Shakespeare's The Tempest

The Tempest is one of the more complex of Shakespeare's comedies in its language, characters, and themes. The play does not present itself structurally as a comedy in the same sense as plays like As You Like It or A Midsummer Night's Dream. It presents itself with a variety of character personalities that are defined by their speech and, in some cases, appearances. Much of the play is drawn from other sources of the time which provide the play with its characters, plot, and dialogue.

The first four acts of The Tempest are structured in a similar style to that of Shakespearean dramas rather than that of comedies. The comedic elements of the play are much more subtle than in others. The play focuses on the betrayal of Prospero by his brother, Antonio, and his desire to reclaim the dukedom of Milan by force of magic with the aid of spirits. It is not until the middle of Act V that it is apparent that all will end happily in comedic fashion and all is forgiven between Prospero and his brother.

The reasoning for Prospero's forgiveness could be his realization of his daughter's love for Ferdinand which can be seen as taken from the line in The Mirror of Knighthood of "for out pleasures we sometimes forget [our children]" (Bullough, Vol. 8, 302) but also for his return to dukedom. The only characters who do not live happily in the end - they rather live in unanswered uncertainty - are Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano who all exit the stage after being scolded for their drunken foolery.

The only scenes that contain comedic elements such as word-play, fools, or songs are the scenes with the drunken, shipwrecked crew of Trinculo and Stephano who do not appear in the play until Act II Scene II. These characters seem to only serve as supporting characters to break the drama and aid in establishing the character of Caliban and his struggle of being a slave to Prospero. Throughout the play, Caliban is treated as nothing more than a servant - at times he is even treated worse. He only serves Prospero and Miranda as a means to not be punished.

Even though Caliban is a slave to Prospero, he is well learned. He speaks as elegantly as Prospero and Miranda who have taught him to speak. Prospero scolds him constantly for his insubordinate verbal attacks and reminds him of all the good he has been done. Prospero tells him, "I pitied thee, / Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour / One thing or other." (I, ii, 354-6). Caliban claims to have once appreciated the kindness with which he was treated but turned on Prospero and Miranda when he attempted to rape her. When Prospero speaks the lines to remind Caliban of his past kindness, Caliban replies, "You taught me language; and my profit on 't / Is, I know how to curse." (I, ii, 363-4). When Caliban believes he has found refuge from Prospero's power he pledges allegiance to Trinculo and Stephano:
"I'll show thee the best springs; I'll pluck thee berries;
I'll fish for thee, and get thee wood enough.
A plague upon the tyrant that I serve!
I'll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee,
Thou wondrous man." (II, ii, 164-8).

And for this allegiance he pledges he is still called a "ridiculous monster" (II, ii, 169).
T
he other comedic aspects that Shakespeare uses are those from Prospero to describe how ugly Ferdinand is even though Miranda finds him beautiful. Prospero tells her that:
"Thou think'st there is no more such shapes as he,
Having seen but him and Caliban: foolish wench!
To the most of men this is a Caliban,
And they to him are angels." (I, ii, 478-81).

There is also the underlying love-at-first-sight story between the unattractive Ferdinand and the innocent Miranda who has never seen life outside the island.

Trinculo and Stephano can be viewed as Shakespeare's perception of colonizers of the Americas - even if it was not Shakespeare's intention at the time. Both are portrayed as ignorant, hostile, and elitist in their initial encounter with Caliban. Stephano does not see Caliban as any type of human but rather a prize that can be bought and sold - he says, "If I can recover him, and keep him tame, and get to Naples with him, he's a present for any emperor that ever trod on neat's-leather" (II, ii, 62-4). And "I will not take too much for him; he shall pay for him that him, and that soundly" (II, ii, 69-70). His intention is to the take the beast that can speak his native language and sell it if and when he returns home. Caliban is treated as a commodity at this point in the play.

At first Caliban is fearful that Stephano is under the control of Prospero and expects him to cause harm. Later in the scene, he offers his services to Stephano and Trinculo in return for their liquor. He says, "I'll swear, upon that bottle, to be thy true subject; for the liquor is not earthly." (II, ii, 107-8). Even after offering his services to them, he is treated as a lower form of life - even compared to the drunkard and the fool whom he is willing to serve. Although he is treated as a beast, Caliban speaks primarily in verse as Stephano and Trinculo speak in prose to show their lower status and intelligence in the play. Before the appearance of the drunkard and the fool, Caliban lays claim to the island: "This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou [Prospero] takest from me." (I, ii, 331-2). So, even though he is being ruled by others he claims that the island should be his to rule instead.

