Friday, August 12, 2011
Grammar Help! 10 Points plz tell mee whats wrong.?
Shakespeare, on the other hand, shows us the malleability of human nature. He shows us the bad and the good. The Tempest starts with a storm, and later we find out that this storm is not really a storm but revenge. This revenge is caused by the betrayal between brothers. This betrayal is the bad aspect of our human nature. Prospero is betrayed by his brother, whom he loved more than anyone in this world second only to his daughter (Act 1 Scene 2 lines 82-83). He gave the government to his brother when he was studying the art of magic, and his brother became “The ivy which had hid my princely trunk/ And sucked my verdure out on’t” (Act 1 Scene 2 lines 101-102). Knowing this added information about the betrayal makes it seem larger than life to us, because we can see how Antonio took advantage of the love and trust Prospero gave him. It is hard enough when one of our friends deceives us, but when it is one of our own blood betrays us the pain hits us harder. Shakespeare is showing us how the good aspects of human nature (love and truth) lead to the bad aspects of human nature (betrayal). And it is through the revenge Prospero plots against Antonio, that he is able to forgive him. So, Shakespeare shows us how the bad aspect of human nature (revenge) leads to the good aspect of human nature (forgiveness). Prospero decides to forgive his brother because he thinks his brother has suffered enough, and because he can see a future for himself through the marriage of his daughter, Miranda to the Prince of Naples. But this forgiveness Prospero grants Antonio is odd, he says, “For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother/ Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive/ Thy rankest fault- all of them- and require/ My dukedom of thee…” (Act 5 Scene 1 Lines 142-145). So in one breath he insults and forgives his brother. But through this forgiveness we can see a change, or metamorphosis, in the Prospero we meet in the beginning of the play and the one we leave at the end. The Prospero we encounter in the beginning is cold, arrogant, and revenge centered but, the one we leave in the end is more humanized, and forgiving. Shakespeare shows us that human nature is forever changing and that the good aspects outweigh the bad.
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