The Tempest - Relationship Between Prospero and Caliban

With close reference to appropriately selected episodes write about the dramatic methods Shakespeare uses to present the relationship between Prospero and Caliban. ‘The Tempest’ was the last play written by Shakespeare and is widely regarded to be his greatest play. ‘The Tempest’ is thought to have been written about the year 1610. All of Shakespeare’s previously used genres are in the play: romance, tragedy, comedy and history. ‘The Tempest’ adheres to the three classical unities, unity of time, action and place. ‘The Tempest’ takes place in a twenty-four hour time period which abides by the unity of time. Unity of action is adhered to by the fact there is only one main plot being Prospero’s attempts at regaining his dukedom.†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"For this, be sure, tonight thou shalt have cramps, side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up.† Act I Scene II. So, the Prospero and Ariel relationship is one of master-servant but the servant willingly obeys the master in exchange for later benefits (in this case, Ariel obeys Prospero to obtain his freedom). The Epilogue is the only scene in the play in which we see Prospero ask others – the audience – for help. It shows him as a mere mortal who, stripped of his magic powers, is as vulnerable as the rest of us. It is incumbent on the audience to exhibit the same sort of mercy as he has just shown, indicating that we too have learnt to be magnanimous. For some critics, this new Prospero inspires admiration and sympathy. For others, he is now an impotent tyrant who, without any method of self-defence, is in a position to be punished for the wrongs he has done to the others characters during the play. Prospero treats Caliban as a slave. Calibans speech, found in 1.2.334-47, establishes Calibans point of view of his treatment by Prospero early on in the play, and the audience needs to keep this in mind throughout the remainder of it. The general complaint by those who have read the play, including most college professors, use the alleged complaint of rape as a justifiable rea son for the poor treatment Caliban receives at the hands of all who come into contact with him. But this is taking political correctness too far, in my opinion. Caliban, it must beShow MoreRelated Relationship between Prospero, Caliban and Ariel in The Tempest1496 Words   |  6 PagesRelationship between Prospero, Caliban and Ariel in The Tempest   Ã‚   Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest is set on a mysterious island surrounded by the ocean. Here the magician Prospero is ruler of the isle with his two servants Caliban and Ariel.   Caliban is the abrasive, foul-mouthed son of the evil witch Sycorax. 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When exploring the relationship between Prospero and Caliban, a ‘whelp hag-born’ living on the island when Prospero and Miranda Read More Relationship between Caliban and Prospero in Act I of The Tempest515 Words   |  3 PagesThe short extract taken from â€Å"The Tempest† helps us learn a lot about the characters Prospero and Caliban and their relationship within the play. Prospero, when we first meet him, emerges as a very controlling and dominant figure on the island, mainly because he refers to the character Caliban as his â€Å"slave†. This shows us that Prospero must be a powerful man and that he has authority over the island and its people. 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