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Anna Olson
2/20/14
Engl 305
Essay 2: Source-Study Essay
The Tempest and Political Order
In Virtue’s Commonwealth, the corruption of virtue on the stage, Crosse argues, will lead
the listeners to imitate what they see. In regards to politics and religion, the mockery and
immorality of the plays will lead the listeners to oppose the monarchy and the church. The
demoralizing nature of the stage and the undesirable effects it inflicts on the observer “must not
this breed contempt to them and their places”, meaning the stage is politically subversive (Crosse
190). By seeing their leaders being mocked on stage, the audience will lose respect and
allegiance to their authority figures: “For when the faults and scandals of great men, as
magistrates, ministers, and such as hold public places, shall be openly acted … it must needs
breed disobedience and slight reward of authority, whereof ensueth breach of law and contempt
of superiors ...” (Crosse 190). While Crosse dismisses the stage as the corruption of citizens
against political authority, Shakespeare combats this notion by affirming the monarchy through
his stage characters in his play The Tempest. Shakespeare upholds the notion that political
authority cannot be gained through force or deceit, rather at the end of the play, despite acts of
mutiny, the political hierarchy is maintained. The role of politics in The Tempest, allow
Shakespeare to depict the morality of political power on stage.
Shakespeare’s characters Antonio and Sebastian are the examples of corrupt political
authority, for they want to receive power through deceit and force. Antonio attempts to convince
Sebastian to overthrow his own brother’s authority through murder. He uses his own scenario of
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banishing Prospero to show “how well my garments sit upon me, / Much feater than before" and
to persuade Sebastian to do the same (2.1. 268-69). The political authority was to be usurped by
killing the leaders as they sleep. The plan was continually thwarted and at the end of the play,
the perpetrators were confronted. The correct order of the political system was not overcome by
the utilization of murder, but rather the situation proved that obtaining power through corruption
is immoral and not viable.
Another example of the integrity of political power was portrayed in the reconciliation of
Prospero and his dukedom. Where he once failed his people by “neglecting worldly ends, all
dedicated/ To closeness and the bettering of my mind/ With that which, but by being so retired, /
O’erprized all popular rate”, now he is ousted from power, banished to an island to contemplate
his mistakes and retaliation (1.2.90-92). Reflections on his plans allow him to say,
But this rough magic I here abjure, and when I have required
Some heavenly music – which even no I do –
To work mine end upon their senses that
This airy charm is for, I’ll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I’ll drown my book. (5.1.50-57)
Prospero renounces his magical art to return to his dukedom. Through relinquishing his magical
arts, Prospero displays how he is altering his focus from his own gains back to the needs of the
people of Milan. Breaking his staff and drowning his book in an abyss signify there would be no
means of return to his old ways. Prospero’s closing dialogue includes him saying: “Now my
charms are all o’erthrown/ And what strength I have’s mine own” (Epilogue, 1-2). His own
strength is no longer the result of force from magic, but a return to his finite, earthly form.
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The clowns of The Tempest, or Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban, are men who are
distracted by thoughts of power and authority. They are three drunkards, two mesmerized by
finery and one absorbed with revenge. Caliban wishes to “revenge it on” Prospero (3.2.52) and
lead Stephano and Trinculo to his lair “where thou mayst knock a nail into” Prospero’s head
(3.2.59). The trio’s motivation for authority stems from nothing more than revenge and a
illusionary notion of power. Seeking to reclaim the island, Caliban uses the zealous nature of
Stephano and Trinculo to advance his plot of revenge against Prospero. Through the character
Ariel, Shakespeare is able to foil the plans of the clowns, for he is able to warn Prospero of their
dastardly plan. Their scheme is met with retribution when they are caught: “With dry
convulsions, shorten up their sinews/ With aged cramps, and more pinch-spotted make them/
Than pard or cat o’ mountain” (5.1. 257-259). They are inflicted with bodily pain and to receive
forgiveness they must enter Prospero’s cell and “trim it handsomely” (5.1.293). Drunkenness and
revenge are follies that Caliban acknowledges: “I’ll be wise hereafter/ And seek for grace”
(5.1.294-295). Repenting of their dishonorable actions, they are left in their original statuses and
order is once again restored: Caliban in servitude, Trinculo as jester, and Stephano as butler.
An Apology for Poetry, or Defense of Poesy, was Sidney’s attempt of the justification of
poetry. In the work he writes that poetry is meant “to teach and delight” (Sidney 6). For works
should “delight to move men to take that goodness in hand… and teach to make them know that
goodness whereunto they are moved” (Sidney 6). Plays have the ability to teach and delight, for
the production can produce pleasure while influencing the audience’s morality. Not only will the
play make the audience act upon morality, but it will also teach them to recognize the goodness
when it appears. Shakespeare’s characters in The Tempest offer a medium to which the audience
is able to recognize the corruption of the individuals seeking to rebel, while showing the justice
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that ensues when political authority and power are restored. Each instance of rebellion was an
example for the audience to be shown about morality and its relationship to political authority,
while being taught how to recognize authority discrepancies and see them rectified.
While Crosse argues that plays and the stage are politically subversive and lead to
upheaval, Shakespeare’s The Tempest demonstrates how a play can make the audience more
aware of corruption and immorality and lead to the rectification of justice. Shakespeare’s defiant
characters are examples to the audience of attempting to gain political authority through force
and deceit, but who reap the consequences for their actions. Shakespeare’s restoration of the
political hierarchy at the end of the play supports the social structure and reinforces the political
leaders’ statuses.
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Work Cited
Crosse, Henry. “Virtue’s Commonwealth.” Shakespeare’s Theater: A Sourcebook. Ed. Tanya
Pollard. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004. 188-197. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Eds. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2009. Print.
Sidney, Philip. “Defense of Poesy.” Bibliobytes. n.d.: 1-30. EBSCOhost. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.