ipl-logo

Theme Of Vengeance In The Tempest

987 Words4 Pages

Vengeance vs. Virtue The play The Tempest, by Shakespeare, explores the values of vengeance and forgiveness through the story of Prospero. The main conflict of the story is Prospero's lack of forgiveness for his brother Antonio, who stole his throne. This causes him to seek vengeance on Antonio and all his allies. Through the events of the story, it is evident that there is more value in virtue compared to vengeance. The action of vengeance does not resolve the original issue and in fact, creates internal struggles, while forgiveness allows for a greater sense of happiness. Acting on vengeful feelings, although a seemingly useful answer, does not truly resolve any issues. This is expressed when Prospero asks, "But are they, Ariel, safe?" …show more content…

These issues can be seen in the poem "Caliban," where he states, "Before hatred ate my heart / there was music," (Dancing Bear, 1-2). Before Prospero came to the island Caliban experienced happiness through his mother. However, after Prospero took over, Caliban only focused on getting his vengeance. This caused him to only focus on the grief in his life, not allowing for any positive emotions to be expressed. Prospero's indifference about how Caliban felt, meant that Caliban's emotional distress was one sided. In addition to Caliban, Prospero's yearning for vengeance also creates internal issues for himself. After Ferdinand and Miranda announce their marriage, Prospero claims his "rejoicing / At nothing can be more," because he must "perform / Much business appertaining," (Shakespeare, 95-99). Usually, a father focuses more on his daughter getting married, however Prospero can only focus on his plans for vengeance. Some believe that the characters internal struggles were caused by the wrongdoers, and not a lack of forgiveness; however, at the end of the play, after Prospero becomes a more virtuous character, his conflicts with his brother and Caliban are resolved, clearly showing that their focus on vengeance is what caused the internal struggles. The act of vengeance creating many issues expresses the fact that there is more value in

Show More
Related
276 Words | 2 Pages

Depending how far revenge goes the person can stray off the right path. The sane motive for people who act on revenge doesn't have a true purpose behind it. For explain, in the monster’s case he hates that fact he was brought to life so because of that he will kill everyone his creator loves. The pursuit is extreme compared to have Victor did.

Read More
1066 Words | 5 Pages

Once again revenge leads to the downfall of that person who was seeking revenge. It brings the fact again that revenge is no the

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

Everytime the main character, Prospero, is wronged he seeks revenge or justice before he forgives. This pays a price and in the end is not truly forgiving. In order to successfully forgive an action that was flawed you need to find that peace within yourself. As shown in the quote, Prospero calls for some sort of action before he tries to find that peace. I believe that his story can help reflect on your situation.

Read More
723 Words | 3 Pages

Prospero constantly claims that Caliban is incapable of doing anything right and is only capable of committing malicious acts. In the text, Shakespeare states, “Which any print of goodness wilt not take, being capable of all ill.” This statement further emphasizes Prospero’s revulsion towards Caliban. They have both endured neglection and verbal abuse throughout their lifetimes, which has led them to commit wrongful acts of violence upon

Read More
565 Words | 3 Pages

William Shakespeare’s “Othello” was a great example to showcase sacrifices made by characters to accomplish revenge or obtain power. Shakespeare told the story of Othello, a tragic hero, who was manipulated by Iago, which motivated him to kill his own wife. From this story, Shakespeare’s main goal was to portray characters making sacrifices for their ambitions. From this play, Shakespeare puts forth the idea of sacrifice through pointing out the importance of reputation and how sacrifices must be made to silence the truth.

Read More
1455 Words | 6 Pages

Revenge can be a horrible emotion; it can sometimes lead people to do horrible things. By definition, Revenge means to get retribution for a wrongdoing done to you. In my opinion, revenge is mostly caused by fear and the overwhelming feeling of payback Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and religions, and even the American culture. Though it often leads one to perform criminal acts, Howard argues that it is a necessary component in the functioning of society. He points out that revenge is a threat that acts as a disincentive to undeserved violence.

Read More
996 Words | 4 Pages

However, with most readers having no major revenge experiences such as the one in the story or some extreme cases in general, it is somewhat hard for the average reader to relate

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

Through The Tempest, the author tells the story of Prospero’s revenge on the men who took his dukedom away and left him and his daughter to die. Throughout the book Prospero tortures and manipulates them until he has complete control over them. In Act 5, Prospero’s chooses to forgive them and in the meantime abandons his art which can be a sign of change in character. However, through triumph, not change, the author uses Prospero’s choices to reveal that his desires are for power and superiority.

Read More
756 Words | 4 Pages

1- What makes Miranda a central character in the play? What process must she undergo? What virtues does she possess that make success likely? Miranda is a hero “The Tempest.”

Read More
1445 Words | 6 Pages

The Theme of Nature and Civilization in The Tempest The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare, mostly takes place on a magical island Prospero got exiled to, but it shows a clear divide between nature and civilization. The play starts with Prospero and Miranda living in exile, and through this play, Prospero tries to go back to Milan, where he used to be the duke. When Alonso, the king of Naples, Antonio, the usurping Duke of Milan, and other nobles are caught in the tempest and arrive on the island, they soon realize that the traditions and rules that are applied in the man’s world do not exist on the island, where everything is natural. Although the wildness and civilization have a clear divide, the play shows a theme of different nature, which is the characters’ identities. Even though physical nature cannot be civilized, it can help humans to recognize their nature.

Read More
621 Words | 3 Pages

Jealousy is often the catalyst for revenge. Shakespeare’s Othello displays

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Prospero brands him "a born devil, on whose name/Nurture can never stick.” As Mannoni says, “Caliban does not complain of being exploited; he complains rather of being betrayed”. Even though Prospero understands that Caliban’s bad behaviour is like that of a child, he does not offer mercy and forgiveness as freely and earnestly as one should. Thus, it is through Prospero’s treatment of Caliban that Prospero’s desire for revenge is

Read More
2448 Words | 10 Pages

When we first meet Prospero we are also introduced to his 15 year old daughter Miranda. In Act 1 Scene II we are presented with aspects of violence as Prospero retells his past to Miranda and in doing so he explains how they got to this current situation and how “that situation involves treason and murder” (Nostbakken, 3) In doing so he retells Miranda how “his Brother Antonio persuaded Alonso the king of Naples, to assist him in overthrowing Prospero and taking his dukedom of Milan” (3). It is clear that Prospero, although throughout the play is the one causing the psychological violence, in this case he is the victim. In this scene it is evident that Prospero suffered from both psychological and physical violence bestowed upon him by his brother Antonio.

Read More
1198 Words | 5 Pages

As long as people have existed, they have wronged one another. They find different ways to harm others. Those who have been wronged tend to seek revenge no matter the situation. They feel as though they must revenge. Because humans almost always seek revenge, William Shakespeare’s statement, “If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” holds significant truth.

Read More
1123 Words | 5 Pages

In comparison, the inconsistency between diction depicts the power dynamics observed in the play. Shakespeare often uses Prospero’s servant, Ariel and slave, Caliban to portray the differences in the hierarchy of the play. As observed by the audience Prospero often uses threats and insults to communicate and assign task to Caliban, hence “...tonight thou shalt have cramps, side stitches that shall pen thy breath up. ”(I.ii.325-326) Prospero threatens Caliban with pain after his refusal to do work, because he feels as if the isle belongs to him due to the fact that it was inhabited by his mother first.

Read More

More about Theme Of Vengeance In The Tempest

Related Topics

Open Document