Essay on The Tempest as Shakespeares Resignation Speech

The Tempest as Shakespeares Resignation Speech In Shakespeares, The Tempest, the character Prospero is in many ways similar to Shakespeare himself at the time he wrote the play. Prospero, having entertained himself with his magic for most of his life, now gives up his powers as he seems to understand that his magic is no more and no less than life itself : it is just as transitory and hollow. This seems to reflect on Shakespeares attitude toward play writing. Having spent his life writing plays and being entertained by his own employment, Shakespeare finds that his plays, while they explore the themes of life and relationship, are finally no more meaningful than life itself seems to a man who must have been feeling his†¦show more content†¦The opening line of the speech, Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves ( V.i 53-55 ), seems to refer to the setting of A Midsummer Nights Dream. Further into the speech, Prospero says he has: ...bedimmed The noontide sun, called forth mutinous winds, And twixt the green sea and the azured vault set roaring war;... ( V.i 41-44). The use of the word mutinous, the reference to a storm, and the outcome of roaring war suggest the play Julius Caesar. Prospero also claims that graves at my command/ have waked their sleeper, oped, and let em forth ( V.i 48-49 ), which sounds like the spirit of the former King in Hamlet. Other connections could be drawn. In addition to all this, Prospero is bragging. If this speech were delivered by Shakespeare, and was in reference to Shakespeares works, it would not be bragging, as it takes no particular power to make a plot happen in a play. Prosperos delivering this speech is somewhat inconsistent with his attitude toward his own power throughout the rest of the book, in that he always gives the simplest, least boastful explanation of what he has done to anyone who asks, and in Act IV, Scene 1 makes it clear to Ferdinand that he is not in control of the gods, and is only conjuring spirits. The last piece of evidence for the connection I have drawn is in the solemn speech Prospero givesShow MoreRelated The Utopian Solution in The Tempest Essays2461 Words   |  10 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚   The entrance of The Tempest into theatres between 1610 and 1611, signifies a possible correlation between Shakespeares play and the colonization of the ideal New World. Before analyzing the courtly order and utopian theme in The Tempest, it is important to understand the politics and culture of the court in the early 17th century. The society that Shakespeare emerges from plays an important role in the themes portrayed in The Tempest, because it leads to the utopian solution to the political