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Death In Prince Prospero's Fear Of Death

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Dale Carnegie quotes, “All men have fears, but the brave put down their fears and go forward, sometimes to death, but always to victory.” Death is a natural phenomenon that every man has to face. Although humanity can try to prolong life as much as they can, death will eventually come. Prince Prospero’s act of isolating and secluding himself from his countrymen together with “a thousand of his knights and dames of his court” in an attempt to escape death while his people are suffering and dying from the gruesome and fatal plague is a clear manifestation of his cowardice. It is human nature to fear death; it terrifies both the brave and weak. However, as the ruler he ought to have faced the great pestilence together with his people or at …show more content…

A brave leader gives hope to his people in times of need and does not hide behind walls in seclusion and lets his people suffer and perish. It is unfortunate that Prince Prospero, because of his great fear of death, tries to thwart it by building a fortressed castle and hiding behind these impenetrable walls. He must have thought that hiding and secluding inside his castellated abbey with his chosen friends could have protected him from the Red Death. However, his “castellated abbey” fails, because death is inevitable. As a noble prince, Prospero could have used his wealth to help his people to find a way of fighting the dreadful plague; but instead, he hides from …show more content…

"But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious" from the text shows evidence that the prince never really cares about his countrymen suffering and dying from the lethal plague outside his castellated abbey. A brave leader is supposed to take care of his people not just himself. Doing what is right, good, and helping others must override one’s fears and self-interest. Prospero inhumane nature manifests itself when he invites only his close friends to hide from the Red Death in his castellated abbey. The prince sees the lives of his friends more important than other lives in the kingdom. From the text, the friends are "light-hearted," which refers to people who never really care much about others. Prospero never wants to rescue some of his friends who could question him on his inhumane acts. His “magnificent revel” also attests to his selfishness. It is unfortunate that Prospero was celebrating in the palace rather than mourning for his ordinary citizens who are dying from the Red Death (Roth 52). Instead, Prospero is hedonistic as the author wrote, “The prince has provided all the appliances of pleasure.” Happiness is his only objective in life, yet he was supposed to care for all his people. He calls his friends into the palace because of the fear of being alone but not because he cares for them (Bell

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On the other hand, even though Prince Prospero tried his best to escape the horrible reality of the plague, in the end he died because of it. He failed to realize that the Read Death had entered his castle in the form of the masked figure. The masked figure clearly represented Death. The figure was “tall and gaunt,” wore “habiliments of the grave,” and had the “countenance of a stiffened corpse.” The “black velvet room” also hinted the presence of a mystery figure that would bring nothing but misfortune.

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That's why he was so nervous for the guilt took over him,which exposed him to the cops. The same fear is present is in Masque of Red Death. In Masque of Red Death Edgar writes,” All these and security were within. Without the Red Death “(57).Prince Prospero has been running away from death,and he has tried to hide and escape from hiding in his castle to running away from the red death in the end. Prince Prospero was a tyrant ,for he was letting his people die well his was hiding in his castle.

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Prospero constantly claims that Caliban is incapable of doing anything right and is only capable of committing malicious acts. In the text, Shakespeare states, “Which any print of goodness wilt not take, being capable of all ill.” This statement further emphasizes Prospero’s revulsion towards Caliban. They have both endured neglection and verbal abuse throughout their lifetimes, which has led them to commit wrongful acts of violence upon

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In contrast, The peasants mean nothing to him because they’re not worth of any value. The ignorance comes from Prospero’s delusional views of the world. As said before, Prospero doesn’t do anything because he looks the world through a different perspective. It ties in with his selfishness because since the Red Death has not affected him and instead ignores the harsh reality and lives in his own fantasy. “The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure.

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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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Prospero’s Magic, the Age of Death and the 1610 Anthropocene When Prospero -- the hero in William Shakespeare’s last play The Tempest -- buries his magical books near a cliff of an uninhabited island, he sings out the first song of the “Anthropocene” at the edge of the great globe. As the Duke of Milan, he and his daughter are exiled to the isolated island for 12 years, during which process he uses his magic to enslave the natives on the island, including “ a savage and deformed slave” -- Caliban (Shakespeare 3). One may argue that the master-slave relationship shows Shakespeare’s postcolonial reflection while others may think that this viewpoint takes too far from Shakespeare’s original intention. Steve Mentz, in his essay “Enter Anthropocene, c.1610,” interprets The Tempest through lenses of the 1610

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Prospero appears to the royal passengers in his royal robe proclaiming himself as the duke of Milan. Prospero hopes that the collaboration of his entire plan will make his enemies’ acceptance him as Duke and their deep apologies for wronging him. I believe that Alonso’s initial reaction to Prospero is not necessarily one of immense contrition for working with Antonio to overthrow Prospero’s rule, but immense relief that someone on this “uninhabited” island has offered the men a "hearty welcome" (V,1,122,p.153). Although it is clear that Alonso does reconcile for his actions by subtly stating “Thou pardon me my wrongings” (V,1,131,p.153), it seems that Alonso’s only true regret is that his treason has resulted in the loss of his son, Ferdinand.

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Through The Tempest, the author tells the story of Prospero’s revenge on the men who took his dukedom away and left him and his daughter to die. Throughout the book Prospero tortures and manipulates them until he has complete control over them. In Act 5, Prospero’s chooses to forgive them and in the meantime abandons his art which can be a sign of change in character. However, through triumph, not change, the author uses Prospero’s choices to reveal that his desires are for power and superiority.

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Prospero played a key role in his own downfall. He, for example, failed to manage his authority. He admits enabling his brother 's treason happened because he gave him a lot of powers and neglected his own duties as the head of state as he concentrates on

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In the infamous tragedy of the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, the theme and influence of death are poignantly prevalent through the course of the play. The use of death in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is portrayed through 3 instances of the deaths of 4 major characters, Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio and Tybalt, in which the context of each death, are relative to the cause and development of their demise. Shakespeare capitalizes on the sophistication and complexity of death along with its varying impacts in relation to the context in which guides their tragedies. The death of Romeo is the result of his intense love and passion for Juliet as he refuses to exist in a world without his true love, “ The lean abhorrèd monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee, And never from this palace of dim night depart again.”

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When we first meet Prospero we are also introduced to his 15 year old daughter Miranda. In Act 1 Scene II we are presented with aspects of violence as Prospero retells his past to Miranda and in doing so he explains how they got to this current situation and how “that situation involves treason and murder” (Nostbakken, 3) In doing so he retells Miranda how “his Brother Antonio persuaded Alonso the king of Naples, to assist him in overthrowing Prospero and taking his dukedom of Milan” (3). It is clear that Prospero, although throughout the play is the one causing the psychological violence, in this case he is the victim. In this scene it is evident that Prospero suffered from both psychological and physical violence bestowed upon him by his brother Antonio.

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He’s but a sot as I am, nor hath / One spirit to command…”(3.2.85-88). All of these occurrences are empowered by Prospero’s collection of books, which enable him to speak the language of sorcery unlike any of the other character and endow him with otherworldly abilities. He uses these powers solely to carry out his plan of escape from the island by bringing Ferdinand and Miranda together. After his plans are successful, he renounces magic and becomes the same as any of the other members of the nobility, showing that magic was the defining characteristic of his might.

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At the end of the 15th century, the play "Everyman" by an unknown author talks about the game of morality. The themes of this literature are: life is a pilgrimage; death is inevitable and medieval theology. It is not faith that will save Everyman, he needs learn to listen and knows what the difference is between what is salvation and condemnation. In today's day, many people struggle or experience death.

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