William Shakespeare used many different writing devices when he wrote his plays. In Act
I of The Tempest, the use of contrasts between characters, setting, and ideas were often
used to develop the story, and more importantly, the messages that Shakespeare wished to
portray by the play.
One good example was how some characters in the first act had their counterparts.
Ariel had Caliban, and Gonzalo had Ferdinand. The relationship between Ariel and Caliban
could clearly be seen throughout Act I, scene II. Ariel was the "airy spirit" that could
assume different shapes, such as the lightning flames seen on the ship (Shakespeare 31),
and who had quickness, lightness, grace, and total control over his actions. On the
other hand, Caliban who represented the body, couldn't control his actions and thus made
him the opposite of Ariel. He even tried to rape Miranda once, but was stopped by
Prospero in the process. In fact, it might even be safe to say that Caliban was
anti-Ariel, being slow, stupid, and lazy.
Gonzalo and Ferdinand were also contrasted in this act. In Act I, scene I lines 28-33,
Gonzalo made fun of the boatswain by saying that he didn't look like the type to drown,
instead he resembled more of the type to be hanged. Thus implying that no one on the
ship would drown. This gesture by Gonzalo showed that he was an optimistic person. On
the other hand, after landing on the island in Act I, scene ii, Ferdinand grew worry of
his father and immediately presumed he was dead. He even went as far as saying that he
was now the new King of Naples (Shakespeare 45). Therefore, one can see that Ferdinand
did not have a positive outlook and wasn't as optimistic as Gonzalo. From the contrasts
between Ariel - Caliban, and Gonzalo - Ferdinand, one develops a character profile of the
four and starts to recognize some ideas that Shakespeare was trying to bring about in The
Tempest.
Contrast between the settings was also present in Act I. The tempest in the beginning
of the play caused violent winds and total confusion aboard the ship. This chaos
disturbed Shakespeare's Social Order. The boatswain, not the King, was giving out orders
to the people, while the King and his son were praying below. Thus, the whole Social
Order was inverted. However when ship landed on the island, the setting of the play
changed from the terrifying storm to the delightfulness of the island. In turn, the
Social Order was also put back to its original state by the introduction of Prospero and
his 'commoners' Ariel and Caliban. The reader can create a kind of atmosphere from this
contrast.
Recall that in Act I, Scene II, Shakespeare offered a parallel, or at least a contrast,
in the way Miranda and Caliban were educated and how they used their education. Whereas
education had beneficial effects on Miranda's high nature, its effects on Caliban's low
nature were extremely harmful. Prospero took great pains in order to educate her
daughter:
Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit
Than other princesse can, that have more time
For vanier hours, and tutors not so careful. (Shakespeare 29)
Miranda benefitted greatly from her education because she had a noble nature with which
to begin. She respected her father for whom he was and obeyed him as commanded.
Contrasted by Caliban, whose main benefit from learning was that he became an expert at
cursing. Education had only made him into a malcontent creature who always whined about
his low position. He may have been born to serve, but learning had made him hate
serving. The contrast between these two character's education helped Shakespeare to
convey his idea of education between high class and low class individuals.
Shakespeare intelligently used different contrasts in Act I to display characters,
setting and ideas. These contrasts helped to unify the act, and make the reader more
aware of what they were truly reading, and that is of course, a work of art.
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