
The Importance of Minor Characters in The Tempest and Doctor Faustus.Information, Justice, and Mercy: Shakespearean Ideals in the Tempest.Women in Shakespeare, Taymor, and Atwood: The Tempest Reworked.Taking a Second Look at Courtly Love: Shakespeare's The Tempest.The Tempest and Use of the Masque Genre.Comic Elements in The Tempest and Our Country's Good.A Comparison of The Tempest and Our Country's Good: Beyond Dialogue and Conventional Stage Action.Deconstructing Prosperity: Undermining Prospero’s Authority in The Tempest.Shakespeare, Wilcox, and Taymor: The Tempest and the Concept of Adaptation.Fantastical Elements within the Tempest.


In light of these, and other descriptions, the sea appears to be a symbol of nature's potent and vicious power.īecause of its prevalence and power, the sea constantly reminds the characters and audience that man is helpless and insignificant in the. whose enmity he flung aside contentious waves." By personifying the sea as a malevolent adversary Francisco is testifying to it's overwhelming power.

In Act II, scene I (114) Francisco describes Ferdinand's swim to shore by saying that he "beat the surges. Even the language the characters use to describe the ocean alludes to its threatening prowess. By pointing out that no one - not even a royal councilor - has power over the sea, the Boatswain highlights the sea's irresistible strength. The sea's menacing force is evident right from the start of the first act, when the Boatswain incongruously challenges Gonzalo to "use authority" against the squall (I.i.18). The play opens on a terrible storm at sea and all of the ensuing action takes place on an island that, by definition, is surrounded by ocean on all sides. Images of the fierce and powerful sea are prevalent throughout Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Tempest The Fierce and Mighty Sea The Dramatic Function of the Powerful and Ever Present Ocean in The Tempest Rebecca Rendell Join Now Log in Home Literature Essays The Tempest The Fierce and Mighty Sea The Dramatic Function of the Powerful and Ever Present Ocean in The Tempest
