How Does Shakespeare Present Nobility In The Tempest
Despite Shakespeare’s tendency to characterize virtue through outward beauty, in The Tempest he deftly shows us nobility is not always inherent and the beast in all has hope of being tamed. There is danger in a lack of balance between nobility and in-bred, base nature. On the surface, Caliban is the ultimate representation of vile nature, brutal, selfish and untamed, and Prospero represents nobility.
Gonzalo unwittingly echoes the moral lesson of the play and hints at the two characters most likely to be party to the lesson’s exposition when he says “(For certes these are people of the island) who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet note, their manners are more gentle, kind, than of our human generation you shall find many – nay, almost any” (III.3.30-4). His allusion is to Caliban, a person “of the island,” and Prospero is counterpoint to Caliban. Though Caliban’s manners cannot be considered gentle and kind now and he certainly has a beastly side, he was not always the scoundrel we primarily see. Prospero is one of the “human generation” known to Gonzalo; the two were very close before Prospero was exiled. When Prospero reveals himself to all, Gonzalo calls him a noble friend “whose honor cannot be measured or …show more content…
Gentle Ferdinand voices a negative opinion about Prospero, saying “he’s composed of harshness” (III.1.9). Though, from the beginning, we see Prospero as a poor victim, he slowly reveals his character to be indeed harsh, if not fiercely vindictive. Despite his high birth and supposed noble nature, he uses others brutishly to his own ends and is self-absorbed and lazy. After he rescues Ariel from his enchantment, he enslaves him, requiring him to complete a multitude of tasks until Prospero’s entirely self-centered goals are achieved. He constantly reminds Ariel of the favor he did him and threatens to imprison him for twelve more years if he
Gonzalo unwittingly echoes the moral lesson of the play and hints at the two characters most likely to be party to the lesson’s exposition when he says “(For certes these are people of the island) who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet note, their manners are more gentle, kind, than of our human generation you shall find many – nay, almost any” (III.3.30-4). His allusion is to Caliban, a person “of the island,” and Prospero is counterpoint to Caliban. Though Caliban’s manners cannot be considered gentle and kind now and he certainly has a beastly side, he was not always the scoundrel we primarily see. Prospero is one of the “human generation” known to Gonzalo; the two were very close before Prospero was exiled. When Prospero reveals himself to all, Gonzalo calls him a noble friend “whose honor cannot be measured or …show more content…
Gentle Ferdinand voices a negative opinion about Prospero, saying “he’s composed of harshness” (III.1.9). Though, from the beginning, we see Prospero as a poor victim, he slowly reveals his character to be indeed harsh, if not fiercely vindictive. Despite his high birth and supposed noble nature, he uses others brutishly to his own ends and is self-absorbed and lazy. After he rescues Ariel from his enchantment, he enslaves him, requiring him to complete a multitude of tasks until Prospero’s entirely self-centered goals are achieved. He constantly reminds Ariel of the favor he did him and threatens to imprison him for twelve more years if he