THE TEMPEST

ACT ONE SCENE ONE

◦ King Lear begins with Lear’s decision to abdicate and Othello begins with Lago’s jealousy, this is all
because they are central to the plot and its clear Shakey puts what's important first
◦ The fact that it starts with a tempest = Shakey highlighting the immense importance of it
◦ First line, ’Boatswain!’ immediately indicates their on a ship, important because production would have
been limited
ACT ONE SCENE TWO
◦ Though he is pleased by his daughter’s obvious attraction to the powerful young man, Prospero does not
want their love to get ahead of his plans. As a result, he has no qualms about enchanting Ferdinand and
lying to Miranda about Ferdinand’s unworthiness. This willingness to deceive even his beloved daughter
draws attention to the moral and psychological ambiguities surrounding Shakespeare’s depiction of
Prospero’s character.
Prospero’s Character
◦ Though many readers view The Tempest as an allegory about creativity, in which Prospero and his magic
work as metaphors for Shakespeare and his art, others find Prospero’s apparently narcissistic moral sense
disturbing. Prospero seems to think that his own sense of justice and goodness is so well-honed and
accurate that, if any other character disagrees with him, that character is wrong simply by virtue of the
disagreement.
◦ He also seems to think that his objective in restoring his political power is so important that it justifies
any means he chooses to use—hence his lying, his manipulations, his cursing, and the violence of his
magic. Perhaps the most troubling part of all this is that Shakespeare gives us little reason to believe he
disagrees with Prospero: for better or worse, Prospero is the hero of the play.
Prospero’s Manipulation
◦ By using magic and tricks that echo the special effects and spectacles of the theater, Prospero gradually
persuades the other characters and the audience of the rightness of his case. As he does so, the
ambiguities surrounding his methods slowly resolve themselves. Prospero forgives his enemies, releases
his slaves, and relinquishes his magic power, so that, at the end of the play, he is only an old man whose
work has been responsible for all the audience’s pleasure. The establishment of Prospero’s idea of justice
becomes less a commentary on justice in life than on the nature of morality in art. Happy endings are
possible, Shakespeare seems to say, because the creativity of artists can create them, even if the moral
values that establish the happy ending originate from nowhere but the imagination of the artist.
‘my foot my tutor?’
◦ Even though he loves miranda, he still sees her under neath him and sees her advice and requests of not
worthy of his attention
◦ Shows that he feels superior even with his daughter
‘They all enter the circle which Prospero has made
and stand there charmed’ SD
◦ Prospero uses magic as a manifestation of power and control
◦ Hes put everything together and destoryed their power dynamics. Hes in charge of all and they’re all
equal under him
◦ Reflects Shakey, just like an author/playwright, hes put different people altogether with his ‘art’
◦ ‘while Prospero observing speaks’ – Prospero stands outside the circle and observes, hes above and
beyond everyone
◦ Keeps the circle astounded, has manipulated their mind and physicality. Prospero seeks to control both
the physical and the emotional
‘Mine eyes, even sociable to the show of
thine, fall fellowly drops’
◦ Sheds tears in fellowship with Alonso, the idea of compassion and sympathetic tears
Caliban’s Speech
◦ In this speech, we are reminded of Caliban’s very close connection to the island—a connection we have seen previously
only in his speeches about showing Prospero or Stephano which streams to drink from and which berries to pick
(I.ii.333–347 and II.ii.152–164).
◦ After all, Caliban is not only a symbolic “native” in the colonial allegory of the play. He is also an actual native of the
island, having been born there after his mother Sycorax fled there. This ennobling monologue—ennobling because there
is no servility in it, only a profound understanding of the magic of the island—provides Caliban with a moment of
freedom from Prospero and even from his drunkenness.
◦ In his anger and sadness, Caliban seems for a moment to have risen above his wretched role as Stephano’s fool.
Throughout much of the play, Shakespeare seems to side with powerful figures such as Prospero against weaker figures
such as Caliban, allowing us to think, with Prospero and Miranda, that Caliban is merely a monster.
◦ But in this scene, he takes the extraordinary step of briefly giving the monster a voice. Because of this short speech,
Caliban becomes a more understandable character, and even, for the moment at least, a sympathetic one.
