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- The Tempest: themes
The Tempest: themes
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The Tempest explores power, freedom, forgiveness and illusion. Each theme connects to Prospero's journey.
Power and control
Almost every group on the island is trying to seize power: Antonio and Sebastian, Caliban and Stephano, and Prospero himself.
Prospero controls others through magic, which makes the audience ask what makes rule fair.
Prospero controls others through magic, which makes the audience ask what makes rule fair.
Freedom and imprisonment
Ariel was trapped in a pine; Caliban is enslaved; Ferdinand is made to carry logs.
At the end Ariel is freed, and Prospero asks the audience to free him: "Let your indulgence set me free."
At the end Ariel is freed, and Prospero asks the audience to free him: "Let your indulgence set me free."
Forgiveness, illusion and theatre
Prospero decides "The rarer action is / In virtue than in vengeance."
The island is full of illusions: the storm, the vanishing banquet and the masque.
Prospero says "We are such stuff / As dreams are made on". Many readers link his magic with the theatre itself.
The island is full of illusions: the storm, the vanishing banquet and the masque.
Prospero says "We are such stuff / As dreams are made on". Many readers link his magic with the theatre itself.
Explain how "The rarer action is / In virtue than in vengeance" links to the theme of forgiveness.
- "Rarer" means less common and more valuable.
- Prospero sees mercy as nobler than revenge.
- This turning point lets the play end in reconciliation, not bloodshed.
Answer: Prospero values virtue (mercy) above revenge, so he forgives his enemies.
Themes: power and control, freedom and imprisonment, forgiveness over revenge, and illusion and theatre.
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