How Does Marlowe Present Power In The Tempest

“Correspondent to command…” Discuss the ways in which power and control are presented within The Tempest

In William Shakespeare 's The Tempest, and Christopher Marlowe 's Doctor Faustus, Prospero and Doctor Faustus both engage in elements of the dark arts, initially to achieve aspirational outcomes. In order to demonstrate power, Shakespeare effectively plays with the relationships between master and servant. Many characters are also locked in a power struggle for the control of the island, eventually causing the abuse of power by some characters. Whereas, Marlowe presents the master/servant relationship as a mutually beneficial deal out of choice, rather than against the will of the servant. However, while Prospero is clearly reformed at
The power held by The Tempest’s main protagonist Prospero is challenged by the native islander Caliban. Caliban recognizes this, and when attempting to assassinate Prospero, he wants ‘to possess his books; for without them / He’s but a sot,...’ This line presents Caliban as powerful, as he knows the secret to Prospero’s power, and also knows how to stop it. However, the fact that Caliban has not acted on this, even when enslaved by Prospero, but instead looks for a “god” or “master” shows how he needs someone to guide him. Prospero is called a “sot” by Caliban; the word “sot” refers to a medieval drunkard, someone who is habitually drunk, which presents Prospero as a reckless character. This shows a clear gap in power between Prospero and Caliban, as the island should belong to the native Caliban, but has been colonized by Prospero, the careless white man. What is interesting is that Caliban only insults Prospero
There is a semantic field of violence and hatred in Faustus’ words when he agrees to “Slay his ministers, / And make my spirits pull his churches down.” This conveys the extent of power that he thinks he possesses, but he does not actually believe what he is vowing, he just tells Lucifer what he wants to hear. Also, the fact that “Faustus vows never to look to heaven” portrays Faustus’ struggle to make a decision and how he often contemplates repentance, which shows how he does not have control over his own thoughts, let alone