Key themes

There are many ideas and concepts that run through The Tempest. Depending on your
reading of the text, you might think one or another is more significant. For example, in
recent years critics have examined how Caliban might represent colonised people, even
though Shakespeare was writing long before the world of empire building had begun.

You could also say that this is a play about love in its different forms – parental,
romantic, brotherly, aesthetic. The themes are often connected and you will notice links
between many of the key ideas.

Some of the main themes include:

 freedom
 empathy and forgiveness
 nature versus nurture

Imprisonment and Freedom

Throughout the play, we see examples of characters seeking their freedom and often
experiencing the opposite, ie imprisonment. The island setting for the play makes
everyone trapped to a certain extent. Following the shipwreck (and before Ariel steps in)
there is no immediate escape from the island for any of the characters.

Prospero and Miranda have been trapped on the island for twelve years. When they first
arrived, Prospero rescued Ariel from a prison that the witch Sycorax had locked him in.
Ariel becomes Prospero’s servant and asks early on in the play when he might be
granted his freedom.

Caliban is another character who lacks freedom. Prospero threatens him with
punishments if he does not do his work. However, Caliban seems destined to be a
slave. When he meets Stephano, he bows down at his feet and promises to be his loyal
servant.

Prospero’s very last words in the play are set me free (Act 5 Epilogue) which shows the
importance of this theme to all the characters.

Empathy and forgiveness

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they might be
feeling. In order to forgive someone it is quite useful to be able to feel empathy. Some characters
in The Tempest seem skilled at this, whilst others struggle to think of anyone but themselves.
Miranda seems to have a very natural sense of empathy. When she sees the ship caught in the
storm she shows empathy for the crew. She gets upset about the suffering that she imagines they
must have gone through.

Prospero on the other hand seems to learn empathy as the play progresses. When we first see him
with Ariel, the spirit is asking for his liberty which Prospero has promised. However, instead of
showing understanding for his servant, Prospero seems to become angry. He reminds Ariel that
he rescued the spirit from his prison in a tree.

Later in the play, Prospero becomes softer in his manner towards Ariel, calling
him dainty and chick. When Ariel tells him he should feel sorry for the king and his followers,
Prospero takes his advice. Instead of taking revenge Prospero offers forgiveness.

Nature versus nurture

The theme of nature versus nurture is presented on a number of levels in The Tempest.
There is the natural beauty of the island, that Caliban tells us about with the sounds and
sweet airs (Act 3 Scene 2). Then there is the comparison between what is natural and
what is civilised. Miranda represents a natural innocence and naivety, whereas Caliban
represents something savage, uncivilised and unnatural.

Gonzalo, in Act 2 Scene 2, talks about a commonwealth where nature and man would
work together more harmoniously. At the same time the supposedly civilised men,
shipwrecked on the island, are mostly shown as greedy drunkards and traitors.

God and Humanity

This is an interesting theme of The Tempest as religion is not clearly mentioned, yet Prospero
often acts as if he is God of the island. He demands total respect and recognition, even from his
daughter, and he is outraged that Antonio has stolen his position. His enslavement of the spirits
and Ariel and Caliban suggests that he believes that he is superior to all other beings, as they
must do his bidding. This supports the idea that Western nations believed that they were better
than other contries - which may also suggest that Western civilisation thought themselves to be
somewhat god-like.

Master/Servant
The relationship between servants and their masters is one that Shakespeare explores in several
ways. The first instance we encounter of servants and masters is in Act 1, Scene 1, through the
Boatswain and the royal entourages accepting and equal treatment (Gonzalo and Alonso) and
their demanding and belittling treatment of the Boatswain (Antonio and Sebastian). This is used
by Shakespeare to critique society’s treatment of lower class people and to criticise those who
believe themselves to be superior to others.
Ariel’s slave status to the master of Prospero poses several interesting questions to the audience.
Initially, Ariel seems keen to serve Prospero, and even acts with some level of affection towards
the master, yet this may only be because Ariel craves freedom. We can see that Prospero, as the
master wielding power, manipulates Ariel by promising and then taking away freedom. This
eventually forces the spirit to obey him which creates sympathy for Ariel. Prospero's feelings
towards Ariel are ambivalent throughout the play, he sometimes addresses the spirit with
affecting, and other times condemning it “malignant thing!” which may suggest that masters feel
some level of emotional connection with their servants. (Act 1, Scene 2)

However, this is not the case with another of Prospero's slaves, Caliban. Prospero treats Caliban
poorly and with contempt because Caliban does not willingly accept the rule of Prospero on the
island. This suggests that 'masters' should not have any power over others because all are equal
and men cannot control each other. The main idea from the theme of colonisation also makes an
appearance here; that Western nations see themselves as masters of all other races. For example,
Prospero makes himself master of the island, and then Stephano and Trinculo also enslave
Caliban which suggests that civilisation will always try to create a social hierarchy.

Illusion and Magic

The play begins with an illusion - the shipwreck is not a result of a tempest, but of Ariel's and
Prospero's magic, and this creates the idea that the island is full of magic and illusions. For
example, Ariel and the other spirits may be seen as an illusion to the royals as they are unused to
such supernatural beings and the island itself is seen to be magical. Even Caliban - a supernatural
creature himself - says that the island “is full of noises” (Act 3, Scene
2) which suggests that it is a place of magic and the supernatural.

Prospero is also representative of magic through his learning of spells and his possession of
magic books. He is able to make himself invisible, control others and the elements, bring torment
and pain, and command the spirits of the island, which show that his magic is extremely
powerful. It is this magic that allows Prospero to perform all his tasks, regarding the royal
entourage, which makes magic central to the success of the play.

It is also suggested that illusion within The Tempest appears through the illusion of justice. The
act that initiates the play, is the unjust usurpation of Prospero by his brother Antonio. This is the
first violation of justice the audience encounters, and Prospero uses this to present himself as a
victim. Yet it can be argued that he abuses this status as he takes power from other characters -
Ariel and Caliban. Thus, Prospero also creates an illusion of justice as he should not enslave the
other characters of the play.

Colonialism
The Tempest is preoccupied with the theme of colonialism. Shakespeare presents colonialism as
a form of exploitation which Western societies use to control 'inferior' beings. The conflict
between Prospero and Caliban, represents the conflict between the Old World (Europe) and the
challenges to their culture and beliefs from the New World (Americas, Africa and other
colonized areas), as Prospero can be seen as the colonist and Caliban as the native inhabitant.
There is much support

within The Tempest for the idea that colonisation was a form of economic exploitation. Firstly,
Prospero takes control of Caliban and uses him as a slave, and secondly and perhaps most
obviously, when Stephano and Trinculo discover Caliban their first thought is to wonder how
much money they could gain by selling him. Colonisation links closely to the idea of social class
as Europeans believed that social hierarchy was a fixed element of society and was ordained by
God. Europeans justified their inhumane actions against natives through the suggestion that
natives and their actions were full of debauchery and depravity. For example, Caliban's
“attempted rape” of Miranda is used as evidence of his evil nature, especially as he does not
realise how horrible his actions are. In comparison, Prospero's control of Miranda's sexuality
suggests that Western society is a “higher state of civilisation”, characterised by restraint,
abstinence and self-

discipline. These beliefs were often related and encouraged by the Christian religion, which
Europeans felt needed to be enforced all over the world. Native Americans for example were
seen as barbaric and ungodly. Colonists used this idea to justify their

divine right to “save” natives from their “degenerate” nature. Some critics have argued that
Shakespeare gives a Eurocentric view in The Tempest and that he fails to explore Caliban's point
of view, instead focusing only on Prospero.