The Oppression of Miranda in The Tempest Essay

In the reader's first encounter with Miranda and Prospero, it is clear that she suspects he's caused this tempest to occur. (1.2.1) Miranda is displeased because she thinks Prospero has used his magic to stir up the seas. Prospero never denies he caused the tempest, but he never openly admits it either. Instead, he offers the conventional response of Shakespearean love: "I did it for you." (1.2.16) Typically, such a response would not take place in the vertical parental relationship, but rather between lovers or potential lovers. (see Richard III : 1.2.138) Shakespeare's use of this response from a father to a daughter alludes to a break in the traditional make-up of the father-daughter relationship. And thus, it is important to examine.

Yet her compassion, as real as it is, also has a certain element of shallowness, or at least inexperience about it. She has lived the majority of her life in isolation, on an island known with her only companionship being that of her father. Growing up on this deserted island, Miranda learns to live and abide by the example set by Prospero. He is her only contact with the humanity and therefore he is her only friend and teacher. She knows no other woman and therefore had no female figure to aid the process of raising her. She is naïve and unaware of life's experiences, having been shielded from the rest of the world.      

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.

subject and told me of how we came to the island. My father has tried

    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.

The role of motherhood in the movie is powerful than the play, which we can see in Act 4, Scene 1 when Prospero approves the love Miranda and Ferdinand declares, however points out a harsh warning to Ferdinand. In the movie, because of the female character, it is easier to make the connection of mother and daughter. By switching the gender in this movie, it lead women characters have a sexual power and empowerment, which was none in the play caused by the pressure made in the Elizabethan Era. Taymor, director of “The Tempest” adds; “I didn't really have a male actor that excited me in mind, and yet there had been a couple of phenomenal females—Helen Mirren being one of them—who [made me think]: 'My God, does this play change? What happens if you make that role into a female role?” (Roger) By casting Prospera, instead of Prospero changed the main themes such as power and sexual empowerment, also the voice of Shakespeare in Prospero, whom he is sometimes occurred as.

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.

  The Tempest is generally considered to be Shakespeare's last sole-authored play. The play draws a number of oppositions, some of which it dramatises, and some of which it only implies. Prospero, a figure exhibiting many resemblances to the Elizabethan idea of the 'Mage', (of whom the best known is probably Dr. John Dee), is opposed to both his corrupt brother, usurper of his role as Duke of Milan, and to Sycorax, an evil witch and mother of the 'deformed slave' Caliban. Sycorax does not enter the action of the play, having died before it opens, but enough is made of her evil disposition and behaviour to show Prospero as a model of human virtue in comparison. This despite Prospero's own use of magic to

Specifically, Prospero uses his love for Miranda to hide under the shroud of patriarchy. “The Tempest” opens with a storm in the first act and by scene two, the reader learns that it is Prospero who has commissioned the storm. First, one must examine why Prospero summoned the storm. When Miranda presses her father as to why the people in the ship are in the tempest, he says that “I have done nothing but in care of thee” (Act 1, Scene 2). In some aspects, Prospero is acting against patriarchal ideals because he summons the storm. Directly after Prospero declares the tempest in the name of Miranda, he debases himself. Prospero draws attention to his fall from grace and says "your humble father who lives in a poor little shack" (Act 1, Scene 2). Within these scenes, Prospero is reinforcing his patriarchal role. Furthermore, Prospero is constructing his salvation through Miranda's desires. The tempest has been summoned to maroon Ferdinand and Alonso and ensure Prospero's prosperity off the island. Prospero’s love for Miranda serves only towards his assimilation back into a position of

Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. To do Feminist Research is to put the social construction of gender at the center of one 's inquiry. Feminist theory is about seeing gender as a basic organizing principle which profoundly shapes/mediates the concrete conditions of our lives. In the play The Tempest, by William Shakespeare Miranda is a perfect example of a woman 's role in literature from a feminist theorist perspective. In The Tempest, Miranda 's prescribed gender role and physical stature account for her naturally being subordinate to males.

In 'The Tempest' Shakespeare presents parent and child relationships as an emotional process that eventually ends in a sacrifice, leaving the parent and child happy. Through the characters of Miranda and Prospero, Shakespeare shows that for parents to make their children happy they need to sacrifice what they like but can live without.

The similarities and differences between Aime' Cesaire's ATempest and William Shakespeare's The Tempest gives the reader an idea that it is a political response. From the way that both of the titles of these works of literature differ, an idea of concept is offered. They share a similar story line yet, after some one has read A Tempest : a different perspective is gained. A Tempest is actually considered a post colonial period piece of writing and one can acquire and prove this by the forms in which Aime' Cesaire portrays the characters and switches around their personalities and their traits,the time periods and the acquisition of language, and the ways power is used reveals that it is indeed a political response from a post

It is evident that Miranda is aware of how powerful Prospero is, as she says “Had I been any god of power, I would /Have sunk the sea within the earth”. This indicates that she understands the extent of Prospero’s power, and that if she had possessed the same amount of power, she would use it differently to her father. Shakespeare shows differences in power between Othello, Desdemona and Iago. The use of gender differences and the changing perception of them suggest a powerful gender based conflict. Othello and Desdemona love each other for the ‘differences they perceive in one another’. Desdemona perceives Othello as a valiant warrior, and Othello perceives Desdemona as a woman with genuine feminine grace.

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.