Essay- The Tempest
The duke of Milan, Prospero was unjustly thrown out. He was left to die in the wild sea along with his three year old daughter. He had left his kingdom to his dear brother Antonio to rule since he wanted to complete one of the studies. He had full faith on his brother. But the latter broke his trust and threw him out of his home land. Antonio befriends his subjects and plots against Prospero. He is thrown into the sea to die. But the duke lands in an unknown island full of strange creatures and magic spells. He, with his education, intelligence and good deeds wins over those creatures and rules the island. The tempest or violent storm reunites all the characters. The duke with his magical powers creates wild storm to wreck the ship in which his rival, the king of Naples and his brother are traveling. He wanted to take revenge on them and make them realize the importance of relationships. Prospero with the help of his dutiful servant, a spirit Ariel brings all the characters to one place and teaches them a lesson. Prospero releases Ariel from the tortures of the deceased witch Sycorax. Ariel becomes one of the loyal servants of Prospero. He makes their stay on the island dangerous and eerie. The situation makes the king Alonso think that his son is dead. He is heartbroken. Antonio Prosperos bad brother provokes Sebastian to kill his brother Alonso to get the throne. In between another servant, Caliban plots the death of his master Prospero, along with two drunken subjects of Alonso. But, at the end Prospero forgives all of them.
To quote
Prospero Most cruelly
Didst thou, Alonso, use me and my daughter.
Thy brother was a furtherer in the act.
(to SEBASTIAN) Thou art pinched for t now, Sebastian.
(to ANTONIO) Flesh and blood,
You brother mine, that entertained ambition,
Expelled remorse and nature, whom, with Sebastian,
Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong,
Would here have killed your kingI do forgive thee,
Unnatural though thou art.
The pairing of Ferdinand and Miranda is the highlight of the story. Both of them are nave and young. They fall in love at the first sight. Ferdinand is a good individual. Their love is pure. They both do not know the enmity between their fathers. Ferdinand serves prospero to win over Miranda. His love is so pure that Prospero melts at his genuine nature and gives his consent for marriage. This relationship teaches that love is beyond any other feeling in this world. It submits one to treachery, jealousy etc. The depth of Ferdinands love towards Miranda is undetermined. Only due to Mirandas love does Ferdinand not fight against Prospero. The love between the two brings together Alonso and Prospero. Even though the story revolves around the protagonist Prospero and gets the name due to the storm or Tempest created by the protagonist magically, the union of the lovers becomes quite important at the climax. Miranda gets to see another man in Ferdinand. She had seen only his father as a man. She thinks man is the most beautiful creature on Earth and should love one and all. This is very clear from these lines
I might call him
A thing divine, for nothing natural
I ever saw so noble.
When he meets Prospero he asks him to forgive him for what he has done. He says losing his son has changed him to a new leaf. Prospero says that he has also lost his daughter. At this Alonso wishes that they could have lived as King and Queen. He believed that this relationship only will bring harmony and love between the two kingdoms.
We can understand how sorry King Alonso is from these lines
O heavens, that they were living both in Naples,
The king and queen there
Happy ending always make the reader happy. Prospero shows Alonso his son and daughter playing chess. He says that his wishes have come true. Ferdinand and Miranda can get married and rule Naples as King and Queen.
Prospero releases his loyal spirit granting him the much desired freedom. He leaves all his magical powers behind and set sail to Milan. Only Caliban is left behind.
Caliban is the right choice to rule the island. He is the son of the deceased witch Sycorax. He thinks that he is the right heir to the island and Prospero stole it. He plots against Prospero. Caliban was half human and half beast. He initially liked Prospero. But Prospero made the mistake of having an evil intention on Miranda. He had attempted to rape Miranda for which he was severely punished by Prospero. This made Caliban hate Prospero. He is shown brutal in the play but at the end we can see the softer side of him.
We can come to a conclusion from these lines that Caliban is the rightful heir to rule the island
This islands mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou takest from me. When thou camest first,
Thou strokst me and made much of me, wouldst give me
Water with berries in t, and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night. And then I loved thee
And showed thee all the qualities o th isle,
The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and fertile.
Cursed be I that did so All the charms
Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you
For I am all the subjects that you have,
Which first was mine own king. And here you sty me
In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me
The rest o th island.
Caliban is not a complete human. Prospero cant stay in that island for long, he did not intend to also. All the spirits were given freedom. So the rightful heir to the island is obviously Caliban.
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