Tempest Essay

Tempest Essay
The Tempest
According to Elizabethan beliefs an individual's social position was more or less fixed. The King
was King as he had been given a mandate by God, and all positions below this were based on a rigid
social hierarchy, which were also dictated by birth.
This ideology was decidedly conservative and used politically as a means of social control: forcing
people with less status to internalise their inferiority and subservience, assuming it part of the natural
order of the universe. Any rebellion, personal or collective, was therefore seen as an act of defiance
not only against the State but God. This can be seen as a highly effective means of keeping order
and perpetuating the power structures already existing in society.
We can...show more content...
In the end what is valued in the text is that order is restored, the rightful ruler regains his social
position and through this the play supports the politically conservative ideology of the time.
The Tempest can be seen as a literary vehicle that maintains the status quo and used as a means of
social control. The audience of the time (and later) leaves the playhouse seeing all challenges to this
ideology as manifestly wrong and all rebellious attitudes are associated with treachery and evil.
The issue of usurpation is also present in Antonio and Sebastian's plot to kill Alonso and Gonzalo;
Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo's plot to kill Prospero; and Caliban's attempted rape of Miranda.
Interestingly, Alonso, who is just as culpable as Antonio in the disposal of Prospero is still seen as
a friend of Prospero: 'Ariel: My master through his art foresees the danger/That you, his friend, are
in ..' This anomaly seems to conveniently fit the values of the play and the interests of Prospero.
Alonso is the rightful King of Naples and in this position the text sidesteps this issue of his treachery,
though it does show that he is remorseful and acknowledges his wrong–doing, but again this only
hapens when he is placed in a different, threatening situation. Likewise, it is Prospero's purpose from
the beginning to marry off his daughter Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand, so that she will be Queen
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Essay on Themes in the Tempest
Themes in the Tempest
The Tempest is generally considered to be Shakespeare's last sole–authored play. The play draws a
number of oppositions, some of which it dramatises, and some of which it only implies. Prospero,
a figure exhibiting many resemblances to the Elizabethan idea of the 'Mage', (of whom the best
known is probably Dr. John Dee), is opposed to both his corrupt brother, usurper of his role as Duke
of Milan, and to Sycorax, an evil witch and mother of the 'deformed slave' Caliban. Sycorax does
not enter the action of the play, having died before it opens, but enough is made of her evil
disposition and behaviour to show Prospero as a model of human virtue in comparison. This despite
Prospero's own use of magic to...show more content...
The Tempest is involved in a discussion of 'nobility', seen here as a matter of inheritance, but in the
opposition of Prospero and his brother Antonio we see that inheritance has two sides. Antonio
betrayed Prospero and stole his inheritance (materially; his Dukedom), so virtue, 'nobility', is not
entirely a matter of having noble parentage.
A further denotation of nobility, in line with fashionable Neo–Platonism is that the beautiful are
good, and the ugly, wicked. This is explicit in Miranda's case, both in herself and in the attitudes she
expresses:
There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple:
If the ill spirit have so fair a house
Good things will strive to dwell with't. (1:2:460–462)
Caliban, on the other hand, is 'deformed', and described as a 'fish' and a 'monster'
As with age his body uglier grows,
So his mind cankers. (4:1:191–192)
It is not so simple, however. At this very point Prospero has sunk to a level not much above Caliban's:
I will plague them all
Even to roaring (4:1:192–193)
And Caliban himself is capable of making one of the finest speeches of the play, and of saying, when
Prospero has thought better of punishing, and renounced his supernatural power

I'll be wise hereafter
And seek for grace. What a thrice–double ass
Was I, to take this drunkard for a god,
And worship this dull fool.

