A Study of the Aerial Spirit – Analysing Ariel in The Tempest

A Study of the Aerial Spirit – Analysing Ariel in

 The Tempest

I. The Conjurer of Spirits: Shakespeare’s Late Art

A Study of the Aerial Spirit – Analysing Ariel in The Tempest- To fully understand the ethereal complexity of Ariel, one must first understand the stagecraft of his creator. William Shakespeare (1564-1616), in his final solo-authored play circa 1611, turned from the psychological realism of his great tragedies to the symbolic, masque-like form of the romance. The Tempest, a product of the Jacobean era’s fascination with spectacle and colonial encounter, features Ariel not merely as a special effect but as the crucial instrument of its meta-theatrical inquiry. Ariel embodies the very spirit of theatrical illusion—the unseen stage manager, the special effects technician, and the poignant symbol of the artist’s imaginative servant. For the student, analysing Ariel is key to unlocking the play’s central themes of artistic power, conditional freedom, and the ephemeral nature of performance.

II. Ariel’s Central Role and Key Themes

Ariel is the most potent extension of Prospero’s will and the play’s primary agent of action and transformation. An “airy spirit” freed from a cloven pine, he exists in a state of constant, graceful servitude, yearning for an freedom that is forever postponed until the play’s final moments. His character explores:

• The Spirit of Theatre and Illusion: Ariel is the incarnation of dramatic artifice—creating storms, music, visions, and transformations. He makes the invisible plot tangible.

• The Ethics of Servitude and Freedom: His relationship with Prospero is a contract defined by debt, compulsion, and promised liberty, interrogating the moral dimensions of power and gratitude.

• The Voice of Conscience and Judgement: Ariel often becomes Prospero’s moral mouthpiece, most powerfully when donning the harpy’s guise to accuse the “three men of sin.”

• Agency within Bondage: Despite his servitude, Ariel demonstrates subtle resistance, negotiation, and emotional intelligence, reminding Prospero (and the audience) of his sentience and desires.

• The Elemental Contrast to Caliban: Where Caliban is of the earth—base, bodily, and resentful—Ariel is of the air—ethereal, intellectual, and associated with music and mind. This duality structures the play’s exploration of nature and control.

This newsletter will trace Ariel’s pivotal performances and evolving relationship with Prospero through a detailed act-by-scene analysis.

III. Act-wise & Scene-wise Analysis of Ariel’s Character

Act I, Scene 2: The Introduction – The Debt-Bound Spirit

Ariel’s first appearance is a masterclass in establishing a complex power dynamic. He enters not as a cowering slave, but as a proud, efficient artist reporting on his masterpiece: the tempest (“I have flamed amazement… performed to point the tempest that I bade thee”). His language is vivid, poetic, and confident.

However, the exchange swiftly reveals the tension beneath the service. When Prospero assigns new tasks, Ariel’s plea for liberty (“Is there more toil?… Let me remember thee what thou hast promised”) is a bold act of negotiation. Prospero’s retaliation is brutal: a inward recounting of Ariel’s torment under Sycorax (“thy groans did make wolves howl”). This establishes the relationship’s foundation: Ariel’s service is compelled by a greater prior suffering, a debt of rescue that Prospero exploits. Ariel’s subsequent, wistful obedience (“Pardon, master, / I will be correspondent to command”) reveals a spirit tempered by trauma yet steadfast in his ultimate goal.

His next task—luring Ferdinand with song—showcases his primary dramatic function: enchantment and manipulative illusion. “Full fathom five thy father lies” is a beautiful, haunting lie, a piece of theatrical misdirection that shapes the emotional reality of another character.

Analyse this initial dialogue as a contractual negotiation. How does Shakespeare use the contrast between Ariel’s poetic descriptions and Prospero’s harsh reminders to establish a morally ambiguous relationship?

Act II, Scene 1: The Unseen Guardian – Agency and Observation

Physically absent but narratively central, Ariel’s role here is that of invisible sentinel and moral guardian. He listens to the treacherous plot of Sebastian and Antonio, a mirror of the original betrayal Prospero suffered. His intervention—awakening Gonzalo with an urgent song (“While you here do snoring lie”)—is decisive. He does not attack physically but frustrates the plot through precise, minimal action, reinforcing his role as an agent of Providential justice within Prospero’s design. This scene proves Ariel’s omniscient surveillance and his function as the extension of Prospero’s moral will.

