Discoveries encapsulate the ability to enlighten through the transformative effects they bring forth enhancing the explorer’s understanding of self and world that surrounds them. New perceptions and ideas are shaped as a result of the ramifications the individual undergoes. William Shakespeare’s play, ‘The Tempest’ (1611) illustrates the obstacles planned discoveries encompass, offering altering perspectives of characters and their worlds. The novel ‘The Alchemist’ written by Paulo Coelho (1988) expresses the significance of acknowledging one’s destiny and importance of discovering as it heightens one’s sense of purpose in the world. The two texts explore the far-reaching alterations and personal development of perspectives and attitudes of …show more content…
Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ explores Prospero’s ability to redeem his humanity which enlightens the audience of its necessity in order to speculate on future possibilities. The metaphorical meaning of ‘Tempest’ reflects the physical manifestation of Prospero’s internal rage and desire for vengeance against those who have brought him pain, despite the power entrusted within the waves of the storm he prevents harm from occurring to the inhabitants on board the ship, demonstrating to the audience that one’s humanity peaks through their actions even if they lack acknowledgements of it. The symbolism and determined tone in “I’ll drown my book” highlights the significance of the book as not only the foundation of Prospero’s evil, power and vulnerability but the restraints from his humanity. Furthermore Prospero’s determined tone emphasises his ability to overcome the anger he feels towards the pain from the past, no longer desiring to bring harm to those who have done him so and through this he discovers his ability to redeem himself and in return restore his humanity. The audience awakens to the importance of understanding one’s need to keep their humanity in order to sustain positive relationship through the act of …show more content…
The repetition of ‘our’ and ‘we’ in “We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or out possessions or out property… fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand” conveys the idea that fear is an obstacle during self-discovery as it restrains individuals from seeking what they desire but ironically it helps them gain a greater reward – new ideas and understanding of one’s self every time the fear is overcome. The audience discovers that fear is a natural occurrence but through embracing it, they’re also embracing new challenges that can substantially lead to new ideas. The metaphor of ‘The Caravan’ is of life portraying the idea of how detours represent challenges and fears that obstacle a journey but through Santiago’s ability to overcome these challenges they bring opportunities to learn. This allows Santiago to discover his ability to endure and overcome problems through taking alternative routes, changing his perspective of the world he lives in and the opportunities they bring. This gives the audience the knowledge that challenges and opportunities may come and go but there is a chance to learn from it. The recurring motif of “Personal Legends” illustrate the purpose of Santiago’s journey
The most significant journeys are always the ones that transform us, from which we emerge changed in some way. In Paulo Coelho’s modern classic novel The Alchemist, and Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken, the journey that is undertaken by the central exponents leaves both with enlightening knowledge that alters their lives irrevocably. In stark contradiction to this, Ivan Lalic’s poem Of Eurydice , delves into the disruptive and negative force of knowledge, in contrast to The Alchemist which details an antithesis of this point relative to knowledge. In all journeys, the eventuality of knowledge is a transformative one.
Confronting experiences may prompt inner discoveries which result in the re-evaluation of the importance of power. Shakespeare’s The Tempest follows Prospero, an exiled megalomaniac’s plan to exact revenge
In The Alchemist Paulo Coelho presents a character, Santiago, torn between following tradition and his Personal Legend. Santiago tries to live true to his Personal Legend, which is a path pursued by those who strive to fulfill their purpose in life. Yet throughout the novel tradition, a motif, presents itself as a roadblock holding Santiago back from reaching his dreams. Coelho juxtaposes tradition against Personal Legend to illustrate its purely individual nature and the necessity of the acceptance of change to reach one’s dreams and goals.
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).
Shakespeare's play, The Tempest tells the story of a father, Prospero, who must let go of his daughter; who brings his enemies under his power only to release them; and who in turn finally relinquishes his sway over his world - including his power over nature itself. The Tempest contains elements ripe for tragedy: Prospero is a controlling figure bent on taking revenge for the wrongs done to him, and in his fury he has the potential to destroy not only his enemies, but his own humanity and his daughter's future.
Ariel’s use of subtext communicated to Prospero that his power and consumption with vengeance was causing him to become inhumane. Prospero experiences an epiphany when Ariel says, “[m]ine would, sir, were I human” (V i, Shakespeare). Ariel points out to Prospero that his power is so strong and the revenge consuming him is making him into an evil person. Once Prospero has this moment of realization, he turns his behavior around by first denouncing his magic. Prospero shows how he is done using magic when he says, “[b]ut this rough magic I here abjure; and, when I have required…And deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book” (V i, Shakespeare). This illuminating episode and reveal of Prospero’s true character is used by Shakespeare as the casement to emphasize the inner meaning of the work. Shakespeare’s intended meaning of the work as a whole was that things such as hatred or revenge should never overcome and alter your true identity. Prospero exemplifies that revenge is a dangerous tool and can consume the one who uses it. Prospero’s epiphany allows him to find the human part of himself again and he has a realization that he should no longer be a
The Tempest by William Shakespeare, among other themes, is a play very centered around rivalries, an important one being the one between Prospero and Caliban. As one would naturally expect, the triumphs and failures of the ongoing conflict yield different reactions for the two different characters. The conflict illustrates a dichotomous view of the way in which people respond to failure or defeat. Whereas Caliban responds to defeat instinctively with furious acts of retaliation, Prospero reasons that when those kinds of acts are examined under the scope of logic, they appear to be unlike that of a noble and therefore, should not be undertaken.
