Shakespeare - The Tempest - themes

There are many themes in The Tempest. Explore the main themes of freedom, empathy and forgiveness and nature versus nurture looking at how they affect characters and influence the story.

There are many ideas and concepts that run through The Tempest. Depending on your reading of the text, you might think one or another is more significant. For example, in recent years critics have examined how Caliban might represent colonised people, even though Shakespeare was writing long before the world of empire building had begun.

You could also say that this is a play about love in its different forms – parental, romantic, brotherly, aesthetic. The themes are often connected and you will notice links between many of the key ideas.

Some of the main themes include:

• freedom
• empathy and forgiveness
• nature versus nurture

Throughout the play, we see examples of characters seeking their freedom and often experiencing the opposite, ie imprisonment. The island setting for the play makes everyone trapped to a certain extent. Following the shipwreck (and before Ariel steps in) there is no immediate escape from the island for any of the characters.

Prospero and Miranda have been trapped on the island for twelve years. When they first arrived, Prospero rescued Ariel from a prison that the witch Sycorax had locked him in. Ariel becomes Prospero’s servant and asks early on in the play when he might be granted his freedom.

Caliban is another character who lacks freedom. Prospero threatens him with punishments if he does not do his work. However, Caliban seems destined to be enslaved. When he meets Stephano, he bows down at his feet and promises to be his loyal servant.

Prospero’s very last words in the play are 'set me free' (Act 5 Epilogue) which shows the importance of this theme to all the characters.

Did you know? The speech in Act 1 Scene 2 that begins 'Abhorred slave' is sometimes attributed to Prospero and sometimes to Miranda. Some editors feel that the speech is too harsh for Miranda and others suggest that it shows her as a more rounded character.

You can find the theme of freedom in other plays by Shakespeare:

• As You Like It – in this comedy, two female characters are 'banished' from the court and brothers are exiled to a forest
• Romeo and Juliet- the young lovers in this play are not free to love each other due to their families’ disagreements

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they might be feeling. In order to forgive someone it is quite useful to be able to feel empathy. Some characters in The Tempest seem skilled at this, whilst others struggle to think of anyone but themselves.

Miranda seems to have a very natural sense of empathy. When she sees the ship caught in the storm she shows empathy for the crew. She gets upset about the suffering that she imagines they must have gone through.

Prospero on the other hand seems to learn empathy as the play progresses. When we first see him with Ariel, the spirit is asking for his 'liberty' which Prospero has promised. However, instead of showing understanding for his servant, Prospero seems to become angry. He reminds Ariel that he rescued the spirit from his prison in a tree.

Later in the play, Prospero becomes softer in his manner towards Ariel, calling him 'dainty' and 'chick'. When Ariel tells him he should feel sorry for the king and his followers, Prospero takes his advice. Instead of taking revenge Prospero offers forgiveness.

You can find evidence of empathy and compassion in many other plays by Shakespeare. However, you can also find lots of plays that deal with the opposite themes of jealousy and revenge.

• 'The Merchant of Venice' – Portia gives a speech about the 'quality of mercy' in Act 4.
• 'King Lear' - This is a dark play about cruelty and betrayal. There is some sense of forgiveness in there towards the end though!

The theme of nature versus nurture is presented on a number of levels in The Tempest. There is the natural beauty of the island, that Caliban tells us about with the 'sounds and sweet airs' (Act 3 Scene 2). Then there is the comparison between what is natural and what is civilised. Miranda represents a natural innocence and naivety, whereas Caliban represents something savage, uncivilised and 'unnatural'.

Gonzalo, in Act 2 Scene 2, talks about a commonwealth where nature and man would work together more harmoniously. At the same time the supposedly civilised men, shipwrecked on the island, are mostly shown as greedy drunkards and traitors.

Did you know? Gonzalo’s speech is based on an essay by a writer called Montaigne. In his essay On Cannibals Montaigne compares a Native American tribe’s society and culture with Western society.

Shakespeare examines the natural state of man in a number of plays:

• Macbeth – this is a tragedy that examines greed and power. Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting this is the natural state of humans!
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – this is another play with lots of magic…you could compare the natural with the supernatural.