11 Chapter Vi
11 Chapter Vi
11 Chapter Vi
'Ihc play IS the supreme exprcsslon of the magical philosophy of the last
plays. As Frances A.Yates says, "the themes of The Tempest connect wtth the
last plays themes as a whole. 'I'here is a young generahon, Ferdinand and
Miranda, the very young princely pair, and an older generation, I'rospero and
his contemporaries, divided by bitter wrongs and quarrels but brought together
at the end in the magical atmosphere of reconciliation."'
work as a has not received anything like its duc sharc of attention."'
'I'he play looks like a revelation of Shakespeare's rich religious csperiencc
The play opens with a sttmny tempest alluding to loss and h'dln in hutnan
life. Nonso, Sebastian and Antonio arc on board and along with them arc
Ferdinand and (;onzalo symbolising virtue. '['he p)od and cvil men face the
brunt of this storm raised by the p)werful magic of I'rospero. It is dso a
symbt>llicsuggestion that good and cvil co-exist.
Prospero was ' a prince of power' in Milan twelve years before. In his
thirst for knowledge, Prospen, was 'rapt in secret studies' and sequestered
himself from his subjects and the state. Antonio, his brothcr, to whom he
delegated powers grew ambitious and plotted with Alonso the king of Naples,
to depose Prospero. Antonio did not kill his brothcr but put him and his
daughter on a board with no sails and ropes or mast. Gonzalo, the noble lord
took pity and secretely provided Prospcro with csscntials and the magtc books
that he prized above his own Dukedom. The 'dcpee' IS disrupted both by
howlctigc of the truth of lifc and is in possession of thosr. final powers o f the
soul of character and being, through which t o turn the hell o f human lifc into
The storm brings the ship with lung's men within his prcvicw. I...iLJesus
in St.Mark Chapter four, verses 35-39, assuring his disciples of thcir st#y
during a storm, I'rospero assures Miranda, who pleads on bchalf o f the sailors
in the 'brave vessel',
Uc cullcctcd;
No more amazement : tell your piteous heart
There's no harm done ( I,t1,13-15)
"where the situation is repeated, in a sense, four times, it is difficult to avoid the
conclusion that it is a clue to an important element in what Shakespeare was
trying to convey "'
In all the last plays Shakespeare was seeking to body forth his sense
of the loss by man, through h a own evil, of his most treasured possession.
Shakespeare's usc of the theme of the loss and recovery, remtnds us of the
treatment of the same theme ni the gospels. In each case, a person of the
greatest beauty and ~ncomparableworth is lost through evll, and m each case
that person is restored, and wtth that restoration comes the recovery to those
'Ik
play is a dramatisation of vision that has rcalised the cosms epic
principle of the ultimate recobmition and asschon of thc life. promoting moral
values llke faith, patiencc, charity, hopc and love. As Naikar obscn.cs, ''this is
the vision of all epic poetry; this is the vision of all morality, all philosoptly, all
religion. 'l'hat is Shakespeart:'~vision in the final plays. 'l'hat is the vision of
Prospero in The Tempest, the dream inspiring his ~onduct."~"
modcsty and humility of Cymbcline and the sincere penitence of Irontes, all
these are exemplified and elucidated as a 'rarer action' of forgiving enemies
through I'rospero, the Shakespearean superman. The play has been acclaimed
as the 'consummation of Shakespeare's artistic genius'. As Wilson Knight points
out, "Shakespeare has objectified, not merely his created world, but himself as
creator -- the total result is nearer self transcendence than self- reflection; while,
in throwing himself as creator onto the screen, and showing himself at work in
creative activity and control, the poet constructs a myth of creation in its
wholeness and univer~alit~."~'
Victor Hugo observes in this play," 'thc solemn tone of a testament ...
2 10
In thk wchantcd island, full of sounds and swwt vrs that give delight,' we may
expect to hold an utopia, the promised land of future kwneratrotls, paradise
repined ... I'rospcro n the shipu~rrrkedsailor who reaches port, thc csile who
rebnins his native land, he who from the depths of despa~rhccornc5 all-
powerful, thc woker who by his science has tamed mattcr, (hliban ;u~dby his
genius, the spirit Aricl. l'rospero a man, the master of naturr. and arid the
despot of destiny, " he 1s thc man l'rovidcncc".''
l'rospero is attended by the 'Vegetative soul' Calibati and ' the sensitive
soul' Ariel. Prospro as a practising magclan is expected to live a wry pure life.