The Tempest presents the character of Prospero the usurped duke of Milan. In the beginning Prospero’s character can be described as foul, spiteful, and selfish. This can be seen in various scenes in acts one and two of the play where he treats the people around him as his servants especially the fateful Ariel who reminded him of his promise only to be threatened of imprisonment. He’s selfish in the sense that he would do anything to accomplish his goal of executing his plan. Like a master puppeteer he is manipulative and deceptive. He even manipulates his daughter to fit according to his scheme. However, all of his foul characteristics left him as his plan nears its end. It is as if the shedding of his clothes represented his change is personality and attitude. After Prospero discarded his staff, drowned his magic book, and wore his duke garments he became more responsible and sympathetic. Instead of exacting revenge on the king of Naples a...
Through The Tempest play, William Shakespeare weaves together a tale that is characterized by anti-colonialist sentiments. Prospero - the deposed Milan Duke - adopts a colonialist mentality by treating his colleagues as slaves who have no rights. Characters who suffer mistreatment under Prospero include: Ariel - the spirit creature; Ferdinand - the Naples Prince; and Caliban - Sycorax’s son. Prospero possesses much magical power which he uses to oppress his compatriots. Consequently, Prospero is portrayed as a colonial tyrant who abuses his immense power. Anti-colonialism feelings are especially evident through the actions, utterances and disposition and of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel. To illustrate, Caliban berates Prospero for the former’s forced labor. Likewise, Ariel protests Prospero’s reluctance to release the former as earlier agreed. Miranda also expresses her dissatisfaction with Prospero’s unfair imprisonment of Ferdinand. Similarly, Ferdinand appears to challenge Prospero’s authority by briefly stopping dragging timber so as to flirt and chat with Miranda. The foregoing four characters exhibit conduct that highlights their displeasure with Prospero’s colonial-style authority over them. From the preceding expose, it can thus be concluded that Shakespeare’s The Tempest play is about anti-colonialism based on its depiction of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel’s opposition to Prospero’s oppressive authority.
Shakespeare's brilliant portrayal of Prospero's use of magic and power continues to draw both readers and audiences with The Tempest's many meanings and interpretations. As a main character, Prospero, is a person that many people can identify themselves with, with his want to achieve his desires and gain power over others through the use of magic. It is this identification that exceeds Shakespearean works, with The Tempest both emulating and presenting themes from other works in the Elizabethan period. Such as Christopher Marlowe's “Doctor Faustus”, a play written twenty years prior to The Tempest, containing the same themes of magic and power. Also, Both Faustus and Prospero portray the idea that power, such as magic, originates from books: whether they are works on “secret studies” or “liberal arts” (Tempest 1.2.91-95). Magic and power are two forces, that can both be found in literary works inside the play, and it is through Marlowe and Shakespeare's works that the audience is brought into the power play. This essay will explore the idea of the Renaissance overreacher, and his relationship with books.
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.
Allan Gilbert’s article summarizes about the multiple parallels that can be found in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. While some of these parallels are more obvious in The Tempest, some require a scholar to fully comprehend them.
The illusions of justice and freedom, and what they truly are, has been a reoccurring theme throughout the works. The definitions of justice and freedom have become so construed throughout the times. In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero tries to enthrall his audience in his narrative of social justice. The idea of justice the play portrays represents one individual who controls the fate of all others. Their freedom is controlled by the interference of those around them. Although he spends most of the play righting the wrongs done to him, he is misdirecting so to hide his true motive. Prospero misconstrues the definitions of justice and freedom by enslaving Ariel and Caliban, using magic for his own good, and creating a false happy
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. The epiphany of this however, is realized at the end of the play.
The Tempest, like any text, is a product of its context. It is constructed in relation to moral or ethical concerns of 17th century European Jacobean society. The resolution of conflict appears 'natural' or an inevitable consequence if regarded in relation to the concerns of its context. The resolution of conflict in this play incorporates Prospero being returned to his 'rightful' or natural position as Duke of Milan, his daughter Miranda getting married to Ferdinand, and the party returning to Milan leaving the island to the 'monster', Caliban. The resolution is a consequence of the concerns of the time, including the idea of the divine right of kings, courtly love, and colonisation.