Prospero’s attempt to recover his lost dukedom of Milan drives the plot of the Tempest. But Prospero isn’t the only character in the play to experience loss. Ariel lost his freedom to Sycorax and now serves Prospero. Caliban,
who considers himself the rightful ruler of the island, was overthrown
and enslaved by Prospero. By creating the tempest that shipwrecks Alonso and
his courtiers on the island, Prospero strips them of their position and
power, and also causes Alonso to believe that he has lost his son to
the sea.
Through their reactions to these losses, the
play’s characters reveal their true natures. Reduced to desperation and
despair, Alonso recognizes his error in helping to overthrow Prospero
and gives up his claim to Milan, returning Prospero to power and
restoring order between Milan and Naples. Though he desperately wants to
be free, Ariel loyally serves his master Prospero. Prospero, meanwhile,
gives up his magic rather than seeking revenge and frees Ariel before
returning to Milan. In contrast to Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian never show remorse for overthrowing Prospero and prove to be ambitious killers in their plot to murder and overthrow Alonso. Stephano and Trinculo,
in their buffoonish way, likewise seek power through violence. And
Caliban, as opposed to Ariel, hates Prospero, and gives himself as a
slave to Stephano in an effort to betray and kill Prospero. As Gonzalo observes in the last scene of the play, the characters “found ... ourselves, when no man was his own”.
POWER
From the opening scene of The Tempest during the storm, when the ruling courtiers on the ship must take orders from their subjects, the sailors and the boatswain, The Tempest
examines a variety of questions about power: Who has it and when? Who’s
entitled to it? What does the responsible exercise of power look like?
How should power be transferred? The play is full of examples of power
taken by force, and in each case these actions lead to political
instability and further attempts to gain power through violence. Antonio and Alonso’s overthrow of Prospero leads to Antonio and Sebastian’s plot to overthrow Alonso, just as Prospero’s overthrow and enslavement of Caliban leads Caliban to seek revenge.
Ultimately, it is only when Prospero breaks
the cycle of violence by refusing to take revenge on Alonso, Antonio,
Sebastian, or Caliban that the political tensions in the play are calmed
and reconciled. After Prospero’s merciful refusal to seek revenge,
Alonso and Prospero quickly come to an understanding and unite their
once warring cities through the marriage of their children. The Tempest suggests that compromise and compassion are more effective political tools than violence, imprisonment, or even magic.
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