The Tempest

The Tempest by Shakespeare explores the complex and problematic relationship between the European colonizer and the native colonized peoples through the relationship between Prospero and Caliban. Prospero views Caliban as a lesser being than himself. As such, Prospero believes that Caliban should be grateful to him for educating Caliban and lifting him out of “savagery.” It simply does not occur to Prospero that he has stolen rulership of the island from Caliban, because Prospero can’t imagine Caliban as being fit to rule anything. In contrast, Caliban soon realizes that Prospero views him as a second-class citizen fit only to serve and that by giving up his rulership of the island in return for his education, he has allowed show more himself to be robbed. As a result, Caliban turns bitter and violent, which only reinforces Prospero’s view of him as a “savage.” Shakespeare uses Prospero and Caliban’s relationship to show how the misunderstandings between the colonizer and the colonized lead to hatred and conflict, with each side thinking that the other is at fault.
In addition to the relationship between the colonizer and colonized, The Tempest also explores the fears and opportunities that colonization creates. Exposure to new and different peoples leads to racism and intolerance, like when Sebastian criticizes Alonso for allowing his daughter to marry an African. Exploration and colonization led directly to slavery and the conquering of native peoples. For example, Stephano and Trinculo both consider capturing Caliban to sell as a curiosity back at home, while Stephano eventually begins to see himself as a potential king of the island. At the same time, the expanded territories established by colonization created new places to experiment with different societies. Shakespeare portrays this idea when Gonzalo’s thinks about the perfect civilization he would establish if he could acquire a territory of his own. show less

Uno dei miei Shakespeare preferiti.

Ho volato. Mi sono librata in cielo, ho spiegato ali che non sapevo di avere, mi sono fatta guidare dai venti e ho volato, proprio come Ariele, lo spirito al servizio di Prospero.
E mi sono sentita Ariele, e Miranda, e Ferdinando e Prospero e sono stata su quella nave affondata nel mare in tempesta, mi sono sentita intrappolata in un sogno profondo, in un sonno dal quale non avevo intenzione di svegliarmi. E me la sono sentita, sentita dentro, la frase “L’inferno è vuoto, e tutti i diavoli sono qui”, urlata prima che mi buttassi da quella nave andata distrutta.

È stata una lettura sublime, celeste.
Una lettura che mi ha trascinata su un’isola lontana, che mi ha portata su una barca che va per show more mare in balia dei venti e delle acque, in balia di Ariele e del Fato, della magia di Prospero e della sua voglia di vendetta.

E ho amato l’amore di Ferdinando e Miranda e il quinto atto magnifico, la conclusione di tutto, la chiusura di un cerchio, la perfetta sintesi dell’essenza della vita, di ciò che veramente importa, di quanto conti l’esistenza umana in tutto il proprio valore e in tutta la propria potenza e bellezza. show less

William Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, is not very unique in terms of its characters, which ultimately makes the play very uninteresting. Shakespeare manages to portray almost every form or archetype; Miranda representing innocence, Prospero as the father figure, Ariel as the obedient other, Sycorax as the mother figure, and Ferdinand as the animus. Having these predicted characters makes for a bland, unoriginal story. While we, as the reader, do not understand how the people during the time the play was written perceived the story, having experience with contemporary literature makes this plot seem overdone.
To further expand on the role of the characters, the role of Caliban defies the archetypes and creates a foil among the other show more characters. Caliban is the one aspect of the story that makes it worthwhile because of the important role he has in contrasting with the other characters, especially colonizers, as he is enslaved. Colonizers have important roles in what is “natural” and what is perceived to be “natural.” In this story, the colonizers manage to deceive “the others” as a method to destroy the beliefs of the uncolonized and construct the society to put themselves on top. The manipulation they use in their colonization creates an environment that is not real, yet they play it off convincingly to confuse the natives. This trickery is significant because it provides the reader with a binary opposition that the uncolonized are unintelligent and insignificant, so the reader therefore automatically associates the colonizers with a sense of power, even though their power is merely a fraud. What makes Caliban’s role significant is that he defies what the reader expects because he is an intelligent character. His character provides the story with fair defiance towards both the king and the other characters. Without this rebellion, the story would be dull and predictable. show less

Perhaps the best of Shakespeare's comedies, The Tempest is a tale of fury, retribution, forgiveness and the laying down of power. Prospero, the legitimate Duke of Milan is stranded on an island with only his daughter and the original inhabitants, Caliban and the spirits. He is here because of the treachery of his brother, Antonio, who with the help of Alonzo, the King of Naples, has deprived him of his kingdom and his title. Who could blame Prospero for stirring up a tempest to entrap and confine his enemies, the King of Naples and Antonio when they come within his grasp?

Prospero has the power to destroy his enemies and take his revenge. It is what he does with that power that makes this play extraordinary and meaningful. A tale that show more begins as a tale of revenge becomes a tale of forgiveness. A tale that begins with a man of unparalleled power, ends with a man willing to lay that power aside, even in the presence of men who have already betrayed him once. Along the way, there is laughter and intrigue and a bit of a romance, which are all dealt with in Shakespeare's inimitably witty and poetic style.

graves at my command
Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth
By my so potent art. But this rough magic
I here abjure, and, when I have required
Some heavenly music, which even now I do,
To work mine end upon their senses that
This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I'll drown my book. [solemn music.]

