Presentation of Power and Governance in The Tempest. Essay

The Tempest was written by William Shakespeare and is accepted as this last solely written play. The plot is about the rightful Duke of Milan, Prospero, who, with his daughter, have been stranded on an island for 12 years after Prospero's jealous brother Antonio sent them to sea and took over the dukedom. When Antonio, Alonso (the King of Naples) and their court are on a ship sailing past the island, Prospero uses his vast leaning and magical abilities to cause a massive storm which brings them to him. It is here where he seeks his revenge on them. Power and governance are very important themes in The Tempest. They emerge throughout the play in various forms, in order for Shakespeare to comment on them by use of the plays characters, dialogue and plot.

The first presentation of power is right at the start of act one scene one. This is The Tempest it's self. It shows, in part, the raw power of nature. Later on in the play we find that the storm, and therefore nature, was actually controlled (governed) by Prospero through his magic. The presentation of Prospero's power and his ability to govern through magic is something that will be discussed later in this essay. The storm is also presented to the audience in the dialogue that ensues, first between the crew of the ship and, later, the Boatswain and the passengers. The Ship master tells the Boatswain fall to't yarely, or we run ourselves aground. This conveys the power of the storm and the character's fear to the audience. This fear is in some ways contrasted, but also emphasised by the presentation of the Boatswain's character. When he says Blow till thou burst thy wind, if room enough, he may be being defiant of the storm, but only doing this in order to pluck up the courage to carry on sailing in the awesome power of the storm. This courage is found lacking in the other mariners, as we can observe in their line All lost! To prayers, to prayers. All lost!, which also displays the power of the storm.

The dialogue between the Boatswain and the passengers, especially Gonzalo, presents a individual slant on governance. This is most noticeable in the speech given by the Boatswain to Gonzalo where he says use your authority: if you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap. Cheerly, good hearts! Out of our way, I say. This is very interesting as it reverses the view of governance. Whereas Alonso and Gonzalo, a courtier and counsellor, would be much more important than the Boatswain in normal situation, here the Boatswain challenges Gonzalo by saying, in a slightly humorous manner, 'I help govern this ship, and I can sail it. Your powers are of no use here.'

Caliban is another very important character using which Shakespeare discusses governance. He is the deformed son of a witch Sycorax who Prospero has now enslaved as punishment for trying to rape Miranda, Prospero's daughter. Prospero's power over Caliban is presented very graphically in the play. For example, Prospero threatens him in Act one by saying shalt be pinch'd As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging Than bees that made 'em. this presents Prospero as a bully, but shows the audience how powerful he is. A better way in which Shakespeare does this is in act 2 scene two, where the audience are presented with a torture Caliban. He says sometime am I All wound with adders who with cloven tongues Do hiss me into madness.

One of the main ideas in the play to do with governance is this power Prospero wields due to his vast understanding and knowledge of magic. We are introduced to Prospero's magic during the storm where it is revealed that he is controlling this awesome feat of nature. The way Shakespeare has presented this is by using Miranda to plead with Prospero, saying you have Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them in act one scene two. This is very convincing to the audience because she is obviously someone that knows of Prospero's power. But Prospero's power is greater than that. He controls the entire island's population, like a totalitarian dictator. We are shown more of his power when he talks to Ariel. Ariel, presented as a submissive spirit, greets Prospero as All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come to answer thy best pleasure;. This is showing his power even over the magical beings of the island. It is through this conversation that Shakespeare tells us even more about Prospero's power, with his ability to destroy The foul witch Sycorax who we know was a formidable enemy by the fact she can perform mischiefs manifold and sorceries terrible.

Prospero is also in control of the island's new inhabitants as well. He does this by using Ariel as a tool. In act two, we are presented with the King and his courtiers. After a conversation (which we will discuss later) The king and his most loyal subjects fall asleep. Sebastian and Antonio are left awake, and start to plot the murder of the king. This shows an interesting thought on power. The king, rich and powerful as he is, is, at that time, defenceless. Shakespeare may be commenting here on the fact that no one, not even a king, is invisible. Prospero's influence is, however, felt when they actually try and commit the murder, when Ariel whispers into Gonzalo's year, forcing him and the rest of the party to wake up before any harm can befall the king. this is another interesting point on Prospero's power as some may suggest that it gives him a God like quality on the island, in that only he can and decide control the fate of the people there.

Shakespeare has presented power and governance in this play by raising some very interesting ideas. Prospero is the character used to represent power and governance most in this play but the other characters also have some interesting ideas on power and governance. The crux of the play is a single injustice, that of Prospero being usurped by his brother. From this, the play is, in some ways, about how Shakespeare uses his characters, plot and dialogue to right that wrong. In order to do this his characters must have power over others, and it is how this is presented, by the use of magic, murder and love, that sets this play apart form others.