Commentary on The Tempest Essay

In William Shakespeares The Tempest, the play opens in the midst of a violent storm onboard a ship that was bound for Naples. It was later shipwrecked on an island where the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero and his daughter, Miranda lived for the past 12 years.

On board the ship were Alonso, the King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, his brother, Sebastian, his counsellor, Gonzalo, Prosperos brother, Antonio and other members of the Court. The story goes, Prospero, the Duke of Milan was devoted and engrossed in the study of magical arts, and of the occult powers rather than ruling his dukedom. Due to his undivided attention to his [art], he neglected the ruling affairs of Milan. His brother Antonio took advantage of Prosperos preoccupation and with the help of Alonso, the King of Naples, ousted Prospero from his dukedom and Antonio usurped his place.

However, despite being abandoned and set adrift at sea in a small boat, they landed on an island, and were able to survive with the help of Alonsos Counsellor, Gonzalo, who secretly stowed food, clothing, money and even Prosperos sorcery books on the boat. Eventually, Prospero and Miranda landed on the island and encountered Caliban, son of the witch, Sycorax, and her servant the spirit Ariel whom she imprisoned [in cloven pine] before she died and whom Prospero freed.

On the surface, Prospero gave the appearance of a benevolent leader doing his utmost in protecting and caring for them. However, on closer inspection Prospero plays God. He is the manipulator throughout the play, manipulating the other characters around him and crafting their fates to fit in his design for revenge. Such an assumption of godlike power reveals his arrogance and how blasphemous he was, for Prospero is not a God but a human being created by God. His chief power in assuming the role of God was learned from his books of magic arts, as Caliban earnestly pointed out to Stephano:

Remember,

First to possess his books; for without them

Hes but a sot, as I am, nor hath not

One spirit to command. (3.2.95-97)

To the spirit Ariel, Prospero shows himself to be a tyrant by exercising authoritarian style of rulership over him, even though Ariel skilfully fulfils his commands to perfection. This is demonstrated in one of his commands for Ariel to accomplish, he asked:

Hath thou, spirit,

Performed, to point, the tempest that I bade thee? (1.2.93-94)

Ariels response was:

To every article. (1.2.95)

Through Ariel Prospero also controls the elements, in creating illusions of separation, death and even of the godly blessing:

Enter several strange Shapes,

bringing in a banquet;

and dance about it with gentle actions of salutations;

and, inviting the King etc to eat, they depart. (3.3.15-20)

Thunder and lightning. Enter Ariel, like a harpy;

claps his wings upon the table; and with a quaint device