Prospero's Power in The Tempest

Shakespeare’s play The Tempest explores issues connected to colonization, gender, trust, and family as they relate to Prospero, the usurped Duke of Milan, and his relationships with his daughter Miranda, his brother Antonio, the island native Caliban, and the spirit Ariel. Although Prospero’s dukedom has shaped his character and helped him assume the dominant role in all of these relationships, it is his books he “prize[s] above . . . dukedom” (Temp. 1.2.169). Prospero’s books fulfill his need for magical knowledge, but they also enhance his desire for power, thus allowing him to maintain control over the other individuals on the island. As the play progresses, Prospero’s books add a powerful dimension to his character and he uses the spells they contain to keep Ariel vested in a promise of freedom, to threaten Caliban with physical harm if he does not do what he is told, and to direct the love affair of Miranda and her suitor Ferdinand.

While Miranda is blinded by love and unaware of her father’s need for power, Caliban is fully aware of the power contained in Propero’s books. It was Prospero who used his power to teach Caliban the “language” Calbian now uses to “curse” Prospero and Miranda, and the situation they have placed him in. Instead of treating Caliban as an equal and sharing the island with him, Prospero treats him as a slave and controls the island (Temp.1.2.365-66). In Caliban’s mind, if he takes Propero’s books away, he takes Properso’s power away as well. And if he takes away Prospero’s power, he can resume control of his island, and maybe even form an intimate relationship with Miranda. Caliban has spent many years watching Prospero. He knows what time of day he goes to sleep, and where he keeps his books. In Act 3, Scene 2, he shares this information with one of his accomplices, Stefano the butler:

Why, as I told thee,’tis custom with him / I’th afternoon to sleep. There though mayest brain him / having first seized his books . . . / remember first to possess his books, for without them / he’s but a sot as I am, nor hath not / one spirit to command—they all do hate him / as rootedly as I. Burn but his books. (Temp.88-96)

Caliban’s hate for Prospero is evident in this passage. He wants him hit over the head and he wants his books burned. Without his books and with a possible brain injury, Prospero becomes Caliban’s equal, and is therefore easier to control.

In conclusion, books contribute greatly to Prospero’s power in The Tempest. They not only help him to conjure up spells, they also give him a sense of power which in turn enables him maintain dominance in all his relationships.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston. New York: Bedford. St. St. Martin's: 2009. Print.