ipl-logo

How Does Prospero Use Power In The Tempest

1318 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Revenge in tempest

The former Duke of Milan, Prospero uses his intelligence and magic to achieve greater power. The main elements of magic used by the magician are his robe, wand, and books, which are his main source of power. The complex character is seeking revenge for those who wronged him, and with magic as an advantage, he can quite easily punish the wrong doers. Throughout the story, Prospero faces a few encounters that force him to exempt the group of evil men. In this story, the power of magic is replaced with the power of forgiveness.

In The Tempest, a prominent concept of sorcery appears to be used by Prospero for his personal gain. At the beginning of the play, Prospero uses his magical powers to create the tempest. At first, it seems like Prospero wants to hurt the people aboard the ship, but he wants to bring the passengers; Alonso, Sebastian, Gonzalo, and Antonio to the island. Prospero makes it a point to not injure the voyagers. As he is telling his daughter, Miranda, about the storm, the former duke makes sure to mention that no one was hurt, which shows he has good intentions. “The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch 'd The very virtue of compassion in thee, I have with such provision in mine art So safely ordered that there is no …show more content…

Prospero is satisfied with their pain and suffering and begins to forgive them. To Prospero, some things are beyond forgiveness, such as Caliban violating his daughter. Along the lines of Alonso and the others, they have a chance to be exonerated. During the first physical encounters between Prospero and Alonso, the men discuss how the tempest lost their children. Alonso is grieving over the death of his son, while Prospero is heartbroken because his daughter does not agree with his reason. Alonso briefly says, "pardon me…,” and Prospero, in the following lines, refers to the King as “First noble friend…” (5.1.124-126) This little act of forgiveness portrays how Prospero has finally changed, partly because of his

Show More
Related

The Masque Of The Red Death Literary Analysis

1117 Words | 5 Pages

Prince Prospero tried to escape fate, but he failed to do

Read More

Comparing Two Themes In William Shakespeare's Frankenstein And The Tempest

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

Theme Of Vengeance In The Tempest

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.

Read More

Of Prospero's Magic, The Age Of Death In The Tempest

1444 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More

How Does Prospero Change In The Tempest

1124 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

Character Analysis: The Tempest

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

Read More

Analysis Of Aime Cesaire's A Tempest

1180 Words | 5 Pages

“A Tempest” is as a derivative of Shakespeare ’s play “The Tempest” by Aime Cesaire. Cesaire makes a number of alterations in his adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. These alterations have been made in order to outline the change in time eras between the two playwrights’ time of existence and to illustrate the great social change that occurred in these periods, mainly colonialism by the West, the subsequent theme of the quest for freedom as well as the theme of power that resonates throughout the play. This essay aims at exploring the similarities and to draw attention to the alterations made by Cesaire in “A Tempest” and the subsequent effects of these alterations on the audience.

Read More

The Masque Of The Red Death Research Paper

638 Words | 3 Pages

The Masque of the Red Death: Essay The Masque of the Red Death is a short gothic horror story. Overall is about a prince who thinks he is invincible, while having a party one night a mysterious guest appears and all the party-goers are very frightened of him. In the end this red death man kills the prince along with many other people at the party. This story became more horrific because the setting was in a castle, there was supernatural elements, and there was revenge.

Read More

Similarities Between The Tempest And Brave New World

1220 Words | 5 Pages

William Shakespeare and Brave New World María José Castañeda Guerrero >>> William Shakespeare was an important 16th-century English writer who was widely known for his poems and plays, such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet or The Tempest. He has influenced many writers since his death and furthermore, has had an immense impact on recent films, plays and poems. Shakespeare has had a lot of influence on Brave New World, one of the most important Aldous Huxley's novels; but to be more specific, the Shakespeare's play that has more connections with Huxley's novel is The Tempest, a romance where reality and magic are together. The Tempest, popularly regarded as Shakespeare's last play, was performed in 1611 for James I and first published in 1623.

Read More

The Tempest Forgiveness Essay

881 Words | 4 Pages

Prospero brands him "a born devil, on whose name/Nurture can never stick.” As Mannoni says, “Caliban does not complain of being exploited; he complains rather of being betrayed”. Even though Prospero understands that Caliban’s bad behaviour is like that of a child, he does not offer mercy and forgiveness as freely and earnestly as one should. Thus, it is through Prospero’s treatment of Caliban that Prospero’s desire for revenge is

Read More

Violence In The Tempest

2448 Words | 10 Pages

Unlike Shakespeare’s other main characters, he is much more enigmatic. In they play Prospero is portrayed as the rogue who seeks revenge on his brother Antonio for his treachery. In this Shakespearean comedy it becomes clear that Prospero is the heart of power on the island. Evidently Prospero has been wronged by his brother’s usurping which he could not control and now uses his magic as a tool for controlling the events that occur on island throughout the play. The theme of power in this play is hugely significant as it clear that the violence interrogated in this play is in relation to power and the abuse of that power by the protagonist.

Read More

Power In The Tempest

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

Social Issues In Shakespeare's The Tempest

1555 Words | 7 Pages

The Tempest is a play where a man named, Prospero, was a former duke of a land. He was exiled to an island because his brother, Antonio, usurped his dukedom. Prospero lives on the island with his daughter, Miranda attempting to reattain his title of duke. There are many causes of social issues, and it is important to view these issues on how they affect others.

Read More

Theme Of Power In The Tempest

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

The Tempest Character Analysis

1123 Words | 5 Pages

Shakespeare’s The Tempest is often considered fiction and finds content in expressing characteristics of both the main character, Prospero and differences in the power dynamics affecting his characters. Shakespeare often uses groups of characters to emphasize the complexity of their surroundings and effects on their behavior. The overall repetition of complications faced or caused in relation to Prospero and play an enormous role in the plot, helping to develop both the his feelings and the emotional ties of others regarding him. Shakespeare also varies the diction to place emphasis on the power dynamic and relationships observed between thespians.

Read More

More about How Does Prospero Use Power In The Tempest

Related Topics

Open Document