... of Elizabethan romance plays. It combines elements of tragedy (Prospero's revenge) with those of romantic comedy (the young lovers Miranda and Ferdinand), and, like one of Shakespeare's problem plays, Measure for Measure, it poses deeper questions that are not completely resolved at the end. The romance genre is distinguished by the inclusion (and synthesis) of these tragic, comic, and problematical ingredients ... harmony. No reading of The Tempest can do it justice: Shakespeare's tale of Prospero's Island is inherently theatrical, unfolding in a series of spectacles that involve exoti...

• Word Count: 727
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... powers. Prospero does everything from having storms created to bring a ship onto his island to having his servant Ariel become invisible to the island's guests and perform all different sorts of trickery. Such magic and far-fetched plots can be deceiving to an audience that ... kill Prospero, Caliban tells Stephano that "Thou shalt be lord of [the island], and I"ll serve thee." (Tempest, pg. 106). The drive for power corrupts men of all statuses, men who otherwise would likely be respectable, moral men. All this corruption is sharply contrasted with Gonzalo, likely the ... men idle, al...

• Word Count: 1395
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... father, he is the master and also he is the teacher and the magician throughout the play. The Prospero's major character is that he is powerful man. He is able to take control of the island, he frees a trapped spirit Ariel and in turns makes the spirit his slave. Prospero also enslaves ... magic. Possibly the most powerful thing he controls is Ariel. Ariel had the power to create a great sea storm, play magical music, misdirect people, turn invisible and Prospero has the power to control Ariel who gave him great power. He is able to move everyone, however he wanted through the agency of...

• Word Count: 1058
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School