Student Essay on The Tempest

The Tempest

Summary:   In his play, The Tempest, Shakespeare conveys themes through different character pairs. Each pairing is a guise for a different theme in the play's plot. For instance, Ariel and Caliban are thought to be grouped together because they show two contrasting sides of servitude. Other examples lie behind Miranda and Ferdinand's "love at first sight", as well as the forgiveness that Alonso, Antonio, and Prospero receive.

In his play, The Tempest, Shakespeare conveys themes through

different character pairs. Each pairing is a guise for a different theme in

the play's plot. For instance, Ariel and Caliban are thought to be grouped

together because they show two contrasting sides of servitude. Other

examples lie behind Miranda and Ferdinand's "love at first sight", as well

as the forgiveness that Alonso, Antonio, and Prospero receive. Each

grouping of characters is placed strategically throughout the play by

Shakespeare to exemplify different themes.

Ariel and Caliban are both under Prospero's servitude, and are

actually foils for one another. However, while Ariel abides by Prospero's

rules willingly, Caliban only serves Prospero out of fear. They are both

obligated to serve Prospero and do his bidding, but while Caliban is only

trusted to do the simplest of tasks, Ariel is the equivalent to Prospero's

second in command. He is constantly a major aide in Prospero's grand plan,

and he is privy to Prospero's secrets. "All hail great master! Grave sir,

hail! I come to answer thy best pleasure,"(Shakespeare 14). Ariel says this

to his master, living with the hope of soon being free. He could behave as

Caliban, but Ariel is trusted enough to help Prospero complete his master

plan. Ariel even influences Prospero's decision on whether to forgive the

ones who have wronged him.

At the end of the play, Prospero's other servant Caliban, turns out

to be one of the ones who has wronged Prospero, and he himself begs for

forgiveness. Caliban is described as "a born devil on whose nature, nurture

can never stick,"(Shakespeare 71). His solitude had been interrupted years

ago, when Prospero and Miranda first arrived on the island, and he has

disliked Prospero since. Caliban is often described as a beast, so one

would assume that this means that his intellect is not on par with the

other individuals on the island. He feels that his master unfairly treats

him, which is why he latches onto the idea of new masters. When Caliban

asks Prospero to forgive him, Shakespeare is showing how forgiveness needs

to be given to those who do not understand that they are doing wrong.

Miranda and Ferdinand fell in love at first sight. However, if

Prospero had not wrecked the ship during the Tempest, Ferdinand would not

even be on the island with Miranda. The theme of love is demonstrated here;

pure and innocent Miranda along with brave and adoring Ferdinand. This

pairing of characters could also prove that parents always know best. By

Prospero's doing, the two met and fell in love. Miranda describes Ferdinand

as a godly being, and he sees her in the same light. The two also help

Prospero's plan to be carried out. Prospero would not have been able to

confront Alonso, Antonio, Caliban etc, if Alonso had not been out looking

for his son.

Alonso, Prospero, and Antonio are a unique group pairing.

While Alonso and Antonio both receive forgiveness from Prospero, Prospero

asks the audience for forgiveness in the epilogue of the play. He asks that

the audience "release [him] from [his] bands with the help of [their] good

hands,"(Shakespeare 87). While he is not necessarily worthy of being

forgiven for manipulating the lives of so many others, he forgave the ones

that did him wrong so many years ago. It is interesting that the idea of

unworthy forgiveness could be a theme just as much as regular worthy

forgiveness. While Alonso truly wants to repent for his wrong doings,

Antonio does not seem to care if he is forgiven, an example of an

unrepentant soul. Prospero also seems to be truly repentant, but he also

seems like he would do the same thing over again so that he could receive

the desired results.

Shakespeare has used these three examples of character pairings to

introduce different ideas that he wants to be known to the reader. The

ideas of forgiveness (whether worthy or unworthy), love, and servitude are

all carefully disguised behind the ideas of different characters. In doing

this, Shakespeare can disguise different messages for the readers without

taking away from the main plot of his play.