Prospero in Act 1, Scene 2

In this scene, Prospero acts like a playwright (similar to Shakespeare's self), and he is theatrical. He sets up and controls the dialogue between Ferdinand and Miranda. 

There are a few possible theories of Prospero's character in this scene:

1. Prospero could be a reflection of Shakespeare himself - as this is his last play, this could be him saying goodbye to himself and letting in the next generation (links to Prospero's reflection at the end of the play.)
2. Shakespeare uses his character to comment on James I as king... He uses the phrase 'upon this island as a spy', and this could reflect James I attitude, down to the Gun Powder plot attempt. Also, the king loved art and the use of music could potentially be Shakespeare trying to flatter the king; making his plays appealing. Shakespeare could be saying that authority is erratic and theatrical and it's always changing. Power is all a show; it is just an attempt to scare people, but it desires union and redemption. However, as Shakespeare was writing for the king, he could not directly chastise his power.

Quote(s):

• 'The fringed curtains of thine eye advance.' - Prospero is setting up what Miranda sees and what she says, he is setting the scene and opening the play-like conversation.
• 'It goes on, I see...' - This reveals his control on the scene, he says this to himself and the audience, like he knows how the scene is going to unfold between the potential lovers.
• 'O you wonder...' - This is Ferdinand's reference to Miranda, this foreshadows her as a thing he is going to admire (it shows they are made for each other), even though he doesn't know her name at this point.
• 'At the first sight they have changed eyes.' - Again, Prospero isn't talking to anyone in particular, manipulating the scene.
• '...one word more. I change thee... [Aside]' - Prospero is trying to act like the angry father to increase Miranda's worth by making her hard to get, and to test Ferdinand's worth of his daughter (push to him to the absolute limit.)
• 'Ferdinand draws his sword, and is charmed from moving.' - He cannot overcome Prospero's power, he is too powerful for mankind, god like figure.
• 'Come on, obey.' - This is an imperative, presents strictness, however, this is not Prospero's real self, he is acting as someone else.
• 'Aside.' - He is telling the story, establishing truth, he knows how the story is going play out over time.

The way in which Prospero speaks aside and says his plan is working, and then speaks to different characters telling them what to do, it is very theatrical and humorous. Prospero has power over the characters, but he wants the couple to be together (testing Ferdinand's loyalty), and it eventually happens, as if Prospero knew it all along. 

Music in The Tempest

The music in The Tempest is said to be symbolic; but what it is symbolic of is not definite. It could reflect either reflect the grief, the memory/subconsciousness, turbulence or creation. The use of music could be Shakespeare suggesting that it it soothing of the soul and it creates a newness that language can not create.

Ariel's song analysis

The language in Ariel's song has a big effect on the reader, and the use of Shakespeare's language is quite taunting and soothing at the same time. The alliteration with 'Full fathom five thy father lies', the soft sounds at the beginning of the words is quite lulling and dreamlike which brings around a soothing nature. The rhyme and rhythm is regular, which is reassuring and comforting, and in this case, after Ferdinand's loss, it could be his build up of hope to find his father again. However, you could argue that it is taunting; that is a build up to something negative happening. The use of personification symbolises change with 'those are pearls that were his eyes.' This gives all the power to the sea, and it shows how nature can change you, dismissing the Great Chain of Bring theory. 

Character analysis in The Tempest

Prospero's character

Theory 1: 'He is a paternalistic, benevolent authority.'

• I agree with this to a certain extent because he reassures Miranda (Scene 2) with 'no harm done.' He then goes on to explain the reasoning as to why he has caused the storm in Scene 1 and his motivations behind it. He says 'nothing but in care of thee.' This places him as a caring being, that he is doing this for the greater good.
• When Miranda addresses her father at the beginning of Scene 2 (she starts the scene, dismissing tradition from the start), she says 'my dearest father' - you can argue that this shows love and closeness between them, and demonstrates the affection for her 'father.'

Theory 2: 'Prospero is a tyrannical dictator.'

• He is demanding of his daughter's attention; 'sit down' and 'obey and be attentive.' - this is him asserting his dominance through imperatives and reminding the audience of patriarchal traditions. 'I pray thee mark me...' - Prospero here is demanding power and attention. '...thou attend'st not!' and here he is demanding Miranda's attention, making sure she is listening to his story. Prospero is seemingly a dictator because he controls the story, and he only tells Miranda certain things. 
• When Miranda addresses her father at the beginning of Scene 2 (she starts the scene, dismissing tradition for the start), she says 'my dearest father' - this seems like a formal address, which seems unusual for a father-daughter relationship. It seems possessive and like she is trying to get on his good side/impress him, an attempt to gain power in this situation. 
• Prospero says 'I pluck my magic garment from me...' and this demonstrates power. it's as if he gains power from the robe like it is a costume. It could be a metaphor for self and identity, and when he removes it, he is removing a part of himself that makes him feel powerful. It is an illusion, but he wants to be known for being powerful. As he controls the storm, this applies. 

