Power And Its Dimensions In The Tempest By William Shakespeare

Power is to have physical, intellectual or moral effect and the ability to resist towards an effect. Power is manufactured to meet the need for managing and being directed. Each state or invidual seeks security and power in order to maintain its existence and to take its place in the global system. Of course, power is not only the violence or physical force that the strong one applies against to the weak one. We can say that power may be multi-dimensional as physical, logical and supernatural characteristic. Yet, it is important that the direction in which power is used and for the purposes of correct and useful purposes are more important than having power. In this aspect, the personality trait of the individual is an important factor in determining the direction of the use or abuse of power. As for the play The Tempest from William Shakespeare we have at least three characters like Prospero, Ariel and Caliban. Prospero neglects everyday matters after he becomes the duke because he loses himself books, magical curiosity and to the lust of knowledge. As a result of this gluttony about learning, he gives his brother Antonio the opportunity to stand up for himself. The character of Prospero may be perceived as a sympathetic character accoring to the reader because he has been wronged by his brother Antonio, but his overpowering and challenging speech on other characters like Ferdinand, Caliban and Ariel makes him difficult to love him. He asks the people around him to obey him. For example, when Ariel reminds her master that he will release as Ariel makes whatever Prospero wants, Prospero gets angry and threatens to imprison him and to return to old tortures over Ariel.

Similarly, the treatment with Ferdinand is disturbing. He takes him to his daughter and traps him into servitude although Ferdinand is not a malicious character and does not have the thought of getting Miranda without marriage. Prospero: “If thou more murmur’st, l will rend an oak, And peg thee in his knotty entrails till thou Hast howl’d away twelve winters.” In the above quote, we can easily see how Prospero will may abuse his power when it is necessary according to him. His power comes from his books, readings, knowledge and magical ability. He is constantly in search of information and he has to power to manage people, to get something done what he wants thanks to his knowledge and magic. Miranda: “If by your art, my dearest father, you have Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them. ... Had l been any God of power, l would Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere It should the good ship so have swallow’d.” His keeping and using of his art, in fact, magical power, knowledge makes him extremely powerful.(Reza 1) Miranda is aware of his father’s magical ability and she holds responsible that the tempest is work of his father and she wants him to stop this disaster owing to destroying many people in the ship. She even does not think that the tempest may be act of God. Ariel is a spiritual being who works in Prospero’s service and who has been imprisoned in a crevice of a tree by Sycorax because he has not fulfilled her few orders. He is founded by Prospero. Prospero’s reluctance about to release Ariel stems from Ariel’s great power. When Ariel’s enormous capabilities are considered, Prospero benefits from Ariel and his supernatural,magical power in his complex revenge scheme against hs brother, Antonio. Ariel: “To every article. l boarded the king’s ship; now on the beak, Now in the waist, the deck, in every Cabin, I flamed amazement: and sometimes I’ld divide, And burn in many places; on the topmast, The yards and bowsprit, I flame distinctly.” In this quote, Ariel uses his power that to ability to turn into anything. He turns into the fire to start the tempest. Ariel convinces Prospero to stop using magic and compromise with his enemies. By addressing Prospero’s humanity, Ariel effectively directs Prospero, and in doing so brings himself closer to freedom. Caliban is real resident of the island and the bastard son the hag Sycorax and the devil. At first, his power comes from his mother aspect of magic.

Caliban thinks that the island is stolen from him by Prospero and Prospero exploits him. He was conquered by Prospero. Caliban was attempted to rape Miranda; therefore, Prospero end Miranda’s attitude has changed towards him because of his betrayal. The only way to achieve his freedom is to fulfill his master’s orders. Caliban is a rude and ignorant creature against his master and Miranda. He shows all his resources to his master, but he cannot avoid being a slave. In this point, Caliban’s real power is revealed. This power is vengeance and passion for revenge. He uses his slavery to get rid of Prospero’s chains. As he is in appearance of monster people may fear from him and obey. He does not use this advantage, he prefersto become servant, maybe immanently. Namely, he cannot prevent his slavery at first, but at the second time he prefers tobe a servant by his own free will for Stephano. He wants to balance injustice and to marry with Miranda, but Prospero does not allow it. He tries to rape her. Caliban plots to murder his old master Prospero. He accepts Stephano as a God or his new master and he persuade his servants on revenge plot. Caliban: “I’ll show thee best springs, I’ll pluck thee berries; I’ll fish for thee and get thee wood enough. A plague upon the tyrant whom I serve! I’ll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee, Thou wondrous man.” Caliban’s proud to refuse to subserve for Prospero, is maybe seen as a real, fair mark of power in the play The Tempest. If we want to summarize these characters’ power, we can say that Prospero’s power is derived from his magical abilities and his knowledges which he learned from books he read whereas Ariel’s power is derived from his being a supernatural being. As for the character Caliban, his power comes form his mother immanently or with genetic since his mother is a hag and his father is a devil, and his being a servant, and his passion for revenge makes him a powerful character. In the play the greatest character aspect of power should be Caliban because he only pursues justice. He is colonized by Prospero although he is real inhabitant of the island where they lived. As a conclusion we can easily see how the characters’ personal profits lead their power for their purposes and how these profits affect the behaviours, manners of characters to each other.