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Foundations 101Foundations 101 index page. Language and Meaning as affected and related to Context. Navigating the Tempest. Wonders and Monsters. Automatons and Mechanical Hearts. The Geometry of Reason. Lucretius: On the Nature of the Universe. Lucretius and his time. Assignment One: An Analysis of the Power Distribution in the TempestIn Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest, much of the plot is driven by a series of power struggles. Behind the island’s exotic setting and mystical shroud there is a complex political network linking almost all of the characters. These power relationships are by no means stable; ambition lurks in the hearts of many. They are constantly changing in accordance to the environment. These power struggles drive the story steadily towards its climax. The power struggle in The Tempest begins before the play starts. In act one scene two, Prospero recounts how his younger brother Antonio usurped the Dukedom of Milan. Antonio, having had Prospero’s complete trust, nurtured his own political power and betrayed Milan to the King Alonso of Naples in order to become the new Duke. Prospero and Miranda survived only with help from Gonzalo. Prospero lost his political power, but luckily still has his magical books, with which he plots his revenge. Shakespeare’s stormy stage spectacle sets up a surprising shift in the ship’s power hierarchy, foreshadowing the rest of the play. The doomed ship carries Alonso, the king of Naples, and his company, whom in Italy would hold absolute political power over all his subjects. However, the life-threatening storm at sea invalidates that power. The lives of the king’s company are, in effect, in the hands of the mariners, the boatswain and the captain. The shift in power is evident in the boatswain’s attitude towards the king’s company. In line 21 of act one, scene one, the boatswain makes it plain to the councilor Gonzalo his view towards the men aboard; there is “None that I more love than myself” (Act I, Scene I, Line 21). The boatswain challenges Gonzalo to “Use your authority” (Act I, Scene I, Line 24) in the storm. Clearly the boatswain holds the authority in the ship at sea, and the usual “men-of-power” are reduced to being mere burdens on-board. They will remain similarly powerless under Prospero throughout the play. Beginning in act one scene two, it is clear that Prospero pulls all the strings and holds all the power in the play. Prospero is a powerful magician, with innumerable spirits, led by Ariel, at his command. The overwhelming control Prospero holds over the island invites comparison to a director orchestrating a play according to his script. Prospero holds a script of vengeance and performs it against his enemies on the island stage. We discover early in scene two that the wreck in the previous scene was nothing but a spectacle. Without their political power, the king’s company is effectively at Prospero’s magical mercy. Prospero’s dominance comes from his magic books, without which “he’s but a sot” (Act III, Scene II, Line 97) as Caliban stresses. With the power to “peg” Ariel in an oak and the promise of its freedom at the end of the day, Prospero holds Ariel tightly to his will. Ariel and the other spirits are the instruments with which Prospero governs the rest of the island. With the spirits, Prospero drives Caliban in slavery (Act II, Scene II, Lines 1 – 14), dazzles Ferdinand and Miranda with song (Act IV, Scene I, Lines 1- 139), enchants the Alonso’s company of men with guilt (Act II, Scene III, Lines 18 – 104), and terrifies Caliban’s drunken band with noise (Act V, Scene I, Lines 255 – 266). Prospero is not the only one playing power politics on the island. Two interesting power struggles parallels emerge through the course of the play. In the latter part of act two scene one, when the most of the king’s company fell asleep, Antonio tempts Sebastian to murder and usurp his brother the King Alonso. On the island, Alonso loses his political power, and is reduced to a frail, sleepy old man. Antonio and Sebastian have advantage in strength, and would have murdered Alonso had Ariel not intervened. Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo form a farce of a plot to overthrown Prospero. Stephano gains power over Caliban with his ale. For ale and for revenge against Prospero, Caliban offers Stephano all of the secrets of the island. These three would-be usurpers, in their drunken, haphazard manner, still pose a threat to Prospero because of Caliban’s thorough knowledge of the island. This power mimics that of Prospero’s, since knowledge can be wielded as a weapon against those without it. In the end, none of the minor power-struggles matter; Prospero’s magical powers and circumstantial advantages prove impossible to overcome. The events in the play drive inevitably toward Prospero’s directed conclusion. Ferdinand and Miranda’s love; Alonso’s repentance, and Prospero’s reappearance as Duke, all of these are supervised and guided events. The outcome of the play was decided at the very beginning, by the one with the most power, Prospero. |