Discuss the significance of Ariel being the witness to the conspiracy. How does this reinforce themes of divine justice, surveillance, and the repetition of sin?

Act III: The Illusionist and Moral Avenger

Scene 2: Ariel’s report on the comic conspirators (Caliban, Stephano, Trinculo) highlights his versatility and wit. He enters invisibly, mimicking Trinculo’s voice to sow discord, a moment of comic mischief that showcases a lighter aspect of his power. It also demonstrates his constant, diligent service.

Scene 3: The Harpy Scene – The Peak of Ariel’s Dramatic Power. This is Ariel’s most significant performative and moral act. Clad in the terrifying guise of a harpy, he transcends mere servitude to become the embodied conscience of the guilty. He is no longer just Prospero’s spirit but a “minister of Fate.” His speech is a direct, powerful accusation (“You are three men of sin… / whose wraths to guard you from… / The powers delaying, not forgetting”). Here, Ariel is the voice of judgement, and his action—making the banquet vanish—is a profound psychological punishment, a theatre of guilt designed to induce repentance, not physical harm.

This scene is crucial for essays on justice. Analyse Ariel’s transformation from servant to fateful minister. How does the harpy persona allow Shakespeare to deliver moral condemnation through spectacle?

Act IV, Scene 1: The Masque and the Master’s Mood

Ariel’s role shifts to celebratory artifice. As the director of the betrothal masque, he summons the classical goddesses to bless the union. This showcases the benign, harmonious potential of his and Prospero’s magic—the creation of beauty and order. However, Ariel’s character is further nuanced by his response to Prospero’s sudden fury upon remembering Caliban’s plot. Ariel’s description of the conspirators’ pitiful state (“And your charm so strongly works ‘em / That if you now beheld them, your affections / Would become tender”) is remarkably empathetically charged. It is Ariel who implicitly urges mercy, acting as a catalyst for Prospero’s change of heart (“The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance”). This shows Ariel’s developing moral influence.

Consider Ariel not just as an executor of orders, but as a moral agent who subtly shapes Prospero’s decisions. How does his empathy contrast with Prospero’s anger?

Act V, Scene 1: The Fulfilment and Flight

The culmination of Ariel’s arc. His tasks become logistical: gathering the nobles, fetching the Master and Boatswain. His report on the prisoners’ melancholic state (“Your charm so strongly works ‘em…”) is repeated, gently pressing Prospero towards compassion. His joy at the prospect of freedom is palpable (“I drink the air before me, and return / Or ere your pulse twice beat”).

Prospero’s final command, “Then to the elements / Be free, and fare thou well!”, releases the central tension of Ariel’s existence. His immediate, silent departure is profound. He does not give a speech; he simply enacts his liberty, vanishing into the element he personifies. This fulfils his defining desire and completes his symbolic function: the spirit of creative, theatrical illusion, once employed, is set free, leaving the human world to its own devices.

Evaluate Ariel’s final release as the necessary conclusion to the play’s themes. What does it signify that Prospero’s first act of regained political power is to relinquish his magical power (Ariel)?

IV. Important Exam Questions with Modal Answers

Question 1: “Ariel is nothing more than an extension of Prospero’s will, a tool without independent character.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Modal Answer: While Ariel’s primary dramatic function is undoubtedly to execute Prospero’s commands, reducing him to a mere tool overlooks the subtle agency, emotional depth, and moral influence Shakespeare invests in the spirit. True, he is the literal “instrument” of Prospero’s magic, enabling the tempest, the masques, and the punishments. His existence is defined by his debt and his yearning for the liberty Prospero controls.

However, Ariel consistently demonstrates independent qualities. He negotiates for his freedom, expresses pride in his work, and shows palpable joy and anticipation. Crucially, in Act IV, his empathetic report on the suffering conspirators (“your affections / Would become tender”) acts as a direct catalyst for Prospero’s transition from vengeance to mercy. Furthermore, his performance as the harpy, while ordered, channels a righteous indignation that feels personally invested. Thus, Ariel is best understood as a conscious, sentient being operating under severe constraint, whose desires and sensitivities persistently inform the play’s moral trajectory and ultimately help shape its compassionate conclusion. He is a partner in the artistic endeavour, albeit an unwilling one, not a mere tool.

