William Shakespeare s The Tempest - 1874 Words

â€Å"By my so potent art†: Shakespeare and Prospero’s magical manipulation â€Å"By my so potent art. But this rough magic I here abjure,†(V. i. 50 ) is a quote from Shakespeare’s The Tempest . Throughout Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, the main character Prospero refers to his magic, and it is through his magical abilities that the story is set in motion. In the play, Prospero controls characters and events, much like the playwright Shakespeare does. Shakespeare created Prospero as a guise for himself, through similarities in their personalities, their controlling and manipulative abilities, and their environments, to demonstrate and display his accomplishments before bidding farewell to the theater. Shakespeare could have created Prospero by†¦show more content†¦Prospero is the former, but the rightful duke of Milan, â€Å"And Prospero the prime duke, being so reputed/ In dignity, and for the liberal arts/ Without a parallel. Those being all my study†(I. ii. 72-74). In the play, the main cause of Prospero’s seeking revenge and creating the tempest was because his brother Antonio usurped the dukedom from him. However, Prospero gave him the opportunity to do so because he was immersed in his studies. Prospero spent his time in the library learning and studying instead of watching over the kingdom of Milan. Both Shakespeare and Prospero were bright, however, Prospero was more educated and had more access to resources than Shakespeare did. Shakespeare as a playwright is able to manipulate the characters within his works and in performances by assigning them lines and stage directions. Shakespeare’s famous plays were performed during his time in the Globe theater. Shakespeare started out as an actor, but enjoyed directing and seeing his works come to life on the stage. As Rollert argues in â€Å"Shakespeare and The Theater of the Self†, â€Å"Plays were constantly evolving, not only in response to critical reception but also to meet the demands of a given day. If a featured player departed or a fresh face joined the company, if the troupe traveled to a smaller venue or some circumstance limited stage time, if a command performance for the Queen saw the Master of Revels strike obscene material, if costumes or props or even a player