As Wilson Knight says, " Ariel and I:aliban are yoked in the employ of
I'rospero ,like Plato's two steeds of the soul, the noble and the hideous, twin
potentialities of the human spirit." "
Ariel carries grace and charm with him. Ariel represents the creative
function of imqnation. Hc is Prospcro's instrument in controlling and
developing acaon. As Kmght says," 14s powcrs range freely over and between
the thunderous and the musical, tragic and lyric, extemes of Shakespearian
drama."'4 John Dryden in his Prologue comments,
to end.
212
As has bccn rightly said by Joscph Warton, "the poet is a powcrful
than his own I'rospero. We arc transponrd to a fairy land, urc arc
wrap in a delicious dream, from whlch it is misery to be disturbed, dl around
is en~hantrnent."'~
Caliian is half a d , and half - fsh. Callban s thc symbol of thc animal
element in human nature. As John Nankvns belicvs, 'lzaliban as the bestial man
is like Aristodds 'bestial man', possessing the attribbutcs of the sensiblc soul but
not those of the intell~ctual."~
I-le is referred to as 'thou earth' and hls mind IS
o&&l downward. As Phillips puts it," It is possible that we arc also mcant to
idenafy w b a n with the pcrati\ve or reproductive functions of thc vcgetativc
soul, as well as with its mai~~tenancc
functions. It docs not appear to be thc
ps&ns of love or lust in the smsitivc soul that motivate Caliban's attempt to
viola the honour of Mirmda but simply thc instinctive urge to reproduce his
213
own kind.""
As Wilson Knight says, " Our new pair illustrate humility (as in
1:erdinand's log piling), innocence, faith and purity, their words being
characterised by utter simplicity and sincerity."2' I'rospero feels that the
winning of M m d a should not be so easy. He is asked to rcmove heavy l o p .
Ferdinand tells Wranda,
Shakespeare paints thc feeling and passions morc truly than any other
writer. In her plain and holy innocence she asks,
Aricl and (Aiban stand for l'rospero's supra reason and instinct
respectively. I fis ultimate happiness is ascribable t o hi:; achicvcnlcnt for
harmony between these two faculties. Although I'rospcro has been dethroned
and escaped from Milan, he ncver loses his sanity or ccason o r ecluanimity.
I'rospero's heroism in this play is moral and spiritual and is comparable to
Adam's heroism in Paradise Lost. lJrosyro adheres t o the h~ghidcal of life by
following sublime ethics. I iis nobility reachcs the height of a saint. Prospcro
svith his contemplative wisdom is all knowing and invincible.
In the sub-plot C;aliban, l'nnculo and Stephano come together and their
comic conspiracy against I'rospero is a foil to that of Sebastian and Antonio.
Prospero as a benevolent l'rovidencc appears invincible. A banquet is spread
before Alonso and his party. Ariel appears as a ' harpy to thunder and lightning'.
Prospero uses his tempest - magic to draw all his cnomics to the island and
render them homeless.
The Tempest fits very well into the general and hlstoncal approach wlth
16 argument that these thcmcs of, 'reconcdiahon through a younger generation'
belong to an actual hetoncal sltuat~onm whtch I'mcc I i c n y and his sister were
seen as hopeful figures of this kind. o n l y a daughter and her lover represent the
216
young hwtieratlon 111 The Tempest. Mtranda has no brothc,r, nor 1ndcc.d have
I'crdita or Manna Only Imohwn has brothers.
ambition to rcpin his own kingdom and strengthen his house by a royal
rnarriqrr. As ];rank Kermodc fct.ls,"to be studious and contcmplativc, but also
to be able to translate knowledge into power in the active life was the object of
Prospm also has achieved true greatness of soul through his life on
the island. For twelve long years he has breathed its transparent atmosphere
218
retaining its contact with reality through his own rnemurics and thn)ugh
Miranda, laying hold o n sky and earth, Aricl and (hliban ;wd constantly
deepening his own perceptions by mcditat~onover his prentuls volumes. 'l'his
discipline has increased his p w c r and his wisdom tcn fold, Out it has increased
his goodness also. I'rospero's potent art is never cscrtcd sclftshly and he IS
In the first act of The Tempest the mature I'ro\pero inakcs a sihnuficarit
use of the present tense when hc refcrs to use his maFc books as
Volumes that
I praise abovc my Ilukedom.