Question 2: How does Shakespeare use the contrasting characters of Ariel and Caliban to explore different aspects of power, control, and nature?

Modal Answer: Ariel and Caliban function as a symbolic diptych, representing two opposing facets of nature and two models of servitude, through which Shakespeare explores the complexities of colonial and artistic mastery.

• Elemental Nature: Ariel is airy, ethereal, and intellectual; his magic involves music, illusion, and transformation. Caliban is earthy, corporeal, and sensual; his skills are physical—fetching wood, knowing the island’s resources. This contrast sets spirit against body, art against labour.

• Models of Servitude: Both are enslaved, but their servitude differs fundamentally. Ariel’s bondage is based on a debt of gratitude for his rescue from Sycorax; his obedience is efficient, though he longs for a contractual freedom. Caliban’s servitude is one of punishment and colonial subjugation (“This island’s mine…”); his obedience is born of fear and physical torment, his resistance overt and resentful.

• Response to Control: Ariel works within the system, using persuasion and negotiation to seek his end. Caliban rejects the system entirely, seeking violent overthrow and a new master in Stephano. Through them, Shakespeare examines whether control is better maintained through the mind (Ariel’s debt) or the body (Caliban’s punishment), and critiques the failure of “civilising” education versus the efficacy of manipulative contract.

Question 3: Discuss the significance of Ariel’s songs in The Tempest. How do they contribute to theme and plot?

Modal Answer: Ariel’s songs are not mere decorative interludes; they are potent instruments of plot advancement, thematic expression, and emotional manipulation. Each serves a precise dramatic function:

1. “Come unto these yellow sands” & “Full fathom five” (Act I, Sc.2): These songs are tools of enchantment and misdirection. The first calms Ferdinand, the second, one of Shakespeare’s most famous lyrics, artfully deceives him about Alonso’s death. They establish Ariel’s power to shape reality through beautiful falsehood, blurring the line between comfort and control, and introducing the theme of transformation (“Those are pearls that were his eyes”).

2. “While you here do snoring lie” (Act II, Sc.1): A song of urgent intervention. Its jarring content wakes Gonzalo to thwart murder, positioning Ariel as an agent of providential care and moral order.

3. The Masque Songs (Act IV, Sc.1): As Ceres, Iris, and Juno, the songs here are ceremonial and symbolic, celebrating chastity, marriage, and natural bounty. They represent the harmonious, creative peak of Prospero’s and Ariel’s magic—the art that blesses, rather than punishes.
   Collectively, the songs showcase Ariel as the spirit of music and poetic illusion, essential for the play’s emotional landscape and its exploration of how art can deceive, protect, judge, and bless.

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Keywords :

1. Ariel Character Analysis The Tempest

2. Ariel and Prospero Relationship

3. Ariel’s Songs Significance

4. Ariel vs Caliban Comparison

5. Freedom and Servitude The Tempest

6. Ariel as a Dramatic Device

The Tempest by William Shakespeare - For AS & A Level English Literature

A Comprehensive Study Companion for The Tempest by William Shakespeare

For AS & A Level English Literature

This edition of The Insight Newsletter presents a definitive scholarly companion to William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, meticulously crafted for the Cambridge International AS & A Level Literature in English student. This guide transcends a simple plot summary, offering instead a penetrating analytical journey through one of the Bard’s most complex and haunting late romance. 

William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

Introduction

This newsletter is dedicated to providing clear, in-depth analysis of Shakespeare's works for students. Our focus for this issue is one of Shakespeare's most vibrant and contentious early comedies, The Taming of the Shrew. A play that delights and disconcerts in equal measure, it remains a hotbed for critical debate concerning gender, power, and social performance.

This guide will break down the play's plot, characters, and major themes. Crucially, we will explain all key literary and technical terms in detail to build a solid foundation for your understanding and essays. Whether you are encountering the play for the first time or revisiting it for advanced study, this newsletter aims to be your essential companion.

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The Plot 

The Taming of the Shrew is structured as a ‘play-within-a-play’. The main story is presented as a comedy performed for a drunken tinker named Christopher Sly, who is tricked into believing he is a nobleman.

