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How Does Prospero Use Forgiveness In The Tempest

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Forgiveness is a difficult thing to give to others. We struggle choosing whether to forgive or to get back at the ones who have wronged us. Forgiveness is something we do to express love by surpassing all the wrongs one has done. On the contrary, vengeance is acting in retaliation in response to the ones who have wronged us. In William Shakespeare’s, The Tempest, Prospero has the opportunity to seek vengeance on his brother, Antonio, who has usurped the Dukedom of Milan. However, he chooses not to which is demonstrated when Prospero agrees to free the royal party and says, “The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance” (V.i.27-28). Throughout the play, Prospero must accept that forgiveness is freeing in comparison to revenge regardless …show more content…

Prospero does not want more power on the island or in Milan. Prospero renounces his power in act five of The Tempest as he does not want to create more conflicts. Prospero had power initially in Milan but gave it up in order to focus on his magic. Caliban assumes that Prospero wants control of the island so he can exert more power over others, but Prospero has never done anything to prove that Caliban’s assumption is correct. Prospero is given the opportunity to return to Milan and gain power again, but he chooses not to. Prospero forgives Antonio and Sebastian for the wrong they do against him even though neither Sebastian nor Antonio deserve his forgiveness. Neither of these men show any reconciliation for their actions and yet Prospero graciously forgives both of these men. Prospero shows Sebastian virtue when he says Sebastian, “would here have killed [his] king, I do forgive thee unnatural thou art” (V.i.78-79). As much as Prospero tries to deny feeling love towards the other characters throughout the play, he does. Prospero’s love and admission of wrongdoing is revealed beneath his anger and coldness. Prospero loves his daughter Miranda and wants what is best for her. He also loves, Ariel just as much as he loves Miranda as Ariel has always been there for Prospero and willing to help. Ariel asks, “Do you love me, master?” (IV.i. 47) in which Prospero replies, “Dearly, my delicate Ariel” (IV.i.48). Prospero’s love for Ariel is what allows him to set Ariel free. Prospero’s willingness to give up his power over Ariel shows how he doesn’t strive to become powerful and it isn’t a main concern of his. Instead, he wants to spread love and allow everyone to be free from what they

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Felix’s idolisation of Prospero is shown through the power dynamic between Felix and the Fletcher Correctional Players as Felix tries to replicate the dynamic and chooses to play Prospero in his production ‘The Tempest’, being both the director and actor. Through this he finds redemption within his art, acting and directing, aligning with ‘The Tempest’. "under these conditions I pardon all of you and we'll let bygones be bygones" Atwood’s use of idiom shows Felix’s relinquishment of power and putting it beside him. This collides with Prospero’s relinquishment of power because Felix puts conditions on his redemption which does not fully allow Felix to let go of his want for power and control therefore not possessing the full effects of the liberal arts theory that Shakespeare has shown in ‘The Tempest’ sparking a textual

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The two are bound together by a magical contract that forces them to engage in a duel to the death. Prospero sees Celia as a tool to further his own ends, but he also seems genuinely fond of her. There is a sense that he sees something of himself in her, and that he is trying to shape her into the person he wishes he could be. As the story progresses, we begin to see cracks in Prospero's façade.

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1027 Words | 5 Pages

Prospero’s anagnorisis further reveals his transforming views from revenge to forgiveness, “The rarer action is/ In virtue than in vengeance.” Ariel’s obedience is an important symbol of Prospero’s humanity as it ameliorates Prospero’s role on the island and humanises the actions he takes against his old adversaries. Alonso’s reaction to this monologue, “Oh, it is monstrous, monstrous/That deep and dreadful organ pipe, pronounced the name of Prosper,” the repetition of the word, “monstrous” reveals the extent to which Alonso is affected by the hidden truth. “It did bass my trespass/ Therefore my son I’ th’ ooze is bedded.”

