The Dictatorial Prospero of Shakespeare's the Tempest
The Dictatorial Prospero of Shakespeare 's The Tempest
The Dictatorial Prospero of The Tempest
Motivation often propels people to achieve high goals. Sometimes, however, motivation is too strong a tool and can manifest into selfish desires. The exploitation of the weak invariably results from the strong abusing their power, especially in a political setting. In William Shakespeare 's ‘The Tempest’, Prospero is displayed as a tyrannical character who spawns a disastrous storm as part of a grand scheme to regain his title of Duke of Milan. His subsequent treatment of each character in the play, even his beloved daughter are purely based on his self-centered motives. Prospero can be seen as an overbearing racist, as well as a usurper to land that does not belong to him, but rather to Caliban. Being that Prospero 's nature is dictatorial, every aspect of his life concerns achieving his narrow and self-centered goals of regaining political power through his former title of Duke of Milan.
Prospero treats his young daughter, Miranda, in a controlling way by sheltering her from the outside world and even devises a marriage for her to the son of his enemy, King Alonso to better his efforts of obtaining back the dukedom. Whilst Prospero is explaining how they once were royalty, he continually interjects "Dost thou attend me?" (1.2.77) and "Dost thou hear?" (1.2.106) to his acquiescent daughter. Prospero impatiently desires to be in control of every situation and be at the center of attention and thus this can explain his constant questioning. To the more sympathetic view it can be seen that these questions are not from a controlling point of view, but paranoia regarding how his daughter perceives the conversation. However, after his long speech, he then uses his magic to control her into lulling her into a sleep when he is done talking to her. Is this the action of a loving or a controlling father, a question which individually you can answer
The Dictatorial Prospero of The Tempest
Motivation often propels people to achieve high goals. Sometimes, however, motivation is too strong a tool and can manifest into selfish desires. The exploitation of the weak invariably results from the strong abusing their power, especially in a political setting. In William Shakespeare 's ‘The Tempest’, Prospero is displayed as a tyrannical character who spawns a disastrous storm as part of a grand scheme to regain his title of Duke of Milan. His subsequent treatment of each character in the play, even his beloved daughter are purely based on his self-centered motives. Prospero can be seen as an overbearing racist, as well as a usurper to land that does not belong to him, but rather to Caliban. Being that Prospero 's nature is dictatorial, every aspect of his life concerns achieving his narrow and self-centered goals of regaining political power through his former title of Duke of Milan.
Prospero treats his young daughter, Miranda, in a controlling way by sheltering her from the outside world and even devises a marriage for her to the son of his enemy, King Alonso to better his efforts of obtaining back the dukedom. Whilst Prospero is explaining how they once were royalty, he continually interjects "Dost thou attend me?" (1.2.77) and "Dost thou hear?" (1.2.106) to his acquiescent daughter. Prospero impatiently desires to be in control of every situation and be at the center of attention and thus this can explain his constant questioning. To the more sympathetic view it can be seen that these questions are not from a controlling point of view, but paranoia regarding how his daughter perceives the conversation. However, after his long speech, he then uses his magic to control her into lulling her into a sleep when he is done talking to her. Is this the action of a loving or a controlling father, a question which individually you can answer
Cited: and Consulted: Boone, Edward. "Prospero: A Critical Study. " 336-82. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991. Corfield, Cosmo. "Why Does Prospero Abjure His 'Rough Magic, '" Shakespeare Quarterly. 36 (1985): 31-4 8. Curry, Walter C. "The Characters of Shakespeare 's The Tempest," Early Early Modern Literary Studies. Vers. 5.1. May 1999. Levin, Harry. "Two Magian Comedies: 'The Tempest ' and 'The Alchemist, '" Shakespeare Survey . 22 (1969): 47-58. Miko, Stephen J. "Tempest," ELH. 49 (1982): 1-17. Mowat, Barbara A. "Prospero, Agrippa, and Hocus Pocus," English Literary Renaissance. 11 (1981): 281-3 03. West, Robert. "The Mystery of 'The Tempest '. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1968.