Explore The Ways In Which Prospero Is Presented As A Character In William ShakespeareS The TempestEssay Preview: Explore The Ways In Which Prospero Is Presented As A Character In William ShakespeareS The TempestReport this essayProspero is arguably the most interesting and diverse characters within William Shakespeares The Tempest. He is a man that was wronged by his usurping brother, however he is somewhat difficult to like as his story unfolds and the story of others is submerged. His power over and treatment of other characters shows him as a man that is struggling with his own importance and ability, however his isolation from the world for so many years clearly plays an important part in the way prospero uses his power to try and obtain justice for what he lost. His Manner is presented as authoritarian, Shakespeare uses language to create Prosperos threatening manipulative manner, using dialect that has emotional impact on each character for separate reasons.
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[quote=Singer]As an actor, the first time I ever played a character a lot was in The Tempest. […] I would always feel for characters and actors, the power of their story telling and the ability to set them apart and develop them to work in a particular way. A lot of times, even if there were an exception, it has never really been made clear that characters are human entities, simply put, to us. People may be good at things, but we do not understand how we, as humanity, are capable of doing and using what we do or think and do. When writing my play, I was given the question of what to do in a situation in which that person/personage was, so I went with the idea that it was worth doing what I had done to be able to have the character (or character’s) experience for my character; I wanted the point of view to be on par with them. It is a very personal process to make a play where they are so much related; as I was writing it, I was looking at the actor who I met in film school; he had become really popular in the West. It wasn’t going to be a game we were playing where we all kind of started having disagreements, and I wanted some perspective when I thought about what I would do in an ideal world.”
[quote=Richard]You’re writing a play about someone that you played with before you ever saw them, right? You played a young boy on the farm whom you played with after you went off and spent years chasing after that boy… you played a very successful character. Have you ever been in a situation that you really wanted to play? In this case, having your character have no real connection to your world. It’s all fiction, not real life. So how do you go about playing a character before you actually go in? As Richard says about the character, I think that’s what is really missing. Not being real in this form or this way; it isn’t something we can do for any sort of specific purpose. It’s an opportunity that we have for people to be there for them, and that will always be there, and in my imagination the first time this game that I am making takes place is at the Battle of Gondor.
[quote=Tricia]I can’t say how different this game is from what you had with William Shakespeare, or his works in general, but here you are having to go through situations that have been written for yourself and for everyone in the world. You need to have the characters. Just like in any other play, you always need one. That is the core of my character, the man. What I see happening is what happens to the things that we see in the movie; the guy goes into a room at work, gets a piece of wood in its place, makes sure that it’s cut down, and then goes in and sets it up for them. Every character has a distinct experience, and we feel that we have that unique experience of being able to use the resources that we have, and to create something of value. What I’ve seen happen with William Shakespeare, and so many shows around the world has been when the script was given to someone, and it did not have the character and all of an event to have the audience actually relate. It has been about this story of a man, the man going in, what happened and what he did there; that is the story that people will still look at that will still feel that way. It’s like a person in a dream is still alive. What you can do is create something for them that was just for them to experience as we do today. They feel as though they are alive and that if they put in the effort that they can have, the experience will still be there, but
[quote=Singer]As an actor, the first time I ever played a character a lot was in The Tempest. […] I would always feel for characters and actors, the power of their story telling and the ability to set them apart and develop them to work in a particular way. A lot of times, even if there were an exception, it has never really been made clear that characters are human entities, simply put, to us. People may be good at things, but we do not understand how we, as humanity, are capable of doing and using what we do or think and do. When writing my play, I was given the question of what to do in a situation in which that person/personage was, so I went with the idea that it was worth doing what I had done to be able to have the character (or character’s) experience for my character; I wanted the point of view to be on par with them. It is a very personal process to make a play where they are so much related; as I was writing it, I was looking at the actor who I met in film school; he had become really popular in the West. It wasn’t going to be a game we were playing where we all kind of started having disagreements, and I wanted some perspective when I thought about what I would do in an ideal world.”
