After reading the first act of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, I saw that Prospero has a strong grasp on controlling others and their perception of reality. Not necessarily through his magical powers but through his articulation. For example when Ariel begins to question Prospero about when he will let him go, Prospero responds by saying “Thou liest, malignant thing! Hast thou forgot the foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy was grown into a hoop? Hast thou forgot her?” (Shakespeare 34). In this quote Prospero turns Ariel’s accusation towards him around, so that Ariel looks like the bad guy and not Prospero. Prospero also does the same thing to Caliban, by again turning the situation around to make Caliban the bad guy and even to make Prospero look like the good guy.
In the story Prospero tells his daughter about how he was overthrown by his own brother, Antonio. Throughout this narrative he describes how evil his brother is and how wronged he felt. This would manipulate Miranda into believing that her father truly is the good guy.
By choosing his words carefully Prospero is able to persuade others into following him without questioning him, or feeling too guilty to question him. Just like how the telescreens in 1984 were able to manipulate the citizens into believing and trusting in the Party and Big Brother through propaganda and biased news, Prospero’s sophisticated oration and unquestioned sovereignty allow him to influence the others on the island to do his bidding and trust him.
I notice that the only person that Prospero is forced to use his magical powers on in the beginning is Ferdinand. For Caliban, Miranda, and Ariel all Prospero has to do is appeal to their senses of guilt and empathy and he can control them and how they serve him. However, since Prospero does not know Ferdinand, he has no knowledge of how to influence and manipulate his mind so that he will serve him. In this case Prospero is forced to use his magic to protect himself. What I wonder now is, how long will it take Prospero to learn how to manipulate the royal Ferdinand?
First off I have to start out this comment by saying I love your title for this blog post, because it's so true to the eyes of Prospero. I love how you analyzed Prospero and came to realize what most of the class also realized in that he is very manipulated and very one-sided, his. He uses his words and control of the past to make his daughter Miranda believe that he was wronged by his brother, and forced to give up his duke position and live on the island with her. Same idea with Caliban, he makes it seem like Prospero's the good guy while Caliban's the bad guy. By making everyone feel sorry for him Prospero is able to control the opinion of others. Can you say dangerous? Anyway, good blog! :)
ReplyDelete