GCSE · English Literature · AQA · Spec 8702

The Tempest: power and authority

Prospero can conjure a storm that shipwrecks a king. Yet some of his most frightening moments are just words: a promise of cramps, a threat to split an oak.

Close reading · Act 1 Scene 2

How Prospero talks to the two he controls

First Ariel, the spirit who wants freedom. Then Caliban, who was born on the island. Tap each underlined phrase and ask: how is this keeping them obedient?

ARIEL My liberty. PROSPERO Before the time be out? no more! […] PROSPERO Dost thou forget From what a torment I did free thee? […] PROSPERO Thou liest, malignant thing! […] PROSPERO If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak, And peg thee in his knotty entrails, till Thou hast howl’d away twelve winters. ARIEL Pardon, master: I will be correspondent to command, And do my spiriting gently. PROSPERO Do so; and after two days I will discharge thee. ARIEL That’s my noble master! […] PROSPERO We’ll visit Caliban my slave, who never Yields us kind answer. […] PROSPERO For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps, Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up; […] thou shalt be pinch’d As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging Than bees that made ’em. […] PROSPERO Abhorred slave, […] PROSPERO If thou neglect’st, or dost unwillingly What I command, I’ll rack thee with old cramps, Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar, That beasts shall tremble at thy din. CALIBAN No, pray thee. [Aside] I must obey: his art is of such power, …
William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 1 Scene 2. Short extracts in the order they come in the scene; […] marks lines left out. Text: Project Gutenberg eBook #23042.

Tap an underlined phrase to see how it works. Try the Ariel lines first, then Caliban's.

Reading “My liberty.”

Blunt request

What to notice

Two words, no 'please', no 'master'. Ariel gets straight to the point.

Effect

The bluntness lets us hear Ariel's frustration: Ariel wants freedom and says so.

Meaning

Ariel's language mixes deference with frustration. Keep an eye on how Ariel's tone changes once Prospero pushes back.

Focused phrase “My liberty.”. technique Blunt request. Two words, no 'please', no 'master'. Ariel gets straight to the point.. effect: The bluntness lets us hear Ariel's frustration: Ariel wants freedom and says so.. meaning: Ariel's language mixes deference with frustration. Keep an eye on how Ariel's tone changes once Prospero pushes back.

Watch out: Don't stop at naming the technique. 'Honeycomb' is a comparison; the real point is what it makes Caliban, and us, imagine.

Predict, then check

You've read the words. Now imagine them on a stage.

In one Royal Shakespeare Company performance of this scene, Ariel floats above Prospero. Who does that make seem more powerful?

Where the power comes from

?

Reason it through

Why does the most powerful man in the play give his magic away at the end?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

Start with the source. What actually gives Prospero his power?

2
Locked — reveal the link above first
3
Locked — reveal the link above first
4
Locked — reveal the link above first

Who holds, wants and lacks power

Sort the island's power

Tick every circle each character belongs in. Some belong in more than one, and that's the point.

  • A Holds power over others
  • B Plots to gain power
  • C Wronged or treated unequally
  1. Prospero
  2. Antonio
  3. Sebastian
  4. Caliban
  5. Ariel
  6. Miranda

Three ways to see it

Whose island is it?

Read each position on its own terms before you decide what you think.

Caliban was born on the island. Prospero now rules it. How can we read that?

Caliban's claim

Caliban, Act 1 Scene 2

  • The island is his home: he was born there, and he claims it by right of his mother, Sycorax.
  • Before Prospero came, he was his own king there.
  • When Prospero and Miranda first arrived, he showed them how to survive there.
"This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,""Which first was mine own king"

Prospero's position

What happens between them, as the play shows it

  • Prospero and Miranda taught Caliban their language.
  • After Caliban tried to hurt Miranda, Prospero enslaved him.
  • Since then Prospero has forced Caliban to obey through threats of physical violence.

A colonial reading

An interpretation many scholars hold, not a fact about Shakespeare's intentions

  • Colonialism means taking control of another country, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically. When Shakespeare was writing, England was beginning to build an empire with colonies in North America.
  • Colonists brought their own laws and beliefs and taught their language to Indigenous people, which implies they believed themselves, and their language, superior.
  • Many scholars read Caliban as representing Indigenous people controlled by colonists: he was born on the island, while Prospero arrives, takes control of its land, resources and people, and teaches Caliban his language.

Common ground

  • All three start from the same facts: Caliban was born on the island, and Prospero now rules him.

Tap each position. Notice that the colonial reading doesn't add new events; it gives the same events a new meaning.

Comparing 3 positions: Caliban's claim, Prospero's position, A colonial reading.

Your judgement

Victim of injustice, or cause of it?

The claim

Prospero is more a cause of injustice than a victim of it.

Place each piece of evidence to load the balance. Mark the strong ones — they count double.

  1. He exploits Ariel and Caliban, using them unfairly for his own advantage.

    Evidence 1: does it support or challenge the claim?

  2. He refuses Ariel freedom until the end of the play.

    Evidence 2: does it support or challenge the claim?

  3. He keeps Caliban obedient by threatening him with physical violence.

    Evidence 3: does it support or challenge the claim?

