How does Shakespeare ensure that the theme of usurpation and its consequences runs throughout The Tempest?

How does Shakespeare ensure that the theme of usurpation and its consequences runs throughout The Tempest? The Tempest is a late romance, which is a mixture of comedy and tragedy and during the play Shakespeare puts across his Church of England views on usurpation. Before we discuss how Shakespeare ensures that the theme of usurpation and its consequences runs throughout The Tempest, we need to define the meaning of the term usurpation. Usurpation is when someone wrongfully seizes/assumes the power or the throne. An example of usurpation was when Napoleon usurped/seized the power from Louis XVI. The main plot of the play is to do with Prospero seeking revenge on his brother for taking his place as the Duke of Milan and leaving him and his daughter Miranda adrift in a boat to die. Prospero wants order to be restored and for him to be back as the Duke of Milan. During the play there are also two subplots involving a couple of people wanting to usurp the King of Naples and a group of three people wishing to usurp Prospero. Some aspects of the idea of usurpation occurs in nearly every scene in the Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" The theme also occurs in a verity of different circumstances and between different groups of people all wanting to overthrow the rightful person for there own benefit. The main way that Shakespeare has ensured that the theme of usurpation runs

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 2261
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

What is your response to Shakespeare's presentation of Caliban in The Tempest?

This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ What is your response to Shakespeare’s presentation of Caliban in The Tempest? Caliban’s role in the play is difficult to define as he is not the key protagonist and does not directly encourage the conclusion of the play. Caliban has many small but essential functions; one of which is to create comic relief in his drunken trio with Trinculo and Stephano. He also creates contrasts with other characters, such as Caliban’s association with the “earth” and evil magic; this also contributes to the fantasy genre of the play. There are suggestions in The Tempest that could possibly indicate the character of Caliban. His name could be an anagram of ‘canibal’ as was spelt in Shakespeare’s day. If we consider the definition of cannibal it implies that Caliban is a savage flesh eating monster. It could also refer to ‘Cariban’ and stories of the Carib Indians which also give us an insight into seventeenth century racial attitudes. The Carib Indians were assumed to be ferocious with an infamous appetite for human flesh, again relating to the idea of a cannibal. This already suggests what the audience should expect from Caliban. We never truly find out what exactly Caliban is; he is described as a “fish: he smells like a fish, a very ancient and fish-like

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1529
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Nature vs. Art in The Tempest

The conflict between Nature and Nurture, between the forces of instinctual passion and civilising rationality and the innocent realm of nature and the controlling forces of European culture all clash in The Tempest. Shakespeare reflects the philosophic debate that grew out of 17th century colonisation which meditated on natural man (those who were being colonised), and civilised man (the Europeans), and which one was superior. Those who advocated 'civilised man' portrayed natural man as savage, barbaric, brutal, and most importantly, inferior. However, one could argue that 'civilised man' was probably just as savage in their manipulation and politics, and more power-hungry than their natural counterparts. In the Tempest, Caliban represents natural man, Prospero the civilised, but both have most obvious flaws, and Shakespeare does not appear to wholly condemn either of these polar opposites. Prospero alights onto the island and deprives Caliban of his rights, which is problematic for those arguing that 'civilised man' is kind and genteel, and Caliban is said to have raped Miranda, which is problematic for those arguing the other case. Contextually, Art in The Tempest represents the art of Prospero, or his magical powers. Prospero's art is used at first for revengeful purposes, which seems to be another argument against colonisation as it represents the European colonisers as

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 2518
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay