How does Shakespeare present the character of Prospero in The Tempest Essay Example

How does Shakespeare present the character of Prospero in The Tempest Essay Example How does Shakespeare present the character of Prospero in The Tempest Paper How does Shakespeare present the character of Prospero in The Tempest Paper but also deals with evil in, Antonio Prosperos brother. Who in my opinion is the meanest character in the play? The Tempest is a comedy, but not like we would think of comedy today, like My Family, but the audiences would have found it funny. The play is about Prosperos revenge and his desire to get his Dukedom back from his brother. Twelve years since, Miranda, twelve years since, thy father was the Duke of Milan and a prince of Power. Antonio had always been trusted by his brother like a good parent, did beget of him a falsehood in its contrary as great as my trust was, which had, indeed, no limit. But Antonios greed for power took control. So much so, he decided to cast his brother and Prosperos daughter, Miranda, adrift in a rotten carcass of a boat and he hoped to their death. Prospero is a powerful man with strong magical skills, a wizard he had held a superior position The Duke of Milan before his brother had planned with King Alonso of Naples to take over this position as permanent one. In the play we see a lot of changes in Prosperos Character. He has a lot of anger and revenge inside of him and as the play goes on we see a more forgiving side to his character. Prospero was the rightful Duke of Milan when he chose to study magic more extensively, so he temporarily gave his powers to his brother Antonio to govern the country. In Act one Scene two Prospero tells Miranda how they came to the island and how they managed to survive due to the kindness of Gonzalo, (An old lord) who gave them food clothes, and Prosperos magic books. By providence and divine some food we had, and some fresh water, that a noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo, out of his charity, When she becomes distressed at the story of his bothers betrayal and how Prospero has made the storm, The Tempest to bring his enemies to him,- he makes Miranda go to sleep. Was this due to the fact that she was distressed and he wanted to comfort her or was it a form of control? thou art inclined to sleep; tis a good dullness, and give it way: I know thou canst not choose . Prospero had not been unpopular as a Duke and that was probably why Antonio didnt want to kill him, as it would have caused problems with the Milanese people. I feel that Prospero was selfish to put his desire to study magic above looking after the needs of his people. The Government I cast upon my brother, And to my state grew stranger, being transported And rapt in secret studies. However I dont feel that Prospero deserved the fate of being abandoned on a desert island. It also shows he was too trusting of his brother Antonio and this was a weakness in his character. I think this is one reason why he is so tough on Ferdinand because he wants to be sure that he really loves Miranda. Prospero, still desperate to have control threatens him that their relationship will not be happy if, Thou dost break her virgin knot before all sanctimonious ceremonies may with full and holy rite be minstistered Prospero uses his magic for mostly selfish reasons. It is through his magic that he plans his revenge on his enemies. He could almost be a cruel sorcerer from the way in which he treats his enemies ,But his magic gives him Power which is the only thing he has if he is to get his Dukedom back. The wronged Duke of Milan, Prospero: For more assurance that a living prince Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body; And to thee and thy company I bid A hearty welcome. It shows that Prospero wants, justice and reconciliation rather than just power. The use of supernatural powers is widely used throughout the play. Prospero uses magic to free Ariel from the magical prison which Sycorax imprisoned him in. When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape the pine and let thee out. This shows that Prospero felt sorry for Ariel, although he may also have had another reason, knowing that he could be useful to him, as Ariel too had magical powers. Prospero promises to free him once he has helped him to get what he wants. .. for which after two days I will discharge thee. Prospero appreciates Ariel, as he too knows what it is like to be a prisoner. But he still keeps power over him. If thou more murmurst, I will rend an oak and peg thee in his knotty entrails till thou hast howld away twelve winters. Prospero owes a lot to Ariel for without his help he wouldnt have been able to make the storm and caused the shipwreck. He wouldnt have been aware of Caliban , Stephano and Trinculoss plan to kill him. Ariel also makes the music which hypnotises many of the characters into doing things they wouldnt otherwise have done. Prospero releases Ariel as he promised, showing he is true to his word. I shall miss thee but yet thou shall have freedom. Prospero however has no similar feelings for Caliban, he calls him, Thou poisonous slave. A dull thing. Caliban hates Prospero as before he arrived on the island the island had been his, This island is mine by Sycorax my mother which thou takst from me But Prospero hates him most because he tried to rape his precious daughter Miranda. Thou didst seek to violate the honour of my child. He keeps Caliban as his slave and threatens him that he will torture him if he disobeys him. Ill rack thee with old cramps,Fill all thy bones with aches and make thee roar. His main enemies are Antonio and Sebastian but even for them he refuses to turn them into traitors by telling everyone of their scheming plans But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded, I here could pluck his highness frown upon you and justify you traitors at this time I will tell no tales. He knows he has to forgive them for order to be restored to their country. However his brother Antonio doesnt appear to have a conscience for all the bad things he did to his brother. He is a very dangerous and ambitious man. Sebastian is Alonsos brother he too is like Antonio and doesnt feel sorry for what he did. When Prospero meets up with Gonzalo he greats him warmly. Holy Gonzalo, honourable man and thanks him for providing him and his daughter with food and water O good Gonzalo my true preserver. He knows that Gonzalo is a loyal and Noble friend. Alonso has a conscience and he feels remorse over the wrongs he did and asks for forgiveness from Prospero The Dukedom I resign and entreat thou pardon me my wrongs. Prospero forgives Alonso welcome my friends all Its Prosperos desire for magic that gets him into this problem, but it also helps him to restore the situation. It shows how people can become obsessed by desires, but in the end Prosperos appreciates that his obsession was destructive. Ill break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound Ill drown my book. I think that Prosperos is a Mixture of both victim and Villain. As he tells the story of past events it is easier to believe him than too look at the other side of the story. By the end of the play I think that most of the people get what they deserve with most of the characters learning from the mistakes they made.