Hy the end of the play, he prefers his rctum t o Mllan, he has both
forgiven his enemies and abjured his 'rough magc'.
'['he exact relation between I'rospero of Jury and his forgiving needs is
to Ix. settled. It is also arped that if I'rospero's initial project illvolvcd recovery
of his Dukedom, it did not necessarily require him to abandon his mapc. I t is
dequatcly to be explained why Prospero who prized his m q c at the bcginnlng
that his magical project will not proceed. I f 'rough' simply means unrcfincd,
then his abjuration docs not indicate any sense of repulsion o r failure. tiis
project is undergoing a metamorphosis, and will be succ-cssfullv attaincd
through the substyucnt exercise o f mow refined means I:mnk Kcrtnode argues
that I'rospero's 'rough ma$ is rough simply bccausc 11 1s ~rnsettledby
comparison with the next degree of the magic. I'rospcro shares his magic and
proceeds to only those clemcnts which are consistent with \vhitc magic .
behveen the bcasts and the angels. I Ic also enjoys a m~ddlcstatc and a de&wcc
of nobility uniquc in thr cham of being. I-lis ftecwill ei~ableshim either to
ascend towards the angels or to degenerate towards the beasts. 'l'his dilemma
is well exemplified in The Tempest in the implied contrast between (Ialiban
and h e l . Cahban occupies the hstral end of the scale \vhile Aricl approximates
to the angelic end. A concrete sense in which man's middle naturc is defined in
the moral terms in The Tempest, expresses a conflict between his I-Ioly
Guardian Angel and his malevolent demon. 'l'hc whole philosophy is overtly
Christian. Prospero's final acknowledgwment of Caliban as a 'thing o f darkness'
has moral overtones that seem to associate Caliban's bestiality with a propensity
for e d . As Cosmo Corfield believes, 'the important thing to extract as reburds
I'rosperi,'s rnqjc, is that it is possible to see his state as one suspended not just
h m e t q beast mhrt'l but also between evil and good, just as Anel represents
his aspiration towards bwod."'J
aspiring to and cont;iins part of it. A \\lay of ;iccounting for the str;inbv \u.istful
that 12rid's parting shows,i:i that I'rospcro longs for the fcccdoni hc is ablrb to
give Ariel but is unable tc t claim I-or himscl
by the sight.
1'n)spero alms at the rcgcneration of thc noble characters, and all his
in The Tempest. As C:.J.Scisson says "wc may bc tempted to read into The
Tempest a symbolic representation of the world in which god, o r providence,
cxe&es direct rule by constant intenrcntion in the pcrsoii of I'rospcro -
I'rospero is all fx,werfu] and all knowing and 1s moved by Lcnevolcnce in his
gr -,cvity, like the love of p d . Hc is capable of anger, cvcn as the wrath of
god may turn to the punishment of cvd. Just~ccI~csIn hts hands alone, thc
l m q of divine lustlce in direct operation, free from thc all unccrtalnltlrs o f
222
human justice even u, deleyrtion from god to hng and f n ~ mking to mapstrates
and iudges.""
epic pattern. As Basavaraj S. Naikar says, "The Tempest shows the tragic
pattern in its retrospective narration or indirect action and highlights the post
tragc and hence epic course of events. Prospero, with his magc has negated
the negative forces of the evil embodied in Antonio and has started the r e i p
of right~)usness.Good, which has dcfeated and enervated evll, upholds its own
transcendental values of life."36
'I'heodore Spencer points out, "In The Tempest whenever cvtl remains
impotent, goodness returns to action. I lcrc as in all thc last pI.~ys,there is a
category of humanity, painfullly accepting his mortality himself and the reality
of death ...
As C.J. Sisson says, "The Tempest lives and moves throughout magic.
Prospero is a magician and conjurer, with all the implements of the professional
practitioner, a book of secret magc learning, a magic staff, and a magic robe
like that donned by subtle magician in his dcalings with his victims. I Ie has the
spirit at his command, with power over the olements, the wind and the scas.
Like Oberon in Greene's James the Fourth he can spellbind men from
moving, a known power of witchcraft. And magic music waits upon him.""'