Along with Caliban, Ariel is another character that is a servant to Prospero. Its only reason for serving Prospero is because he freed it from the powers of Sycorax who treated it poorly. He holds that power of supposed freedom from slavery over Ariel in order to keep it in his service whenever it brings up the issue of liberty. Shakespeare uses Ariel's flawed memory of Sycorax to provide background into the characters of Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban. The retelling of Prospero's conquering of Sycorax also gives a sense of the island before he arrived in exile.

There are references to colonization of the island by Gonzalo who tells his companions what his plans would be if he had control of the island. Antonio and Sebastian think that Gonzalo would plan to sow the earth and build docks all around. He claims that he would keep the island pure and innocent with all his subjects idle with no occupations - but yet, he would still rule the island. He believes that by doing so:
"treason, felony,
Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine,
Would I not have; but nature should bring forth,
Of its kind, all foison, all abundance,
To feed my innocent people." (II, i, 160-4).

This shows a very different ideal than that of the other characters who believe that they should conquer the island and use it for profit.

The multiple references to the uninhabitable nature of the island as well as the perception of Caliban can be related to Wracke and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates. In it, the island is described as having "no habitation for Men, but rather given over to Devils and wicked Spirits." (Bullough, Vol. 8, 280). When Stephano first encounters Caliban, he believes him to be a devil. There are also many times when the other group of Gonzalo, Sebastian, Alonso, Antonio, Adrian, and Francisco encounter the invisible spirit, Ariel.

Some of the characters of The Tempest are very similar to those of Jacob Ayrer's The Fair Sidea. The characters of Miranda and Ferdinand are very similar to those of Sidea and Engelbrecht. There is also the similarity of Prospero to Ludolff. Just like their counterparts, Ludolff is an exiled prince with magical powers and his daughter, Sidea, and Engelbrecht are falling in love with each other. Act III of The Fair Sidea is very similar to that of Act III, scene I of The Tempest with the parallel of Ferdinand and Engelbrecht carrying logs and being treated as slaves.

The difference in the scenes is that Miranda has already fallen in love with Ferdinand before he became a servant to Prospero as opposed to Sidea hating Engelbrecht and gradually falling in love with him. Ludolff's parallel to Prospero is represented in his speech with his staff in hand:
"Alas, how bitter to me are contempt and humiliation…I have lost my princedom, my kingdom, my wealth, honour and glory…I shall not cease to use every wile and guile until Fortune once more shines upon me and I can be avenged on my foe." (Bullough, Vol. 8, 310)

There is also the character of Sycorax, Caliban's mother, who is likened to the description of a woman who worships the devil and governs the island in The Mirror of Knighthood (Bullough, Vol. 8, 305).

Miranda is consistently portrayed as an innocent and naïve woman throughout the play. All she has ever learned was taught to her by her father and limited by the uninhabited island on which she lives. She is in amazement when she finally encounters other people on the island. When Ferdinand happens to come near her she says, "This / Is the third man that e'er I saw; the first / That e'er I sigh'd for." (I, ii, 444-6). Prospero furthers the impression of her innocence when he responds to her infatuation with Ferdinand with, "Thy nerves are in their infancy again, / And have no vigour in them." (I, ii, 484-5).

There is much in the play that pertains to freedom and imprisonment of people and spirits. The driving force behind the plot is the exile and imprisonment of Prospero from Milan. It is because of his imprisonment on the island that he forces the same on the others in revenge. However, once his dukedom is returned without argument or protest he sets everyone free and forgives them for his imprisonment. The problem with restoring the rightful duke is that Alonso is the only one who says anything while Antonio, the usurper, stands by without a word.

As for the imprisonment of Caliban and Ariel, there is a perception of slavery involved. Ariel is a slave to Prospero as a service to him for setting it free from the imprisonment of Sycorax. It is promised freedom from all service to him as soon as his goal of being set free himself is accomplished. Caliban appears to be the only character without any freedom. He does plot against Prospero with the help of Stephano and Trinculo - who are too drunk to help - in the hopes to be free when his master is killed.

The end of the play leaves his future a mystery as Prospero pardons him but does not necessarily free him from the European world in which he was forced to be part of. Prospero still claims him as his own just as Alonso claims Stephano as his. Even at this point Caliban is treated as less than a man as others see him as a new wonder.

With the aid of colonialist accounts of the world as well as other works, Shakespeare wrote a not-quite-entirely traditional comedy in The Tempest. Every character except for Stephano and Trinculo is sympathetic to Shakespeare. Even the "Abhorred slave" (I, ii, 352) Caliban is at times shown in a sympathetic light to the audience. He incorporates themes of betrayal, freedom and imprisonment, and the power of language to portray his characters in strife that come together in forgiveness.