Solemn music indeed to accompany this poetic dirge. How few men of power have we ever seen lay it aside? At the end, Ariel is set free for services well rendered, and Prospero seems the wisest of men who has used his power to build rather than to destroy.

So many others have already done a much finer job of reviewing this play, so I will make no further attempt to dissect or praise it. I can only say that there is a reason all the great writers of every century since his time have read Shakespeare, quoted him, lauded him and attempted to channel him; and that reason is infinitely clear when you read this play. show less

One of Shakespeare's tautest, most focused plays allows for a great reading experience. In fact, The Tempest is so straightforward that it would serve as a great introduction to Shakespeare, even though it was one of his final plays. It is very evocative, both as we endure the tempest of the title and as we roam about this barren, storm-swept island, following various characters for a few hours. (Its central framing device – shipwrecked on a strange, fantastical island, brooding for vengeance – has also become a staple storytelling conceit, from H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau to Stannis Baratheon in Game of Thrones, brooding on Dragonstone for his return to the mainland.)

Miranda's romance with Ferdinand was a bit too show more economical for me (though it would be hard for it to be believable considering the entire play's timeframe is just a few hours) and the ending is a bit anti-climactic – at least until you understand its context (it is Shakespeare saying farewell to the stage before his retirement). Regardless, it has all the elementary material that makes Shakespeare so rewarding; a great mix of drama, comedy and eloquence. show less

William Shakespeare’s plays are known to be about forbidden love and are almost all tragedies. However, The Tempest defies this stereotype. Although there is a love story between Miranda and Ferdinand, they are not the main characters and their love is merely a side plot. Although love is not a theme in The Tempest, there are many other themes.
One of these recurring themes in The Tempest is classism or power struggles between the educated and the “savages”. This relates to the discussion about colonialism that was occurring at the time Shakespeare wrote The Tempest in England in relation to colonization of the Orientals in the east. This metaphor between English colonialism in the east and the characters of The Tempest is show more portrayed by Prospero as a European invader of the magical (although primitive) island that he eventually rules by using his superior knowledge(given to him by books) to enslave the island’s original inhabitants (most importantly Caliban) and forcing them to do his as he wishes.
The savages, both in the argument for colonialism made by the English and in the play, are portrayed as much more evil and stupid than they really are. Many sailors came back from visiting the east with stories of cannibalism, murder, non-Christianity and other savage acts. These acts made the English feel that they were doing the “savages” of the east a favor by colonizing their land and teaching them the ways of Christianity. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Caliban also shows him a savage. Caliban, from the very beginning, is shown to be savage because he is the son of a dead witch-hag and he is often called a “monster” by the other characters in the play.
Prospero is the ultimate example of power and control in The Tempest; even the name Prospero means “fortunate” and is a variant of the Latin word for prosper. Prospero is the character that controlled nature and created the tempest to change the power structure to put himself at the top of the power hierarchy. Prospero also uses (and controls) Ariel to control everyone and everything on the island throughout the play. Prospero also represents the powerful English in the colonialism metaphor because he uses his book and knowledge to create all of his magic and is therefore educated and orderly. Prospero also represents education because when he creates the storm and changes the power structure to put himself in charge, he makes himself master of discourse and communication and, therefore, knowledge.
On the other end of the power spectrum is Caliban who is a savage rapist and alcoholic. Caliban continues to lose power throughout the play. Even when Caliban and Trinculo and Stephano plan to kill Prospero and upset the balance of power, Caliban instead looses even more power and becomes the slave of the other two even though they’re only a servant and a butler. Caliban represents the Oriental east in the colonization metaphor because his “education” is based in nature and what he learned from the land. However, Shakespeare shows his beliefs about putting one group of people in charge of another based on type of education (nature vs. books) using Caliban. Even though Caliban is educated only through what he learned from nature while living on the island and has the least power of all the characters, Caliban is, in my opinion, the most eloquent speaker.
Shakespeare uses Caliban and Prospero to show the irony of colonialism. In the beginning of the play, Caliban tells Prospero that the island is Caliban’s and that Prospero stole it from him. Prospero was without a place to live, so he took the island and put Caliban in the same position. This is also shown in the English colonization of the east. The English felt they didn’t have a lot of land and had a problem with that, so they put someone else in the situation of not having enough land by taking it forcibly.
The Tempest is not like most of Shakespeare’s other plays about love and tragedy. However, Shakespeare still uses the same metaphors and imagery through Caliban and Prospero to portray a message that colonialism is not as good as people may think. show less

Throughout my life, I keep swinging back to The Tempest. The story interests me more than Hamlet ever could. Hear Caliban's lesson on language. And if you can bear it, break your staff and bury your book, free yourself from the trap of power, and live among people, give your child a future. I could never watch Midsummer again and be happy, but I will listen to the Tempest through the curtain, whenever I can.