Hidden Utopianism in The Tempest

Vinisha Varughese 2012

When reading Shakespeares last play, The Tempest, we can see originality in the
dierent plots and themes o the story! Shakespeare creates a world o imagination and
illusion" a competition #etween the $real world% and the $new world%! Through this play
an important idea can #e seen and understood" Utopianism! Utopianism is seen in this
play in many dierent le&els! 't can #e looked at in a social and political le&el or in a
religious le&el! Shakespeare uses the ideas o Thomas (ore and )lato in the underlying
plots o The Tempest!
Utopianism deri&es rom the #ook named Utopia written #y Thomas (ore! 't is a
state o &isionary schemes or producing perection in social or political conditions! *
Utopian society is #asically a society, which has surpassed aggression, war, hate, and
crime while esta#lishing +peaceul+ and orderly communities! * Utopian society could
not e,ist with the indi&iduality that nature has #estowed on the human race! *s long as
humans remain uni-ue in their state o mind, utopia is a mere antasy! Utopia is a
none,istent, #ut a#solutely perect place, as we can see rom the #ook #y Sir Thomas
(ore! (ore was one o Henry V'''.s main councilors! He ell out o a&or with the king
when he did not sign a letter urging the pope to di&orce Henry and /atherine! He was
imprisoned in the Tower o 0ondon #ecause his going against the king was treason1 he
was #eheaded! 't is strange that a man with such a lie, and such an end, was the creator
o the perect world as well as a commonly used word in our language! 'n his writings,
utopia was a place o a#solute perection!
The $utopia% (ore talks a#out in his #ook is similar to the $utopia% that 2on3alo
speaks o in The Tempest +*ll things in common nature should produce without sweat or
endea&or! Treason, elony, Sword, pike, knie, gun, or need or any engine Would ' not
ha&e1 #ut nature should #ring orth o its own kind, all oison, all a#undance, to eed my
innocent people!+ 4The 5ecessary Shakespeare, pg! 671, lines 1728179: 'n The Tempest,
Shakespeare allows the audience to appreciate the possi#ilities o utopian society and
whate&er this may possess! He shows the good and the #ad so that they can see that
pro#lems can arise in such a society! The Tempest can #e thus seen as a window into the
dimensions o utopian societies! While his characters take on the role o the leaders o the
utopian societies, Shakespeare uses his creation to portray the social -uestions and #elies
o society o how a utopian en&ironment should #e!
;ssential to the discussion o this aspect o The Tempest is the deinition o a
+Utopia+! <or dierent characters this +utopia+ means dierent things! <irst o all and
may#e most important o all, as it is she who says it, (iranda.s utopia consists o a
populated world with many other human #eings in it! This can #e seen as created #y the
way she has #een kept in relati&e isolation due to her athers e,ile! Human #eings, in
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whate&er orms they come in are a ascination or her, and something that she longs to
see! )rosperos utopia consists o nothing and no one e,cept or (iranda, /ali#an and
himsel! There are no other human #eings that could #ring any possi#le corruption to his
daughter! He sees this world o emptiness as the perect place or him to #ring up
(iranda #ecause there is nothing to distract her to lead her wayward! *ntonio and
Se#astians utopia dont ha&e anything to do with the primiti&e island they washed upon!
'n act, their utopia consists o e&erything #ut what is on the island, the e,act opposite!
/ali#ans utopia consists o =ust him! 't consists o the world without )rospero and his
daughter, the way it was #eore they came along! 2on3alos utopia consists o e&erything
he sees on the island! 2on3alos utopia is &ery much like the one descri#ed #y (ore!
2on3alo says, $Would ' admit1 no name o magistrate1 letters should not #e known1
riches, po&erty, and use o ser&ice1 none1 contract1 succession, #ourn, #ound o land, tilth,
&ineyard, none> no occupation1 all men idle, all, and women too, #ut innocent and pure1
no so&ereignty!% 4The 5ecessary Shakespeare, pg! 671, lines 1?081?@: 2on3alos utopia
