The Tempest as a Power Struggle Between the New and the Old World

To what achievement do you agree that The Tempest is a role struggle surrounded by the old and the new world? Shakespe ares Plays II Assignment 1 Rocio Corral Garcia 119042576 It is gener completelyy accepted that Shakespeares Play The Tempest is involved in many senses, but it cannot be denied that it is especially rich in terms of interpretation. A huge variety of critical analyses have been write intimately Shakespeares last play suggesting different possible approaches to it, such(prenominal) as human salvation, magic, settlement and power.This essay go away focus on the struggle in the midst of the old and the new world, which is one of the major themes in this play and that can be easily applied to policy-making science and conclave in their more broad sense. Prospero is a European who dominates the island on his deliver and he is able to do so because he has magic powers. In this way he controls the island and its inhabitants by combining threats of force, promise s of freedom and all patient of of techniques characteristic of a proper dictator. He takes charge of the island which does not blend to him and exerts his power over the inhabitants, forcing them to serve him as slaves.It is almost impossible to scoop a parallelism amidst this moorage and the European colonial power in North America during the XVII century. Thus, it whitethorn be fabricated that the old world stands for Europe and all its common practices and customs bandage the new world is equal by the uncivilised island. Throughout the livelong play the commentator is able to find some(prenominal) occasions in which the struggle betwixt the new and the old world is very noticeable. In the starting signal scene of the play, for example, we find the exchange amidst Prospero and Miranda talking about what has been left in the old world dukedom and serving women.For them, backup in the island means abandoning all these things and implementing facets of the new world. Miranda has been educated by her catch following the old world rules but at the same clipping she has learned the secrets of the island by Caliban. Caliban is a native of the island who rails against language and is strained to submit. He reveals against all those things related to the old world, since he belongs to the new one. This flake is constant along the play. Then, on the second act Shakespeare presents the difference between the new and the old world in terms of appearance.That is to say, the green and the luminance of the new world contrast with the European world. The new world is undue and uncivilised. Gonzalo has his give birth dream which is labelled as a utopian compute of the island. He portrays it without order and hierarchy. In his new world there would not be chaos because everyone will be happy I the commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things for no kind of traffic Would I admit no name of magistrate Letters should not be know riches, poverty, And use of service, none contract, succession, Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oilNo occupation all men idle, all And women too, but innocent and pure No sovereignty The reader whitethorn acknowledge this as the internal fight men had in this era. undermentioned this scene we find the simile of the drunken handmaid men that bang to the island and they imagine that they are able to rule it, thinking that they will untroubled the loyalty of a native through and through gifts and the promise of benevolent ruling. This metaphor is made on the basis of a strong parallelism with the strong accounts of the colonisation. So, there cannot be any reading of The Tempest without considering it as a study of colonialism.During the colonisation the struggle between the colonizers and the colonized world was a constant feature, so this view support the idea that The Tempest is a clear example of the struggle between the old and the new world. Th e position colonial project is on Shakespeares mind throughout the play, as almost every character, from Gonzalo to Stephano, imagines how he would rule the island if he were its king. Shakespeare seems as hale to be influenced by Montagnes essay Of the Cannibals since the name of Prosperos servant is Caliban could be an anagram of cannibal.Prospero stands for the dominant part in his human relationship with Caliban and his allusions to him are most the time is contemptuous. Prospero describes Caliban as Devil, a born bedevil on whose nature, Nurture can never stick This description of Caliban is sooner similar to those descriptions of the savages by Captain John Smith who set the offset printing English settlement in Jamestown, or to those descriptions given by bloody shame Rowlandson later in the XVII century.These descriptions fit abruptly with Prosperos design of Caliban, so maybe Shakespeares intention here is to illuminate a direct link between the current accounts of the colonisation process and the situation of the play. Again, this makes a clear instance that the play wants to portray the confrontation between the old and the new world. This clear struggle in the play between the new and the old world may be emphasized by political themes associated with Calibans conspiracy and Prosperos colonialist control of the island. This essay will focus now on the political issue of the play.On the one hand, it may be clear that usurpation is the main political theme pervading the play. The porta of usurpation is precisely what allows Prospero to legitimise and sustain his totalitarism on the island. Paradoxically, he was first usurped from his throne and it is him who repeats that behaviour in the island. Prosperos power is proved by Calibans protection. Caliban stands for the main dissident voice in the