Searching for Meaning in Shakespeare’s Tempest :: Tempest essays

intrusive for Meaning in Shakespeares Tempest Shakespeare lived and wrote in the Elizabethan age, a time when his nightclub was branching out and making itself known throughout the world bycolonizing other cultures. Great Britain was reaching for new senior high of power.In the play Shakespeare questions the set of this new concept of Britishimperialism. The Tempest is called Shakespeares American play, because hecalls into question Englands right to colonize other nations, much as Americancolonists did with America cc years later. The Tempest was Shakespeares last play. For his entire life he hadwritten plays to please the Queen. For this play it appears he made acontroversial statement by challenging the values of his Queen and his country. Evidence of this is abundant in the play. The story rotates around thefact that Prospero, a European noble, had enforce himself on an island, alreadyinhabited. Prospero is interpret as a worthy man, who was usurped from his throne.The reade r has automatic sympathy for the character. This allows him more leewayfor wrong doing by creating room for it indoors the readers mind. Prospero cameto the island with his daughter to find it already inhabited by two savages.Upon arrival, Prospero brought his new ideas with him, and began to force themupon these two savages, Sycorax and Caliban. He believed that his new ideas werebetter, such as slavery irrelevant to freedom, which he imposed on Caliban. Dull thing, I say so he, that Caliban, Whom now I keep in my service. (Act. I, Sc. II, Ln. 285,6) This view of whose ideas were better is an obvious outcome of opinion, one ofthe biggest drawbacks to transforming old ideas into new. Prospero was the world-class male that Caliban had seen in his life. As a lower being Caliban worshipped and praised Prospero, as the quote below shows,until Prospero began to mistreat him. I know it by thy agitate now Prosper works upon thee (Act II, Sc. II, Ln. 81-3) This worship caused Prospero to act as a ruler above him, eventuallypushing him to be the tyrant over Caliban, including robbing Caliban of hisfreedom. property within his worship, Caliban lost his self-confidence and anydrive for good deeds. Because Prospero had imposed himself upon Caliban,Calibans life began to decline. Without drive, or freedom for that matter,Caliban turned to a vegetable only operative as a slave to Prospero. Again, theact of asserting that your ideas are superior can cause indelible harm to theSearching for Meaning in Shakespeares Tempest Tempest essays Searching for Meaning in Shakespeares Tempest Shakespeare lived and wrote in the Elizabethan age, a time when hissociety was branching out and making itself known throughout the world bycolonizing other cultures. Great Britain was reaching for new heights of power.In the play Shakespeare questions the value of this new concept of Britishimperialism. The Tempest is called Shakespeares American play, because hecalls into question Engl ands right to colonize other nations, much as Americancolonists did with America 200 years later. The Tempest was Shakespeares last play. For his entire life he hadwritten plays to please the Queen. For this play it appears he made acontroversial statement by challenging the values of his Queen and his country. Evidence of this is abundant in the play. The story rotates around thefact that Prospero, a European noble, had imposed himself on an island, alreadyinhabited. Prospero is depicted as a worthy man, who was usurped from his throne.The reader has automatic sympathy for the character. This allows him more leewayfor wrong doing by creating room for it within the readers mind. Prospero cameto the island with his daughter to find it already inhabited by two savages.Upon arrival, Prospero brought his new ideas with him, and began to force themupon these two savages, Sycorax and Caliban. He believed that his new ideas werebetter, such as slavery opposed to freedom, which he imposed o n Caliban. Dull thing, I say so he, that Caliban, Whom now I keep in my service. (Act. I, Sc. II, Ln. 285,6) This view of whose ideas were better is an obvious matter of opinion, one ofthe biggest drawbacks to transforming old ideas into new. Prospero was the first male that Caliban had seen in his life. As a lower being Caliban worshipped and praised Prospero, as the quote below shows,until Prospero began to mistreat him. I know it by thy trembling now Prosper works upon thee (Act II, Sc. II, Ln. 81-3) This worship caused Prospero to act as a ruler above him, eventuallypushing him to be the tyrant over Caliban, including robbing Caliban of hisfreedom. Keeping within his worship, Caliban lost his self-confidence and anydrive for good deeds. Because Prospero had imposed himself upon Caliban,Calibans life began to decline. Without drive, or freedom for that matter,Caliban turned to a vegetable only working as a slave to Prospero. Again, theact of asserting that your ideas are superio r can cause indelible harm to the