The play The Tempest, is set on a remote island where Prospero is the master of magic and control. The play introduces Ariel as Prospero’s sprit helper or slave, we are unsure of Ariel’s gender or physical appearance. I would definitely say that Ariel shows characteristics of Hyde’s trickster by being a “A mischievous supernatural being much given to capricious acts of sly deception, found in the folklore of various preliterate peoples, often functioning as a culture hero, or one that symbolizes the ideal of a people (Merriam-Webster)”. Ariel says “All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly,To swim, to dive into the fire, to rideOn the curl'd clouds, to thy strong bidding task Ariel and all his …show more content…
Ariel’s actions support Hyde description of tricksters because even though Ariel can be destructive and powerful, he uses his power only at necessary times and does not harm anyone. Another instance, where we can see that Ariel is both constrictive and destructive is when he takes action, when he hears Caliban plotting. Caliban and his friends were planning to take Prospero’s magic books, kill Prospero and take his daughter. Ariel in this case sets up a trap, where he hangs nice clothes for the men, the men go in and attempt to seal them, and touch the clothes. Then, they hear “a noise of hunters heard” and “enter divers Spirits, in shape of dogs and hounds, and hunt them about” (Shakespeare 4). Evidently, Ariel uses his destructive powers to transform into the shape of dogs, but his purpose was for a good cause he wanted to scare Caliban and his crew so they won’t kill Prospero. I mentioned that Ariel is a faithful servant, and is constructive, and destructive at the same time. I believe that his qualities as a trickster are important to the audience and the text as a whole so that Shakespeare can get his message through the text. I believe that Shakespeare’s message is that Ariel represents all the good in the world. While in the other hand,
Shakespeare's play “The Tempest” participates in the historical discourses of its time when the world around him was evolving and becoming much larger through European exploration. The Tempest demonstrates power and control are dominant themes. Many of the characters are locked into a power struggle for their freedom and for control of the island, forcing some characters both good and evil to abuse their power. For example Prospero enslaves and treats Caliban badly, while Antonio and Sebastian plot to kill Alonso and Antonio and Alonso aim to get rid of Prospero. The play focuses how on Prospero, an exiled leader, manipulates Ferdinand, Miranda, Ariel and Caliban. The play displays challenges to the social and symbolic order so that these challenges may then be contained by means of various perception. It attempts to master challenges to the characteristics of the family. Throughout each readings it demonstrates on how the historical discourse applies to its time. A play that has taken on the qualities in similarities shows through each article. In discussion to the
“Good versus evil” is a theme in The Tempest, just as in many fantasy stories. The Tempest shows this theme though its characters. The most obvious pair of characters for this contrast is Ariel and Caliban. Ariel is good and Caliban is bad. This is a common opinion held by many scholars and critics, namely, Charles Boyce and Derek Traversi. However, there are many ways in which these two characters are similar—there are various parallels and similarities which are not always covered by critics. Neither character is purely good or purely evil—they are both round characters with many sides.
In The Tempest, Ariel and Prospero speak in a manner that has an elegant rhythm to it while Stephano and Triculo simply spit out words in a less educated manner. This having to do with Prospero and Ariel being more “wise” or possessing more knowledge. I began writing about language and class differences in my journal because I found it interesting. Examining that they possess magic while Stephano and Trinculo are secluded, not having that access to the higher knowledge of the world. This passage relates back to a lot of ideas and research that I ended up doing for Kiss of the Fur Queen as I found myself gaining a lot of knowledge about the importance of language and the different “levels” of knowledge or magic. Champion and Jeremiah were brought up in a different culture and their ways of learning, traditions, and language were all seen as a lower form of a lifestyle. This severely affects one’s self worth and feeling of collective identity. Also when I think back to Caliban and how Prospero educated him so that he would speak and hold “proper” knowledge, I thought more about Prospoero representing colonization. He can be compared to the Europeans in Kiss of the Fur Queen in that they felt their culture, knowledge, and values were superior to Aboriginals. Prospero felt he needed to change Caliban just as the white people felt they needed to change Aboriginals.
In the world of The Tempest , Ariel, the airy spirit, and Caliban, the earthy monster, can be described as character foils. Unlike and contrasted as they are, they have some traits in common. They both have an aversion to labor and a longing for liberty. Also, they have a primitive sense of humor, a fondness for tricks and pranks, and a spontaneous and unsophisticated love of nature. Furthermore, deeper inside them, one has a fear of a higher power and the other a craving for affection and approbation. Thus, the contrast between them is heightened.
The Tempest is a Shakespearean play in which it is believed to be his last play he made. Within the text, I hope to show that the author had hidden meanings behind the plot and summarize the Play The Tempest.
Caliban. He’s seen as a monster, born from a witch and treated like a slave. Ariel. A spirit who is warm, loving, and would do anything for prospero. The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, is about Prospero, who is stranded on an island with his daughter, and how he plans revenge against people who have done him wrong, eventually leading to him forgiving them. Caliban and Ariel are foils who bring out each others attributes and create comedy.
In Shakespeare’s The Tempest many relationships in society are discussed through the plot. The relationship between Caliban and Prospero shows the relationship between Nature and Civilization where Caliban represents nature and Prospero represents civilization. The relationship between them seems to be Nature vs. Civilization on the surface, but Civilization needs nature, as Prospero needs Caliban. If Prospero did not need Caliban, he would have killed him. Prospero has more than enough power and has reason as well, so there must be something else. This something else is a relationship that closely mirrors our own relationship with nature. It provides us with the things we need, food, water, air, etc., just as Caliban provides Prospero with a knowledge of the island and his usefulness on the island.
