The Tempest Research Paper

William Shakespeare, in his play, “The Tempest”, tells us the tale of the former Duke of Milan and sorcerer, Prospero. Here Prospero is shown on his island with his daughter, Miranda, as he lures his brother Antonio, King Alonso of Naples, and the other important players trapped on the island into his web of power. By the end of the work, Prospero has managed to reinstall himself as Duke of Milan; married his daughter to Ferdinand, the son of the king; and made amends with his brother. Throughout this time, Prospero connects to us as the larger audience through a role near that of a director, leading the conflicts on from behind the scenes while he foreshadows and points to important parts of the play like as though he were watching it from

In the “Tempest” by William Shakespeare there were many intriguing characters. Two notable characters were Ariel and Caliban. Ariel and Caliban were very different in most aspects but shared some similarities and common interest. Each character played avital role in the play independently of one another.

Over the past years, literature has been a significant part of our lives. Literature is the art of words and their affects in literal pieces. Just like a painting which sets a mood and theme, poems, stories and other works of literature set out the same effect through words. Poets and authors all use literal devices to send out the effect of a phrase, to express their thoughts and feeling and sometimes to build visual effect in the reader’s mind. Famous poets like Shakespeare and Alfred Noyes used many poetic devices to enhance their poems.

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

     Motivation often propels people to achieve high goals. Sometimes, however, motivation is too strong a tool and can manifest into selfish desires. The exploitation of the weak invariably results from the strong abusing their power, especially in a political setting. In William Shakespeare's ‘The Tempest’, Prospero is displayed as a tyrannical character who spawns a disastrous storm as part of a grand scheme to regain his title of Duke of Milan. His subsequent treatment of each character in the play, even his beloved daughter are purely based on his self-centered motives. Prospero can be seen as an overbearing racist, as well as a usurper to land that does not belong to him, but rather to

In The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, a talented magician, Prospero, has been living on a deserted island with his daughter, Miranda, for twelve years. One day, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, brings a ship carrying the Italian royal family. Prospero plans to get revenge on these men who banished him from Milan. Once on the island, Prospero manipulates everyone with his magic. He forces love upon Miranda and Ferdinand; tortures Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo while they are intoxicated; then, Prospero tricks the King of Naples into thinking that his son is dead.

Prospero tells Miranda various stories about his previous life as King of Naples, and notes that he “cast [the government upon my brother...and rapt in secret studies”, then blaming his brother for wrongly taking control of Milan and banishing him to the island (1.2.75-77). While Prospero shelves duties to his brother, he pursues magical studies in order to further his own capabilities, abandoning previous responsibilities in order to do so. Prospero’s former status as King of Naples enables Shakespeare to compare his character to that of a member of English royalty. Shakespeare utilizes these actions to prove Prospero’s hunger for power and dissatisfaction with is current state, as he consistently seeks even more power for himself. However, Prospero frames these desires differently to Miranda by downplaying his abandonment of the throne, and instead choosing to highlight Antonio’s “substitution and the outward face of royalty with all prerogative”(1.2.103-105). Framing Antonio allows Prospero to depict himself as a victim of Antonio’s deviousness, and invokes pity from Miranda. Her servitude and subservience to him on the island defines his authority, and Prospero reinforces this by invoking Miranda’s sympathy. Prospero’s pursuit of power both convinces him to abandon his responsibilities as King of Naples and distort the truth to build the dominance that he seeks. Shakespeare suggests that English motivation to explore the Americas originates from the deeply rooted desire for power found in

Unexpected discoveries often transform one’s values and renew perspectives. Through the play, The Tempest, Shakespeare showcases Prospero’s intellectual discovery of his limitations as a mortal, and the consequential rediscovery of humanity which grants him empathy and humbleness. Prospero showcases his initial hatred towards the royal crew, rooted from past betrayals, as he says “They now are in my power. And in these fits I leave them”. The truncated sentence emphasises Prospero’s cruel and revengeful mindset, depicting his firm belief in “power” being the tool for vengeance. However, a dramatic change in Prospero’s attitude can be seen, as he makes an unexpected discovery of human mortality following Ariel’s monologue. He says,“We are such

Whilst Aimé Césaire wrote A Tempest as a spin off of Shakespeare's The Tempest the differences between the two plays can not be denied. In this essay an exploration of the differences of the two plays will be done by focusing mainly on the idea of the way in which Prospero treats Caliban and Ariel, Caliban's first encounters with Stephano and Trinculo, and finally the way in which both plays have different endings. In both A Tempest and The Tempest Prospero arrives on an island with his daughter, Miranda. The island has been previously inhabited by Caliban and Ariel, who are thus the natives of the island (a point which Césaire focuses on much more than Shakespeare does) but it does not take Prospero long to gain power and ultimate superiority

The Tempest by William Shakespeare was a play that drew influences from European colonization at the time to create a story of exile, domination, and redemption. While the play’s plot is about Prospero’s desire to exact revenge upon his brother and the King of Naples, there is much to be discussed in regards to Prospero and his relationship with Caliban as his master. Caliban is, for the most part, a very one-dimensional and static character that only serves to ensure Prospero and his daughter Miranda survive on their island. Aime Cesaire, a Martinican playwright and poet, authors his own reinterpretation of The Tempest and shifts the audience’s attention from Prospero’s vengeance to Caliban and his relationship to Prospero. In his reinterpretation,

Shakespeare explores the relationship between humanistic qualities of modern civilization versus the flawless elements of nature. In “The Tempest”, Ariel and Caliban are natives to a pure island and are slaves to the magician, Prospero. Shakespeare demonstrates the imperfect characteristics of modern civilization through Prospero. Prospero devises a plan where he intended to use his magic abilities to cast revenge against his brother, who stole his title as Duke of Milan. Prospero’s ability to practice in the magic arts has a direct connection to modern civilizations.

In the summarization, Prospero has an autocratic personality but more than compare him to European colonialist in 17th and 18th century, he seems to be more like an ancient Rome tradesman with slaves. Shakespeare’s play The Tempest has many elements that we can perceive as a symbols of colonialism, whether it is cultural oppression, labor abusing or violent imposing of education. This play was written in the beginning of the 17th century, that was the era of massive expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean and

Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest” outlines many complex characters. One of which was Prospero, former Duke of Milan and powerful sorcerer. Prospero initially portrays a self-involved personality and God-complex but then throughout the course of the play this personality trait transpires into a more pragmatic approach to his life. All of these traits of this character makes it difficult to analyze the true character of Prospero. In the first Act of the play, we see Prospero using sorcery to drum up a large storm tormenting his enemies. In later Acts it can be seen that Prospero is more sympathetic in character with his interactions with his daughter Miranda. In the last few Acts of “The Tempest” Prospero reverts back to his more sinister and troubled side, causing havoc amongst his adversaries. The play outlines this character in a variety of ways, as a sympathetic loving father, powerful sorcerer, conniving enemy, and master to many. These are just a few of the many ways Prospero is portrayed in the text, making it difficult to understand the real character of Shakespeare’s Prospero. Prospero’s self-involved personality and myriad emotions make the seemingly sympathetic character difficult to like.

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,

On the very face of it, it might be hard to think how Prospero of The Tempest would be William Shakespeare, or even to imagine that this play is a set of symbols and metaphors that provides an allegory for which is to express this play. The research into the argument of Prospero reflecting Shakespeare has made a valid discourse, because it is based on the extending the premise that all of Shakespeare’s works are to some degree associated with his own life.