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Confinement The Tempest

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To truly escape confinement, one must forgive and forget everyone and everything. The play, "The Tempest," written by William Shakespeare explains the theme of freedom versus confinement. In this play, the protagonist, Prospero, is the duke of Milan. He battles with an internal struggle because of all the grudges he holds against the other characters. All throughout the play Prospero is focused on revenge so much to the point where he uses his servant, Ariel and slave, Caliban to cause unnecessary chaos. At the end, Prospero finally releases, the idea of revenge and frees himself from his confinement. Throughout "The Tempest," Shakespeare develops a theme of freedom versus confinement through characterization. In "The Tempest," different characters …show more content…

During the course of the play, the audience realizes that Prospero plays a part with imprisonment and release. As Prospero is telling "the tale of his last twelve years," he admits his wrong doings and gives up magic. This shows freedom. Prospero has finally set himself free from his internal imprisonment. He no longer uses Caliban or Ariel to create disasters. To carry on with life, one must not hold grudges or seek vengeance. Vengeance only ends with someone getting hurt. It can consume a person and make them do terrible things to themselves or to other people. In the end, Prospero finally let go of his old ways to live out a better and fuller …show more content…

The characters helped advance the idea of freedom and confinement through Ariel, Caliban, and Prospero. Confinement was experienced through Prospero slave, Caliban when he was complaining about the possible punishments he may receive if he does something wrong. This is abusive. Nobody deserves to be abused for not following commands. Along with Caliban 's confinement comes Ariel 's. Ariel is imprisoned in the way that he feels obligated to serve Prospero in exchange for saving his life. Prospero promises his freedom, but never actually gives it to him until act 5. Prospero upholds his revenge throughout the play by creating disasters and using Ariel and Caliban to do it. Finally, in the end, Prospero learns that revenge never has and will never be the answer. It confined him, but now that he has given it up, it has freed him. Shakespeare displayed that to truly escape confinement, one must forgive and forget everyone and everything to live a happier and more fulfilling

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In addition to Caliban, Prospero's yearning for vengeance also creates internal issues for himself. After Ferdinand and Miranda announce their marriage, Prospero claims his "rejoicing / At nothing can be more," because he must "perform / Much business appertaining," (Shakespeare, 95-99). Usually, a father focuses more on his daughter getting married, however Prospero can only focus on his plans for vengeance. Some believe that the characters internal struggles were caused by the wrongdoers, and not a lack of forgiveness; however, at the end of the play, after Prospero becomes a more virtuous character, his conflicts with his brother and Caliban are resolved, clearly showing that their focus on vengeance is what caused the internal struggles.

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He made Caliban his servant because he could not trust him, he had lost respect, and had no other choice. Even when Caliban was serving Prospero, he was still treated fairly. Prospero freed Ariel from being eternally stuck in a tree, and in return he asked that for a year, Ariel would serve him and help him get off of the island, and then he would be freed. Prospero did not take partial control of Caliban and Ariel without a reasonable purpose, where the Europeans had no real reason at all. Prospero’s valid reasoning, his open mindedness towards Caliban, and his willingness to set Ariel free are why I believe that the translation of the play that compares it to European colonialism is

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As the play begins, it seems as if the massive tempest is simply a random occurrence, catching the mariners and nobility by chance. However, as the act continues, Shakespeare reveals that the tempest was actually the work of Prospero and his ghostly servant Ariel, who stirred up the seas and set fire to the masts (1.2, 193-194). This establishes Prospero as the executor of a mess of ‘coincidences’ ranging from Ferdinand stumbling upon his daughter Miranda to King Alonso and his party walking directly into the former duke’s cell. Though Prospero may have the same control over the English language as the other characters, Caliban points to his specific source of power. He says, “… for without [his books] /

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