The Tempest

The Tempest was the first play that we read in our Shakespeare 201 class. This was the first time I had heard of the play. Granted my knowledge on Shakespearean plays was limited to the plays that I read in high school in my senior year. Before we dove into the play too much we learned that The Tempest is a comedy. A comedy in Shakespearean time was a lot different than what we would consider a comedy in today's time. When we think of comedy we think of jokes, laughter and down right funny. A Shakespearean comedy is a play that ends well or has a happy resolution such as marriage.
Throughout the play there is always some sort of power struggle between the characters. We first see this when Alonso, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, Sebastian, Antonio, Stephano, and Trinculo are on the ship that is caught in the storm and is trying to tell the boatswain how to do his job. The boatswain isn't having any of that and tells them they can do whatever they like on land but out here on the sea he knows what to do better than any of them and tells them to get out of his way. Another power struggle is between Prospero and Caliban and Ariel. Prospero seems to think since he saved both of them from horrible fates that they should be enslaved to him even though they have performed many tasks for Prospero that would in normal circumstances would have given them their freedom.
Also with the relationship between Prospero, Caliban and Ariel there is the role of the barbarian and the civilized. Caliban is portrayed as a "barbarian" due to him not knowing Prospero's language or how to read or write but the true barbarian is Prospero. Prospero is the barbarian because he thinks that since he has taught Caliban how to read, write and speak his language that Caliban should be his slave. But Caliban, in return for being taught those things showed Prospero around the island, showing him where to get food, water, shelter and wood for a fire. The same goes with Prospero and Ariel's relationship. Prospero saves Ariel from a hollowed tree that he was trapped in and in return he wants Ariel to be his servant. Ariel performs tasks for Prospero without complaint and he asks to be set free but Prospero calls him ungrateful and keeps putting off his freedom.
I really liked this play. I especially liked how it ended with Prospero asking to be set free. He breaks the "third wall" by engaging the audience in the play asking us to clap to set him free. I think that Shakespeare is being portrayed by Prospero in that moment because we know that this was the last play that he wrote by himself and he is asking to be "set free" himself.