The Tempest: Quotes on important themes.

Supernatural powers: Prospero let’s Ariel out of the tree and holds tis against him, controlling him and not allowing for his liberty. ‘it was mine art,When I arrived and heard thee, that made gapeThe pine and let thee out. ‘
Art and culture: Like Shakespeare, Prospero wishes to be admired for his skill in magic. ‘Some vanity of mine art: it is my promise,And they expect it from me.’
Contrasting regions: In the wilderness there is no place for hierarchy and social statuses invert. ‘ To cabin! silence! trouble us not. ‘
Contrasting regions: Because of Prospero’s higher class he can come and colonize wherever he desires, Caliban automatically assumes the role as the slave. ‘I loved theeAnd show’d thee all the qualities o’ the isle,’
Freedom and confinement: Prospero controls ariel and will decide when his liberty is deserved, he enslaves and colonizes. ‘Dost thou forgetFrom what a torment I did free thee?’
Freedom and confinement: Miranda condemns Caliban and tells him he was born to serve them due to his race and savagery. ‘Deservedly confined into this rock,Who hadst deserved more than a prison.’
Man and the natural world: Gonzalo’s utopian speech echoes that of Montaignes ‘Of Cannibals.’ ‘I’ the commonwealth I would by contraries…To feed my innocent people.’
Man and the natural world: Prospero considers himself god and so can enslave and decide the fate of other characters. ‘Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged theeIn mine own cell, ‘
Betrayal: Prospero reveals to Miranda why they were exiled from Milan. ‘By foul play, as thou say’st, were we heaved thence’
Betrayal: Prospero never anticipated the betrayal of his brother, can’t even rely on family for loyalty. ‘The ivy which had hid my princely trunk,And suck’d my verdure out on’t.’
The divine: Prospero admires the divine and likens his acts to those of God. ‘Infused with a fortitude from heaven, When I have deck’d the sea with drops full salt,’
The divine: Prospero believes in divine intervention and the agent of fate, Gonzalo. ‘By Providence divine.’
Ambition: Antonio manipulates Sebastian and plays on his ambitions. Links to evil angel in Faustus. ‘glory so brilliant you couldn’t even imagine it, no matter how ambitious you were.’
Ambition: Fine line between mercy and succumbing to redemption and mad ambition. ‘the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.’Suggests that not many people are this merciful, most people are blinded by their own ambitions.
Boatswain addresses characters in an informal manner, foreshadowing that class is not going to mean anything in this storm or on Prospero’s island. ‘Have you a mind to sink?’
Prospero acknowledges that evil can come of good, this comes at the start, structural point that at the end he forgives his brother believing good can come of evil. ‘Good wombs have borne bad sons.’
Prospero admits his books are the problem right at the start of the play, he realizes that he doesn’t need them anymore. Different to Faustus, he only realizes at the end when its too late. ‘volumes that I prize above my dukedom.’
Caliban reveals his thirst for knowledge and evokes the argument that the slaves and lower class aren’t always stupid. ‘You taught me language and my profit on’t is I know how to curse.’
Miranda expresses her innocent view on the world, this is as a result of her confinement, she is naïve. ‘I might call him a thing divine, for nothing natural I ever saw so noble.’
Miranda is naïve and has no idea of the corruption and bad things happening in the world. ‘There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple.’
Colonial remarks make Shakespeare appear way ahead of his time warning of the dangers of colonialism. Links to Othello show that he expresses this throughout many of his plays. ‘But rather lose her to an African; where she at least is banished from your eye.’
Gonzalo goes against the chain of being, subtle message from Shakespeare. Going against the chain of being in Elizabethan times was an ultimate sin, this links Shakespeare and Marlowe together. ‘I’ the commonwealth I would by contraries execute all things.’ Suggesting future renaissance empire.
Trinculo’s passage evokes theme of colonialism, Shakespeare is showing the audience what happens to slaves abroad. ‘they will lay out ten to see a dead indian.’
Stephano regards Caliban as an animal, post colonial view of the indigenous being much lower and animal like compared to the white colonizers. ‘if I can recover him and keep him tame.’
Caliban emulates the red Indians and shows stephano and trinculo the natural beauties of the island for them to later exploit. ‘I’ll show thee every fertile inch of the island.’
Miranda goes against feminist critics and starts to develop into a strong and independent character. She is naïve and so is not clouded by the expectations of women. ‘Pray, give me that.’
Miranda is very forthright and unassuming of social boundaries and class. ‘I am your wife if you will marry me.’
Caliban shows how utterly oppressed he is as a slave, but also shows his cunning and intelligence in making stephano and trinculo think they have tamed him. ‘Let me lick thy shoe.’
Caliban has learnt aggressive language from Prospero, introduces argument as to whether Prospero has made him this way, nature vs nurture. ‘Batter his skull, or paunch him with a stake.’
Caliba is the only character to discuss the beauty of the island, he is not corrupted by money or power and he understands life better than the other characters, making him morally superior. ‘the isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs that give delight.’
July 26, 2019