It is felt that one of the sources for The Tempest is probably Isaiah
Chap XXIX.
The closing passag- of Isaiah XXIX sums up the end of The Tempest
as Prospero's charm begins to work, and understanding dawns on Alonso and
his company. Prospcro echoes the words, 'the charrn dissolves space... I'rospero
is merciful and Shakespeare's justice is not that of Isaiah, as from his earliest
plays he harped from the principle that 'the rarcr action 1s in vime than
vengeance'. l'his is triumphantly dramatised by I'rospero when he discloses the
children, Ferdinand and Miranda, absorbed at their 'game of chess.' As Slater
points out, "What more apposite last m o m could there be for The Tempest,
than the closing words of the XXIX chapter of Isaiah. They also that have
228
bccn of an erroneous spirit, shall comc to ilndcrstanding, and that they havc
been scornful shall learn doctrine. 'l'his is thc vcry illurnmation ~\?orkcdby
Prosper<),and his own words echo Isaiah.'"
0 Wonder !
How many goodly creatures are thcre here ?
t Iow beauteous mankind is ? 0 brave ncw world
That has such people in it. (T.T.V, i, 1 181-183)
captives." 45
229
Very early in the play it bccomes clear that his intention is t o forgive
his cncmics and to lntroducc his daughter to normal socict)i and thc bliss of
marital love. There is rcally no differcncc in thc tone of his actic,tl. in Act V,
cven when he insists on applying noblc reasons to his cncn~ics,
I do forgive thee
Unnatural though thou art. (T.T.V,i,l 78-82)
Pmspen,'s passion is all too human, as he lashes out in bittcrncss and his
mortality is reflected in his recopition of life as unsubstantial and transitory,
soon to melt 'into thin air'. I'rospero stands bctwecn time and eternity.
Shakespeare adds a warmth to I'lato's wisdom and thc scene over which he
presides is alive with all the desires and the ambitions of humanity. As Peter
Alexander points out, "Prospcro's knowledgt and powers placc him in one way
outside the drama as a character like Hamlet cannot be; yet l'rospero is in
another way as deeply involved. In him is embodied the view characterstlc of
the old age of another philosopher; the affairs of men are not worthy of great
seriousness though we must be serious about them." J6
Strachey is right in saying that it has often been wildly asscrted that
Prospero is the portrait of thc author, an embodiment of that spirit of wise
benevolence which is supposed to have thrown a hollow over Shakespeare's
Iatcr life. Temporality and finally, recognition and reversal, these are the
copites and the tonality of the morning of All Saints'in 1611. Although in the
end I'rospero leaves the awful burdens of vengeance to God, he reveals like the
wriprural volces, in the pleasure of vindication occasioned by higher authority
and contemplates vcwance as the comic denouncement of the suffering
23 1
csistcncc.
in artistic symbols. One crcator surveys the work of anothrr, on the whole he
hds it good though his warmest enthusiasm is rescrved for that portion of it
known as human nature. Like Beethovan, he modestly restricts himself to
composing Finalc of a nineth symphony with Pericles and The Winter's Tale.
+.
I his last great dream unites, not in a Paean to wordly pleasure or content or
happiness or even hope, but in an odc to joy comparable only to that of othet
titans."
purification and rcnewal of thc world. The sea which was the instrument of
c-e was not in a single stroke the agent of redemption since it gave
13rospero the opportunity to practise and perfect his pacl. As spaeight says,
"Miranda is the image of a disciplined, not a sentimental innocence. She will
cclcbratcd thcrr betrothal and nature has bccn rcdccmcd on thc. Shakespearean
unlvcrse. Authotiq h;ls k e n restored. I'rospcro, the philosopher-ling so stcrn
and solitary, so little given to forgveness returns to the community of men. 'I'he
key word of thc 'I'empcst 'pace' is last heard on the 11ps of (:allban. The
Tempest is thc end of thc greatest effort of creative genius
I1.C;. James notes that, "the sea.. bnngs t o Shakespeare's tsland all its
characters mcluduy: Atiel and Callban, thc first the servant, the second the child
of Sycorax; Prospm in his affirmation of the dependence of overt life of man
and human socrety upon a rapt, secret, unworldly Itfe; Antonio aware only of
wordhess, without innocence and poetry of primitive man, but having all his
cunning, hatred, Ferdinand and Mranda, embodying the hope without which
we couldn't live and Ariel and Caliban... it is these which dominate
Shakespeare's delineations, in the form of dream or summary symbol of human
life."53 This is to show that the island symbolises the all inclusiveness, the
complexity, the meaning and beauty of life.
