Shakespeare has used conflict Essay Example

Shakespeare has used conflict Essay Example Shakespeare has used conflict Essay Shakespeare has used conflict Essay In order to attract an audience towards themes, a playwright must use conflict. Show how Shakespeare has used conflict in The Tempest to explore ideas that are of interest. In doing so, refer in detail to the literary and dramatic elements employed.  Shakespeare in this play sets out to represent Prospero as a strong, powerful leader as they would be at this period of time in England, however although an English monarch must be powerful they must also show a sense of compassion and approachability about them. The play is based on betrayal and revenge, which become the main ingredients to a highly entertaining play. Prospero (who was once the duke of Milan) and his daughter, Miranda was sent to an island by his brother Antonio and his enemy Alonso, King of Naples and Sebastian, Alonsos brother. Prospero was starting to discover magic and became less involved with his responsibilities of being a Duke and concentrated more on the realm of magical powers. Antonio saw this as a perfect opportunity to get rid of Prospero and take over as Duke of Milan with the help on Alonso and Sebastian. This storyline is full of conflict enabling the audience to become entertained fairly quickly due to the suspense created on what Prospero will do to declare his revenge. Prospero is represented as a leader. Leaders have to have strength and power; his almighty power is shown right from the beginning of the play when he creates the storm. Although the crew and the nobles are unaware that Prospero is responsible for the storm, he still manages to put fear and terror into the passengers aboard the ship. The events Prospero creates through the use of his magic such as the storm, creates suspense throughout the play, as the audience want to know what other great things he will do to show his power. The suspense is built up through every dramatic event caused by Prospero making this play highly entertaining and suspenseful to how Prospero will get his final revenge. A play with plenty of conflict that builds up to the huge climax of the play makes The Tempest an extremely entertaining and attractive play to watch or read. Shakespeare uses conflict throughout this particular play through different characters such as Prospero with Sebastian, Alonso and Antonio over the fact of Prosperos banishment and wanting revenge on the nobles for their actions,   Though with their high wrongs I am struck to thquick  Yet with my nobler reason gainst my fury  Prospero wants revenge on Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio for getting rid of him from his position in status and sending him away. However after scaring and punishing the nobles Prospero realises that not matter what he does to them it wont change the wrong doing of their actions towards him or the person in which they have become. To work mine end upon their senses that  This airy charm is for; Ill break my staff  Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,   And deeper did ever plummet sound  Ill drown my book  Here Prospero realises no amount of magic will cure what has happened in the past or the change the person they have become, the change has to come from within Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio.  One other conflict is with Antonio and Sebastian over Alonso,  And look how well my garments sit upon me,  Much feater than before. My brothers servants  Were then my fellows. Now they are my men. They are plotting to kill him to gain a higher nobility status and they will get away with killing him as no one would be around to see because they are on another island therefore they could say he drowned with the ship. This quote also indicates that the two nobles feel no remorse for the wrongs they did to Prospero. If they could get rid of Prospero and have no guilty conscience then whats to say they will feel any emotion to killing Alonso. Suspense is created also through the scenes of Sebastian and Antonio, the audience are kept guessing to the happenings of their evil plot being carried out to whether or not they will kill the King. A parallel conflict is between Caliban, Trinculo, Stephano and Prospero, Caliban wants to be freed from Prospero and meets Trinculo and Stephano who have been strayed upon the island after the sinking of the kings ship. Caliban talks Trinculo and Stephano into helping him kill Prospero in order for him to be free; he will reward them by being Stephanos slave. Stephano agrees to this as  They will lay out ten to see a dead Indian. Stephano and Trinculo are only helping Caliban, as he will make them quite a lot of money when they take him back to England. At this particular time in the century, (after the dark ages) a lot of things were being discovered as people began to find means of travelling around the world, so any living thing that wasnt white with two arms and two legs was seen as a strange creature and taken back to England. They would be used in freak shows and the public would pay to see these strange discoveries making the owner of the poor victims a pretty penny. This particular play attracts a modern audience, it tells us a little bit of the history in England around that time. Not only is the play entertaining but also it is educational in its own little way. Prosperos status in power is shown once again in this scene between Prospero and Ferdinand, the kings son. He uses Ferdinand to create his revenge on Alonso. In order to use Ferdinand in his scheme, Prospero orders his slave Ariel, to enchant the young prince who thinks his father has drowned, but unbeknown to Ferdinand he is alive on another part of the island. Prosperos power is also shown through Ariel, he is Prosperos slave making him a powerful figure of the island. Ariel teases Ferdinand; she sings cruel songs in order to make Ferdinand think his father is dead Full fathom five thy father lies  Of his bones are coral made  Those are pearls that were his eyes  Nothing of him that doth fade  The techniques used in this particular scene are used very cleverly; dramatic irony and suspense are created to make this part of the play entertaining. Ariel and the audience know that Alonso is alive and well but the words of Ariels song make Ferdinand think the worst, as he doesnt know of his father whereabouts. The scene is suspenseful due to not knowing what will happen to Ferdinand, and wondering if Ferdinand will ever seeing his father again. In my opinion, the main conflict in The Tempest is between Prospero and Sebastian, Alonso and Antonio. Prospero desperately wants revenge on his brother and the King of Naples along with Sebastian for his banishment. Shakespeare creates suspense right from the beginning scene, such as the storm created through Prosperos power, up until the very end of the play when Prosperos revenge is not so important any more due to the fact of realising that forgiveness is the best policy.  Suspense is created as the audience dont actually know if everyone will get away alive from the sinking ship which has happened in the very first scene and to whether or not the nobles will be punished further for their wrong doings.