Blog #7: Rhetoric in The Tempest (Acts III-IV)

For the past few weeks, my class and I have been reading one of Shakespeare’s plays called The Tempest. Shakespeare writes his plays to make it where the reader gets to decide and depict the nature of the characters. In The Tempest, this is seen through the likes of Caliban, Ariel, Miranda, and so on. This aspect of the play allowed Shakespeare to create very interesting plays, including the use of rhetoric used within the writing. Today I will be revealing the rhetoric used in Acts III-IV of The Tempest.

Act III

In Act III, Scene I, we see Ferdinand get canceled from the privileges of his rank by Prospero,.Prospero did the same to Caliban by making him a slave as well. Prospero’s action, in this case, might not be fair, but Ferdinand bears it, and in so doing, justifies Prospero’s rule, just as Caliban did. This case again stresses the idea that willful obedience is a valid source of power. Prospero’s tone, when speaking of Ferdinand in this act, is a curious mix of affection and distaste; he refers to Ferdinand as “poor worm,” which could be taken as a statement of endearment. Later on in the scene, Ferdinand and Miranda confess their love for each other. This discussion is deemed as unrealistic and similar to fairy tale love as Ferdinand and Miranda barley know each other. The two are madly in love and declare to get married.In Scene II as characters’ intellect, sovereignty, and feelings become apparent through their language, Caliban’s intelligence, though completely contradicted by his actions, is clear in the words he speaks to Trinculo and Stephano. Caliban begins to speak in lines that resemble the rhythms of poetry; and his speech, in lines 132-141, show great illustration in this allegedly savage man.

Act IV

Prospero stops Ferdinand’s punishment, and decides to finally give Miranda to him, since he has proven his love for her through his service. Prospero accepts the union, but issues them a warning; if Ferdinand takes Miranda’s virginity before a ceremony can be performed, then their union will be cursed. Ferdinand swears to Prospero that they shall wait until the ceremony to consummate their marriage, and then Prospero calls upon Ariel to perform one of his last acts of magic. A betrothal masque is performed for the party by some of Prospero’s magical spirits; Juno, Ceres, and Iris are the goddesses who are represented within the masque, and the play speaks about the bounties of a good marriage, and blesses the happy couple. This act of magic so captivates Prospero that he forgets Caliban’s plot to kill him; for a moment, he almost loses control, but manages to pull himself out of his reverie and take action.

Prospero reduces his daughter, who is intelligent and worthy, to a mere object, wrapping her with the language of exchange when speaking of her to Ferdinand. Prospero refers to his daughter, not by her name, but as a rich gift, compensation for Ferdinand’s pains; he says his daughter has been worthily purchased as an acquisition, further building up his metaphor of his daughter as a thing of exchange. Once again, Prospero almost loses control because he is absorbed by his art; but here, he is able to shake himself from his reverie, and becomes conscious of time again. The moment is important because Prospero is in real danger of losing control, and almost gives up his chance to act because of the pull of his magic. The moment is a eye opening one for Prospero, as he realizes his mortality and his forgetfulness, as well as the limits of his magic.

Rhetoric Through the Week

Yesterday I saw a video of Democrat front runner Joe Biden use a statement that I deemed as very interesting and somewhat surprising. During a speech, the candidate supported Barack Obama and referenced he will use similar governing as the former President. He said he was going to re-establish the value the country had under President Obama. This seemed very effective, as Joe Biden has gained the majority vote within African Americans. Thus Joe Biden is leading in votes within the Democratic Party.

Other rhetoric I have noticed this week involves the current outbreak of COVID-19, or better known as the Coronavirus. This past week my eyes have been opened to how dangerous this outbreak really is, as several events have been canceled that I was looking forward to attend or watch from my couch. Previous to this week, the media and government have been downplaying the danger of this virus. This week the outbreak began to grow all over the world at rapid speed. It came to my knowledge after further research that know one really knows where to begin with a cure. The effects of the advertisements and news of events and schooling being canceled, has led to over buying and economic regression. I believe once we start to think as a collective body, we can beat this virus.