The Tempest Chaos
People always complain about how their life is so chaotic, but they don't give it time to come to
order. In "The Tempest", William Shakespeare uses his final play to show that chaos can come to
order in a matter of time. The play starts out and island after a shipwreck that Prospero tells Ariel
to make. Later on in the play the people that were on the ship finds out Prospero is responsible for
the storm. After the shipwreck they are all scattered around the Island. Caliban Trinculo, and
Stephano think it's only five people on the island. At the end of the play they all come together and
Prospero gives up all of his powers. In "The Tempest", different settings, such as the shipwreck and
the island, show where all the chaos happened and how

Ferdinand Tempest
My name is Ferdinand, prince of Naples, and I've decided to create this journal, so that the events
that have taken place in these past days can be remembered. Earlier today my father, king Alonso,
other nobles, and I were sailing back to Naples from my sister's wedding in Africa. But all in a
sudden, a massive tempest bestowed it self upon us, as if it was an angry spirit punishing us out
of revenge. With all the mayhem, everything happened so fast, that the memory of it is all but a
blur. I was in the cabin at the time, but I can remember hearing the voices of my uncle Sebastian
and the duke of Milan Antonio bickering with the boatswain for reasons i've yet to understand. But
not long after was the ship being torn apart by the tempest and the cold ocean devouring both the
ship and everyone on it, after that my memory betrays me. What happens next is but a mystery to
me, because though I had imagined myself to have perished at the depths of the sea, instead I ended
up on what seemed like a beach on a deserted island. Presuming...show more content...
Of course I would never ask that of her and would rather break my own bones, than see her do
labour. She began to talk to me of how her father is mistreating me, but I told her that I will bear it
as long as it was for her. That's when she confessed to me of her love and ask me to merry her. I did
not hesitate to comply yes, for I had also loved her the same. It wasn't long after that Prospero also
confessed that he was testing me to see if I was worthy to love his daughter. To my surprise he
called upon spirits to give entertainment, and it was at that very moment that I felt like I was in a
paradise unknown to man, but shorty after Prospero left and along with the spirits. So far this is
what has happened to me, and though I will long for my father and friends, I now have a beautiful

TEMPEST Essay
The Other in the Tempest
In order to understand the characters in a play, we have to be able to distinguish what exactly makes
them different. In the case of The Tempest, Caliban, the sub–human slave is governed largely by his
senses, making him the animal that he is portrayed to be and Prospero is governed by sound mind,
making him human. Caliban responds to nature as his instinct is to follow it. Prospero, on the other
hand, follows the art of justifiable rule. Even though it is easy to start assessing The Tempest in
view of a colonialist gaze, I have chosen instead to concentrate on viewing Caliban as the monster
he is portrayed to be, due to other characters that are not human, but are treated in a more humane
fashion than Caliban....show more content...
his senses, while Prospero is ruled more by his intellect and self–discipline i.e. his mind. Although
we are not given details of Caliban's birth, it seems likely that a creature as subhuman in
appearance as Caliban was not born of a human union. It has been postulated that, to quote
Prospero, he was "got by the devil himself upon thy wicked dam," from a union between Sycorax
and an incubus (an extremely attractive male apparition with intention to tempt). Caliban was
therefore a creature born from passion, the offspring of an unholy pleasure. Prospero was not only
of noble birth; he was also born to be ruler of the city–state of Milan. Nobility, in Elizabethan times,
carried with it heavy implications: it was expected that Prospero would be intellectually superior,
and that he would exercise as great discipline over himself as he was expected to exercise over
others, in his role of leadership. From their ancestry, Prospero is more ruled by his intellect, and
Caliban by his love of pleasure. Caliban's original love for Prospero and Miranda, and his later
misdemeanour and subsequent hatred for them, illustrate his fundamental reliance on his senses.
Caliban loved Prospero and Miranda because they "made much of me"; and his response to this was
purely sensual in his recollections: "Thou strok'st me,...wouldst give me/Water with berries in't."
What Caliban responded to, more than anything else, was the

