The Roles of Ariel and Caliban in "The Tempest"
Analysis of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and the importance of the characters, Ariel and Caliban.
982 words (
approx. 3.9 pages) |
3 sources |
MLA | 2004
|
Published on: May 16, 2005
Paper Summary:
The actions of Prospero in relation to his two servants, Ariel and Caliban, very much contradict his motivations and goals throughout the play, "The Tempest," by William Shakespeare. The paper shows that, while Prospero is trying to fight injustice and restore his own life, he is, in a sense, stealing the power and lives of his servants.
From the Paper:
"In Shakespeare's The Tempest, one of the main characters in the play, Prospero, has been exiled to an island. While living there he encounters two inhabitants of the island and makes them his servants. Caliban, one of Prospero's servants, has lived his whole life on the island after being left there by sailors with his mother, Sycorax. The other servant is Ariel, a mischievous spirit who Prospero found trapped in tree by a spell cast many years ago by Sycorax. The relationships between Prospero and his two servants are very different, although he maintains his control over both of them through his use of words. Prospero promises Ariel his freedom after he is done serving Prospero's desires, but Caliban is treated very differently. He is looked down upon and treated cruelly with no promise of ever being free. Unlike Ariel, Caliban is not content to serve Prospero and attempts to remove him of his power in order to restore his own life and rule over the island, but in his attempt to do so he offers to become a servant of Stephano. Throughout the play Prospero is attempting to fight the injustice of losing his power as Duke of Milan, but the way he treats his servants and steals their power is unjust."
The Roles of Ariel and Caliban in "The Tempest" (2012, April 01). Retrieved May 22, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Analytical-Essay-The-Roles-of-Ariel-and-Caliban-in-The-Tempest/58543
"The Roles of Ariel and Caliban in "The Tempest"" 01 April 2012. Web. 22 May. 2012. <http://www.academon.com/Analytical-Essay-The-Roles-of-Ariel-and-Caliban-in-The-Tempest/58543>