The Tempest Allegorical to the Bible Essay - 1161 Words

The Tempest: Allegorical to the Bible The Tempest is not a pure fantasy tale, but a purposeful allegory. The characters in the play are all representative of characters found in the bible. The first, and perhaps most persuasive, arguement would be Prospero symbolizing God. Prospero is seen to be a representative of God for several reasons. First, he is obviously in control of the actions and has an omnipotent quality. This has been demonstrated by several scenes throughout the play. Consider the power that Prospero possesses, as shown in the Epilogue at the closing of the play: I have bedimmed The mooontide sun, called forth the mutinous winds, And twixt the green sea and the azured vault Set roaring war. . . . The strong-based†¦show more content†¦i. 28-30). Here, Prosperso states that, since repentance has occurred, there is no more ill will. This reflects the Christian belief that repentance can allow the forgiveness of sins. Also, Prospero is seen as the master of the island--that is, the all-powerful force controlling it. He manipulates the elements to produce his desired effects; two excellent examples of this are the tempest he creates in order to trap his brother and his companions, as well as the mock-feast he creates to manipulate them. The parallels to God in these instances are obvious. A final parallel between Prospero and God can be found in his Epilogue, lines 15- 20. And my ending is despair Unless I be relieved by prayer, Which pierces so that it assaults Mercy itself and frees all faults. As you from crimes would pardond be. Let your indulgence set me free (Epilogue, 15). This is as close a paraphrase of Christs injunction on prayer in Ther Sermon on the Mount or of the words on forgiveness in His prayer as could be found in literature (Coursen 330). In addition to Prospero being symbolic of God, Caliban is symbolic of Satan. This is evident for several reasons. He is referred to as Devil by Prospero, and is represented as the lost sheep in Prosperos flock--much the same as Lucifer was once an Angel of God who left the fold. Prospero cannot change the mind of Caliban,Show MoreRelatedThe Question of Justice in Dantes The Inferno and Shakespeares The Tempest1405 Words   |  6 PagesThe Question of Justice in Dantes The Inferno and Shakespeares The Tempest Dante Alighieri lived in the 13th- and 14th centuries Florence, Italy, and wrote his famous comedy The Inferno in response to the political and social events of his environment. William Shakespeare lived in late 16th and early 17th centuries and his play The Tempest is a critical commentary on the problems facing England at the time. 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