A Compare and Contrast Between Characters From Shakespeare’s Macbeth & The Tempest

671 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Macbeth power struggles

If you have read through Shakespeare’s plays, you’ll come to realize that many of the characters have similar traits or situations. Although some can be compared to one another, they are also very different in their own ways. The play Macbeth is about a man whose attempts to seize power ruin his life. Tempest is about a man who uses magic to reconcile with his brother of past disagreements. The main characters Macbeth from Macbeth and Prospero from Tempest are similar because both want power, but different in the ways that they gain authority, and the initial sources of control.
To begin, Macbeth from the play Macbeth and Prospero from the Tempest are similar because both want power. In Macbeth’s case, he and his friend Banquo hear a prophecy from three witches, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1, scene 3, lines 149-15) After receiving this news, Macbeth does in fact become thane of Cawdor, which confirms that the witches were telling the truth. Because of this, he becomes greedy for power and wants to become king right away. In Prospero’s case, he was the rightful Duke of Milan but had been sent adrift in a boat with his three year old daughter, Miranda, by his usurping brother, Antonio. (“The Tempest” Encyclopedia Britannica) Prospero says he used to be the Duke of Milan until his brother, Antonio, betrayed him and stole the dukedom, with the consent of the King, while Prospero was busy learning magic in his library, which wasn’t his real job. (Shmoop Editorial Team) Because the dukedom was taken from him, Prospero wanted to be duke again and reconcile with his brother.
In addition, Macbeth and Prospero a...

... middle of paper ...

...ton, David. "Prospero." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .
Crouch, Rebecca. "Greed in Macbeth." Prezi. Prezi Inc., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .
Jones, Quin. "The Power of Greed." The Telephone Booth. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .
Shmoop Editorial Team, ed. "The Tempest." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .
"The Tempest." Encyclopedia Britannica. N. pag. Encyclopedia Britannica Academic Online Edition. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Brooklyn Academy of Music's Production of "The Tempest"

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nowledge on The Tempest, both that it is Shakespeare’s final play and believed to be his farewell to theater Mendes unifies Shakespeare and Prospero. Prospero’s actions can be unified to Shakespeare himself, specifically in the final scenes of the play when Prospero relinquishes his magical abilities.

    Read More

  • The Neo-Platonic Vision of the Soul in The Tempest

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Tempest by William Shakespeare is one of the most relevant and studied plays of the Elizabethan period among scholars, from both, ancient and actual times. One of the many readings that have prevailed suggests that the play’s protagonist, Prospero, and his two su-pernatural servants, Ariel and Caliban, can work as a single psychological unit is constantly discussed by the academics. This reading is not new; it has been considered for longer than the idea of The Tempest as an autobiographical allegory, being first proposed by Thomas Campbell in 1838 (Yachnin).

    Read More

  • Prospero’s Problem With Perfection

    2284 Words  | 5 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Davidson, Frank. "The Tempest: An Interpretation." In The Tempest: A Casebook. Ed. D.J. Palmer. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1968. 225.

    Read More

  • Prospero, S Use Of Epiphany In Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the comedic, yet thrilling play, The Tempest, William Shakespeare uses characters such as Caliban, Alonso, and Ariel to show Prospero’s immense cruelness and pure monstrosity. Moreover, these Shakespearean characters are also used to highlight Prospero’s change in character into a kinder and more forgiving person. Prospero starts the play out as a vengeful monster, after an illuminating moment however, his persona transforms into his true identity of a compassionate man.

    Read More

  • Vengeance and Forgiveness in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gervinus, G.G. "The Tempest." The Shakespeare Criticism Volume 8. Gale Research Inc., Detroit. 1989: 304-307.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrasting Characters in Macbeth

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    First is Macbeth, who starts the play off as Thane of Glamis, but is soon told by three witches that he will become much more than that. In the play, Macbeth and Banquo meet up with three witches who make prophecies about Macbeth and Banquo’s future. Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland, and Banquo will not become king but his sons will. After the witches leave, Macbeth and Banquo were delighted to hear the prophecies but their reactions were completely opposite. ...

    Read More

  • Sycorax in The Tempest

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Second Revised Ed. United States of America: First Signet Classics Print, 1998. 1-87. Print.

    Read More

  • Similarities and Differences Between Shakespeare´s Hamlet and Macbeth

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both Hamlet and Macbeth fight for what they want and are eventually killed in the end. Something they have in common is that their journeys both start with something evil and spiritual. For example, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father in the beginning and Macbeth runs into the witches and their prophecies. These apparitions lead both of them to their horrible fates. They each have a relationship with supernatural occurrences. Macbeth acts upon the prophecies the witches give him and make him greedy for power. Hamlet feels obligated to follow the instructions of his father’s ghost. Hamlet and Macbeth both make choices that cause them to do evil and horrible things. They each end up killing a king. Macbeth seems to lose his morals because of the supernatural apparitions. Furthermore, both of their consciousness makes them second guess themselves and crazy. Their decisions make them and everyone around them mad. Lady Macbeth, for example, becomes mad because of her conscience and the evil deeds of her husband.

    Read More

  • Women in Elizabethan England and Shakespeare's Miranda in The Tempest

    3452 Words  | 7 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard and Katharine Eisaman Maus. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997. 3055-3107.

    Read More

  • Illusion and Reality in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    Illusion and Reality in Shakespeare's The Tempest. This essay will discuss the part that illusion and reality play in developing and illuminating the theme of Shakespeare's The Tempest. This pair of opposites will be contrasted to show what they represent in the context of the play. Further, the characters associated with these terms, and how the association becomes meaningful in the play, will be discussed.

    Read More

  • The Abuse of Power in Shakespeare's Play, The Tempest

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare is a very cleverly thought out piece of work. Shakespeare very deliberately inter-relates several different forms of power during the course of the play. There is political power, shown through the plethora of political characters and their schemes, while at the same time parodied by the comic characters. The power of magic and love, and its ability to reunite and absolve also plays a major role in the play. Throughout the play, Prospero, the main character, takes great advantage of his power and authority, both properly and improperly.

    Read More

  • Essay on Resolution of Conflict in The Tempest

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    colonising discourse and expanding territory. The Tempest thus incorporates concerns of the Jacobean 17th century context, used to naturalise the resolution.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Colonialism in Shakespeare's Tempest

    2638 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Tempest. Arden Shakespeare, 1997. Print. Third Series Smith, Hallet Darius. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest; A Collection of Critical Essays, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast of Caliban and Ariel in Shakespeare’s The Tempest

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare, William, and Robert Woodrow Langbaum. The Tempest: With New and Updated Critical Essays and A Revised Bibliography. New York, NY, USA: Signet Classic, 1998. Print.

    Read More

More about A Compare and Contrast Between Characters From Shakespeare’s Macbeth & The Tempest

Open Document