Aldebaran, the Fiery Orange-Red Eye of a Starry Bull

Aldebaran, the Fiery Orange-Red Eye of a Starry Bull Behind every star in the sky is a fascinating origin tale. Just as the Sun does, they shine by burning fuel in their cores and giving off light. And, like the Sun, many have their planets. All were born in a cloud of gas and dust millions or billions of years ago. And, eventually, all stars grow old and evolve. Thats whats happening to Aldebaran, a star that is practically a neighbor to our own star, the Sun, at 65 light-years distance. Youve probably seen Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus (which is visible to us at night from about October through March each year). Its the reddish-orange star at the top of the V-shaped face of the Bull. Observers in ancient times saw it as many things. The name Aldebaran is from the Arabic word for follower, and it does seem to follow along as the Pleiades star cluster rises higher in the sky late in the year. For the Greeks and Romans it was the eye or the heart of the bull. In India, it represented an astronomical house, and portrayed it a deitys daughter. Others around the world have associated it with the season to come, or even as an aid to the Pleiades (who, in some cultures, were seven women in the sky).   Observing Aldebaran The star itself is fairly easy to spot, particularly beginning in the evening skies of October each year. It also presents a remarkable  experience for skygazers patient enough to wait for it: an occultation. Aldebaran lies close to the ecliptic, which is the imaginary line along which the planets and Moon appear to move as seen from Earth. Occasionally, the Moon will slide between Earth and Aldebaran, essentially occulting it. The event is visible from northern hemisphere locations in the early autumn. Observers with a keen interest in watching it happen  through a telescope can see a detailed   view of the lunar surface  as the star slips slowly behind the Moon and then reappear a short time later. Why Is it in a Vee of Stars? Aldebaran looks like its part of a cluster of stars called the Hyades. This is a V-shaped moving association of stars that lies much farther away from us than Aldebaran does, at a distance of about 153 light-years. Aldebaran happens to lie in the line of sight between Earth and the cluster, so it appears to be part of the cluster. The Hyades themselves are fairly young stars, about 600 million years old. Theyre moving together through the galaxy and in a billion years or so, the stars will have evolved and grown older and scattered apart from each other. Aldebaran will have moved from its position, too, so future observers will no longer see an angry red eye at the top of a vee-shaped swarm of stars. What is Aldebarans Status? Technically speaking Aldebaran is a star that has stopped fusing hydrogen in its core (all stars do this at some point in their lives)  and is now fusing it in a shell of plasma surrounding the core. The core itself is made of helium and collapsed in on itself, sending the temperature and pressure soaring. That heats up the outer layers, causing them to swell. Aldebaran has puffed out so much that its now nearly 45 times the size of the Sun, and is now a red giant. It varies slightly in its brightness, and is slowly blowing its mass out to space. Aldebarans Future In the very distant future, Aldebaran may experience something called a helium flash in its future. This will happen if the core (which is made of helium atoms) gets so densely packed that helium starts trying to fuse to make carbon. The temperature of the core has to be at least 100,000,000 degrees before this will happen, and when it gets that hot, almost all the helium will fuse at once, in a flash. After that, Aldebaran will start to cool and shrink, losing its red giant status. The outer layers of the atmosphere will puff away, forming a glowing cloud of gas that astronomers refer to as a planetary nebula. This wont happen any time soon, but when it does, Aldebaran will, for a short time, glow even more brightly than it does now. Then, it will dim down, and fade slowly away.