Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Prospero maneuvers the whole scene in The Tempest. How far is his Machiavellian manipulation justified? He himself brings his ill-fate. He...

First, you should know that Milan is Prospero's dukedom. 
He is the "right Duke of Milan."  Prospero made his brother, Antonio, the manager of his
state, but Antonio became greedy and power hungry and, with the help of Alonso, King of
Naples, had Prospero declared "incapable" of ruling and set out to sea with his small
daughter Miranda to, Antonio hoped, die.  All of this is related in more detail in Act
I, scene ii.  It is very important to understand this situation, since the restoration
of Prospero to his rightful place and the forgiveness of Antonio and Alonso is a huge
part of the play.


Now, for your question.  Machiavellian
might be a term better used to describe Antonio's actions, since he was a master behind
the scenes manipulator of political events to his own advantage before the events of the
play, and he continues this trend when he persuades Sebastian to follow his lead and
knock off Alonso.  Actually, Propsero's problem as a Duke seems to have been his lack of
interest in politics and actually owning the responsibility of ruling his own dukedom,
hence his having Antonio to manage it for him.  In this way, Prospero, as you say could
be seen to "bring his ill-fate," being cast out and stranded on the island where he
begins the play.


At the end of the play, Prospero forgives
Antonio and is restored to his rightful place as Duke of Milan.  He leaves behind his
tools of magic (his robe and staff) and says that he will "retire" at Milan,
"where/Every third thought shall be [his] grave."  So, it is definitely worth wondering
if he'll be able to return to his dukedom and rule it himself this time, but there is no
evidence in the play that he is headed to an ill-fate of any kind, nor that he gained
Milan by sorcery, since he was the correct and rightful Duke to begin
with.

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