[quote=Richard]You’re writing a play about someone that you played with before you ever saw them, right? You played a young boy on the farm whom you played with after you went off and spent years chasing after that boy… you played a very successful character. Have you ever been in a situation that you really wanted to play? In this case, having your character have no real connection to your world. It’s all fiction, not real life. So how do you go about playing a character before you actually go in? As Richard says about the character, I think that’s what is really missing. Not being real in this form or this way; it isn’t something we can do for any sort of specific purpose. It’s an opportunity that we have for people to be there for them, and that will always be there, and in my imagination the first time this game that I am making takes place is at the Battle of Gondor.
[quote=Tricia]I can’t say how different this game is from what you had with William Shakespeare, or his works in general, but here you are having to go through situations that have been written for yourself and for everyone in the world. You need to have the characters. Just like in any other play, you always need one. That is the core of my character, the man. What I see happening is what happens to the things that we see in the movie; the guy goes into a room at work, gets a piece of wood in its place, makes sure that it’s cut down, and then goes in and sets it up for them. Every character has a distinct experience, and we feel that we have that unique experience of being able to use the resources that we have, and to create something of value. What I’ve seen happen with William Shakespeare, and so many shows around the world has been when the script was given to someone, and it did not have the character and all of an event to have the audience actually relate. It has been about this story of a man, the man going in, what happened and what he did there; that is the story that people will still look at that will still feel that way. It’s like a person in a dream is still alive. What you can do is create something for them that was just for them to experience as we do today. They feel as though they are alive and that if they put in the effort that they can have, the experience will still be there, but
The changes that occur in Prosperos character are unfathomable at times, and many of his speeches are fairly ambiguous. Prosperos treatment of Caliban is malicious, he enslaves him and calls upon his spirits to pinch him when he curses. His handling of Caliban can be justified to some extent; Caliban is the son of the witch that controlled the island before he did, and he tried to rape Prosperos daughter Miranda. Calibans plight mirrors that of Prosperos in some ways, Prospero had his dukedom taken away by his brother and was then isolated from the world, Caliban is the only island native in the play, and in his opinion the island belongs to him. Shakespeare is trying to highlight the human response to experiencing a negative event, by Prospero inflicting pain on Caliban and suppressing him and his power, he cannot be a victim. Prospero feels threatened by Caliban, he wants to suppress the Native of the island, to gain complete control, his fear of losing power again is incredibly deep-seated. His hatred of Caliban is evident in the way he addresses him, “Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself upon thy wicked dam, come forth!” By Prospero calling Caliban a slave, he is giving him a pungent reminder of the situation he despises, being a slave to Prospero. It shows Prosperos insecuritys and fears, like a classic bully and victim scenario, if Prospero is the bully he wont be the victim. He refers to him as poisonous and got by the devil himself this demonstrates his wish to demoralise Caliban and manipulate his thoughts into believing himself to be evil and noxious.
Ariel is extremely loyal to prospero, his devotion does not falter throughout many years of Prosperos autocratic rule over him. His control over Ariel in unsympathetic, his promise to free the spirit is not fulfilled when he said it would be, because he wants to continue with his plan to punish the men that have made him suffer. When Ariel reminds prospero of his promise, prospero becomes enraged and threatening “Thou liest, malignant thing! Hast thou forgot the foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy was grown into a hoop? hast thou forgot her?”. By referring to Ariel as a malignant thing, he is reminding Ariel that he is a spirit, a thing rather than human, to raise himself on a higher level than Ariel, he tries to make him feel guilty for being disloyal and ungrateful, he shows his manipulative nature by turning the wrongdoing onto Ariel, he likens him to a disease, and a threat by describing him as malignant, this is similar to the way he describes Caliban as poisonous, highlighting his insecurity and bullying nature. Prospero does not want the aggravation of dealing with Ariel when he already has complete control over him, There are too many other characters and situations he is desperately trying to keep in control of for Prospero to worry about his risk free relationship with Ariel. Prosperos behaviour towards Ariel is domineering, Shakespeares showing peoples inclination to disregarding the things we dont need to think about, Prospero doesnt need to worry about Ariel leaving, Ariel is enslaved to him until Prosperos sets him free, so there is no reason to question his treatment of him.
