The Powerful Tempest #

1 Max Ms. Shannon English 8 Day 83 January 2018 slmiddlebrook@hotmail.com The Powerful Tempest "Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other." (Eric Burdon) The battle between good and evil began along with the creation of the earth. It was in the Garden of Eden where the founder of evil, Satan, struck the match that would ignite the first flames of the clash that would last until judgment day comes. Some of us consider the battle a foolish thing that should have ended long ago with good being victorious, and yet, here we are thousands of years later, still fighting the same war. Shakespeare's The Tempest is a story based upon the classic story of evil and good, battling for the throne, and can in some ways be interpreted as an allegory to real life. The story is by many considered a tragicomedy, like www.enotes.com and www.shmoop.com, but I will prove that there is more to the story. The Tempest is a story following the familiar good vs evil plot, where the hunger for power is the cause of their battle. "The pursuit of power and the exercise of power is one of the leading themes of William Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest." (Themes in The Tempest)The Tempest is a beautifully written story by the renowned poet and playwright William Shakespeare. In the play, the prominent theme is gaining power and control over

2 others. Most of the characters throughout the story are fastened in a power struggle for their freedom and kingship over the island, forcing both the good and evil to misuse their power over each other. Prospero, a leading character seemingly on the good side, enslaves and abuses a man named Caliban. Antonio and Sebastian plan to rid the world of Alonso, while Alonso and Antonio aim for Prospero. as you can see, many characters are at war with each other and it truly depends on who you ask which side is good and bad. As said by Winston Churchill, "History is written by the victors. (Winston Churchill Quotes) The victors of the story, Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, and Alonso, are obviously who we see as the good. While the story is not written from a certain character's perspective, the winners of the battle between good and evil are good, and not at all by chance. If there is a battle, no matter who wins, the majority of people who hear the story will believe that the winners are the good, because they get to tell of what happened. This imaginably fine line between evil is only ever clear, as I have already said, in the Garden of Eden. If we somehow all agreed on one side, that side would be neither good nor evil, for there would be no line and it would be an everyone vs. everyone bloodbath. Prospero is not necessarily power hungry, he was Duke of Milan and wants revenge on Antonio, while Antonio took power from Prospero by force, and is quite power hungry. Why is there such force in battle between these two for Dukeship of Milan? The position that they are fighting over is a Duke. The things a Duke can do that are more likable to Antonio would be that a Duke has part in passing and preventing laws, and also has a fraction of the King's gold in inheritance. If you are good or evil depends upon what you do with the power you have. What are Antonio's intents? We know that he has great antipathy toward Prospero, but as for what he would do with his

3 power, we cannot know, for the story was written based on the victory of Prospero. Prospero has magic power as well, but towards the end, he destroys his magic staff and books, and frees Ariel, proving that he will do good with his power. But, it is not all about who will do good with his power, but also who is taking power from. Who is taking power from who? "From the opening scene of The Tempest during the storm, when the ruling courtiers on the ship must take orders from their subjects, the sailors and the boatswain, The Tempest examines a variety of questions about power: Who has it and when? Who's entitled to it? What does the responsible exercise of power look like? How should power be transferred? The play is full of examples of power taken by force, and in each case these actions lead to political instability and further attempts to gain power through violence. (The Tempest Themes: Power) At the beginning of the story, Prospero has just had his Dukeship usurped by his brother Antonio, and is living on an island that is uninhabited except for his daughter Miranda and the son of the witch Sycorax, Caliban. Prospero s power was taken from him by his brother Antonio, who then sent him and his daughter to live on an abandoned island. Antonio and Prospero throughout the story are battling to be called the Duke of Milan, but what I want to ask is who should have the power? We cannot be sure, but the facts lean towards Prospero being the original Duke of Milan, with Antonio taking the position from him by force, but we do not know whether Prospero or Antonio was the first to be Duke. Who would do more good with his power? Presumably Prospero, because he had magical power, but he took that away from himself for he was too powerful, showing that he is a good holder of power, and if he is

4 trying to keep power away from Antonio, then Antonio must have different intents. Evil intents. But how does this come across for the other characters? It must seem as though Prospero is good, since so many have put their trust in him. Ferdinand, son of the King of Naples, wants to marry Prospero's daughter, Miranda, meaning that he and his family must trust Prospero. And if King Alonso makes Prospero a duke again, which he does, then he must know that Prospero has good intent. Another way to know that Prospero is good is that the play mainly revolves around him, meaning that he is more than likely to be the good guy and main protagonist. What hope is there for non violence? "Forgiveness and repentance are the prime themes of the play The Tempest." (Themes in Shakespeare s The Tempest) Miranda and Ferdinand fall into an exuberant and innocuous love toward the middle of the story. Love is the main thing that will keep hope in any story, especially a Shakespeare. There is still hope in the presence of love, and when there is hope there is power. Good without evil is definitely hard to come by, and while there is none within this story, there is still more power in the good than in the evil. There is always a fight between good and evil to be fought. There is (currently) no such thing as good without evil, and the fight doesn't always end how we want it to. The Tempest shows a great example of what this battle between good and evil consists of in its roots, and the plot follows a familiar story, familiar because it is the story of life. Shakespeare did an amazing job portraying the work of art that god made in a simpler

5 form, he is a fantastic writer, and he gave us this beautiful story that is to be beheld by all, The Tempest. Works Cited Good and Evil Quotes, Eric Burdon, https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/good-andevil. Winston Churchill Quotes. BrainyQuote, Xplore, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ winston_churchill_380864. Themes in The Tempest. Themes in Shakespeare's The Tempest, www.bachelorandmaster.com/globaldrama/themes-in-the-tempest.html. Themes in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Themes in Shakespeare's The Tempest, www.bachelorandmaster.com/globaldrama/themes-in-the-tempest.html. Fogt, Lis. "The Tempest Themes: Power." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 22 Jul 2013. Web. 3 Jan 2018.