Prospero’s Final Words
Comments(6) Prospero’s Epilogue is delivered much like a benediction, tying everything together in a beautiful knot, and giving readers a sense of peace at the play’s ending. For all of the play Prospero has been the “chess master,” moving people like chess pieces at his whim; always a step ahead of the game. Through the story he goes from being depicted as a tyrant to becoming this very human figure, who wants to be understood. Prospero’s machinations, while they were frequent and underhanded, were done out of love for his daughter and the knowledge that he can’t protect her from the world forever (the crux of parenthood). Like any parent he used all the tools within his power to make sure his daughter was not only safe, but well taken care of, if that meant he had to lie, cheat or steal he would gladly do it a hundred times over. In the end when all his manipulations and persuasions created a very peaceful and fair outcome, he asks those who have been along for the ride with him throughout the play –his audience, for forgiveness.
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
Prospero is not only asking for forgiveness for controlling the minds of those on the island, but for controlling the minds of the audience as well. According to Cicero, the goals of an orator are “docere, delectare, et movere.” 1. To prove your reasoning to the audience 2. To enchant the audience, and 3. To emotionally move the audience. All these points he succeeded at; now that he has done his job by molding this image of himself in the minds of his audience, and sharing his story he wants to be released. Maybe, Shakespeare through Prospero was bidding his audience “Adieu;” thanking them for the power they had given him through their patronage, while giving them back their crown (thus taking off the burden of being a playwright) and becoming a normal civilian (audience member).
I feel the end of the play was interesting, but at the same time disappointing. There was no way for the audience members to know Prospero’s true intent. The fact that Prospero did not reveal any clue that potentially reveal to the audience Prospero’s plan does not surprise me because it is consistent with his character. The same way he kept the true story hidden from Miranda is the same way he kept his true intent hidden from the audience.
While I agree that the epilogue does tie everything nicely, to me it seems an almost unnecessary addition to the play. When the play ended all the questions the audience had had been answered. I think that his asking forgiveness from the audience may be necessary, however, because though the play ended on a peaceful note, it is still difficult for me to see Prospero as a sympathetic character. He still seemed to scheme without reason like the Duke in Measure for Measure, and there is also evidence of Prospero speaking cruelly to his servants.
The beauty of this ending goes along with what we have been discussing in class and how it relates to the use of art, Prospero kept us in the dark pulling us every which way just as a playwright or story teller would.
Your position on the ending of the play lit a similar connection in my own opinion of the ending. Shakespeare’s possible goodbye in the form of Prospero could tie back to his parenting of Miranda. Maybe he is giving away the bride, his plays, to their partners, the people.
I think the subtle way in which this play ends has a lot to do with the fact that it is Shakespeare’s last independently written play, from all the Shakespearean plays that we read so far it seems like each one has multiple meta theatrical moments strewn about, as if its a norm. and the fact that the audiences of England must have been so used to this engaging way of watching plays, I think they probably had an emotional connection to the authors, a sort of distant relationship. and this last passage really seems, in my eyes to be dedicated to the audience as viewers not as readers, so today it does not necessarily translate in the way that it was intended. and maybe that’s why we feel it to be slightly disappointing.
I agree that Prospero is seen as the “chessmaster” since the beginning of the play, but I find the epilogue to be interesting. Prospero tells the audience that he needs their help to “release him from my bands”, suggesting that he is also one of the chess pieces in this play. The mastermind behind this play was actually the audience, for if there were no audience to attend this play, then the play would not have existed in the first place.