Love And Marriage In Shakespeares The Tempest - 1681 Words

Love and Marriage in The Tempest William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest (1610-11) includes two important themes: love and marriage. Throughout the play, Shakespeare portrays love as a force that brings people together, but also as a thing that people take advantage of. Prospero is the main manipulator of love in this play. By using his daughter Miranda’s feelings and having her marry Ferdinand, he manages to strengthen his own political power. Also, most of the instances of love in this play are not examples of true love. The two marriages that either happen or are mentioned in the play are both good examples of the game-like nature of dynastic marriages in the 16th and the 17th centuries. Most dynastic marriages were arranged and the†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, Prospero has no idea of what sort of a person Ferdinand is; for all he knows, Ferdinand could be a psychopathic axe-murderer. However, as Melissa E. Sanchez says in her essay, Miranda did enter the marriage completely willingly, so it is not right to place all the blame on Prospero. Even though it was just what Prospero wanted, Miranda disregarded her father’s orders completely and carried on with the relationship. (Sanchez 66) The love between Ferdinand and Miranda is as superficial as a crush between two 12-year-olds. Sure, it is fierce and feels deep at the time, but true love needs time to blossom. This relationship is purely sexual. Even Alonso questions the deepness of their love by saying: â€Å"What is this maid with whom thou wast at play? Your eld st acquaintance cannot be three hours†.(5.2.183-184) Miranda’s reaction upon meeting Ferdinand is just too exaggerated to be deep, true love at first sight: â€Å"I might call him a thing divine, for nothing natural I ever saw so noble.†(1.2.417-418) She would be stunned by any man she would meet at this point: Miranda has not seen any other men in her life, apart from her father and the savage Caliban. Also, in normal circumstances, two people falling for each other at first sight is highly unlikely, which further proves my point on it being just two people who want to have sex with each other. Moreover, as Miranda is the only woman on the island, Ferdinand mightShow MoreRelated A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night1505 Words   |  7 PagesRomantic Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night In all of Shakespeares plays, there is a definitive style present, a style he perfected. 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