Essay on William Shakespeare's The Tempest

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.

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

The second difference between the play and movie “The Tempest” is the time that it’s written and the time shown in the movie. The play takes place during Shakespeare’s time, the early 1600s. When Shakespeare was writing “The Tempest”, “people still believed that the sun went round the earth.” (Shakespeare 115-121) England was a Christian country and was educated by the Church’s education and, grammar schools taught Latin. The setting of “The

   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

When one interacts with strangers, feelings of superiority and inferiority are bound to occur. In Shakespeare's time period, most of the Europeans' perspectives were disrespectful, arrogant, and full of ignorance. Like the Native Americans, for most of the European colonists who landed in the "New World," it was their first exposure to the people of a different race. And yet, their first intuition of the Native Americans was described as barbarians, savages, and cannibals. The Europeans thought themselves as superior compared to the "poor savages"(Takaki 148); likewise in The Tempest, Shakespeare portrayed Prospero as the rightful leader of Caliban's island, just as the Europeans thought of themselves as the rightful rulers of the

The island of magic and mystery that Shakespeare creates in The Tempest is an extraordinary symbol of both the political and social realities of his contemporary society, and of the potential for a reformed New World. Shakespeare’s island is a creation which allows the juxtaposition of real and idealised worlds, and shows his audience both what they and what they ought to be. The seventeenth century was a time of ideological upheaval in Europe, with Medieval ideas of a hierarchical and ordered society being challenged by Renaissance thinkers. For the dynastic powers, including England under Elizabeth I, colonialism was an important opportunity to realise territorial ambition and prove religious

The Tempest, by Shakespeare, offers the reader a variety of themes. The one theme that stands out the most is that of colonialism. During the time of Shakespeare, many European countries such as Spain, France, and England, were expanding their borders by taking over less developed countries, referred to as colonies. During this time of exploitation, there was skepticism concerning the possible success of the colonies. While some scholars believe that the play is about the Americas, I argue that the play reflects on colonialism in general and how it is destined for failure which is shown through the character’s relationships throughout the play.

       The Tempest is a classic example of Shakespeare’s dichotomized notions of right and wrong within the context of racial inherencies, a social commentary of the colonialism of the New World. An important theme in the play is the racial differentiation between Caliban and the other antagonists, primarily, Prospero, who comes to the island and enslaves Caliban to enforce his own rule. This relationship, as portrayed through the play, is a reflection of the historical social and racial tensions that existed between the colonizers of New Europe and the Native Americans and is illustrated through the language employed by Shakespeare and the interactions that take place between the characters. The Tempest

With this said, it would be remiss to understate that literary analysis, come this far, attributes much of its contributions, but if part of a roundabout kind of way, to William Shakespeare himself, arguably at the forefront of human nature, and the actual natural environment, at least from a place of written understanding. Encompassed within the opening pages of Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human Pages, Harold Bloom, yet the acclaimed scholar on the subject, makes his case on the bearing, or, at any rate, on the renewed sense of insight transposed through each of his individual plays, and even gone to such lengths as to dividing mere “characterization” to becoming an art form, in and of itself, for a closer representation to the inner

     Through the years there has been much debate as to whether Shakespeare’s The Tempest is an Allegory to European colonization and colonial life, or if it is his “farewell to the stage” with a complete overview of the stage and a compilation of all of his characters into a few, in which the playwright himself being presented as Prospero. Is The Tempest an allegory to European colonization, or is it Shakespeare, presenting his formal farewell to the stage?

Shakespeare’s tragedy play ‘Hamlet’ argues for duality being an innate part of human nature, social roles and the universe at large as a social commentary on 16th century England. During the play’s first recession Hamlet was more violent focusing on the insanity aspect due to popular demand. The Jacobean audience was allured by nature’s unveiled dark side with most popular works being The White Devil by John Webster and Volpone by Ben Jonson; both addressing dramatical exposure of humanity’s dark side. The concept is ingrained within dramatic techniques, characterisation, and structural aspects as a mainstay of the play. Customary definitions of morality, femininity, and reality are challenged as a means of perfecting the genre of tragedy through revealing the seldom looked at society’s substructure concurrently involving the audience through catharsis.

In The Tempest, Shakespeare allows the audience to appreciate the possibilities of utopian society, the good, and bad, so that they can understand the problems that the pursuit of a utopian environment may cause. The Tempest is a window into the dimensions of utopian societies. Shakespeare's play portrays the good and the evil sides of the perfect life. While his characters take on the role of the leaders of the utopian societies, Shakespeare portrays the social questions and beliefs of society of how a utopian environment should be.

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.

    This essay will focus on the similarities and differences of the plays The Tempest and King Lear in general, as well as looking at comparisons of Prospero and Lear in somewhat more detail.

Shakespeare’s play Hamlet (1600) exposes the incongruities of human nature and the inconsistencies in the characterisation of Hamlet exhibits the profound influences of uncertainty and suspicion in shaping the human experience. Contextual influences of emerging Renaissance Humanism challenged preceding hierarchical notions of virtue, order and religion, engendering paradigmatic shifts in Elizabethan society. Notions of morality and the contemplation of life are examined through Hamlet’s contemplation of humanity’s sufferings within a depraved society. Thus, Shakespeare’s examination of an uncertain human fate as a component of the human experience allows the play to resonate within audiences of all eras.