The Tempest

Prospero's Epilogue

I decided to switch to The Tempest, mainly because of Prospero's speech. When I participated in my High School's production of the play, I was always charmed each time I heard my friend Sam Thornton recite this famous epilogue. I decided to perform an analysis on the piece because it strikes a few cords for me. The movie has the epilogue sung, a form I have not encountered for this piece before.

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have's mine own,
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands:
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free .


Cold Read
When I first heard this speech read, I compared it to Peter Pan's plea to the audience for an applause in order to save Tinker Bell's life. I assumed that Shakespeare was not sure if the audience would clap on their own, therefore he had the main character of his last performance break the fourth wall and appeal to the better part of the attendants for a liberating applause. However, there are a few things I noticed beyond the cheap way of influencing a positive close for the production.
Prospero dabs into the black arts by enforcing the aid of Ariel and the other spirits, however he requests prayers closer to the end. He also claims that his charms are gone, more than likely willingly sacrificed. Though this gives a poor perspective of Prospero in the sense that he is willing to employ any means to get what he wants (comparable to Sebastion's ambition to kill in order to steal the crown), it does give him credit that he used the dark arts justly. However, I remember Professor Burton explaining that one could delve into the literature of the magics in Shakespeare's time and still be considered an upright Christian if the person would continue attending church. This might explain how Shakespeare thought it fitting to finish his works with such a character.
Shakespeare might have portrayed a bit of himself in this character. He had been guilty of toggling burlesque performances into his work, which is similar to Prospero's abandonment of Christian beliefs for a short time. But both character and writer feel justified because of their purpose: "to please."

According to Manfred Pfister

Beginning on page 77 and ending on page 78, Pfister gives a decent analysis on the form of the speech and how it is set apart from the rest of the play in both meter and language. One correction she makes to my cold read is that Prospero uses white magic, not dark magic. This makes his pagan practices less hethenistic, I would assume. The words Pfister emphasizes are "charms," "strength," "project," "Spirits," and "art." These words supposedly are not just descriptions of Prospero's magic, but also linked to the play. I did not consider this before. Pfister also shoots down my original theory that Shakespeare was intending to represent himself with this speech, but does not give many details on why this is not the case.

Conclusions

1. Prospero is not a metaphysical instertion of Shakespeare into his own play.

2. This epilogue has less to do with Prospero and is more a commentary on the play as a whole.

3. The abandonment of free verse along with the breaking of the fourth wall gives this epilogue a mystical feel that compliments the production as a whole.

Bibliographic information

Title	The theory and analysis of drama European Studies in English Literature
Author	Manfred Pfister
Translated by	John Halliday
Edition	reprint, illustrated
Publisher	Cambridge University Press, 1991
ISBN	052142383X, 9780521423830
Length	339 pages
Subjects	Drama Drama / General Fiction / General Literary Criticism / Drama Literary Criticism / Semiotics & Theory