Analysis of Shakespeare's The Tempest - Book Report/Review Example

The Tempest All corrections have been made in blue Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, The Tempest, deals with the story of Prospero, a rightful Duke of Milan, and his young daughter, Miranda. Through the conspiracy of his brother Antonio, he is deprived of his title and almost put to death. But, with the help of Gonzalo, a faithful lord, protagonist, along with his daughter, manages to escape to an island. Prospero’s knowledge of magic and the occult helps him live here along with his child. The story opens with the ship carrying Antonio, Prospero’s brother, Alonso, the King of Naples, Ferdinand, son of Alonso, and Sebastian and Gonzalo, lords, trapped in a storm. Although the boatswain tries his best, the ship is shipwrecked. He comments “what cares these roarers, for the name of King (I, i, 16-17) meaning that even kings are helpless against the wrath of nature. They take refuge in very island that is now owned by Prospero. The tempest was caused by Prospero, through his spirit, to avenge his loss of title and power and to seek to punish his evil brother. During the course of his stay, he rescues, Arial, a spirit, which was condemned to stay in a tree by the curse pronounced by a witch Sycomax, Through the use of his magical powers, Prospero rescues Arial, who remains a loyal and trustworthy slave to Prospero. The person in control of this island was Caliban, son of dead Sycomax. Again by use of his magical powers, he brings Caliban under his spell and control. The lord of the island becomes the slave of Prospero. Although Caliban worked for Prospero he did not like his master, and plotted along with others like Stephano and Trinculo. But all his evil designs were thwarted by Prospero through the use of Arial, the spirit.. Finally, Antonio, Alonso and others were summoned by Prospero and after a severe reprimand , he “justified them traitors” (V.i,128 ) but forgave them all. He also allowed Ferdinand, Alonso’s son to marry his daughter, Miranda since they loved each other very much. He also promised to forgo his practice of magic. He realizes his folly and describes his magic that “ they are made of baseless fabrics” ( IV,I,166-167 ) and are temporary. He sees that “we are such stuff as dreams are made on “( IV,I,166-167) Finally the story has a happy ending with Prospero getting back his dukedom, his daughter getting married to Ferdinand and all of them going back to Milan except Arial and Caliban who were retained in the island in order to know who would be the next persons to come there. Comparison between Prospero and Antonio In Shakespearean works, the seizure of royal power through treachery is very much a part of his writings, and ‘The Tempest’ also deals significantly with it. Shakespeare has made the character of Prospero as a good man who was cheated by his brother of his title and kingdom. He calls his brother “perfidious” “false” and rebuked the treatment meted onto him. He says that his idle nature and his trust on his brother could be the reason for Antonio’s “evil nature” ( I, ii,91-96 ) He always believed that wealth should be accumulated by utilizing wisdom, knowledge and hard work. The power he derived was from the application of his mastery over magic and the occult and he has used it for good purposes. Again his character is depicted as a forgiving and benign type who even forgave the people who plotted to kill him. Through the use of magic, Prospero had great power over mankind and the natural forces. However the character of Antonio was completely different. He viewed his usurpation of the title as rightful and legal and did not have any guilt feelings about it. He was a proud and arrogant man who justified his seizure of the rightful title of his brother saying that he had taken it in order to prove that he could use it better than his brother. According to him the power suited him better than Prospero. The power he yielded was derived out of criminal means and could not be justified. His greed however, caused him a lot of misery because he was shipwrecked in the island and had to suffer lonely and silently due to his crimes against his brother. Although Prospero was a good man, he was shrewd and crafty in his dealings with people, and through these qualities and sorcery, he was able to control people and situations and he ultimately became the winner. But Antonio, despite having gained the title assets could not utilize them for his advantage and finally lost it. Comparisons between Prospero and Sycorax: Prospero practiced sorcery and this gained for him a lot of benefits. Besides he was very learned, educated and manipulative nature. He was exiled from his own country and had to flee to another island to save his life. He was able to command the spirits and make them his slaves, including Arial whom he rescued from the curse of Sycorax. Once he had rescued her, he made her his slave and she was, though unwillingly, bound to his commands. He was also successful in taking over power over the island by dominating Caliban ,who was the former ruler of the island, but enslaved by Prospero, The case of Sycorax, the mother of Caliban was also somewhat similar. She was a sorceress and she also demanded slavish attention from others. Both Prospero and Sycorax tried to control others and natural forces through the use of magic. But the difference between them lay in their basic nature. While Sycorax was of a revengeful nature and mainly practiced evil, Prospero is portrayed as kind and benevolent even forgave his enemies who tried to kill him. The power he commanded through use of magic made others slaves to him. He rescued Arial from Sycorax ‘s curse as a result of which Arial was trapped in a tree. After he was saved, Arial tells him everything about the evil witch, Prospero had not seen Sycorax and the knowledge about Sycorax was gained by Prospero only from what was told to Prospero by his servant, Arial, because she was dead before he reached the island. While Shakespeare has portrayed Prospero’s character as good, the character woven over Caliban is of a evil and untrustworthy person, who would go to any extent to reach his aims. After his unsuccessful attempt to rape Miranda, he is despised by Prospero and enslaved. Shakespeare has portrayed Caliban’s character as a victim of the colour discrimination practiced by British society during that time. He is viewed as a devilish person and is taunted by other because of low intelligence and he is Prospero’s only subject. Caliban was the only human slave Porpero had, Arial was a spirit. He seeks Ferdinand’s help to kill Prospero by promising Ferdinand that after Prospero’s death Ferdinand could marry Miranda. Although he is viewed as dangerous, Shakespeare instills in him the capacity for poetry and admiration of beauty in Act III. Through the