The Tempest By William Shakespeare

In The Tempest Prospero’s brother, Antonio, and two close allies, Sebastian and Alonso, betrayed him by taking his dukedom and leaving him and his three-year old daughter, Miranda, to die at sea. Once the three traitors reunited with Prospero, Prospero attempted to undertake revenge against them. After all of his efforts to avenge himself and his daughter for these actions, Prospero instead chooses to forgive Antonio, Alonso, and Sebastian.

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.

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.

    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, the male lead of the Tempest, starts out as the victim of the play, but as the story goes on, it becomes apparent that he is actually the cause of all the problems and plots within the play. Prospero is important because he is the puppeteer that leads all of the characters to complete his orders. He strings all of the characters along to do his bidding, and by the end of the play, he is the only one who wins. Prospero is interesting because, without him, there would be no plot. He is the one who stirs up the Tempest and brings his usurpers to the island. Despite the original belief that Prospero is the victim of his brother’s commandeering of his throne, it becomes obvious that Prospero does not have good intentions, and is

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).

                 Miranda's schooling in The Tempest shows the audience the conflicting arrangement white women in the Shakespearean drama as well as Shakespearean times are forced to act within.  Paul Brown points out that "the discourse of sexuality…offers the crucial nexus for the various domains of colonialist discourse" (208) and the conduct in Prospero manipulates his followers' sexuality is the mainstay of his power.  The Miranda-Prospero relationship servers to represent a sort of patriarchy, which is unarguably the system many Renaissance women and women of Shakespeare's time found themselves in.  It is thus unsurprising that Prospero controls Miranda and her sexuality as well.  The

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

Magical powers play a tremendous role in supporting Prospero’s ambitions. Once again, Prospero abuses his magical powers and imbalances the natural elements. The opening scene of Act I begins with a tempest. In this scene, Shakespeare demonstrates that abusing elements, such as water, only creates trouble. When Miranda first speaks to Prospero about the ship wreck, she says “If by your art…you have/Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them/The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,” (1.2.1-3). This creates

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

However her hidden qualities have allowed me to discover a renewed perception of her character. She is portrayed as powerless as she defends and praises her father to Ferdinand by expressing his compassionate nature in “Be of comfort, my fathers of a better nature sir”. However upon further inspection, it reveals that Miranda uses her intelligence to change the opinions of men by arguing against Prospero’s harsh treatment. She is perceived to be naïve as she exclaims “This is the third man I ever saw, the first I ever sighed for”, with Miranda’s instant love of Ferdinand promoting the image of a stereotypical and naïve woman. However it is she who ends the dispute between Prospero and the King of Naples, Ferdinand's father.

Although, he acts like she is an inanimate object that can be just given away. This could demonstrate Prospero and Miranda’s lack of relationship, as he doesn’t treat her like a father should treat his daughter. Nevertheless, when Prospero says, “If thou dost break her virgin-knot… No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall to make this contract grow,” it could promote the possibility of Prospero becoming the overprotective father is naturally is.

Family is one of, if not the biggest theme in Shakespeare 's The Tempest and this theme is of course shown in Taymor 's adaptation of the play. But the fact that Prospero is a woman in the film shows the audience a deeper relationship between Prospera and Miranda – the mother-daughter relationship. In the original play, we see Prospero as owning his daughter rather than having a 'normal ' father-daughter relationship with her. It is as though Miranda is an object to be given as a prize to another man – Ferdinand. In

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.