How Does Shakespeare Accept Prospero In The Tempest By William Shakespeare?

How does one say goodbye to their lifelong career? Shakespeare had an amazing career creating thirty-six plays before he created The Tempest. The long list of plays that came before The Tempest includes both Hamlet and Macbeth; two plays he is best known for. His career was long and legendary and many people believe that one of his plays, The Tempest, indicates a farewell to the stage. Shakespeare clearly knew he was writing his last play, The Tempest, because of the various pieces of evidence in his relation to Prospero, within the epilogue of the play and in what critics have said.
To begin with, there is evidence that Shakespeare puts himself in the plot and characters of the play. Many have said that the life of Shakespeare can be seen
Simply, many believe that Prospero represented Shakespeare in The Tempest. Reasons are endless, whether it was because they were both strong male roles or that both had loss in their life but had the power to make great things. Shakespeare lost his son and Prospero had lost his dukedom but both were successful men. According to Sydney R. Horman, “[The Tempest’s] statement is more inclusive in that it is more paradoxical, with Prospero representing both a semi divine power and another human, "One of their kind" (V. i. 23)” (Horman. 76). The meaning of this quote is clearly Horman referring to Prospero as a wizard and saying that that is what he represents. However, when looking at the phrase “One of their kind,” which followed the words “another human,” there are many more ways to interpret this quote. It means another type of person is depicted but specifically that a poet was represented; Shakespeare. This can be seen as representing Shakespeare because it is clear that he too was capable of creating amazing things like plays, just as Prospero could create great storms from nothing as he possessed magic. Furthermore, according to Mosley Charles, "he tells the story, pronounces the justification, and impacts the
It was the first piece of evidence that could be used to start the idea that Shakespeare was saying goodbye to the stage through the play. Shakespeare was growing old when he wrote this play and if he had not of said goodbye through this play, he may have never gotten the chance to. Even the way that the play is written shows the characteristics of a writer who has come to an end and is wrapping something up. In this case, he is wrapping up his career and people can interpret this by other indications, previously mentioned, that Prospero is reflecting Shakespeare. The first critic to review on this topic is Elmer Edgar Stoll who is a common critic of Shakespeare and interpretations of his work. Stoll claims that Shakespeare reflects himself in Prospero. He says Shakespeare is, "a poet hidden in the light of thought"(Stoll. 726). The “light of thought” he is referring to here is clearly the play and so this seems to mean Shakespeare was hidden behind or within the play. Taking this quote further, it is apparent Stoll hinted that Shakespeare is lying beneath another character, most likely Prospero, which can be supported by the previous evidence as well. Another critic, D.J. Snider, had more to say; "...it is more unique, more homogenous, than the two dramas mentioned before..."(Snider. 193). Within this quote is evidence that people could tell Shakespeare was going