermore, an example of this abused use of power can be seen in act 1 scene 2, when Prospero reminds Ariel of the kindness he has shown, “Dost thou forget/From what a torment I did free thee?” (1.2.299-300) in saying this Prospero reminds Ariel that he owes his freedom to Prospero and therefore his servitude. Furthermore, the relationship struggle for dominance between Prospero and Caliban is highly apparent in Act 3 Scene 2, when Caliban the original ruler of the island, explains that Prospero is an intruder and has betrayed his trust and initial welcome by enslaving him, in order to rule the Island himself, “I say by sorcery he got this isle;/From me he got it. If thy greatness will, /Revenge it on him, for I know thou dar'st,/But this thing dare not.” (3.2.59-62).

Caliban is treated as a slave of Prospero’s who is constantly tortured with Prospero’s magic. He contends that, “This island’s mine by Sycorax, my mother, which thou tak’st from me,” (1.2.396-397) implying that Prospero had no rightful claim to the island. This was an oft used point against colonialism of the time, however it is swiftfully countered by Caliban’s own words of the good that Prospero brought to Caliban. Caliban claims Prospero, “Strok’st me and made much of me, wouldst give me water with berries in’t, and teach me how to name the bigger light and how the less, that burn by day and night. And then I loved thee, and showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle,” (1.2.398-403). What Shakespeare is conveying here is the classic reasoning of Europeans as the saviors of native people. With Prospero bringing comfort to Caliban in the beginning and saving him from the witch Sycorax, Caliban should feel lucky Prospero came to this island. Any punishment brought upon Caliban is deserved in the eyes of Prospero, Shakespeare, and the audience Shakespeare is writing

The entire plot of the play is a scheme designed by Prospero to bring his rivals to a state of regret so that he can pardon them and restore the rightful order of things to his dukedom of Milan. As Prospero is seen as being all-powerful over the island, he could