ipl-logo

How Does Prospero Have Power In The Tempest

378 Words2 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Caliban a native to the island is one of the main characters who best illustrates a struggle to gain power. For example, Caliban states, “This Island’s mine Sycorax my mother Which thou tak’st from me” (524, line 332). This shows that Caliban did have power once before, but has lost it when Prospero invaded his island. He has had to do hard labor for Prospero’s survival. Notably, Prospero says “Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself Upon thy wicked damn come forth” (524, Line 319). Prospero labeled Caliban as a slave meaning he has no freedom. He continues to rant to Caliban harassing him about the scars that Prospero gave to him. This is important because Caliban was powerless to defend against Prospero. Power can relate to the theme of forgiveness and repentance. Because when Prospero revealed his identity and forgave everyone he became duke again. …show more content…

For instance, Stephano states, [A] “Drink, Servant-monster” (559 Line 7). Caliban truly believes this is the right step to freedom, but he’s digging himself even deeper down the social caste system. Trinculo calls him a liar, ignorant monster and a fish. This shows that they are being nice to Caliban is just an act and deep down they don’t care about him, they want to use him for survival on the island. In fact, Caliban says “I prithee let me bring thee where crabs grow and I with my long nail will dig thee pignuts” (549 Line 154) [C] They Trick him to the point where he thinks they are gods and will all the work of finding food for them. Stephano and Trinculo wanted to the be king of an island so they filled their desire by Caliban do their work. This not only shows Caliban’s desire for power, but also

Show More
Related
519 Words | 3 Pages

Caliban and his mother could have ruled the island, instead he lost the island to Prospero when his mother passed and he became a slave on his own island. Caliban hates his mother in the play, but in the poem he misses her. Miranda says “Abhorred slave/ Which any print of goodness wilt not take”(1.2.352-353). Miranda degrades Caliban by calling him a slave. They are both or higher power because Caliban owns the island, but Prospero and Miranda doesn’t see him as powerful all because of Caliban’s lack of knowledge.

Read More
723 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
452 Words | 2 Pages

(Shakespeare 1. 2.440-446). In this quote, Prosper, referring to Caliban as his slave and is forcing Caliban to work for him or else Prospero would torture him, regardless that Caliban does not owe Prospero any work. Caliban’s rights to do what he wants with his own body are taken away from him by Prospero, since Prospero has more power than Caliban.

Read More
987 Words | 4 Pages

These issues can be seen in the poem "Caliban," where he states, "Before hatred ate my heart / there was music," (Dancing Bear, 1-2). Before Prospero came to the island Caliban experienced happiness through his mother. However, after Prospero took over, Caliban only focused on getting his vengeance. This caused him to only focus on the grief in his life, not allowing for any positive emotions to be expressed. Prospero's indifference about how Caliban felt, meant that Caliban's emotional distress was one sided.

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

Prospero uses his power to enslave Ariel to take advantage of its magic and complete his plan to get his dukedom

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

Mostly, those people have to follow his orders and he knows he can use his power to make them do what he wants or even to force them. When he talks to Caliban, he uses very harsh words stating his authority over the creature.

Read More
873 Words | 4 Pages

Dementia is a tenacious disorder which causes the loss of one’s mental ability; affecting their speech, shrinking of the hippocampus (dictates movement between long term and short term memories in the brain, this engenders a myriad of problems: being certain that memories have already occurred, and confusing two memories with each other and the people within it. Dementia is a slow, obnoxious disease that eventually kills the patient. There are an estimated 850,000 civilians living in Britain that have Alzheimer’s disease: most common type of dementia. Despite those bewildering figures, there is still no cure for any type of dementia. Why is not enough done?

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

Let us consider our initial meeting with him. Caliban is the only native living on the island now inhabited by Prospero and Miranda. Caliban is described as hag-born, whelp, not honored with human shape, demi-devil, poor credulous monster, hag-seed, strange fish. Caliban tells Prospero in scene two that when thou camest first, thou strokedst me and madest much of me wouldst give me water with berries in't, and teach me how to name the bigger light and how the less, that burn by day and night: and then I loved thee and show'd thee all the qualities o' the isle the fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile. Caliban is reminding Prospero that he learnt everything about the island from him, suggesting also that Caliban was a native on the island and also that Prospero had no knowledge on how to survive on the island.

Read More
1180 Words | 5 Pages

(1.2.191-193) reinforces Cesaire’s post-colonial perspective and his endorsement of negritude. Caliban finds himself continuously ill-treated; he has it the worst of all of Prospero’s slaves. The conditions of hard-labour that were subjected to black people by white supercilious people during colonization are mentioned by Cesaire were Prospero “forgives” Ferdinand and excuses him from his afore imposed state of slavery on the basis that they are of the same race and rank and the manual labour that was intended for Ferdinand is passed on to Caliban. Caliban is naïve and gullible, he trusts Stephano and Trinculo upon meeting them for the first time in spite of the ordeal he undergoes with Prospero. Caliban’s woes are echoed throughout the play and draws sympathy from the reader, whereas in “The Tempest” Shakespeare makes it difficult for the audience to consider Caliban as anything further then the perpetrator

Read More
1220 Words | 5 Pages

Both characters are considered as rebellious savages that are controlled, Caliban by Prospero and John by the World State. The Tempest can be interpreted as a play about colonialism because when Prospero arrived at the island, he imposed his own rules and put Caliban under slavery, just as Europeans when they took possession of the lands of Americans and enslaved them. From this point of view, Prospero and the World State are very similar because they both use their power to control over people and to preserve their own stability (Prospero using his magic and the World State using soma).

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

As Davidson points out, “Desire for vengeance has lain dormant in Prospero through the years of banishment, and now, the great wrong of twelve

Read More
1470 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More
1555 Words | 7 Pages

Caliban was being dehumanized. Caliban was a symbol that stood for the countless victims of European imperialism and colonization. Like Caliban, the colonized people were disinherited, exploited, and subjugated. Caliban was used by Shakespeare as an example that was socially relevant to the ongoing colonization of other areas from

Read More
1624 Words | 7 Pages

The various ways Shakespeare dramatizes and explores power, allows us to obtain a richer impression of the theme of power in The Tempest. Government and authority both carry out important functions in the play. It is the subject of government that initiates the events in the play and it is also the foundation of the progression throughout the play. Prospero is the fundamental piece in the play concerning governance because he used to be the Duke of Milan, but loses his title to his brother Antonio when he devotes too much of his time learning magic rather than ruling his people and seeing his obligations through: “The government I cast upon my brother, [a]nd to my state grew stranger, being transported [a]nd rapt in secret studies,” (p.10). This is also the cause of Prospero and his infant

Read More
1123 Words | 5 Pages

In comparison, the inconsistency between diction depicts the power dynamics observed in the play. Shakespeare often uses Prospero’s servant, Ariel and slave, Caliban to portray the differences in the hierarchy of the play. As observed by the audience Prospero often uses threats and insults to communicate and assign task to Caliban, hence “...tonight thou shalt have cramps, side stitches that shall pen thy breath up. ”(I.ii.325-326) Prospero threatens Caliban with pain after his refusal to do work, because he feels as if the isle belongs to him due to the fact that it was inhabited by his mother first.

Read More

More about How Does Prospero Have Power In The Tempest

Related Topics

Open Document