Essay on Shakespeare's The Tempest as a Microcosm of Society

Explain how Ariel and Caliban serve as character foils for each other. Be sure to consider their physical appearance and their roles as servants to Prospero.

The Tempest is about an ousted Duke of Milan ,Prospero, who has been living in exile on a remote island for the past twelve years with his daughter Miranda. He is a powerful magician, who happens to be the master of Ariel and Caliban, and a guy who really likes his books. When Prospero's enemies wash up on shore, he uses his black magic to seek revenge and restore himself to power. The Tempest belongs to the genre of Elizabethan romance plays. It combines elements of tragedy with those of romantic comedy, and like one of Shakespeare's plays previously, it asks deeper questions that are not completely resolved at the end. The tone that seeps into the play is one of wonder, amazement, and admiration. Mystery is still present , but the magic performed is not black and scary. The version that seems to grasp my attention more, would have to be the Utah Valley University interpretation because it takes Shakespeare’s main purpose and tone but shows it in its own unique way. Furthermore, with its silly drunkards, the play has a certain lightness to it and even the so called killers of the King tell hilarious jokes and are lighthearted. But there is also the tone of revenge and reconciliation in the play. We feel a revenge burning in Prospero while, at the same time, a wish for forgiveness and reconciliation with those who have wronged him.

The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last play that was written shortly after England colonized Virginia in 1609. Throughout the play, there are many different references to imperialism and colonialism within the characters. The Tempest analyzes the imperialistic relationships between England and America but applies it to personal human interaction between the central characters. The island gives newcomers a sense of endless possibilities like claiming the land for themselves because of the belief in the Great Chain of Being and the seventeenth century being an age of exploration. The idea of ruling a colony lured many people into the idea that having that kind of power over a large group of people is attainable. Master-servant relationships are

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

The concept "knowledge is power" is reaffirmed through Prospero’s character. As long as he has his books he has knowledge and thus power. Prospero uses his knowledge to attain reason and consequently power. The play begins with his creation of a storm, giving him the ability to initiate and control problems. Using his knowledge as a catalyst for power David L. Hirst argues, “From the extension of reason, Prospero derives a power which he uses in an attempt to influence everyone on the island” (9). To Miranda, he is the strong protective father, who educates; to Caliban he represents the colonizer. Prospero describes Caliban as “a poisonous slave got by the devil himself” (1.2 323-324) who serves as his oppressed slave. To Ariel he represents the rescuer and constantly reminds her that it was he who freed him, yet he fails to grant the very liberty from which he saved. To the shipwrecked “he is a surrogate providence who corrects errant aristocrats and punishes plebeian revolt” (Brown 59). Recognizing themselves as subjects to Prospero validates Prospero’s position as governor.

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.

worse than not having been exposed to society at all, and to live in a

   A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.   In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them to share in an experience of emotion, magic, and finally, of resolution. In this way the production could be used as a vehicle for conveying the idealistic virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and of course knowledge. In his book, A

William Shakespeare's, "The Tempest," provides insight into the hierarchy of command and servitude by order of nature. This play uses the relationship between its characters to display the control of the conqueror over the conquered. It also shows how society usually places the undesirable members at the bottom of the chain of command, even though they may be entitled to a higher social status. For example, the beginning of the play opens with a scene on a boat in the midst of a terrible storm. The boatswain, who is under the command of the royal party, attempts to keep the boat from sinking.

Prospero's relationship with Caliban differs from that of Prospero and Ariel's. Prospero does not view Caliban as a being who could be his equal. He is blinded by his prejudice against Caliban's appearance and manners. Caliban is portrayed in a negative light. He can be seen as the depiction of the victims of colonial expansion. Although Prospero seeks this righteousness, he both mistreats and insults Caliban, who ultimately attempts to kill Prospero.  In comparison to Ariel who acts only when commanded by Prospero, Caliban is wild. He refuses to be colonized and tamed. This can be taken as a reference by Shakespeare towards those who were

The role of language in Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest” is quite significant. To Miranda and Prospero the use of language is a means to knowing oneself. Caliban does not view language in the same light. Prospero taught Caliban to speak, but instead of creating the feeling of empowerment from language, Caliban reacts in insurrectionary manner. Language reminds him how different he is from Miranda and Prospero, and also how they have changed him. It also reminds him of how he was when he wasn’t a slave. He resents Prospero for “Civilising” him, because in doing so he took away his freedom.

Dale Carnegie once said “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The ability to transform something appalling to alluring is a true indication of appreciation for life, but can at times result in consequences. In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, Prospero commands one of his spirits, Ariel, to summon a tempest as an act of revenge for being deposed as the rightful Duke of Milan by Antonio and Alonso. Although the tempest causes isolation between characters, Ferdinand, Miranda and Ariel are blessed by the tempest; receiving opportunities achieve a better life.

His mother, Sycorax, was banished there by sailors for no known reason; “This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child / And here was left by th’ sailors” (I.II.322-323). Sycorax is an African with blue eyes which is unusual and so people thought she was magic because of it, hence the name she was referred to in the quote, ‘blue-eyed hag’. Trapping Ariel in the oak tree also emphasized the magic people thought she had. They assumed she used magic to do it; “By help of her more potent ministers / And in her most unmitigable rage, / Into a cloven pine, within which rift / Imprisoned thou didst painfully remain”(I.II.328-331). I chose this quote because it expressed how she trapped Ariel. Sycorax died soon after and her son was left alone on the island until Prospero found him. Since sycorax might have had power, then theoretically Caliban was also suspected to possess the same power. This could have threatened Prospero, so he belittled Caliban and turned him into a slave. Prospero would tell Ariel stories of how Caliban was not human, but a monster; “Then was this island / (Save for the son that she did litter here, / A freckled whelp, hag-born) not honored with / A human shape” (I.II.334-337). In this quote, Prospero is belittling Caliban in order to gain more control over him and Ariel. Caliban is mentally weak so he succumbs to Prospero, but he is physically strong and still poses a

     Late in the fourth act, Prospero interrupts Ariel masque when he suddenly overcome with rage at the thought of Caliban’s plot against him (“Go charge my goblins that they grind their joints/With dry convulsions, shorten up their sinews/With aged cramps, and more pinch-spotted make them/Than pard or cat o’ mountain.'; 4.i.259-262). This fury makes him a flesh-and-blood human being rather than a godlike figure. In that same scene, Prospero shows his human quality again when, for a while there, he is absentminded in forgetting the plot of Caliban against him.