 Caliban and Ariel’s different treatment
◦ The re-entrance of Ariel creates an immediate and powerful contrast between Prospero’s two servants. Where Caliban is
coarse, resentful, and brutish, described as a “[h]ag-seed” (I.ii.368), a “poisonous” (I.ii.322) and “most lying slave”
(I.ii.347) and as “earth” (I.ii.317), Ariel is delicate, refined, and gracious, described in the Dramatis personae as an “airy
spirit.” Ariel is indeed a spirit of air and fire, while Caliban is a creature of earth. Though the two are both Prospero’s
servants, Ariel serves the magician somewhat willingly, in return for his freeing him from the pine, while Caliban resists
serving him at all costs. In a sense, upon arriving on the island, Prospero enslaved Caliban and freed Ariel, imprisoning
the dark, earthy “monster” and releasing the bright, airy spirit. Readers who interpret The Tempest as an allegory about
European colonial practices generally deem Prospero’s treatment of Ariel, and especially of Caliban, to represent the
disruptive effect of European colonization on native societies. Prospero’s colonization has left Caliban, the original owner
of the island, subject to enslavement and hatred on account of his dark countenance and—in the eyes of Prospero, a
European—rough appearance.
 Forgiveness 1
◦ Prospero had initially chosen to use his magical prowess as a means of avenging his usurpation from his ‘perfidious’ brother, however, at the end of
the play,it is clear to see that Propsero’s more human and natural emotions of forgiveness had prevailed and a natural course of reconciliation to
take place.
◦ Indeed, such reconciliation however would not have been able to take place has Prospero not made the ‘wild winds’ of the Tempest to bring
Alonso, Antonio, Gonzalo and the rest onboard. Although ‘there was no harm done’, Prospero allowed them to be ridled with the sorrow of the
potential loss of Prince Ferdinand who was already onshore.  
◦ The critic Mowot writes that ‘Shakespeare draws on the traditions of magic’ and here, Prospero had used his magic in order to instil fear and
sorrow into Antonio and his men as a means of revenge.
◦ Prospero insists that those who wronged him suffer for their crimes, before he offers them his forgiveness, even if it means innocent and noble
men, like Gonzalo, suffer as well. Shakespeare’s clear references to the Machiavellian idea of power and democracy are shown here, and
Prospero’s plight as victim of usurpation has led him to make harsh decisions.
◦ It is Ariel’s plea that convinces Prospero to end their misery: "if you now beheld them / Your affections would become tender" (5.1.19-
20). Prospero, still bitter from his usurpation, holds a vendetta that is more than just doing unto Antonio what he did onto Prospero, but more of a
prideful expression and display of the fact that he is still, if not more, powerful and that despite Alonso’s efforts, Prospero remains unworldly
capable.
◦ However, once this ambition has been achieved, it's easy to see the that Prospero undergoes a transformation – that he comes to a "Christ-like"
realization (Solomon 232). A close reading of the magician's response reveals that his newfound regard for the command "love thine enemies"
comes after he has achieved his revenge: ‘…the rarer action is In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent’. At this point, Prospero had clearly
finished his work and ‘The sole drift of my purpose doth extend, Not a frown further’
◦ Prospero feels free to forgive those who sinned against him only after he has emerged triumphant and has seen the men, now mournful and
"penitent", pay for their transgressions.
Illusion of Justice
◦ The Tempest tells a fairly straightforward story involving an unjust act, the usurpation of Prospero’s
throne by his brother, and Prospero’s quest to re-establish justice by restoring himself to power.
◦ However, the idea of justice that the play works toward seems highly subjective, since this idea
represents the view of one character who controls the fate of all the other characters.
◦ Though Prospero presents himself as a victim of injustice working to right the wrongs that have been
done to him, Prospero’s idea of justice and injustice is somewhat hypocritical—though he is furious with
his brother for taking his power, he has no qualms about enslaving Ariel and Caliban in order to achieve
his ends.
◦ At many moments throughout the play, Prospero’s sense of justice seems extremely one-sided and
mainly involves what is good for Prospero. Moreover, because the play offers no notion of higher order
or justice to supersede Prospero’s interpretation of events, the play is morally ambiguous.
