RW - The Temp - Laura Gonzalez

8/12/2019 RW - The Temp - Laura Gonzalez

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Mara Laura Gonzlez

The Tempest: and essay on human nature

There is definitely, definitely no logicin human behaviour,

there is no map, and a compass wouldnt help at all Bjrk

A meta-literary text, The Tempest is a dissertation on power, on the power of words

and on how power affects the life of men and women. Throughout the development of

the plot, rospero losses and recovers power !uilding, with words and magic, others

weaker than him, and setting all the elements of a scenario so that what he wants to

happen takes place. "is staff is a sym!ol of the power of his words# he creates

situations, constructs characters, controls people through his spells, like a playwright.

A Materialist Approach A Product of a Time

$nder the framework of a %arxist approach, if we analy&e the context of production,

this comedy is a product of the processes taking place at the time in 'ngland# attention

is drawn to the themes explored on the play( coloni&ation, the discovery of new lands

and its inha!itants, power through knowledge, language and education, plotting.

There is evidence of the ideas developing at the time( )they will la&y out ten to see a

dead*indian+, which shows %ontaigne and tratchy s influence. Also, there is a general

concern for language present in the play# it is said that ames / had discovered thepower of his writing as a tool for propaganda, a way of spreading his ideas a!out his

reign. Also, tandard 'nglish was !eing esta!lished, and through market, religion and

colonialism, the British 'mpire was !eing !uilt.

/t is not clear whether this play was an attempt to process, to digest the atrocities

implied in the construction of these inferior others or if The Tempest is just part of the

!uild-up of the empire. The British 'mpire was !eing constructed ( official language was

!eing developed and imposed, 'ngland and cotland were uniting 0fact that culminated

with the coronation of the king ames 1/ of cotland, as ames /2# /reland was !eing

discriminated against and the new lands and people discovered had to !e educated.

3o! ope gives a perfect example of the worldview and idiosyncrasy of the time, the

story of ocahontas 0a little farther in time2 , a native American woman in whom an

'nglishman was interested# he wrote a letter to the authorities explaining he was to

marry her !ecause of his interest in having sexual relations with her. 4or the typical

man of the 5677, a native had to !e educated, and could !e used in the most

convenient way. /t was not at all considered that they were human too, nor was

8uestioned the fact that their worldview 0religion, language, !eliefs2 was the only one

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true or not :iven this context, it was only natural that ;illiam hakespeare write a!out

power relations, domination, strategy and plotting.

Prosperos Empire: Three Different Reactions

rospero !uilds reality for the different characters, in order to control them, as if each

word were a !rick.


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human essence. /n fact, at a deeper level, the actual underlying 8uestion in why we

humans need to act out there master servant roles instead of choosing a way of

relating more dignifying>

?ifferent from Ariel, %iranda is less functional. After the storm of the first act, sheshows empathy for the wrecked and en8uires why her father has done such a thing. As

a response, rospero starts his strategy telling her a story of a !etrayal to him, and her.

"e explains how there was a plot against him and how they were taken to the sea in a

)rotten carcass of a !oat, not rigg d* nor tackle, sail, not mast# the very rats*instinctively

had 8uit it+, victimi&ing himself and %iranda. "e constructs her as a su!ordinate, or

subaltern , not only !y telling her a!out their dramatic story, !ut also !y patronising her

calling her wench , when he needs to discipline her, and dear or cherubim when he

needs a different strategy. At last, when none of his strategies worked, rosperoemphasises the fact that he gave her language and sends her to sleep(

0...2*it still, and hear the last of our sea3sorrow!

4ere in this island we arrived; and here

4ave I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit

Than other princesses can that have more time

5or vainer hours and tutors not so careful!() (Act0 1 *c2)

To this she makes 8uestions that evidence distrust and dis!elief, makes clearly

sarcastic comments, and continues to ask( she does not fall into the trap. To

rospero s attempts of manipulation she responds(

(!!!)I, not rememberin how I cried out then, (!!!)(!!!)Wherefore did they not

That hour destroy us- (!!!)

(!!!)Alac , what trouble

Was I then to you (!!!)

(!!!)4ow came we ashore- (!!!)

(!!!)The stran eness of your story put

4eaviness in me! (Act0 1 *c2)

he does not remem!er, she does not !elieve 0him2, she 8uestions and call his story

strange. @ow, even though %iranda is presented reluctant to rospero s manipulation,

at one point she finally falls into the trap. rospero sets the scene so that %iranda and

4erdinand fall in love, and very conveniently they do. As a way of ac8uiring a high

social rank when !ack in @aples, rospero send Ariel to )enchant+ 4erdinand s way

and meet %iranda in such a way that it is only natural that they fall for each other.

