Abuse of Power in the Tempest
Jordan Connelly
Prof Livingston
English 1302
28 April, 2014
Abusing Power in The Tempest
William Shakespeare uses many different elements in The Tempest to convey his different views on things. For example, he uses gender roles to show class division. He also explores the topics of love and how that has an effect on people, and how the environment can change the way people act. All of these concepts are necessary to understand, but they are only part of the big picture. In order to fully understand Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the reader needs the presence of power among people and also within themselves. Without the element of power, none of the other elements matter. In The Tempest, William Shakespeare dramatizes the exercise of power and conveys his ideas on the responsibilities of power through the characters and the relationships between them.
One way Shakespeare shows the exercise of power in The Tempest is through titles of the different characters. Prospero is the main example of this. He is very powerful as the Duke of Milan, but his books about the liberal arts are more important to him than his Dukedom. After being usurped and sent off the island, he declares himself the leader of the island he lands on due to the power of his books, even though Caliban settled on the island before Prospero. The power of this title Prospero gave himself is enough to make Caliban his slave of the island, as well as Ariel. Prospero rules over these two, and has them do whatever he wants them to via the power of these books, and “Among those books was one about an art, not usually numbered among the liberal arts—an art, which, as Caliban says: ‘is of such power, It would control my dam 's god Setebos And make a vassal of him’ ”(Connor). Shakespeare may have represented this forced power role as an allusion to the exploration of the New World during the 16th century, and his thoughts on the expedition.
Shakespeare shows the exercise of power though title with
Prof Livingston
English 1302
28 April, 2014
Abusing Power in The Tempest
William Shakespeare uses many different elements in The Tempest to convey his different views on things. For example, he uses gender roles to show class division. He also explores the topics of love and how that has an effect on people, and how the environment can change the way people act. All of these concepts are necessary to understand, but they are only part of the big picture. In order to fully understand Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the reader needs the presence of power among people and also within themselves. Without the element of power, none of the other elements matter. In The Tempest, William Shakespeare dramatizes the exercise of power and conveys his ideas on the responsibilities of power through the characters and the relationships between them.
One way Shakespeare shows the exercise of power in The Tempest is through titles of the different characters. Prospero is the main example of this. He is very powerful as the Duke of Milan, but his books about the liberal arts are more important to him than his Dukedom. After being usurped and sent off the island, he declares himself the leader of the island he lands on due to the power of his books, even though Caliban settled on the island before Prospero. The power of this title Prospero gave himself is enough to make Caliban his slave of the island, as well as Ariel. Prospero rules over these two, and has them do whatever he wants them to via the power of these books, and “Among those books was one about an art, not usually numbered among the liberal arts—an art, which, as Caliban says: ‘is of such power, It would control my dam 's god Setebos And make a vassal of him’ ”(Connor). Shakespeare may have represented this forced power role as an allusion to the exploration of the New World during the 16th century, and his thoughts on the expedition.
Shakespeare shows the exercise of power though title with
Bibliography: Web. 28 Apr. 2014.