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383 Words | 2 Pages

One example in the book is when Prospero leads Miranda to believe that her uncle, Antonio is a traitor and that he overthrew him out of pure greed. This example condemns Prospero because he uses his power to control people around him in a bad way. He uses his magic powers for selfish reasons to manipulate people in the

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401 Words | 2 Pages

This betrayal is like many others within The Tempest, such as Prospero vs Antonio and Stephano vs Caliban. Prospero has betrayed Caliban by using him for “free help”. For instance Caliban says “I say by sorcery he got this isle, from me he got it”(Act 3 Scene 2

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843 Words | 4 Pages

When Prospero is with Ariel, he treats her with kindness and attention to manipulate her to do whatever he asks. “Why, that’s my dainty Ariel. I shall miss Thee, but yet thou shalt have freedom. So, so, so, so. To the King’s ship, invisible as thou art.

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507 Words | 3 Pages

Prospero was betrayed by Antonio who had an "evil nature" and with the help of the king from Naples banished her (Shakespeare Act 1 93). A betrayal like this would be devastating for anyone but the fact it's her brother makes it hurt so much more. Later in the play when Prospero meets King Alonso, her brother Antonio, Sebastian, and Gonzalo she chooses to forgive them for banishing her and she even "brings them to their ship" so they can return to Naples (Shakespeare Act 5 306). Had Prospero chosen revenge she most likely would have left them on the island and they would have died which would have taken Ferdinand's father from him and their deaths would be on her conscience. When a person chooses to take revenge instead of forgiving someone they kill or hurt people to make themselves feel

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1503 Words | 7 Pages

"All thy vexations / Were but my trials of thy love, and thou / Hast strangely stood the test.". This quote is spoken by Prospero to his daughter Miranda, and it reveals that he has been manipulating events on the island to test her loyalty and love. This shows the power that a parent can wield over a child, and how that power can be abused if not used responsibly. The cloak and staff he has is a symbolisation and representation of power.

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987 Words | 4 Pages

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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1517 Words | 7 Pages

Forgiveness might feel impossible at the time, but learning to let go can bring enormous relief and reconciliation. In ‘The Tempest’, Prospero’s brother, Antonio, usurped his estate and wealth as Prospero became caught of with his magic and secret studies. Antonio was envious of Properso’s title, that he arranged Prospero and Miranda to be killed, fortunately Prospero was known to be a good man so instead was set adrift on the open sea, landing on the island they now live. Although Antonio removed Prospero from the island, Prospero still forgives him as they are brothers. Shakespeare displays this with iambic pentameter, “For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother / Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive / Thy rankest fault, -- all of them; and require.”, stressing the fact that Prospero is deciding to forgive his brother, Antonio, even after what he did.

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866 Words | 4 Pages

Prospero loses his position because of his lack of interest in his people and his obsession with his studies. While Prospero paints Antonio and the king as a villain saying such things as “Who, having into truth by telling of it, made such a sinner of his memory to credit his own lie” (19 Tempest), or “This King of Naples, being an enemy to me inveterate” (21 Tempest). While portraying the men as villains, Prospero displays himself as the victim. Throughout his speech he states how his people stilled loved him and that how sad he was about what happened. While these portrayals put Antonio in a negative light, Machiavelli would argue that Antonio took the steps to secure his power, which every great ruler would do.

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1124 Words | 5 Pages

When Ariel questions Prospero’s humanity, due to his ego, Prospero only pretends to change his views because he wants to feel superior. By this point in the play, Prospero has every character in his hand. He can exploit them anyway that he wants, but once Ariel tells he would feel bad for them, Prospero becomes a whole different person: “Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling/Of their afflictions, and shall not myself,/One of their kind, that relish all as

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1430 Words | 6 Pages

Introduction: How far would you go to get power? Power,and how the love of power affects relationships,are continual themes in The Tempest. How signficant power is to the characters in the play is evident by looking at the relationships in the tale,and more specifically,looking at how the want of power causes relationships to detoriate;especially the relationships between masters and servants. A perfect example of this is the relationship between master Prospero,and his servant Caliban. Even though their relationship could have detoriated due to a number of other factors, Caliban and Prospero only become enemies because they each have an incredibly strong hunger for power and are willing to go to great lengths to get,and keep,power,which leads

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756 Words | 4 Pages

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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2448 Words | 10 Pages

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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