"A#I$%& () 6ome unto these yellow sands, And then ta e hands/6ourtsied when you have and iss'd

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The wild waves whist,5oot it featly here and there;

And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear!4ar , har ()

" # * $# & () "Aside& It oes on, I see, As my soul prompts it! *pirit, fine spirit I'll free thee

Within two days for this! () (Act0 1 *c2)

These 8uotes help to shed light on the fact that their love is enchanted !y order of

rospero. "ence, the spectator is faced to the fact that even the character that fights

!ack the most is finally overthrown !y rospero s power.

The third and pro!a!ly most em!lematic character of this comedy, constructed or

coloni&ed !y rospero, is ali!an. "e is strongly significant, eternally re-written and

has !ecome a sym!ol given the particular process he goes through. The strategy does

not differ from the one descri!ed !efore, rospero defines him with insulting words(

0 2 What, ho slave 6alibanThou earth, thou ()

() 6ome, thou tortoise ()() Thou poisonous slave, ot by the devil himself

7pon thy wic ed dam, come forth () 0Act5 C cD2

"e then threatens him(

() 5or this, be sure, to3ni ht thou shalt have cramps,*ide3stitches that shall pen thy breath up; urchins

*hall, for that vast of ni ht that they may wor , All e8ercise on thee; thou shalt be pinch'd

As thic as honeycomb, each pinch more stin inThan bees that made 'em! () 0Act5 C cD2

To which ali!an responds with the same attitude, cursing and threatening, !ut also

doing what could !e called a counter strategy attempt to signify rospero as evil !y

telling him a story 0just as rospero did with Ariel and %iranda2(

() This island's mine, by *ycora8 my mother, Which thou ta est from me! When thou camest first,

Thou stro edst me and madest much of me, wouldst ive me Water with berries in't, and teach me how To name the bi er li ht, and how the less,

That burn by day and ni ht/ and then I loved thee And show'd thee all the 9ualities o' the isle,The fresh sprin s, brine3pits, barren place and fertile/

6ursed be I that did so All the charmsf *ycora8, toads, beetles, bats, li ht on you

5or I am all the sub:ects that you have, Which first was mine own in / and here you sty me

In this hard roc , whiles you do eep from meThe rest o' the island! ()(Act0 1 *c2)

"owever hard he tries, rospero manages to su!jugate him. After trying the story-

telling strategy

() Thou most lyin slave,

Whom stripes may move, not indness I have used thee,5ilth as thou art, with human care, and lod ed thee

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In mine own cell, till thou didst see to violateThe honour of my child! () (Act0 1 *c2)

he threatens him with magic, to which ali!an falls(

(!!!)"6A%I A


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"e is leading the way, drinking and showing Trinculo and tephano the island, when

roles !egin to change# they start calling him )monster+, which sounds very much like

master, and now the ones who !elieve the storytelling are them (

() ?onster, I will ill this man/ his dau hter and I will be in and 9ueen33save our races 33and

Trinculo and thyself shall be viceroys! +ost thouli e the plot, Trinculo- ! () (Act> 1 *c2)

ali!an offers them %iranda, and the supposed kingdom of the island, and they

promise to do as he orders. "owever, towards the end of the play, ali!an remains on

the island, without a master. Trinculo and tephano are pardoned for having plotted

against rospero and taken !ack to /taly with the rest, !ut ali!an is neither pardoned

nor freed, he is left alone on the island. @evertheless, going !ack to the following8uote, when he was drunk with Trinculo and tephano, the profound darkness of his is

revealed(

()


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answer or a concrete conclusion. %any have argued that The Tempest is the one play

!y ; which is not Shakespearean , making a point in that there is no answer. /n the

final speech, rospero gives up his book , a!dicates the dukedom, and declares the

strength he has is his own 0)And what strength / have s mine own+2. /t is in a way

!alanced !ecause he did somehow change, !ut the slaves are still slaves, %iranda and

4erdinand are still a product of rospero s plotting, it is highly expecta!le that servants

Trinculo and tephano will try and plot again, and that ali!an will find himself a

master, regardless of whom it is. ;illiam hakespeare fails to draw a conclusion on the

themes explored in the play 0construction of a weaker other, colonialism, power,

plotting, results of manipulation2, and it is !ecause what is !eing dealt with is human

nature.

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RW - The Temp - Laura Gonzalez