Creativity and Art
◦ As the play progresses, however, it becomes more and more involved with the idea of creativity and art,
and Prospero’s role begins to mirror more explicitly the role of an author creating a story around him.
With this metaphor in mind, and especially if we accept Prospero as a surrogate for Shakespeare himself,
Prospero’s sense of justice begins to seem, if not perfect, at least sympathetic. Moreover, the means he
uses to achieve his idea of justice mirror the machinations of the artist, who also seeks to enable others to
see his view of the world. Playwrights arrange their stories in such a way that their own idea of justice is
imposed upon events. In The Tempest, the author is in the play, and the fact that he establishes his idea of
justice and creates a happy ending for all the characters becomes a cause for celebration, not criticism.
Caliban Context
◦ Montaigne’s essay is likely to have influenced Caliban’s complex role as it challenges the prevailing
binary opposition between ‘savages’ of the new world and the ‘civilised’ people of the south
Colonialism
◦ The island represents Europe’s age of discovery, Gonzalo and Miranda’s responses could reflect the
responses of people discovering exotic lands and people
◦ Ireland was a pressing issue in the 16th century, it served to Shakespeare as a topical example of the
complex issues of overseas settlement, political legitimacy, revenge and repentance
◦ Imposed colonial rule on Ireland and on the island in the play
Comedy
◦ The wooing of Miranda and Ferdinand is juxtaposed with the drunken antics of Stephano, Caliban and
Trinculo to demonstrate the different aspects of a comedy – romance and slapstick humour
Theatricality
◦ Written in an a time where audiences demanded new types of theatre and ‘tragi-comedies’ began to
become popular
King James and the Court
◦ Prospero could be a mirror of King James who was accused of neglecting his kingly duties to marry his
children and research magic
◦ Alonso’s loss of Ferdinand mirrors the death of James son and the marriage of Claribel reflects his
daughter’s nuptials, especially as this was performed at the wedding party too
17 Century Audience
th

◦ Great classis were taught to all schoolboys in 16th century so the educated Blackfriars audience and
many in the Globe would recognize the allusions to Virgil and Ovid’s work
◦ Virgil, begins with a tempest that occurs due to a supernatural force
◦ Ovid, the structure of the plat, where groups of characters are given the focus in separate acts, is akin to
Ovid’s story telling technique
Magic in the Jacobean Era
◦ King James and Anglican church condemned all magic
◦ Women thought to be witches (why Sycorax is presented so badly)
◦ The Tempest as a term, is the alchemical word for the boiling of the alembic to remove impurities and
transform base metals into purest gold – this could be a metaphor for the progression of characters from a
condition of sinfulness to a higher level of morality
Masques
Solemn music
◦ The fact that that stage directions say that solemn music plays after Prospero gets rid of his magic alludes
to the idea that maybe he believes that his loss of magic is a bad thing
◦ He obviously doesn’t see it as an oppressive force, rather he loves it as it allowed him to do what he
wanted and inflict pain on others in the name of revenge
◦ Prospero is scared because without his magic he does not have anything, he is vulnerable without it
QUOTES - Comedy
◦ Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. – Trinculo
◦ Hast thou not dropped from heaven? – Caliban
◦ "A very ancient and fish-like smell." 