use of spirits and magic, Prospero was able to subjugate Caliban. The fact that he tolerated all the insults from others proved that he considered himself lower to them and he has been termed a natural slave. However, Gonzalo observes that “their manners are more gentle-kind than of our human generation .You shall find” (III,iii,33-34). In contrast, Prospero was a well-read person, a sorcerer-king and master of magic.Although he had once cursed Caliban saying “as on whose nature nurture can never stick “ (IV.i.89 ) towards the end he forgave him and said “this thing of darkness I/acknowledge mine” (V.i.275-76) (is this sentence separated or connected to the whole paragraph?) Comparison between Prospero and Ferdinand: This relates to the topic due to the fact that Prospero was obsessed about retaining power and getting back his Earldom. He used Ferdinand as a pawn slave to achieve this and eventually succeeded in getting what he sought. Ferdinand was the son of Alonso and was deemed to be the next king of Naples. Prospero is able to exert power over Ferdinand because he was smitted by Miranda and they wanted to marry. The shrewd Prospero seized this opportunity in order to strengthen his position in Naples. Ferdinand allows himself to become servant of Prospero due to his infatuation for Miranda. However, Prospero “punished” Ferdinand as “trials of thy love “( IV.i.6) and treats him shabbily. But Ferdinand bears all this cheerfully in order to be united with his lady love, Miranda. Finally, Prospero gives his approval for the marriage but says that the consummation should be done only after the vows were taken and the marriage ceremony over.( It refers to the marriage ceremony They should not consummate their union until the “full and holy rite be ministered” otherwise he would wish them “barren hate” ceremony was over.( IV,I,17-20). If the marrying couple had sexual relations before the marriage ceremony, then Mirinda would be barren and not have any children after her marriage. The reason for this was because Prospero was very much concerned about Mirinda’s and about Mirinda’s virginity since it was linked with the bargaining power he had, and he viewed her virginity as a purchasing tool to strength his power back in Italy. However, Ferdinanc was a simple person and not consumed with the greed and manipulation of Prospero.After the ship carrying Antonio, Alonso, Ferdinand and Sebastian and GonzaloIn was shipwrecked, Ferdinand was separated from his father Alonso. Since Alonso,despite an ardous search for his son could not find Ferdinand, he feared he was dead by his father Alonso, during the Tempest in which father and son were separated. Prospero wrongly suspects Ferdinand of trying to wrong doing when it was Prospero’s own brothers who were guilty of it. He punishes Ferdinand while allowing Antonio, and Sebastian to go scot-free. The reason why Ferdinand bore Prospero’s ill- treatment was because he was deeply in love with his daughter, Miranda and wanted to marry her with the consent of her father. Shakespeare portrays the character of Ferdinand as one of a quiet, unassuming and mild nature who nursed no other ambition except to marry his ladylove, Miranda, while Prospero is depicted as calculative and scheming, wanting his daughter to marry Ferdinand in order to allow her to ascend the throne of Naples as queen. Relationship between Prospero and Miranda: The ignorance and innocence of Miranda as compared to the wisdom and genius of her father, Prospero. Although Shakespeare portrays as Miranda as a young, naïve and carefree girl, Prospero’s character is seen as manipulative and scheming, especially when he takes advantage of Ferdinand’s love for Miranda by enslaving him. It relates to the topic in the sense of control of power. Having lost his earldom due to the treachery of his brother, Prospero is a broken man , and this attitude is reflective in his interaction with people whom he uses for dominating them and bringing them under his will and command. Although Shakespeare has initially portrayed the character of Miranda as small, innocent and gullible child, her association with her father makes her worldly wise and shrewd. This is amply seen in her relationship with Ferdinance and also how much she was able to endear to him. Her father was a well read and knowledgeable person and through his magical powers, he was able to dominate people and control nature and the seas .He caused the tempestuous storm resulting in the shipwreck of Antonio, and also, through the power of occult and magic, makes his presence felt in the proceedings of the play. CONCLUSION: (you mention many points in the conclusion but how do these points “wrap” the ideas stated above?) Prospero is the central character and the Tempest is the main theme. Prospero exacts revenge for the wrong-doings of his brother, Antonio,through the power of his magic, but later he is remorseful and abandones it. The Tempest would not have been possible with Prospero, and the depth of his relations with the other cast of chacters. He exerts power and knowledge and saves himself and others from serious circumstances. Although his enemies, especially Caliban makes strong efforts to kill him, his supernatural ally, Arial, saves him, time and again. It may be concluded that the central theme of the play is the Tempest which occurred in the first Act itself. If there were no tempest, the play would not have been possible. Again the central character is Prospero, who, although was vindictive and bend on revenge in the beginning of the play, towards the end, he realized his mistake and forgave his enemies. Therefore the central point of the play would be of forgiveness as shown by Prospero. Because of his forgiving attitude, in the end he was blessed with all that he had hoped for : His daughter’s marriage into the royal family, his return of dukedom and final return to Milan to take his rightful place in his kingdom after 12 years of exile. The most important factor emerging was the moral defeat of his enemies which could not have been possible without the occurrence of the Tempest and the subsequent events. The Tempest in his life was overcome by good fortune and his control over the spirits, Arial and others lords who had first saved his life and subsequently helped him overcome his enemies and regain his rightful throne in Milan after overcoming all the odds, including man-made attempts to kill him, first by his brother, and later by Caliban.The natural odds were his stormy voyage to the island on a makeship vessel and his 12 year stay in the island with his small daughter. In The Tempest, the playwright Shakespeare has rightly made use of the supernatural powers and human powers in order to allow humans to use powers and knowledge to overcome natural forces both man made and natural. ( Note: All corrections have been made in blue ) . Read More