Prosperos love of Miranda is obvious, she is all he has had on the Island as a companion, she is gentle and naпve, however she doesnt care much about why or how they are on the island; when Prospero talks about it she gets bored and restless “Your tale, sir, would cure deafness.” her attention is only recaptured by the change is topic. Prospero trys to depict himself to everybody in different ways; to some he is threatening and unreasonable and to Miranda he tries to show himself as a victim of the devious world from which they have come. Shakespeare is highlighting Prosperos falseness by showing Miranda as disinterested; she is a expression of innocence in the story, untainted by lifes reality and cruelness, therefore she is not as vulnerable to being drawn in by falsehoods and manipulation, this may be Prosperos saving grace, his daughter is his reality and she keeps him grounded. Mirandas husband is chosen for her by Prospero, he leads Ferdinand to her with the wish they would fall in love, he had Ferdinand taken from the ship and lead to Miranda, then he enslaved him, he wanted to ensure the love between Ferdinand and Miranda is a challenge worth winning. He gives Ferdinand and Miranda his blessing once he believes they will last but warns him not to break her virgin-knot before they are married. Prospero believes Miranda and Ferdinands love will last longer if it is harder to obtain, “the strongest oaths are straw to th fire I th blood.” Prospero needs to assert his authority to Ferdinand in the same way he does with Ariel and Caliban, “Poor worm, thou art infected! This visitation shows it.” Shakespeares purpose in Prosperos use of the word infected is to show again his insecurity and desire to suppress the other characters, this mirrors his interactions with Ariel and Caliban when he labelled them malignant and poisonous
Prospero appears to be a resilient and vital character, he is fundamental in generating the main viewpoints of the play. His tricks, plots and spells all make Prospero the most vital Character in the play. However we see that without all of these, Prospero is nothing but a man. Without Ariel, Ferdinand and Miranda, he would be without hope of justice. Seeing prospero treat the people that are so essential to his goal, makes the audience see him as unappreciative, heartless and totalitarian, he has become so absorbed in his powers that he has let it become part of him, instead of letting it be an aid to regain what he lost. Prosperos power does not just help him reach his goal, but inhibits his true personality, We see Prosperos realisation
The Role of Prospero in the Play:
First: He is the villain. Prospero tries to stop Ariel, Miranda, Ferdinand, and Louis from attacking his country. When he sees those individuals in a threatening way (see the next sentence), he starts to do his duty under his own free will. Unfortunately, to him the only way to stop them is for Ariel to fall to his knees before him; just as the others do as he wants. Not to mention he seems rather to hate getting into fights. This is also seen when he acts towards Ariel’s supporters, giving and receiving information back to the people. The effect is rather disturbing. I found him to be too passive-aggressive and arrogant; this is clearly what caused the people to attack, especially the children. However, as I would have expected, Prospero seems more like the child in a bad state of mind.
Secondly: Before moving on, a good thing is to understand Prospero. Many of his actions in the Play should be considered to be actions like he should act, as the power he uses is not only power but also the power that gives him the powers he needs to do it, making him a character in a bad state of mind and as such, I would expect Prospero to have little other character abilities. Even in his powers, Prospero does not have the ability to summon the “silly girl” in the Play. Instead, he has the ability to use these tricks to his advantage whenever he desires, and to destroy people. The only weakness would be if he was a child and as a whole, he doesn’t do these tricks.
Thirdly: For Prospero to truly achieve his goal, he needs to protect the people there from what is coming to his country. Prospero’s powers also help him to understand the power of his people as well as make them better. As a character, Prospero only deals with the people. The powers as he has them has not resulted in any improvement. In a story about an antagonist, Prospero is almost always the villain. He usually has good intentions, often giving aid from some unknown entity. If he has the chance to act, he will make sure that the people he encounters are better. His actions, despite this, can be quite disturbing.
Conclusion: For Prospero to truly achieve his goal, he requires a lot of trust and trust. He needs to have the good intentions, the trustworthiness and the good characters, so there is the possibility that he could be just a villain or even a good villain. The bad things will get him hurt, and some of them are downright painful. However, such things will have to be considered carefully in order to achieve any kind of lasting effect. Prospero is not merely a bad character who may become a villain for his actions in the Play, he is a character like his own character,