Since Ariel is a spirit, she uses graceful float movement. She leads with her arms mainly. She has light weight and is mostly active. When Prospero grows aggression over her she is more still until he gets to close. Then, she retreats away from him. She uses flick sometimes when expressing her powers against the ship passengers. Since she is rather confident, most of her movements are intentional, but every now and then they are clumsy. For example, when she thanks Prospero by saying, “I thank thee, master.” she has a fearful, clumsy response. This is expressed when Prospero threatens her.
The Tempest is a play that has a theme of nature and civilization. It has a strong theme that deals with issues of colonizer and the colonized. While to many people this play may simply be just a play, it really has a story of what happens when nature and civilization collide. The character Caliban represents a being of pure nature. The character Prospero is civilization. These characters can also be seen as the colonized and the colonizer. The relationship they have is very complex and is a constant struggle, much like any relationship between a colonizer and colonized. It questions what is pure nature? Is it savage and monster like, as Caliban is? In this paper I will examine the relationship between Caliban
The nucleus of the plot in Shakespeare's The Tempest revolves around Prospero enacting his revenge on various characters who have wronged him in different ways. Interestingly enough, he uses the spirit of Ariel to deliver the punishments while Prospero delegates the action. Prospero is such a character that can concoct methods of revenge but hesitates to have direct involvement with disillusioning his foes. In essence, Prospero sends Ariel to do his dirty work while hiding his involvement in shipwrecking his brother, Antonio, from his daughter, Miranda.
After concluding his story to Miranda, she suddenly falls asleep. He then summons his spirit servant Ariel, and the two discuss the situation regarding the sailors. We learn that Ariel was responsible along with Prospero for the tempest. Prospero congratulates him on his effort and it is at this time, Ariel asks if he may be freed from his servitude early for completing his duties without complaint (Act 1, Scene 2, pgs. 25-29). Prospero becomes furious at this request, chastising him for his lack of respect. He proceeds to angrily remind him of the torture he saved him from at the hands of the evil witch, Sycorax and threatens to return him to that state of torture if he does not stop complaining (Act 1, Scene 2, pgs. 29-33). In this part of the scene, we see a darker side to Prospero that is truly unlikable. When Ariel, his servant who has dutifully fulfilled his request to the letter, simply asked a question on the promise he made to him, Prospero angrily rebuffs him. He instead demands Ariel recount the sufferings he saved him from and threatens to imprison and torture him just the same for twelve years if he complains again. Such behavior shows Prospero is an autocrat, willing to use the magical powers he has obtained to keep those who serve him in line. This is especially exemplified in his interactions with his slave, Caliban later in the scene. After a heated argument over performing his duties, Prospero tells
The main character’s Prospero main objective is to redeem himself and to continue his pursuit of knowledge. The primary conflict is Prospero, the duke of Milan and a powerful magician, was banished from Italy and cast to sea by his usurping brother, Antonio, and Alonso, The king of Naples. Prospero seeks to use his magic to make these lords repent and restore him to his rightful place. The climax is when Alonso and his party stop to rest, and Prospero causes a banquet to be set out before them. Just as they are about to eat, Ariel appears in the shape of a harpy and accuses them of theirs treachery against Prospero. Alonso is overwhelmed with remorse. It resolves itself when Prospero brings Alonso and the others before him and forgives them.
In the play, Ariel's prevention of Antonio and Sebastian from murdering Gonzalo serves as evidence for this thinking. In A Tempest, Ariel warns them, "Stop, ruffians! Resistance is futile." These phrases reflect his refusal to revolt against Prospero. Based on his long experience serving Prospero, Ariel knows that it is pointless to resist someone who could impose horrible ramifications upon him. Another instance in A Tempest shows Gonzalo reacting to Caliban's disrespectful behavior. Gonzalo calls Caliban "not just a rebel, he's a real tough customer!" Upon seeing Caliban's lack of loyalty, Gonzalo feels offended by his antics. Gonzalo is so accustomed to being loyal, that it has become second nature to him. Therefore, Gonzalo takes great pride in making sure that loyalty is kept rather than thrown
William Shakespare’s The Tempest introduces a dynamic and colorful protagonist, Prospero. Throughout the play, he establishes himself as a multi dimensional character. Prospero’s interaction with other characters in the play is vital in uncovering the many different sides of his personality. Prospero displays a different part of his personality when he interacts with Caliban, Ariel, and Ferdinand, all of whom are ploys in his master plan to regain his crown. Prospero assimilates his personality to reflect those who he is interacting with in order to manipulate them into helping him fulfill his own agenda of reclaiming Milan from his brother. Prospero’s authoritative nature can be seen as a parallel to the behavior of New World colonists,
His assurance in his tempest is disturbed once again, and consequently he calls Ariel nothing “but air, a touch, a feeling” (V.i.17). Prospero’s partially condescending attitude towards his servant, represented in this statement by the repetition of synonyms, is caused by the initial understanding of his mistakes. He is not capable of confronting this truth and hence strengthens himself through the humiliation of Ariel, while internally admitting his poignant deeds. This portrays that forgiveness is the ultimate solution; as difficult as it is to reach it. He then states that the “rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance” (V.i.17). These two words, one of the most contrasted pairs of words in the English language, are put under the same context. The alliteration of the letter ‘V’ in this statement signifies that the both virtue and vengeance are optional, and it is utterly under one’s responsibility and personal choice which one to espouse. Virtue is listed first because of its vitality to the human society. As a conclusion of this process, Prospero addresses Ariel once more; “Go release them Ariel” (V.i.25). The phrasing which resembles a command, demonstrates Prospero’s attempts to be fair, despite the enormous pressure under which he is put. Referring to his first metaphor, he indirectly explains that Prospero is now released out of the strife of revenge which has taken control of his