Significance of the opening scene of The Tempest

William Shakespeare’s The Tempest considered one of the last plays written single

handedly by the playwright, amalgamates various themes and genres. The play can be read both

as romance as well as comedy. There are elements of pastoral, travelogue, romance, dark

comedy and tragedy in the play. Critics have found it difficult to put The Tempest into a single

category of genre. In seventeenth century, The Tempest was accepted as a comedy for it follows

the plot of comedy where initial chaos and confusion is stabilized by the union of lovers, ending

in celebration of their marriage. But later during twentieth century, The Tempest began to be

studied as ‘Shakespeare’s Romance’. The twentieth century reading of the play, gives it a post

colonialism perspective which considers Prospero as a colonizer. Thus, the play’s inability to

limit itself to one particular theme and genre, make it a dynamic and a complex text.

The Tempest was first performed in1611 and printed as the opening play in

Shakespeare’s collected works in 1623. The play is about an exiled Duke, Prospero who with the

help of his “knowledge of magic” takes revenge from his usurping brother, Duke Antonio. Duke

Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan with the help of his magical aid Ariel, generates a storm

which wrecks the ship of his enemies and brings them to his island. Duke Prospero seeks to

secure his power by devising the marriage of his daughter with Ferdinand, the son of King of

Naples who is also washed ashore due the tempest created by him. The Tempest examines the

main themes of revenge, love, power struggle and forgiveness. The following essay will focus on

the significance of the opening scene of the play The Tempest.

The Tempest opens with the sound of thunder and lightning and a shipwreck amidst a

violent storm. It is later revealed that the storm was a work of Prospero’s magic. The opening
scene of the play becomes significant as it sets action in motion. The opening scene unveils

chaos and confusion as the party on the ship are separated and brought to the shore by Ariel. The

play is tightly structured and follows closely the unity of time and place. The unnamed exotic

island becomes the site for the play’s action. Even though play mentions the great empire of

Milan, Naples and Tunisia, the entire sequence of the play is restricted to the island only.

The struggle for power and control is the core issue of The Tempest. The tempest

aroused by Prospero is itself symbolic display of Prospero’s power. The sole reason for arousing

the tempest revealed later in the play is that Prospero’s plan of revenge from his brother.

Prospero achieves his goal through scheming marriage of Miranda with Ferdinand. There are

various instances of power struggle that can be seen in the play as in the relationship between

Prospero and Caliban. Caliban, a slave of Prospero not only questions his authority over him but

also raises the issue of ownership of the island. In Act 1 scene i, Caliban states that “this island’s

mine by Sycorax, my mother” (332). Prospero and Caliban’s conflict over the ownership of the

island mirrors the conflict between Prospero and his brother Antonio’s power struggle regarding

the ownership of Milan. Later in the play, Antonio convinces Sebastian, the brother of King of

Naples to kill the King. In the play, every action is either controlled by or already known to

Prospero. Thus, the play follows the pattern of play within play.

The play opens abruptly in the midst of a storm and it is only in Act 1 scene ii, the

background story is narrated by Prospero to his daughter Miranda. It is then we know that twelve

years have passed after he was exiled by his own brother. The play oscillates between past and

present events constantly. In the play, characters reflect on the past events continuously while

conversing with each other, for instance, Prospero gives an account of his exile to Miranda, later
he recounts Ariel’s confinement by Sycorax in a “cloven pine” and Caliban mentions his own

history.

The play begins with the display of Prospero’s magical powers and ends with the

surrendering of his power. The Tempest is all about “magic” which is seen as synonymous to

“power”. Prospero impresses Ferdinand by displaying the show of Spirits which makes

Ferdinand want to “live here forever” and he calls the island “paradise” (4.1. 125). Through the

use of magic, Shakespeare attempts to redefine illusion and reality. Prospero says in Act 4 scene

(i), “we are such stuff as dreams are made of, and our little life is rounded with a sleep” (157).

The play is made of illusion which appears to be reality, Miranda seems to believe that she has

fallen in love with Ferdinand but actually it is the work of her father. Prospero makes Alonso

think that his son Ferdinand has died in the shipwreck but later unveils the curtain to show him

his son playing chess with Miranda. Hence, illusion becomes a tool for achieving what Prospero

wants. Prospero uses his magic to threaten both Ariel and Caliban. But Prospero also seems to

be aware of the fact that his powers are limited and hence he does not allow Ariel its freedom.

Thus, the opening scene of the The Tempest has been crafted by the playwright such as

to incorporate all the main themes and issues. The scene of violent storm striking down the ship

provides an interesting starting point for the story which had become popular in Shakespeare’s

time because of rise in travelogues and adventure stories. The beginning of the play representing

chaos and confusion because of the storm is ultimately settled and stabilized by Prospero

himself. Yet the ending of the play appears to be ambiguous because it is not clear if Antonio

and Sebastian are really reformed or not. Thus, at the end Alonso gets back his lost son,

Ferdinand and marriage is fixed between Miranda and Ferdinand, Prospero gets back his

Dukedom back from Antonio.

 Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Edited by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden T. Vaughan,

Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1999.