Ariel's character

In Act 1, Scene 2, we learn that Ariel has been on duty for Prospero or 'great master', and he is seemingly very confident with his days work. He is boastful; he 'flamed amazement', which demonstrates his hierarchy status because he can just change words. Here, he has changed a noun to a verb, and he is bending the rules and laws. However, he doesn't have control because Prospero has the upper hand, demanding more from him, and asking him questions, but not really asking them. Ariel is the lower person in this situation as his duty still isn't done and this brings about a feeling of tension between the two characters. Ariel is never truly a free character because previously, he was trapped in a tree, and it's possible that this happened to him because he was too confident and didn't do what he was told. Now, Prospero is his controller. 

The Tempest - Act 1 analysis

Power in Act 1, Scene 1

Shakespeare is demonstrating that there is no authority in society; it all depends on the situation. For example, the Boatswain holds the power as he is the master of the ship, even though the hierarchy are on board. Shakespeare is challenging the King's authority but this was seen as unacceptable as the King is supposedly God's representative. However, it shows that the King as just a man as he cannot calm the storm, not like Jesus could in the bible. 

Quote(s): 
'I pray now, keep below.'  - This is an imperative showing natural authority, the Boatswain knows what is best for the people on board the ship so it's normal that he would try and keep them safe
'Silence! Trouble us not.' - The hierarchy are going against any command, putting The Chain of Being back into order, but the Boatswain is still adamant to control the situation. He is frustrated and trying to do what is best, but social order gets the best of them. 

It shows that authority is flawed - The King and his people aren't practical in blaming the weather conditions for their possible death - they are blaming the sailors, even though it is out of their control. They are trying to make the others feel inferior and want to assert their dominance. 

Quote(s):
'...give thanks you have lived so long...' - The Boatswain is highlighting the fact they are going to meet their death due to the storm. They're in-between land which gives the sea the full power, even though nature is below them in The Chain of Being. This could be Shakespeare showing he does not believe in this and he is trying to the transgress what is said to have been the law in this period. 
'A pox o'your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, in-charitable dog.' - Shakespeare has Sebastian use adjective after adjective here to really put the Boatswain in his place. He is putting him right down the chain with the animals, not even classing him as a human form anymore. 

This scene is highlighting that at the end of the day, everyone is equal. When the ship is about to crash, all the voices off stage are indefinite and indefinable and it shows that authority is a social concept. Shakespeare is also showing that it takes death for us to realise that we are all humans and, we all have a generalised horror of meeting our death.

Quote(s):
'We split, we split! - Farewell, my wife and children - Farewell brother! - We split, we split!' - All these voices talk at the same time, referring to each other as family. This completely dismisses any social order as we don't know how is speaking, it is just noise and they are to all go down as one. 

Caesurae in Act 1, Scene 2

Caesurae is used to show/emphasise speech, the amount used separates the line, lingering on certain words, and it disrupts the Iambic Pentameter.

When Miranda first speaks in Act 1, Scene 2, Shakespeare has used language to emphasises her speech, and more explicitly, using caesurae. In Line 9, it reads 'against my very heart! Poor souls, they perished.' The exclamation mark used after 'heart' emphasises Miranda's anguish over the suffering of the storm, and it portrays how much it moves her into a state of mourning. It's as if it is on her conscience, and the emotion is having a real effect, not just on her, but her heart, which is a core bodily function. The caesura after 'poor souls,' symbolises reflection. Shakespeare has used this to highlight Miranda's sympathy towards loss and how she was not capable of stopping any suffering. It is as if she is imagining and reliving their deaths, feeling sadness at her helplessness and inabilities. The end-stopped line after 'perished' demonstrates the finality of death, and how it stops everything. It is a very blunt ending to the line, but it conveys the reality and realism of what has happened, and she isn't trying to mask it with any explanations; they have just 'perished' and it's something we have to deal with.

The Great Chain of Being

The Great Chain of Being applies in Shakespeare's writings, and it is shown in The Tempest. Overall, it states that God is above all of mankind, and the King is the hierarchy of man. Animals, plants, and minerals are at the bottom of the chain, and disruption in the change could cause strange things to happen/mess with the law of nature.

The Tempest starts with a storm and this has symbolic connotations to Shakespeare's historical context. It is very dramatic and brings a feeling of tension between the characters and the reader. Shakespeare lived in a politically turbulent time, where the King was being challenged and Queen Victoria caused anxiousness within the people because she hadn't produced an heir to the throne. There were many events ongoing at this time; a Catholic and Protestant war was continuing and the Gun Powder plot had occurred. Manipulating The Chain of Being is something that happens in the first scene, where all the hierarchy and lower classes are together on one ship. They're all trying to survive, and we see the Boatswain controlling where the King and others locate themselves, giving him some power. However, on top of all this, Prospero is controlling the storm, and theoretically dominating The Chain of Being. 

