How Does Shakespeare Present Death In The Tempest

The Tempest is able to express Shakespeare’s understanding of the significance of death and rebirth. Death is used to express a liberation from negative aspects of a character’s life that are preventing them from reflecting positively on their lives. Rebirth represents the freedom and ability to have a new beginning and develop a new understanding or what is important in The Tempest. This is emphasized by characters such as Prospero, audience interactions, the significance of audience interpretations, and views of death by Shakespeare and during his time which influenced the perspective The Tempest was written in.

In The Tempest, death is and rebirth are given meaning through the use of various literary techniques and historical backgrounds

The play may have been a tool for Shakespeare to reflect on his life and experiences and in doing so reach new conclusions on how certain aspects of his life altered his understanding of what truly living life looks like. “Shakespeare, perhaps penning his last drama, should write as no one has ever written of the end” (Stoll 726). He was able to express that an opinion of life that showed a personal understanding of the difference between living a seemingly insignificant and insubstantial life and living a life that was guided by a purpose. Whether it be to follow one’s own passion to enhance life or simply living in a way that exceeded the normalcy that was often passed down in the form of family occupations such as glove making. Shakespeare understood that his art had the ability to be used as a crutch, as it was at the beginning of his life, or as a form of expression. The substantive nature of life is not determined by what is done. Instead, it is valued based on how it is lived. This can be seen in character’s such as Prospero, who come to an understanding that reliance on certain aspects of their lives, such as magic, lead to the character feeling as if their life was

In the text as a whole, Shakespeare introduces different understandings of rebirth and death that give these words multiple meanings, such as triumph, rather than only the literal meaning of rebirth. He uses there terms to describe the allude to good and evil. “In The Tempest whatever evil remains is impotent, and goodness returns to action. Here, as in all the last plays, there is a re-birth, a return to life” (Pierce 3). Rebirth is associated with a triumph over the evil tendencies of man. Prospero best portrays this internal battle with evil which culminates in the death of aspects of his reliance on social standing and magic. The characters are able to rise above their evil or negative actions and therefore have a new beginning and a new approach to