The Role and Contributions of Prospero to The Tempest
Prospero is the main character in the play. Through out the play, all
events are centred on him, as he is the protagonist. He is the
conductor of every character and every event that happens throughout
the play and is able to relate his ambitions to each and every
character in the play. The main ideas of the play are developed
through the character of Prospero in many dimensions. In other words,
as the play develops, its main ideas are made evident through the
character of Prospero. For instance, the idea of colonialism is
developed through the relationship between Prospero and Caliban on
getting to the island. This is later developed into the idea of
rebellion when Caliban refuses to obey Prospero’s orders
Prospero’s contributions to the play place him in an inevitable
position. In other words, his character represents the plot and his
character plays a prominent role in the play. His character acts as
director within the play, as he controls all the events. Prospero’s
creation of the tempest at the beginning of the play makes evident his
contribution to the plot, due to the fact that it re enforces the
whole idea of the play, suggested by the title; The Tempest. Other
instances of contribution include, stopping the plan of Caliban,
Trinculo and Stephano to kill him and finally, Antonio and Sebastian’s
plan to kill Alonso and
Gonzalo.
The outstanding contributions of Prospero to the various themes in
“The Tempest” also make evident the importance of his role. Through
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his hidden forgiving nature, which is made evident at the end of the
play. Another point of view that might determine the likeability of
Prospero is the way he is presented to the audience by the director of
the production of ‘The Tempest’. Many different audiences are thereby
left to have their own view of Prospero .To be able to support either
argument, there must be evidence that backs-up each of the analysis of
Prospero's character and why he is seen in such a way. From my
perspective, one can say that Prospero's role, as a key-figure in the
play is what makes him subject to scrutiny; therefore any one in his
position with such consequences would have acted in a similar order.
Bibliography.
William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”; The Arden Shakespeare, Edited by
Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan
With the semester coming to an end, many students are excited. This especially includes those who will be graduating soon. However, graduation can be seen as a bittersweet moment. On one hand, the graduates enter into a new chapter in their lives. On the other hand, they may lose communication with some of their friends. Unfortunately, this is a natural aspect of each person’s life. Everyone will experience some kind of loss in their life, whether it is person or an object. In The Tempest, Shakespeare discusses the topic of loss. While this theme is not talked about much compared to other themes in the play, it is very important since it is a theme that is included in the 1956 movie adaptation Forbidden Planet. While both works illustrate the ways people deals a loss, the later work demonstrates how the advancement in the world have affected the way modern society
Heroes are rarely seen in today's world. Too many people are worried about money or power to be concerned with others around them. But then that leads to the definition of a hero. It is possibly a person who does moral good in the world, or perhaps someone who stands up for those who do not have the power to do so themselves. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, but people must remember that they are still human. They do make mistakes and they can be selfish. Such is the case in both Hamlet and Tempest. Both main characters have been slighted in some way and both eventually get their revenge. They are similar and different in the ways that they go about this business. Thus, Hamlet and Prospero shall be discussed in detail to each other and how they performed as the "hero" of the play.
William Shakespeare, in his play The Tempest, uses social order, with particular reference to 17th century gender stereotypes to explain the nature of the main character, Prospero. Prospero is master of the three other main characters, with whom he shares very different relationships. Miranda, his daughter, represents the stereotypical "submissive female" of Elizabethan times who didn't resist; she accedes to everything Prospero says. As a result, Prospero exerts a sort of passive control in relation to Miranda, easily exercising power over her. Caliban, on the other hand, represents the complete opposite of Miranda, fitting an unbridled male role that represents deviation from power. Because of Caliban's digression, Prospero commands him with sheer anger and contempt, an aggressive form of control. Fitting between the roles of Caliban and Miranda is Ariel, Prospero's servant. Ariel, a spirit who is never assigned a gender, represents the middle ground between male and female and is thus treated by Prospero with a mixture of aggressiveness and passiveness. This assertive control results in a paternalistic relationship between Prospero and Ariel. Despite these differing relationships, Prospero utilizes each and every character to reach his ultimate goal: the advancement of his political position in Milan.
The Relationship Between Miranda and Prospero in The Tempest Works Cited Missing Act one scene two opens with Miranda and Prospero standing on an island, after having just witnessed a shipwreck. Right from the first line we can establish the relationship between Miranda and Prospero. "My dearest father" (line 1). As the scene commences, we begin to learn a great deal about the two roles. Miranda opens the scene as she questions her father about the huge storm.
To be able to answer this question we must first understand why Prospero can be seen as good or evil. It is fair to say that Prospero is a main protagonist to the plot of Shakespeare’s Tempest. It is due to Prospero's role as a key figure in the play that has put him under so much scrutiny. Many different Shakespearean critics have their own view of Prospero and those that read or see the play also have their own opinion of the way in which Prospero may be seen.
Shakespeare's Use of Language, Imagery and Setting to Illuminate Prospero's Journey from Revenge to Reconciliation
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.
In literature as in life, characters are multi-dimensional beings. They possess a wide variety of character traits that make them who they are. In the Tempest written by William Shakespeare, Prospero traits resemble those of the Europeans that came during the exploration of the Americas. Thus, Prospero’s treatment of Caliban is similar to the way Europeans treated the Native Americans.
There are many elements in Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, which one cannot reconcile with the real world. The main theme in The Tempest is illusion, and the main focus is the experiment by Prospero.
In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda on a deserted island. On the surface, he appears to be a benevolent leader doing his best to protect and care for the inhabitants of the island, especially for Miranda. On closer inspection, however, Prospero plays God, controlling and creating each individual to fit the mold he desires. He takes advantage of his authority over the people and situations he encounters while wearing a facade of integrity and compassion to disguise his wily intentions and to retain love and respect.
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 by Shakespeare and A Tempest by Cesaire both bring attention to the themes that are seen in present day society. A Tempest mostly speaks on behalf of the reference to Malcolm X and the never-ending gain of freedom for both Caliban and Ariel and brings in Eshu, who is a black-devil god. The Tempest speaks of the unity and justice among the different classes of people and discrimination from the beginning. There is a great amount of detail in both stories that is useful. The way society had developed and worked when both stories were published and even written is presented in today’s world, even though it’s not exact references, it still leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Justice, freedom from oppression and discrimination
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.
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.