Diagram from http://swh.schoolworkhelper.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The-Great-Chain-of-Being.jpg?e6ecea 

The Tempest criticism

The Tempest - Authority and Leadership by Neil Bowen

• "A coded, but nevertheless daring critique of Jacobean ideology."
• "Social order thrown into confusion..."
• "The rhythm created is suitably swift and choppy."
• "...the relationship between the characters are violent and stormy."
• "...seeking to change social position... was seen not just as questioning your betters... but also to be going against God himself."
• "In a crisis, authority appears to lie with those able to deal best with the situation."
• "From the very opening of the play, questions of power, leadership and authority are raised."
• "Traditional interpretations... have often seen the play as obliquely criticising King James."
• "The Tempest ends with order emerging from disorder."
• "Modern critics argue that the ending does not neatly resolve the play's issues... they are left open and urgent."
• "...it shows how power can be generated... it challenges us to consider what constitutes good, responsible, wise leadership.

Accessed emagazine, 26/11/15

Interpreting The Tempest by Dr. Sean McEvoy, Varndean College, Brighton

• "The Tempest seemed to stand out from the broadly 'realistic' human world of the histories, comedies and tragedies."
• "Shakespeare's response to the new fashion for 'romances': tragicomedies with a fantastic or supernatural element."
• "Shakespeare himself has shown 'us how he has duped us into believing in a set of patriarchal, monarchical views through his dramatic skills."
• "Argued that The Tempest was about the English colonisation of America... and about colonisation in general.  

Accessed emagazine, 26/11/15

Cambridge University - Dr Charles Moseley, on The Tempest

Prologue

• "Elizabethan drama was "written in a world, and for a world very different from ours, with very different assumptions about ideas of the self..."
• "Jacobean is "intertextual, it’s allusive, it’s non-naturalistic, it’s very often symbolic."
• "Drama and Art are where we explore through myth and through story our deepest concerns and our deepest worries."
• "These late plays are hugely innovative, they’re very profound, they’re breaking lots of new ground, and they’re tackling huge issues, and they go beyond.’

Setting, Symbolism and Magic

• "Prospero is a ruler who failed… concentrated too much on what he wanted."
• "Caliban means ‘cannibal."

Accessed Massolit, 03/12/15

'The Tempest' - basic plot

It starts with a ship and a storm, directed by Boatswain. Alonso says to Boatswain that he feels sick and goes downstairs. The boat, also holding Antonio (Prospero's brother), Sebastian (Alonso's brother) and Gonzalo, crashes and they end up on an island. We learn that Prospero is the one controlling the storm, after his daughter Miranda asks why, and he says it's because he wants revenge on Antonio for trying to kill him. Alonso, the king, thinks his son, Ferdinand, is dead. Caliban, can original inhabitant of the island, is angry because he wants the island back from Prospero. Ferdinand sees Miranda and it's love at first sight after he washes up onto the shore, she was supposedly hit on by Caliban before, which is why him and Prospero don't like each other. Alonso is still distraught at the fact his son is "dead", and after a search for him, Alonso sleeps. When he is sleeping, Antonio tells Sebastian to kill Alonso, so he can get the power from him, like he did with Propsero. However, Sebastian is stopped by Ariel, who has been sent by Propsero to stop this. Away from this, Caliban is hiding, and is found by the drunkards Stefano and Trinculo, who then party together. Caliban reveals that he wants to kill Prospero and he asks if they want to be in the on the plan, to which they agree. Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio and Gonzalo are searching for Ferdinand, where they are punished by Prospero. Whilst they are feasting on a banquet, Ariel appears as a Harpy, to which they become frightened and afraid of his form. Elsewhere, Ferdinand asks Prospero for consent to marry his daughter, Amanda, but Prospero questions his qualities, and after this, Prospero gives his consent. Three goddesses come in and they bless the wedding. Ariel says to Prospero that he should forgive for what has happened between him and Alonso and him and Caliban. As Ariel isn't even human, this demonstrates Prospero's lack of compassion for them. After they meet, he and Alonso apologise to each other and Alonso finds out his son isn't dead. In the background, Ferdinand and Miranda are on a date playing chess. Stefano and Trinculo are embarrassed by their drunk antics, to agree to help try and kill Prospero, but they are dismissed. Caliban and Prospero settle their differences, even though Caliban is quite dismissive of Propsero's apology. At the end, Prospero reflects on everything in his life, questioning his mortality and now his daughter has married, she is the next generation of human life.