Forgiveness

In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, forgiveness is an important theme. Prospero turns out to be a very forgiving man who has the power to hurt or even kill the people who have betrayed him in the past, but instead he rises above and forgives them.

                Prospero was wronged twelve years ago by his brother and the king and was forced to live on the island with his daughter. After he causes the tempest that brings the betrayers to his island, he casts spells on them during their stay.  After he casts spells on them and punishes them for a short time he forgives all of them, even those who plotted to kill him while on the island. He calls everyone to his home and forgives each of them individually. He forgives his brother for his ambition by saying, “You, brother mine, that entertained ambition,/ Expelled remorse and nature, who, with Sebastian/ Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong/ Would here have killed your king, I do forgive thee”(5.1.75-79). When he forgives all the people who have done him wrong, Prospero shows that he is a bigger person. It takes a lot to forgive someone for ruining not only your life but the life of your daughter. They were taken from their respectful situations and have been secluded from the world for twelve years. Prospero is even big enough to forgive Stephano and Trinculo who plotted with Caliban to murder him in his sleep. He simply says that they are stupid drunks and lets them go. This doesn’t seem realistic. What kind of man would be able to shrug off and forgive someone who wanted to kill them?   

It would be very easy for anyone to remain angry and hold a grudge for something like this but Prospero instead is able to rise above for the good of his daughter and forgive everyone. He wants the best for his daughter and by making amends he will restore her place in royalty in Naples. 

The Tempest, Neither Comedy or Tragedy

After reading a few of Shakespeare’s plays, The Tempest turned out to be very different from the previous plays I have read this semester. After reading seven other plays this semester it was easy to categorize them as either a tragedy or a comedy. The Tempest however, does not fit into either category. 

If I had to choose I would say that it fits into the comedy category simply because it ends in marriage. This being said there were not a lot of funny lines or funny characters in this play. I never found myself laughing out loud like I did in his other comedies. The majority of this play was neither funny nor tragic. No one died and no one was severely punished in the end. It was almost difficult to stay with this play simply because after I read a few of his plays, I got into the rhythm of either a tragedy or a comedy. Throughout the play I was trying to determine whether or not different aspects told me if this play was funny or tragic. Without being able to determine this play, certain scenes made me nervous. For example, when Prospero gives Ferdinand his permission to take Miranda, I didn’t believe that Prospero was simply looking to regain his position as Duke of Milan and to further Miranda’s standing. I thought that his bigger motive was to get revenge and hurt his evil brother and the King of Naples. I don’t know why I had such doubt in Prospero but I was nervous the entire time. Perhaps after reading Othello, I was used to a villain like Iago, and was expecting Prospero to be him.

Since The Tempest does not fit into the tragedy category or the comedy category, it made it difficult to follow for me.  I kept expecting funnier events or awful tragic events. Looking back at the play now, it is very interesting but during I was super confused and uneasy.

Miranda and Ferdinand’s Relationship

In the play by William Shakespeare, The Tempest, the love story between Miranda and Ferdinand happens very fast. The moment they see each other they fall in love. This love cannot be true because Miranda only remembers one other man in her life, her father.

 Miranda has been so sheltered and secluded that she doesn’t know what men are like. Miranda hasn’t had the experience or exposure to the opposite sex to form her opinions of what she likes or what she is looking for in a husband. “I do not know/ One of my sex; no woman’s face remember,/ Save, from my glass, mine own; nor have I seen/ More that I may call men than you, good friend,/ And my dear father”(3.2.49-52). She explains that she has no memory of another female or male other than her father. Miranda’s seclusion from the rest of mankind has inhibited her ability to figure out what she wants in a husband and therefore her love for Ferdinand is not true.  

Ferdinand on the other hand has been out in the world and knows what he is looking for in a wife. He explains that he has met many women in his life time. “Full many a lady/ I have ey’d with best regard” (3.2.39-40). Even though he has this idea of a future wife, he does not know Miranda at all. Although he knows is that she is beautiful and therefore what he feels for her is not love, but in fact lust.

It is hard to know if one has found true love. It takes a lot of time and looking. One must meet people to decide if they have the traits they find attractive or important in a spouse. Miranda has not had the time or exposure to determine her wants or needs from a future spouse. Ferdinand has had the exposure but has not had the time to get to know Miranda, therefore this relationship is not based on true love.  

                 

Emilia’s Role

Throughout the play of Othello, the character of Emilia goes through an important change. At the beginning of the play her character is very weak but as the plot thickens, her character shows herself to be strong.

Emilia starts out as an insignificant character. She is very simple and does not ask questions when he husband asks her to do things. At one point Iago, her husband, asks her to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. Emilia knows that this handkerchief is important to Desdemona because Othello gave it to her as a gift. “I am glad I have found this napkin, / my wayward husband hath a hundred times/ Wooed me to steal it, but she so loves the token/ and give it to Iago. What will he do with it/ Heaven knows, not I. / I nothing but to please his fantasy” (3.3.297-306). Emilia admits that this is a strange task but does it anyways without questioning.  Stealing from her lady without having a reason does not paint Emilia out to be strong or caring.

As the play progresses, Emilia starts standing up for herself and standing up to Iago. Her feelings toward her husband change and she is no longer willing to do everything to please him. She even talks about cheating on her husband because she says that husbands cheat on their wives and why should the standards be different. She does not openly disclose whether or not she has cheated on Iago but she hints that she would. In the last act of Othello, Emilia shows herself to be strong and caring for Desdemona. She tells everyone what her evil husband did, even though Iago is screaming for her to shut up. “No, I will speak as liberal as the north. / Let heaven and men and devils, let them all,/ All, all cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak” (5.2.233-235). Emilia defies him and tells everyone that is was he who poisoned Othello’s mind and caused Desdemona’s death.  

                The development of Emilia’s character from weak to strong is significant. She is the one who opens everyone’s eyes to the truth. If she was not able to grow and stand up to herself and also for Desdemona, Desdemona would have died with people thinking she was unfaithful. This makes her growth as a character very significant.