◦ ‘A most ridiculous monster – to make a wonder of a poor drunkard’ – Trinculo
◦ ‘Out the moon, I assure thee (dropped out of) Stephano
◦ ‘yet a tailor might scratch her where she did itch’
QUOTES - Love
◦ ‘I have done nothing but in care of thee’
◦ ‘a thing divine, for nothing natural I ever saw so noble’
◦ ‘nothing ill can dwell in such a temple’
◦ ‘how beauteous mankind is’
QUOTES - Monster
◦ ‘thou liest you malignant thing’
◦ ‘being capable of only ill’
◦ ‘thy vile race, deservedly confined into this rock’
◦ ‘you bawling, blashphemous, uncharitable dog’
◦ ‘thou did seek to violate the honour of my child’
◦ ‘a devil, a born devil, on whose nature nurture can never stick’
◦ ‘thou poisonous slave, got by the devil’
◦ ‘hell is empty, all the devils are here’
QUOTES – Books and knowledge
◦ ‘my library, which was dukedom enough’
◦ ‘First to possess his books, for without them
He's but a sot, as I am, nor hath not
One spirit to command: they all do hate him
As rootedly as I. Burn but his books. ‘
QUOTES – Master and Servant
relationship
◦ ‘all hail great master’
◦ ‘thou shalt have cramps and side stitches, thou shall be pinched’
◦ ‘my liberty, remember I have done thee worthy service’
◦ ‘a plague upon the tyrant I serve’
◦ ‘thou shalt be free as mountain winds, but then exactly do all points of my command’
◦ ‘That’s a brave god that bears celestial liquor, I will kneel to him’
◦ ‘I’ll kiss thy foot and swear myself thy subject’
◦ ‘exactly performed, but there is more work’
◦ “You are three men of sin”
◦ “I’ll manacle thy neck and feet together” (1:2 – Prospero) Punishes Ferdinand even though he knows he is innocent.
◦ “Delicate Ariel” vs. “Brutish slave” (Caliban) (1:2)
 QUOTES - Colonialism
◦ ‘this island is mine, by Sycorax my mother’
◦ ‘he does make our fire, fetch our wood’
◦ ‘I showed thee all the qualities of the island’
◦ ‘dost thou forget from what a torment I did free thee?’
◦ ‘you taught me language…I know how to curse’

◦ Execute all things; for no kind of traffic

Would I admit; no name of magistrate;
No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil;…
No sovereignty—  ‘
◦ Is Shakespeare endorsing Montaigne's ideas by putting them into the mouth of his characters?

◦ “they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, / they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian.” (2:2 – Trinculo)
◦ “Their manners are more gentle-kind than of / Our human generation” (3:3 – Gonzalo)
Femininity
◦ ‘oh I have suffered, with those that I saw suffer’
◦ ‘thy mother was a piece of virtue’
◦ ‘that foul witch Sycorax/this blue eyed hag’
◦ Ferdinand: “If you be a maid or no?” Miranda: “But certainly a maid” (Maid = Married/Virgin) – blasé discussion of
her sexuality. (1:2)
◦ ‘a thing divine, for nothing natural I ever saw so noble’
◦ ’nothing ill can dwell in such a temple’
◦ ‘you may deny me but I’ll be your servant’
◦ ‘I’ll die your maid’
◦ ‘It would become me/As well as it does you’ – she can carry wood just like Ferdinand
◦ “If thou dost break her virgin-knot...” “Hymen’s lamps shall light you” (4:1 – Prospero) Purity
QUOTES - Theatricality
◦ ‘the great globe itself shall dissolve’
◦ ‘with the help of your good hands, let your indulgences set me free’
QUOTES – Fantasy and magic
◦ ‘I must obey. His art is of such power’ – Caliban
◦ ‘There’s no harm done’ Prospero’s magic is bening
◦ ‘Sycorax’s power to ‘control the moon’ is a quality of Medea, Prospero has similar traits so does this
mean he and the witch are more similar than Prospero believes?
◦ ‘I say by sorcery he got this isle’ Caliban
◦ ‘we are such stuff that dreams are made of’
◦ ‘that when I waked, I cried to dream again’
 QUOTES - Nature
◦ ‘to cry to the sea that roared to us, to sigh’
◦ ‘to the winds whose pity, sighing back again, did us but loving wrong’ - At the time of their exile, Prospero remembers
the sea like an enemy, and the wind like a lover.
◦ ‘tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning’ violent side of nature
◦ ‘make thyself like a nymph o’th’sea’ Ariel’s relationship with water, delicate
◦ ‘be not afeard, the isle is full of noises’ Iambic Pentameter/Verse – beauty and eloquence of his speech.
◦ Merrily, merrily, shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.- Ariel
◦ “Thunder and lightning” (3:3 – Stage direction) Pathetic fallacy is employed actively by Prospero
QUOTES – Forgiveness, Revenge and
Compassion
◦ ‘O, I have suffered, with those that I saw suffer’
◦ ‘you are three men of sin’
◦ ‘the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance’ – Prospero
◦ ‘I do forgive thee, unnatural though