The Tempest Essay
The similarities and differences between Aime' Cesaire's ATempest and William Shakespeare's
The Tempest gives the reader an idea that it is a political response. From the way that both of the
titles of these works of literature differ, an idea of concept is offered. They share a similar story
line yet, after some one has read A Tempest : a different perspective is gained. A Tempest is
actually considered a post colonial period piece of writing and one can acquire and prove this by
the forms in which Aime' Cesaire portrays the characters and switches around their personalities and
their traits,the time periods and the acquisition of language, and the ways power is used reveals that
it is indeed a political response from a post...show more content...
The visual arts responded to scientific and technological developments with new ideas about the
representation of man and his place in the world. The Tempest explores the anxieties that
accompanied England's belated foray into a New World already occupied by Spanish plantations to
the south and French missionaries to the north, not to mention the native peoples themselves. (David
1665) On the other hand, A Tempest was written in 1969 which was with in the period ofAfrican
American Civil Rights Movement. It strikes significant the ideals of Malcolm x, the modern english
and the way language is used. The reader can identify more with Caliban then in The Tempest. In
Shakespeare's play, Ariel is considered a spirit while Caliban is half human, and half beast. On
the contrast in Cesaire's version of The Tempest, Ariel is a mulatto slave while Caliban is a black
one. The political analysis in Cesaire's A Tempest, is the color standard which is proposed. It is a
known fact that lighter slaves were primarily house slaves while darker slaves worked in the
fields. It is seen how Ariel is treated nicer, is given lighter jobs and is actually freed at the end. On
the other hand, Caliban is physically and verbally abused and is not freed. Cesaire makes it
evident that it is a color issue. Cool pose: the dilemmas of black manhood in America states,"Field
slaves would be lashed or deprived from foods if they harmed the often pampered house

Tempest: A Short Story
"I should have listened to Tempest!" "Mika–" "No! For once I'm doing the talking and you're
listening!" She dodged his hands again, stepping back once more. "You're such a slimy–" "Mika–"
"Inconsiderate–" "Mika, look–" "SHINJICK!" The world crumbled beneath Mika's feet. Her eyes
widened and her heart stopped. For a moment she felt like she was floating... until her brain
processed the fact that she was falling....show more content...
"Don't be so obvious. Try to hide your movements. Let's go again." They fought for a long time.
So long, that Mika forgot she was even lost. She didn't even consider that Garth had realized
wandering around the forest wasn't going to help, and that staying in place so someone could
find them would be the better option. At one point during their battle Mika faked an attack,
before she whipped her stick around and surprisingly made contact. Garth stumbled backwards in
surprise and fell on his back. Mika squeaked, worried and was about to go help him, but she
tripped on the same rock and fell on top of him. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" Her cheeks burned as he
looked up at her. She could see the shock in his eyes, before he began to laugh. "Great job!" His
laughter bounced Mika up and down on his chest. She felt a moment of elation, and suddenly,
without even thinking, she reached down and pressed her lips against

The Tempest Essay
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play that has a theme of nature and civilization. It has a strong theme that deals
with issues of colonizer and the colonized. While to many people this play may simply be just a
play, it really has a story of what happens when nature and civilization collide. The characterCaliban
represents a being of pure nature. The character Prospero is civilization. These characters can also
be seen as the colonized and the colonizer. The relationship they have is very complex and is a
constant struggle, much like any relationship between a colonizer and colonized. It questions what
is pure nature? Is it savage and monster like, as Caliban is? In this paper I will examine the
relationship between Caliban...show more content...
Before Prospero and Miranda came to the island an evil witch, Sycorax, ruled it. She ruled the
island with evil magic and terror. When Prospero arrives to the island he frees a delicate spirit
from a pine tree. Sycorax had put a spell on the spirit to forever be in the tree. When Prospero uses
his magic to free the spirit, Ariel, the spirit becomes forever in debt to Prospero. Ariel becomes
Prospero's helper and friend. Prospero also enslaves Caliban, a half monster born of Sycorax.
Prospero teaches Caliban how to speak and treats him kindly despite the fact that he is a "monster".
Caliban falls from grace though when he attempts to rape Miranda. Life on the island consists of
these characters, until the ship of the royal party, including Prospero's brother Antonio arrives. The
royal party's boat is hit by a storm, which is all the doing of Prospero's magic. He brings them to the
island to confront them and perhaps redeem them. This play primarily focuses on the interaction
between the characters, and what happens when each is put on trial and faces their own guilt and sin.
But there are so many complex issues in this play, one of which is the relationship between Caliban
the monster slave and Prospero the enlightened civilized man. The first example of the tone in the
relationship between Caliban and Prospero can be seen through their names. Caliban, as we know is
an uncivilized "half monster" born

Tempest Essay

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Tempest Essay