The Tempest is a political play

After learning about politics in Shakespearean England from the lecture on Monday, it isn’t surprising that Shakespeare’s writings would be heavily influenced by the times he lived in.

The Tempest can be interpreted as a ‘play of plays’ and a commentary on colonization, and evidence of both views can be found in the play.

There’s so much to The Tempest. The play is reeking of plots, plots of usurpation (Prospero’s right as duke of Milan, the king was almost usurped by his men), plots to kill and to deceive (Antonio and Sebastian almost usurping the king, Caliban wanting to kill Prospero, Prospero deceiving pretty much everyone). There’s also comedy, romance, and more.

Evidently, the king’s men has plenty of time to tell jokes (2.1), even when they’re about to drown (1.1). Also, Prospero has a hard time getting Miranda to listen to his woeful tales. Miranda comments, “Your tale, sir, would cure deafness” (Act 1.2,  107), after Prospero’s multiple attempts to get her attention. Then there’s Trinculo and Stephano, the party animals of the play, who bring a lot of rowdiness and drunkenness to the island. The beginning of The Tempest with shipwreck resonates with the shipwreck in Twelfth Night. In The Tempest the father and son are separated and in Twelfth Night the twin brother and sister are separated, and both situations are resolved happily in the end.

The bitter part of the play is where Caliban gets verbally abused by Prospero and Miranda, tricked by Trinculo and Stephano, believing that they’re ‘the men in the moon’, but nevertheless realizing that he’s been tricked in the end. Although Shakespeare doesn’t give any solutions to the colonization issue, he does show the human condition and problems involved, therefore raising awareness, which is good.

Aside from The Tempest, Shakespeare seems to have written a lot of political plays: Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet has a political backdrop/civil mutiny. Probably all of his plays have something to do with politics, now that I think of it. After all, it is a writer’s job to respond to the society he/she lives in through writing.


Antigone is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. It contains many lessons in a short drama.

In the opening scene with Antigone and Ismene we learn about the Theban political situation in the play and how that relates to what Antigone is going to perform. Antigone’s father Oedipus, the former ruler along with his wife and two sons are dead. Ismene says that Oedipus was “hated, infamous, destroyed; found his crimes, broke his eyes, that hand that murdered, two in one” (23), the “two in one” refers to his wife, who was both Oedipus’s mother and wife. The number two is recurring here, two being both mother and wife, two brothers who caused the civil war, and two sisters–Antigone and Ismene. Antigone next announces that she is going to disobey the new law that was established by Kreon, the new king of Thebes. The law forbids anyone from burying Polyneices or they will be penalized with death. Polyneices is Antigone’s brother and she cannot leave him unburied because she loves him. It is also the Greek custom to bury the dead and Antigone is serious on that. On the other hand, Ismene, who is “sensible” decides not to be involved with this, her excuse being “the whole country refuses to help”. But Antigone is strong-willed and devoted to her love for her brother, and she would rather die.

In the next bit we see Kreon, the Theban king. Kreon carries himself like a tyrant, the state is at his disposal, like Koryphaios, the chorus leader says. The conversation between the sentry and Kreon can be read like a comedy. The sentry reports that someone has disobeyed his law and buried the dead body. Kreon is obviously irritated, especially by the way the sentry talks. He says “Don’t you know yet your talk irritates me?” “Does it hurt in your ears, sir, or in your soul?” The sentry asks. “What is this? Anatomy?” Kreon says.

When Antigone is caught, she shows her strength through her speech. “But if I had let my own brother stay unburied, I would have suffered all the pain I do not feel now” (39). Both Antigone and Kreon are stubborn. While Antigone does it out of love, Kreon out of ego. Kreon’s son Haimon criticizes him, saying he must relent and listen and that Kreon is “talking like a boy”. The role of father and son switches here. The son speaks out of wisdom while the father whim.

Throughout the play, Kreon appears to be a nasty person, fooled by his power. In the end, when he has to pay the price of his foolishness with both his son and wife, it is hard to know whether to pity him or not. He realizes his mistakes and cannot live anymore; death is what he wants.

Who is most pitiable in the play? Antigone & Haimon? Kreon? Everybody basically? Why? What can we learn from each character?

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