During the opening act, we also learn much of the relationships between the characters. We see Prospero and Miranda’s relationship as quite a trustworthy one. This is mainly due to the fact that Miranda is fully aware of the magic that Prospero holds, however this point is disagreeable because Miranda only now finds out how she got onto the island in the first place. This shows he is protective over Miranda, although this protection can be portrayed as Prospero being controlling, and perhaps overly controlling. We also learn about Prospero’s relationship with his two slaves. Prospero is controlling over Calliban, and Calliban is very sour towards Prospero because of his controlling manner. The reader could say that Calliban has the right to be bitter because of the way that Prospero double crossed him. Although Calliban did attempt to rape Miranda, and this could be the reason that Prospero treats him unfairly. However we do learn later on that Miranda was very kind and warm towards Calliban, and Calliban could have mistaken this kindness for something more. The connection of Prospero and Ariel seems to be more upbeat and positive than Prospero and Calliban. Ariel seems to be quite content about being Prospero’s slave, and she is quite childish in the way that she is always looking to impress Prospero. Even though the two seem fairly close, we still get a hint of Prospero’s manipulation, for instance how he is always promising freedom when he does nit seem truthful about it. This is again showing how Prospero is challenging the audience to judge him.
The first act is also important because we learn about the past and backgrounds of some of the characters; this is done through Prospero telling Miranda about how they ended up on the island. During the second scene Miranda really acts as the mouth of the audience, and asks questions for the benefit of the audience. We find out about how Antonio double crossed Prospero, and when we see Antonio during the first scene, we can see what a bitter character he is, and so it makes Prospero’s story more believable, because some could argue that he would be bias about telling the story, and maybe he did do something wrong and was not betrayed as badly as he makes out.
The opening act also shows the audience some clash in the classes. During the boat scene we see Boatswain doing his all to stop the boat from capsizing and all he can get for his efforts are insulting comments aimed at him from Antonio and Sebastian. We also see Alonso appear in the first scene for no more than one line, this gives us a hint that he expects everything to be done for him. This gives the audience more understanding about the characters, and when we find out about Prospero’s past, the two can only agree with each other.
So all in all the first act of ‘The Tempest’ managed to show some important content that really lay down the foundations for the rest of the play. It teaches the reader about the relationships between Prospero and his daughter, as well as the relationships between the royal party and Prospero and his servants. The opening act also allows the reader to learn much more about the characters than they would if the storm ceased to exist; this is because you can really see the true being of a person if they are put under pressure, just like the pressure that is created from the tempest in the first scene.
