Home Page Literary Arts Essays Drama Essays Shakespeare reveals Essay
Shakespeare reveals Essay
University/College: University of California
Consider the means by which Shakespeare reveals character in the episode. In the second act of "The Tempest" Shakespeare takes the opportunity to develop the characters of Prospero and Miranda to the audience. Prospero is set out to the audience as some kind of supreme power, after the audience learn just before this extract that it was his magic, and not simply a hostile nature tat raised the storm in scene 1. The Tempest is a play about power as we observed in the previous scene, when the power of the storm disrupted the power relations between nobles and servants and Prospero is set out as the central force controlling and manipulating events throughout the play.
We will write a custom essay on Shakespeare reveals specifically for you
During this extract Shakespeare informs the audience or Prospero's power but also of his wisdom and love for his daughter, he states "I have doe nothing but in care of thee" to Miranda alerting the audience to the fact that in spite of the fact that prospero has just caused a shipwreck he is a moral man presumably acting for his own reasons. This may be done to prevent the audience immediately labelling Prospero as a villain, Prospero's compassion is further enforced which he informs Miranda of the fact that he has insured that he has prevented any of the people aboard the wreck to come to any kind of harm.
This also creates prolepsis as it indicated that Prospero has something planned. Prospero's wisdom and power are conveyed to the audience when he describes himself as "A prince of power" and also "master of a full poor cell". In contrast to Prospero's emitted aura of power and wisdom Miranda is meant to be seen as the epitome of compassion and innocence. These characteristics are indicated to the audience both by Miranda ignorance of her situation "Art ignorant of whet thou art" and by hr apparent lack of thirst for further information "More to know did never medal with my thoughts". In modern times this would probably be seen as naivety however during the late Tudor period when this play was written the view of the ideal woman was still very focused around the image Miranda adheres to, one of purity, empathy and respect towards both farther (As is indicated in this scene) and husband.
During this section of the play Miranda is also set out to appear very young, and willing to leave her destiny in control of her father, later on seems to take more control of the events around her (such as when she proposes marriage to Ferdinand) however at this point she is still very emotional in a more child like manner "O! Woe the day!" This also helps to show her compassion since she is clearly so concerned for the safety of the people on the ship in spite of the fact that she is unaware of who they are. In conclusion Shakespeare utilises this scene to set out the key elements of both Miranda's personalities, however it is not until later in the play that there characters are properly developed.
Caliban Essay 243 Words | 1 Pages
CalibanEnglish9Through Prosperos verbal and physical abuse, the enslaved Caliban is unjustly portrayed as a vicious and subhuman beast. Prospero has no feelings for Caliban. Therefore he thinks that Caliban was put on earth for work. Additionally Prospero just thinks he makes fires and does work for him so people should not have sympathy for him. " We cannot miss him. He does make our fire, Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices That profit us - What ho, slave, Caliban." (Shakespeare 35) This shows that he is overworking Caliban and that he is just a piece of property. Also,...
Shakespeare intended the audience Essay 810 Words | 3 Pages
Do you believe that Shakespeare intended the audience to share Prospero's view of Caliban? I feel that through out the Tempest Caliban is portrayed as a dislikeable 'creature'. However I personally think that the audience is supposed to learn to love him by the end as slowly we are told of all his good points. In the Tempest we meet many characters, the first on the island being Prospero. Before Prospero we meet characters like Boatswain and Master, as well as Antonio. We are not sure at the start whether we like them or not as we haven't been with them for...
Caliban - The Tempest Essay 319 Words | 2 Pages
Mowats essay emphasizes Calibans significant role in The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. Calibans character, in relation to Prosperos, expresses the actual relations between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of settlers and natives, Caliban being the native of the island, and Prospero, the settler. Miranda and Prospero introduce Caliban to the reader as a villain, slave and even a tortoise.. Caliban and his mother, Sycorax, a witch, were the only inhabitants of the island. After Sycoraxs death, Prospero with Miranda settled on the island and enslaved Caliban. Caliban offered them the knowledge of the island and in return, they taught him...