• The Frame Story (Induction): A wealthy lord finds Christopher Sly drunk and plays a trick on him. Sly is dressed in fine clothes, waited on by servants, and convinced he has been a lord all along, suffering from amnesia. The play of The Taming of the Shrew is then performed for his amusement.

• The Main Plot:

1. In Padua, the wealthy Baptista Minola declares that his gentle, beautiful younger daughter, Bianca, cannot marry until her older sister, the sharp-tongued and wilful Katherina (Kate), finds a husband.

2. Bianca has several suitors, including Hortensio and the newly arrived Lucentio, who disguises himself as a Latin tutor named Cambio to woo her.

3. Petruchio, a brash gentleman from Verona, arrives in Padua seeking a wealthy wife. Hearing of Katherina’s large dowry, he resolves to marry her, undeterred by her reputation as a "shrew."

4. After a fiery and witty courtship, Petruchio marries Kate. He then begins his "taming" process: he behaves erratically, denies her food and sleep, and contradicts her reality (e.g., calling the sun the moon) until she agrees with him.

5. The sub-plot follows Lucentio’s successful, though deceptive, courtship of Bianca.

• The Climax:  At a wedding feast for Bianca and Lucentio, Petruchio makes a wager with the other new husbands: which of their wives is the most obedient? To everyone's astonishment, Katherina is the only one who comes when summoned. She then delivers a famous speech exhorting wives to submit to their husbands, stating that a woman's duty is to serve her "lord, thy king, thy governor."

About the Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

• William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He was a playwright, poet, and actor.

• His Works: He wrote at least 39 plays (tragedies like Hamlet and Macbeth, comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream, and histories like Henry V), 154 sonnets, and several long narrative poems.

• Historical Context: Shakespeare wrote during the Elizabethan Era (the reign of Queen Elizabeth I) and the early Jacobean Era (the reign of King James I). This was a time of significant change in England, with a growing interest in humanism, exploration, and the arts. However, society was also strictly patriarchal, meaning men held primary power and authority.

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Character Sketches:

• Katherina (Kate) the "Shrew":

• The titular "shrew" – a term for a bad-tempered or aggressive woman. She is known for her sharp tongue and rebellious spirit.

• Modern interpretations often see her anger as a response to her father’s clear favouritism towards Bianca and a society that rejects strong-willed women. She is a complex figure: vulnerable beneath a defensive exterior.

• Her transformation from a defiant woman to a seemingly obedient wife is the central controversy of the play. Is she truly "tamed," or is she performing obedience as a survival strategy?

• Petruchio:

• A confident, boisterous, and sometimes brutal gentleman from Verona.

• He openly states he has come to Padua to "wive it wealthily." He is attracted by Kate’s dowry but also seems to enjoy the challenge of matching wits with her.

• His "taming" tactics are extreme and theatrical, involving psychological manipulation that critics have compared to falconry (training a wild bird of prey) – a metaphor he uses himself.

• Bianca:

• Initially presented as the ideal Elizabethan woman: sweet, gentle, and obedient.

• She serves as a foil to Katherina, highlighting Kate’s "shrewish" behaviour. However, by the end of the play, she reveals a stubborn streak, refusing to come when her husband, Lucentio, calls her. This complexity suggests that her docility might have been a performance.

• Baptista Minola:

• The father of Kate and Bianca.

• He treats marriage as a financial transaction. His decree that Bianca cannot wed until Kate is married sets the main plot in motion. His clear preference for Bianca contributes to Kate’s isolation and anger.

• Lucentio:

• A young, romantic student who falls instantly in love with Bianca.

• His plotline, involving disguise and deception, is a classic element of Shakespearean comedy. He represents the ideal of love-based marriage, albeit achieved through dishonest means.

Major Themes 

• Gender Roles and Marriage:

• This is the play's central theme. It explores the expected behaviours of men and women in a patriarchal society. The institution of marriage is portrayed not primarily as a union of love, but as an economic and social arrangement where women are treated as property to be transferred from father to husband.

• Does the play reinforce these oppressive norms, or does it use satire and exaggeration to critique them?

• Disguise and Deception:

• Many characters adopt disguises. Lucentio becomes Cambio the tutor, and his servant Tranio impersonates him. This theme highlights how identity is not fixed but can be performed. Petruchio also "disguises" himself as a madman to tame Kate.