Prospero has reached the b h e r level of moral attainment. I-Ie has now
total sympathy and serenity. He gives up his magic, being thoroughly assured
of his plans progressing his cherished goal. As Victor IIugo says,"the play
transports us to an enchanted land where the sentence of damnation is
absolved of clemency, and where reconciliation is ensured by amnestry to the
patricide. And at the close of the piece, when the poet touched by emotion,
throws Antonio into the arms of Prospero, he has made Cain pardoned by
Abe1."56In Prospcro through spiritual exercise and self control, the good has
triumphed over evil. I;inally Prospro sets Ariel free and returns to Milan. Like
Christ hc assures all,
Charles Cowdcn Clark remarks, "but with all our admiration and
sympathy, we perforce must acknowledge Prospcro to be of a revengeful
nature. 1 Ie has not the true social wisdom And he only leams Christian wisdom
from his servant Ariel. Beyond judgement is yet another purpose-
As Traversi says, "the old order broken by the disruptive entry
re~ondiation."~'
of passion into what had been the deepest natural relationships, need to be
restored on the f m e r basis ~rovidedby a wider experience. The instrument of
r~conciliationas in The Winter's Tale is to be the love spontaneously born in
the children of the very fathers whose friendship passion had destroyed." 5"
the claims of judbwment Not all the courtiers bebrc him can be cxpcctcd to
movc in the same moral plane. (bnzalo, expressly dcscribcd in rcl~gousterms
as 'holy and honourable' is also capable of cntcnng into a new world of grace,
awareness of the forces outside of his control. Finally wc are left like Prospero
mystery which remains outside of any art and beyond
to wonder at the esssscntuJ
19. 'l'raversi, llcrck., Shakespeare The Last Phase, (I lollis & Carter
I .ondon, 1955), p.204
20. liaukins John., from 'Shakespeare and the Nature o f Man,' Modem
Essays in Criticism, (OLJI', Ntwr York, 19(,l),p.412
21. I'hillips, J.li.,"The Tempest and the Kenaissancc Idea o f Man,' S.Q.,
Vo1.15, 1964, p. 1 52
22. Knight, Wilson., The Crown Of Life, ( Methuen, I.ondon, 1969), p.
220
23. Gordon, George, Shakesperian Comedy and Other Studies, p.86
24. 'I'raversi, Derek., Shakespeare The Last Phase, (t-Iollis and Carter,
London, 1955), p.210
25. Kermodc, ].'rank., The Tempest Introduction, (Harvard University
Press, 1954),p.XLViii
2B.Hazlitt, William., Characters of Shakespeare's Plays, 1817, p.4 ro
27. Kcrmode, Frank, The Tempest Introducriion, (Harvard University
Press, 1954),P.L.
28. Frye, Northrop., A Natural Perspective, (Newyork, 1965) p.87,88
29. Siskin, Clifford., 'Freedom and 1,oss in The Tempest', S.S.30, (CUI',
1977)~. 147
30. Hushnell, Sherwin Nelson., 'Natural and Supernahlralism in The
Tempest' (PMLAvol XLVii,1932);p.695
31. Ibid p.G98
32. 'l'illyard., E.M.W., Shakespeare's Last Plays, (Chatto and Windus,
London, 1938), p.50
33. (:orficld, Cosmo., 'Why does I'rospcro Abjure 'Rough Magic?,' S.Q
(Spring '85)p.34
34. Ibid p.36
35. Scisson C.J., "l'he Magic of IJrospero' S.S.11, 1969 p.76
36. Nailiar, Rasavaraj.S., Shakespear's Last Plays, (Creative, New Delhi,
1991) p.2113
37. Spcnccr, 'l'hcodorc, 'I.., Shakespeare and The Nature of Man,
(Macmillan, New York, 1961), p.200
38. (;orfield, C:osmo; 'Why does I'rospero Abjure 111s rc,ugh M a p ?,' S.Q
(Spring 85) p.46