Explore Shakespeare's presentation of Prospero in The Tempest Essay 1059 Words | 4 Pages
Explore Shakespeare's presentation of Prospero in The Tempest. Definition of good as it is in the Chambers Dictionary, 1999; "good, having suitable or desirable qualities; promoting health, welfare or happiness; virtuous; pious; benevolent; well-behaved..." Definition of evil as it is in the Chambers Dictionary, 1999; "evil, wicked or bad mischievous; very disagreeable or angry; unfortunate..." In The Tempest, one is initially confused by Shakespeare's portrayal of Prospero, which appears to reveal a man torn between his good and bad intentions. He uses magic for both benign and malignant reasons and could be interpreted as a mixture of both a good man and an evil man....
Shakespeare's language Essay 1539 Words | 6 Pages
On another part of the island, Trinculo and Stephano are busy getting drunk and introducing alcohol to the clueless Caliban, which creates humour in the scene. Stephano manipulates Caliban, who then volunteers to be a slave to Stephano, rather than Prospero. Ariel enters in an invisible form as Caliban reveals his plan for Stephano to take revenge on Prospero while he is sleeping, and then kill him. Stephano will then become the king of the island and Miranda to be his queen and Trinculo and Caliban as his deputies. "There thou mayst brain him, having first seized his books; or...
William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest,' was first performed in 1611 and was the last play that Shakespeare wrote Essay 2072 Words | 8 Pages
William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest,' was first performed in 1611 and was the last play that Shakespeare wrote. The main character, Prospero is thought to be a representation of Shakespeare as he controls all of the characters in the play just as Shakespeare controls the characters in his scripts also at the end of the play, Prospero asks the audiences' permission to leave the stage in the epilogue, this could be seen as Shakespeare announcing his retirement: "Let your indulgence set me free." The play suggests many differences between the primitive Caliban and the civilised Prospero. We see these on a...
Tempest Character Analysis Essay 653 Words | 3 Pages
William Shakespeare's last play The Tempest is a story about Prospero (the rightful duke of Milan). He is betrayed by his brother Antonio and left on a ship with his daughter Miranda to die. Only things are not going according to plan and Prospero and Miranda arrive on an island. Prospero is seeking his revenge. Coming back from a wedding in Africa a ship containing Prosperos enemies is attacked by the tempest and scatters its passengers about the island. Prospero uses three major character traits throughout the story including being powerful, protective and forgiving that will help him gain his...
Shakespeare uses sounds Essay 732 Words | 3 Pages
This quotation shows Antonio as being a self-centred, horrible, and vengeful character. However, when Antonio is trying to persuade Sebastian, he doesn't say everything that is on his mind, and obscure and not very direct. Gradually, he becomes more open about the subject of murder. He appeals to Sebastian's sense of ambition, and in the end Antonio wins his way. Antonio even says that he won't feel guilty about murdering the king: SEBASTIAN: But for your conscience? ANTONIO: Ay, sir, where lies that?" This shows a lot about both of the characters. It shows that Antonio is a very heartless character, and...
Shakespeare and Prospero Essay 1111 Words | 5 Pages
There can be no doubt that The Tempest contains numerous references to the theater, and while many of Shakespeare's plays make reference to the dramatic arts and their analogy to real life (e. g. , "all the world's a * stage"), it is in this, his last play, that the Bard most explicitly acknowledges that the audience is viewing a show. Thus, in the play's final scene (Act I, scene i. , ll. 8ff), Prospero tells his prospective son-in-law Ferdinand that the revels at hand are almost at an end, that the actors are about to retire, and that the...
Shakespeare present Essay 1093 Words | 4 Pages
Ambition is not the same as happiness, and happiness is not the ultimate goal in The Tempest. For Prospero, his ultimate ambition is to become Duke of Milan again after being usurped by his brother Antonio. Ambition should be directed towards a concept of duty and selflessness, yet once becoming ruler of the island, Prospero takes advantage of his authoritative status over the inhabitants. However, it could be argued that Prosperos' authority is threatened by Caliban. He is well aware that Caliban is the rightful ruler of the island yet Prospero has something Caliban does not - the power of knowledge....
Ralph Waldo Emerson Essays (4) , The Great Gatsby Essays (85) , Homeschooling Essays (9) , Cancer Essays (66) , Society Essays (249)
Topic: Shakespeare reveals Essay
Consider the means by which Shakespeare reveals character in the episode. In the second act of "The Tempest" Shakespeare takes the opportunity to develop the characters of Prospero and Miranda to the audience. Prospero is set out to the audience as some kind of supreme power, after the audience learn just before this extract that it was his magic, and not simply a hostile nature tat raised the storm in scene 1. The Tempest is a play about power as we observed in the previous scene, when the po