Hello Readers
Here my View on the Tempest by Aime Cesaire.
Introduction
In The
Tempest, power and control are dominant themes. Many of the characters are
locked into a power struggle for their freedom, for controlling some characters
and for forcing some other characters (both good and evil) to abuse their
power. Shakespeare uses the idea of “masters and servants” in The Tempest to
portray his main theme: power. He disturbs the master and servant relationships
and shows the effects of it; also it is a major contribution to the plot of the
play.
Masters and Servants
The
characters in the scene are never named outright; they are only referred to in
terms that indicate their social stations: “Boatswain,” “Master,” “King,” and
“Prince.” As the scene progresses, the characters speak less about the storm
than about the class conflict underlying their attempts to survive it—a
conflict between masters and servants that, as the story progresses, becomes
perhaps the major motif of the play.
Speaking about
the storm it is obvious that in that moment everybody forgets for a while about
their social status, when it was the matter of their lives even the one who
wasinferior in rank to the other dared to order a command, because in that
situation all their lives were under the risk and they suddenly became equals.
Boatswain:
“You are a counselor; if you can command these elements to silence, and
work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more; use your
authority: if you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself
ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap.”
This example makes for us clear, that our division in classes and
ranksis nothing in front of a natural catastrophe. Even a king can drown in
water and burn in fire, because he has no power to command the nature or fate
and at that moment all his authority, wealth or power are useless.
The Tempest is most fascinating for the relationship portrayed between its 3 key
protagonists; Prospero, Caliban and Ariel. Prospero is the deposed Duke of
Milan, now stranded on this island, whose study of magic has given him certain
powers. Caliban is Prospero’s unwilling slave who claims that the island is
really his. Ariel is a spirit who Prospero commands to help with his magic, but
who is also forcibly kept by Prospero. Prospero is malevolent towards Caliban,
and has no compassion for him, treating him as something less than human. He also
abuses his power over Ariel, promising to free him, but only after this “one
more” task.
In the Tempest
we canalso find the colonization motif, which also reflects the desire of
becoming a ruler, a commander. Many of the characters compete for colonial
control of the island – a reflection of England’s colonial expansion in Shakespeare’s time. Sycorax, the original colonizer, came from Algiers
with her son Caliban and reportedly performed evil deeds. When Prospero arrived
on the island he enslaved its inhabitants and made himself a ruler.
Though masters
and servants are a main idea in The Tempest, you have to keep in mind the
differences between slavery and servitude. Caliban and Ariel are more slaves
than servants. They do not want to be Prospero’s work force. But, when Prospero
puts Ferdinand to work, Ferdinand doesn’t mind. He does it out of his love for
Miranda. Nothing is forcing him to work for Prospero.
Conclusion:
There are
many prominent master and servant relationships throughout The Tempest.
Shakespeare disrupts the standard relationships, making the master the servant
and the servant the master. The prominent relationships between masters and
servants beautifully illustrate power, a main theme throughout the play.
Thank You…………..
Works Cited
The Tempest
Summary. 28 3 2018. 14 3 2018
<https://www.studocu.com/en/document/studocu-university/studocu-summary-library/summaries/william-shakespeare-the-tempest-analysis-act-1/1051278/view>.
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