is has a#sence o status, property, and proession which assumes a unity and uniormity
o humans!
Though all o the characters ha&e a dierent image o $utopia%, two o these
characters ha&e an almost similar image o it! 2on3alo and )rospero #oth think o the
island as their $utopia%! )rospero thinks o it as the place he is king and reigns o&er and
has complete dominion o&er! 2on3alo thinks o it as a commonwealth where he crowns
himsel king also #ut later he sums up the reasoning o a stateless state in the phrase, $5o
so&ereignty,% which means no one will ha&e dominion o&er anyone else! 2on3alo
corrects his outlines o a utopia and he allows himsel to #ecome the king o&er the island
=ust long enough to a#olish #oth kingship and so&ereignty! )rospero only uses part o the
guidelines or a utopian society! He doesnt #elie&e that e&eryone is e-ual, he thinks he is
higher than e&eryone else! He doesnt #elie&e that there should #e one religion #ecause it
is clearly seen that he uses magic throughout the whole play and then towards the end
when he has ailed in hurting e&eryone, he asks orgi&eness and asks to #e #roken rom
the #onds o magic!
2on3alos $utopia% has the dramatic eect o -uestioning )rosperos $utopia%
early in the play #eore the main conlicts ha&e #een ully de&eloped! <or e,ample, in
2on3alos utopia there is no war or hate, so we ask oursel&es, what a#out )rosperos
utopiaA )rosperos war against Sycora, was ought and won #eore the play #egins
thereore we can see that )rosperos $utopia% oers the peace #ut not the democracy o
2on3alos utopia! 'n )rosperos perect ordered world anarchy, conspiracy and re#ellion
are so pre&alent! /ali#an, *ntonio, Trinculo, Stephano and Se#astian are #usily plotting
murder right under )rosperos nose! 't can #e o#&iously understood that )rospero does
not ha&e order on his island #ecause he is too #usy with his magical conspiracies against
e&eryone else! 2on3alo would not ha&e any these pro#lems in his utopia #ecause
e&eryone would lo&e eah other and ha&e peace with each other! ' anyone had a pro#lem,
they would talk it out and sol&e it! (ore than anything, 2on3alos utopia would not ha&e
a glimpse o e&il unlike )rosperos island where e&il is lurking e&erywhere on his island
and he is a part o it!
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)rosperos use o magic is also something that 2on3alo would #e against!
)rospero has no ear o 2od like he used to when he was a human li&ing in the $real
world%! He lost his dukedom #ecause he spent too much time studying #ooks and not
enough time ruling his kingdom! To study #ooks, )rospero diso&ers, is not in itsel not
enough, #ut rom his #ooks )rospero is a#le to gain the art, the patience, and the wisdom
to control cali#an! The magic that )rospero is a#le to perorm seems to deri&e rom not
only the #ooks he has, #ut his knowledge as well! <rom the knowledge )rospero has he
has di&ine power to tell the near uture! 'n the last act howe&er, as the e&il plots are
stopped and )rospero gains ull control o&er his enemies, a more /hristian utopian act is
seen! He goes towards the course o orgi&eness and gi&es up the #lack magic that he was
once #inded to!
Shakespeare wrote this play to compare and contrast his /hristian #elies
Shakespeare #elie&ed that the e&ils in a society stem rom the e&il within man and not
rom the corruption o manners! He also wrote this play to reute Thomas (ore who
#ased their hopes or the impro&ement o society upon a return to primiti&e conditions
which were supposed to #ring out mans natural innocence! The utopianism shown in this
play through 2on3alo and )rospero did not succeed #y the end o the play! )rospero
changed and ga&e up his e&il powers not #ecause thats what a utopian society would do
#ut through the e,ercise o /hristian &irtue he learned when he was in the $real world%!
;&en though we dont know what really happened at the end o The Tempest, 2on3alos
utopia still has a chance to e,ist, #ut it can only work i all re#ellion is gone and e&eryone
orgi&es each other and agrees to li&e together in lo&e and peace, a world o pure
perection and peace" utopia!

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