Tempest Essay, Research Paper

The Tempest is a play that explores many themes, one of

which is the theme of freedom versus control. This theme

can be explored by examining the characters of the play.

There are countless examples of power and authority through

control, along with characters having a strong desire for

there freedom. All the characters in the play suffer some

sort of incarceration before they are free. I will further

explore the theme of freedom versus Control in the Tempest.

For a start the characters in The Tempest are all on

an island of which they have no control over. Prospero and

Miranda are put there after Antonio takes over the position

of Duke Of Milan. This is an example of both characters

having lack of control in their lives. Although Prospero

gains control over his life while living on the island and

he also takes control of many other characters while living

on the island. One of these characters is his servant

Ariel, who is freed from Sycorax after she was imprisoned

in a tree for twelve years. Prospero controls Ariel by

threatening to imprison the spirit if she does not obey

him. Prospero promises to free Ariel if she carries out his

instructions and orders. Ariel longs for her freedom and

control of herself, she agrees to run errands for Prospero.

Prospero has also enslaved Caliban even though he

states the island is rightfully his. The island was left to

him from his mother. In Act One, Caliban tries to explain

to Prospero how he showed him all the good on the island

and all Caliban gets in return is imprisonment. However,

Prospero accuses him of trying to rape Miranda and that is

why he is enslaved. In the theme freedom versus control,

Caliban is an interesting character to examine because he

see s freedom in a different way. In Act two, scene two he

insists that he must become Stephanoe s servant because

that will release him from Prosepero s demands. His idea of

achieving freedom is to switch masters.

Another character Prospero has control over is

Ferdinand. To test the love between Miranda and Ferdinand,

Prospero subjects Ferdinand to harsh treatment. One thing

that separates Ferdinand from the rest is he does not care

about his lack or control or freedom, nothing matters to

him except seeing Miranda. As long as he can see Miranda

once a day from Prison, nothing else matters. This is his

form her freedom, being able to see his true love. He is so

blinded by love that at Prospero s orders, Ferdinand most

carry logs all day and it doesn t even bother him. He is so

in love with this beautiful girl, he does not even realize

he has lost control of himself.

Prospero even has control over his own daughter. In

Act four, Scene one, Prospero emphasizes his authority over

the two lovers by warning Ferdinand that if his to break

her virgin knot before marriage, Miranda will no longer be

his. Not only does he have control of her love life but

over every aspect of her everyday life. When Mirada was

left on the island, her whole life was left in her father s

control. She needs him to survive and take care of her.

Prospero loves his daughter very much and feels being in

control of her is in her best interest. Miranda does not

know any better, she fails to realize that she has no

control of her existence. She was raised on the island

since she was a small child and thinks it s a typical way

of life.

Gonzalo has his own version of what freedom should be.

He states it in Act two, Scene one, that he believes that

men and women should live together in harmony and be free

from government and control. He dreams of a utopian

republic in which everyone would have there own type of

freedom. It is an interesting aspect of the play to have

Gonzalo s view on freedom in exploring the theme of freedom

versus control. He thinks that there should be no control

in our society, but Antonio and Sebastian mock him for

thinking this. Antonio is a character in The Tempest who

has acquired control by taking over Prospero s throne. He

proposes a murderous plot to kill Sebastian: he will kill

Alonso so that Sebastian can become king, and Sebastian

must also kill Gonzalo. A very big mess as we can see, it

can all get very confusing at times. By using powers of

persuasions, Antonio is a character that has gained

control. He is a character who has no conscience and as

long as he has his own freedom, he cares not about anyone

else. However, although he is probably unaware, Antonio

slowly loses his freedom and his lack of control as he and

Sebastian, are driven to madness.

Prospero is the only character in the play who manages

to maintain control and create a lack of freedom for others

till the end of the play. Prospero is generally and good

man and uses his control over others in a positive way.

Ariel persuades him to have pity on the courtiers. Prospero

agrees to give up his magical powers which is a big threat

to his control over others. This proves that Prospero is

essentially a good man.

The Theme of Freedom versus control in The Tempest is

very important. There is a constant interaction between

both freedom and control throughout the play. All the

characters have some sort of freedom, and yet some type of

control over them. Through the exploration of the

characters in the play, it can be determined that Prospero

is the main instigator of both freedom and control.

Prospero himself, however is not free until the end of the

play. Prospero has been restricted from total freedom since

he was put on that island. The Tempest is a wonderful play

where we can watch characters strive for freedom and

control over there own lives. It s something will all

strive for in life.