• Dramatic Irony: This occurs when the audience knows something the characters do not (e.g., we know Cambio is really Lucentio). This creates humour and suspense.

• Power and Submission:

• The play is a battle of wills. Petruchio’s goal is to establish his dominance, or supremacy, in the marriage. Katherina’s final speech is the ultimate expression of female submission. Critics debate whether this ending validates Petruchio’s power or exposes the absurdity of such absolute control.

• Social Class and Hierarchy:

• The play reflects the rigid class structure of its time. Characters like Christopher Sly in the induction and the servants in the main plot highlight the boundaries between social classes. The disguises also comment on how appearance and clothing can influence perceived social status.

Literary Techniques and Style

Shakespeare employs a range of techniques that are essential to understand for critical appreciation.

• Iambic Pentameter:

• The most common meter (rhythmic pattern) in English poetry. Each line has ten syllables, with a stress on every second syllable (da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM).

• "I’ll see thee hang’d on Sunday first before."

• It creates a natural, speech-like rhythm. Noble characters often speak in verse, while lower-class characters speak in prose, signalling their social status.

• Prose:

• Ordinary written or spoken language, without a metrical structure.

• Shakespeare uses prose for comic scenes, for characters of lower social standing, and sometimes for moments of madness or intimacy. Petruchio’s wild speeches are often in prose, highlighting his disruptive nature.

• Puns and Wordplay:

• A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or words that sound similar but have different meanings.

• Petruchio’s servant Grumio puns on the word "knock," meaning both to hit and to have sex. This adds layers of humour and meaning.

• It demonstrates wit and intelligence, particularly in the verbal sparring (stichomythia – see below) between Kate and Petruchio.

• Stichomythia:

• A technique in dialogue where characters speak alternate, short, often sharp, repetitive lines.

• The rapid-fire exchange during Kate and Petruchio’s first meeting (Act 2, Scene 1). This creates a sense of conflict, speed, and equality in wit.

• Satire:

• The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticise people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

• Many scholars argue that the play is not endorsing wife-taming but is instead a satire that makes Petruchio’s methods so exaggerated and ridiculous that the audience is forced to question the very idea of "taming" a person.

Critical Appreciation: 

• The Traditional (Patriarchal) Reading:

• This view takes the play at face value. Katherina is a problematic woman who needs to be tamed for the social order to function. Petruchio is the heroic male who, through firm but (in this reading) ultimately benevolent methods, civilises her and brings her to happiness. Her final speech is a sincere endorsement of wifely duty.

• The Feminist Reading:

• This reading, supported by much modern scholarship, sees the play as a critique of patriarchy. Petruchio’s behaviour is seen as abusive and grotesque. Katherina’s submission is interpreted as ironic – she is not truly tamed but has learned to play the game, performing obedience to secure a peaceful life. Her speech can be seen as a sarcastic commentary on the very expectations it seems to uphold. The absurd play-within-a-play structure further suggests that the "taming" is a farce, not a model to be taken seriously.

Famous Excerpt: Katherina’s Final Speech (Act 5, Scene 2)

"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land...
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey."

• Analysis: This is the most debated part of the play. Is Kate sincere? Is she defeated? Or is she being deeply ironic, saying what she knows Petruchio and society want to hear? The speech perfectly encapsulates the play's central conflict. Notice the use of political language: "lord," "sovereign," "rule," "supremacy." This frames marriage as a political hierarchy.

Summary

• The Taming of the Shrew is a complex comedy that explores gender, power, and performance.

• Its controversial ending allows for multiple interpretations, from a straightforward endorsement of patriarchal order to a satirical critique of it.

• Shakespeare uses literary techniques like iambic pentameter, prose, pun, and satire to create meaning and humour.

• Understanding the Elizabethan context is crucial, but the play continues to resonate because it asks enduring questions about the dynamics of relationships and social roles.

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The Taming of the Shrew analysis, Katherine feminist interpretation, Petruchio taming methods, Themes of marriage in Shakespeare, Shakespeare comedy summary, Elizabethan gender roles, Play within a play structure, Iambic pentameter explained, Shakespearean satire, A Level English Literature revision, Undergraduate essay help Shakespeare