  4. His rule creates an unjust and unequal society on the island.

    Evidence 4: does it support or challenge the claim?

  5. His brother Antonio usurped his rightful position as Duke of Milan.

    Evidence 5: does it support or challenge the claim?

  6. He forgives those who wronged him, when he could easily have sought revenge: 'In virtue than in vengeance'.

    Evidence 6: does it support or challenge the claim?

  7. He frees Ariel.

    Evidence 7: does it support or challenge the claim?

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

How Prospero gets power, keeps it and finally gives it up, and whether he uses it well.

What you need to know

  • Power means the ability to control others as well as influence events.
  • Magic is the source of Prospero's power: only he and Ariel can perform it, and the other characters are completely powerless against it.
  • Prospero rules Caliban through fear, threatening physical violence if he does not obey.
  • Prospero keeps Ariel obedient with the threat of imprisonment in a tree and by reminding Ariel of the torment he freed Ariel from.
  • Antonio usurped Prospero's dukedom, and Caliban and Sebastian both plot to gain power.
  • Prospero is arguably both a victim of injustice (usurped by his brother) and a cause of it (exploiting Ariel and Caliban).

The big picture

Prospero is the most powerful character in The Tempest: his magic lets him direct every event on the island. In Act 1 Scene 2 he rules Caliban through fear and keeps Ariel obedient through threats and reminders, and his labels ('slave', 'malignant thing') show who he thinks is superior. Others want power too: Antonio usurped Milan, Sebastian plots for the throne of Naples, and Caliban plots to take back control. Prospero is arguably both a victim of injustice and a cause of it, until he forgives his enemies, frees Ariel and gives up his magic.

Key points

1Prospero directs every event on the island, from the storm to the meeting of Ferdinand and Miranda.
2He calls Caliban his slave six times in Act 1 Scene 2, which emphasises his higher status and Caliban's lower status.
3Detailed, familiar comparisons like 'As thick as honeycomb' make Caliban, and the audience, imagine the pain, so Caliban obeys out of fear.
4Ariel's replies ('Pardon, master:', 'my noble master!') can be read in more than one way.
5In Shakespeare's time magic was feared, which is most likely why Prospero must give up his magic ('I’ll drown my book.') for a happy ending.
6Many scholars read the play as a comment on colonialism, with Caliban representing Indigenous people controlled by colonists; this is an interpretation, not a fact about Shakespeare's intentions.
7At the end Prospero chooses forgiveness over revenge and frees Ariel.

Worked example

Problem

How does Shakespeare use Caliban's words in Act 3 Scene 2 to show his desire for power? Use: "a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island." and "Thou shalt be lord of it, and I’ll serve thee."

⚠ Watch out

Treating Prospero as simply the good, rightful ruler because he was usurped. He was a victim of Antonio's injustice, and then he caused injustice himself by exploiting Ariel and Caliban. Your answer needs both halves.

🧠

Memory hook

Magic makes it, menace keeps it, 'master' and 'slave' label it, and in the end he drowns the book.

✓

Check yourself

Name one way Prospero controls Ariel and one way he controls Caliban, with a phrase from Act 1 Scene 2 for each. Then decide: is he more victim or cause of injustice?

Flashcards

(14)
What does 'power' mean?
The ability to control others as well as influence events.
Where does Prospero's power come from?
Magic. Only he and Ariel can perform it, and the other characters are completely powerless against it.
What does 'usurp' mean, and who does it in The Tempest?
To take something by force. Antonio usurped his brother Prospero's dukedom of Milan.
How does Prospero rule Caliban?
Through fear: he threatens physical violence (cramps, aches in his bones) if Caliban does not obey.
What does calling Caliban 'slave' (six times in Act 1 Scene 2) emphasise?
Prospero's superiority (higher status) and Caliban's inferiority (lower status).
Why do the honeycomb and bee comparisons work so well as threats?
They are detailed and familiar, so Caliban, and the audience, imagine the pain; Caliban is afraid and obeys.
What threat keeps Ariel obedient?
Being returned to imprisonment in a tree: 'I will rend an oak,' and peg Ariel inside for twelve winters.
What does 'Thou liest, malignant thing!' do to Ariel?
'Malignant' means evil, and calling Ariel a 'thing' takes away Ariel's humanity.
Give two readings of Ariel's 'Pardon, master:'.
Respectful, confirming Prospero's power; or sarcastic.
Why, most likely, does Prospero give up his magic?
Magic was feared in Shakespeare's time, so keeping it would leave him too dangerous for a happy ending.
What was the context of magic when The Tempest was first performed?
Most people believed in and feared magic, witchcraft was a crime punishable by death, and King James I was particularly interested in witchcraft.
What is a colonial reading of The Tempest?
An interpretation, held by many scholars, that Caliban represents Indigenous people controlled by colonists.
How does gender affect power in the play?
Society was patriarchal: when Prospero agrees to Miranda's marriage he calls her a gift and her voice is not heard.
How does Prospero use his power well at the end?
He forgives those who wronged him instead of seeking revenge ('In virtue than in vengeance') and frees Ariel.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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