Bio: Alec Bowcock is a native Oregonian. Currently, he is pursuing a double Bachelor's degree in biology and humanities at Pacific University with ambitions to enter medicine as a physician. He recently presented a paper at the Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature.
A Knowledgeable Pursuit for Shakespeare
By Alec Bowcock
One of the last plays he penned, William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a kaleidoscope of events, characters, and themes. A tragicomedy in its most basic form, the play revolves around the usurped Duke of Milan, Prospero, as he attempts to enact revenge on the people who have wronged him. Brimming with knowledge and sorcery, Prospero constructs storms and summons nymphs to help orchestrate his plans when his enemies shipwreck on his island. It is this correlation between having intellect and thus power that becomes an underlying concept of the play, as it can also be seen with Caliban the slave. Furthermore, another motif is that knowledge and those who have it are valued only in certain places. An example of this is how Gonzalo, Miranda, and Prospero profit on the island, instead of the outside world, from what they know.
Knowledge takes the form of power in The Tempest. Prospero, who engrosses himself in books and scholarly pursuits, obtains the ability to wield magic from what he has learned. As Caliban mentions, “First possess his books; for without them/… [he’ll] hath not/ One spirit to command” (3.2.87-89). Through this magic, and consequently because of his knowledge, he also becomes ruler of an island. Furthermore, Shakespeare presents Prospero as being the pivotal influence in the plot of the play. All the events that take place are dictated by him; he is almost like fate, controlling what occurs to the group that shipwrecks on the island. This only adds to the spectacle of him being all powerful, something that is due to the knowledge he has and thus the magic he wields.
Just as well, knowledge in the form of power can be seen with Caliban. Miranda remarks that when she first discovered him on the island, he was savage-like and lacked the means to communicate in words or symbols. But after she taught him English, he gained the ability to espouse his displeasure at being a slave. As Caliban states, “You taught me language, and my profit on’t/ Is, I know how to curse” (1.2.366-367). Furthermore, with his acquired knowledge of language, he is able to converse with Stephano and Trinculo; in doing so, he convinces them to kill his despised master Prospero. Beyond this, his knowledge of the island—i.e. where fresh water, berries, and fish can be located—gives him value as well. When Prospero and his entourage are first stranded, they turn to Caliban for resources on which to survive (1.2.340-341).
Despite knowledge being associated with power, there are discrepancies in how it is valued on the island and in the world outside of it. Gonzalo is a paragon of this. At the beginning of the play, the counselor is chided and teased by Antonio and Sebastian, each throwing snide comments when he attempts to comfort Alonso. Both seem to have little respect for him despite Gonzalo being an aged and honored counselor, one who is wise and knowledgeable, seeing as he is counselor to a king. Their treatment of him contrasts with the respect shown by Prospero. After presenting himself to the shipwrecked group, Prospero embraces Gonzalo, calling him honorable beyond compare. This affection may stem from the fact that Gonzalo did not commit any wrong against him where as Antonio, Sebastian, and Alonso did—consequently the less-than jubilant welcome Prospero gives them. Just as well, considering that Prospero doesn’t greet Adrian and Francisco with enthusiasm either, he may have other reasons to hold the counselor in high regard. For instance, Gonzalo provided him with books and other amenities when the ex- duke was forced to flee Milan. But beyond that, Prospero may also respect him for his knowledge. So while he may not be treated with the utmost admiration by people who live outside the magical island, as seen by Sebastian and Antonio, Gonzalo is shown the reverence he deserves while on it.
Just as well, Miranda’s knowledge of men, or lack thereof, is more valuable to her on the island than it would have been in another land. Having been immured there since she was an infant, Prospero’s daughter never came into contact with a male her own age. As she attests, her father and Caliban were the only two males she had ever known until the King of Naples and his entourage washed ashore. Thus her ignorance, in part, leads her to be enamored with Ferdinand when she first sees him. As she states, “I might call him/ A thing divine… This/ Is the third man that e’er I saw, the first/ That e’er I sigh’d for” (1.2.422+). Consider if she had experienced a normal childhood outside the isolated island. In such a case, she would have had contact with multiple males. Consequently, had she then met Ferdinand, her passion for him might not be so profound: he wouldn’t have been the third man—nor, perhaps, the first one her own age—to meet her. Therefore, in being isolated on the island, Miranda found her love rather effortlessly, something that may not have happened anywhere else.
Furthermore, the motif in how knowledge is valued from one place to another can also be seen with Prospero. As the Duke of Milan, he was a sagacious and scholarly fellow. Engrossed within his books, he would leave the affairs involved with ruling a dukedom to his brother. By focusing his attention on learning, Prospero put himself in a position to be overthrown in a coup; the fact that he contains a wealth of information did not abet him and therefore seems to be of little importance, at least in Milan. But upon his arrival on the island, the significance of his knowledge becomes paramount. Through it, he becomes ruler of his own domain, able to wield magic, call up spirits, and manipulate the weather. In addition, it indirectly allows him to enact revenge upon his brother and the other conspirators. And by the end of the play, his intellect has not only led him to resolve the differences with the perpetrators, but also to become King of Naples.
Shakespeare uses various characters and objects to further the suggestion that having intellect makes a person powerful; most notable of this are the characters Prospero and Caliban. Furthermore, the concept that the value of knowledge varies from place to place is also a motif that occurs throughout the play. This is best illustrated in how Gonzalo’s, Miranda’s, and Prospero’s wisdom and intellect aid them more on the island than in the world outside of it. So while Shakespeare may have been bowing from the field of playwriting with this play, he may have also been leaving a message: while kings, dukes, and the imagination may rein supreme, so to will knowledge.