play. His threatening integration of Prosperos rhetoric makes him a dangerous insider to the established system You taught me language, and my net profit on tIs I know how to curse. The red plague rid you For accomplishment me your language Calibans use of language illustrates perfectly the potential to resistance contained within power. , and Prosperos response to Caliban consists in violent tumultuous disturbances of rage Hag-seed, and so Fetch us in fuel. And be quick, thou rt best, To answer some other business. Shrugst thou, malice? If thou neglectst or dost unwillingly What I command, Ill rack thee with old cramps, Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar That beasts shall tremble at thy din. Prosperos violence hardly hides his bane at Calibans appropriation of his language. On the other hand, the play deals perfectly with the topic of conspiracy, being Caliban its maximum exponent. Caliban resists to Prosperos authority, but this authority may be called into question, since Prospero gets it by means of usurpation. Anyway, Calibans role is essential in terms of resistance however, by depriving Prospero by his unique discourse, he represents the globe of alternative voices in the island.He exposes three different versions of the past in the island Calibans, Ariels and Prosperos, although it is the latest the one who succeed. Prospero appropriates the past of the island, and he rewrites history according to his own standards, in order to construct a credible narrative. Caliban shows his resistance This islands mine, by Sycorax my mother, Which thou takest from me Prospero manages to make his version the one to be trusted. He describes Sycorax as the malevolent witch, a chaos and evil, which contrasts with him, the balance.This is another actual tinge that asserts the play as the struggle between the new and the old world. Prospero assures that it was Sycorax who engrossed Ariel and it was him who released Ariel. It seems that Sycorax is dead, since she does not appear on stage, but her presence lurks ominously in the background. Despite her physical absence from the play Sycorax has gr eat importance. In the politics of the play she serves an ideological function as she is constructed as the evil witch, the other, through which Prosperos ownership of the island is legitimised.She is constructed as being the antithesis to Prospero female, non-European and evil and Prospero uses her to justify his acts of dispossession. Prospero shapes the past on his own way. However, the presence of other rivals frightens Prospero, and his anxiety increases as it is shown with his irrational outburst of anger at Calibans command of language. Besides, in the island there are different ideological ways of thinking, such as Gonzalos political manifesto mentioned above No sovereignty (2. 1, 156). Indeed, Gonzalos utopia is likely to the real number hierarchy in the island, ince there is a king but without sovereignty. other aspect of the play that may be related to politics is the pairing between Miranda and Ferinand, since it serves as an agreement between the old world, here re presented by Ferinand, and the new world, embodied by Miranda. In this way the brotherhood stands as a peace treaty between both worlds. It index represent a political mating, which were very common during the Elizabethan period. The reader may find another political marriage in the play, since in Act II Alonsos daughter marries the king of Tunis against her wishes.But this is not the case of Miranda, since she falls in love to Ferinand at the first glance. However, this marriage is a sort of business because Miranda is a political tool in Prosperos plan. Besides, it is very interesting that Miranda is the only female character on an island full of men. She makes possible the reconciliation and redemption of both, Prospero and Alonso. The most important set of Miranda is her chastity which enables the marriage. Virginity is a matter of politics in the play, since with Miranda being not pure the marriage would not be possible.But Prospero makes sure that her daughter is virtuous and emphasizes Mirandas purity linking her to her mother Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and She say thou wast my daughter and thy father Was Duke of Milan, and his only heir And princess no worse issued. Finally, it may be concluded that The Tempest presents different instances of the struggle between the old and the new world, and that Shakespeare draws a strong parallelism with the issue of colonisation and the plot of the play. It might be also acknowledged that there is a final reconciliation between both worlds which is sealed by Miranda and Ferinands marriage.Although this play was composed in the XVII century, there are several timeless topics that Shakespeare portrays like political usurpation, conspiracy and struggle for power, that occupy a first place in present day life. Bibliography Primary texts Shakespeare, William. The riverbank Shakespeare, ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1974 Secondary texts Free Tempest Essays Relevance of The Tempest fort hwith Retrieved February 26, 2012 from http//www. 123HelpMe. com/view. asp? id=7486 Gibson, Rex. The Tempest. Cambridge Student Guides. Cambridge Cambridge University Press,2006.Hamilton, Donna B. Virgil and The Tempest The Politics of Imitation . Columbus Ohio press out University Press, 1990. Montaigne, Michael de, The Complete Essays. capital of the United Kingdom Penguin,2003. 1 . Gonzalos speech. (2. 1,123-32) 2 . Montagne, Michael de. The Complete Essays. Trans. M. A. Screech. London Penguin, 2003 3 . Prosperos description of Caliban (4. 1,188-9) 4 . Calibans speech (1. 2,369-70) 5 . Prosperos speech (1. 2,371-76) 6 . Calibans words (1. 2,334. 5) 7 . Prosperos speech (1. 2,56-59)