The Tempest was written in 1611 and he was able to create a play that would appeal first to King James and his nobles then later on to the London public. He targeted the factors that appealed to the public the most which was a right mixture of fantasy, philosophy, spectacle and humour.
The Tempest was probably the last play Shakespeare wrote entirely by himself before he left London to lead the life of a man of property in Stratford. During the years he lived in London he wanted to see how Theatre was and realised a dramatic change in what people liked and what they wanted to see at the Theatre and this made him really sensitive to the things he wrote.
The Illusion of Justice
The Tempest tells a fairy straightforward story involving an unjust act, however the idea of justice that the play works towards seems highly inlfuenced by Shakespeare's life since this idea represents the view of one character that controls the fate of all the other charatcers. Though Prospero presents himself as a victim of injustic as he's left with his daughter wanting someone against his will and his own man (Caliban) turning against him but Prospero's idea of justice and injustice is somewhat hypocritical. Although he is furious with his brother for taking his power, he has no uneasiness of feeling to enslave Ariel and Caliban in order to achieve his ends.
The Difficulty of Distinguishing "Men" from "Monsters"
Caliban's exact nature is an ambiguous one. Prospero refers to him as a 'devil on whose nature can never stick'. Both Prospero and his daughter Miranda have contradictory views of Caliban's humanity, they believe that their education of him has lifted him from his brutish status and ways.
The inhuman part of Caliban drives out the human part; the 'good nature' that is imposed on him.
The play leaves the matter of Caliban's balanced lifestyle of his eloquent speeches with the most degrading kind of drunken, servile behaviour.
Colonialism
The Tempest is often regarded as a comment on colonialism. The huge colonies of the British Empire were at their earliesr stages of exploration when it was written. Shakespeare would have read the accounts of people living in Virginia who in 1610 nearly perished, but with the assistance of the local Indians who showed them where to fish and how to cultivate local plants, they were able to survive and keep up. Caliban, like the residents of Virginia, soon regretted the welcome they gave to those who became their oppressors. Meanwhile the trans-Atlantic slave trade was in its infancy, the first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619, three years after Shakespeare's death but the enslavement of both indigenous peopl;e and Africans in South America and the Carribean had already begun.
The Allure of Ruling a Colony
The nearly uninhabited island presents the sense of infinite possibility to almost everyone who lands there. Prospero first found it in its isolation, an ideal place for his daughter to learn new things and to grow into the female he wants her to be. The tone of the play toward the hopes of the would-be colonisers is undercut by a sharp turn from the shipwrecked who see no opportunity in the isle apart from Gonzalo's fantasy in which he becomes a kind of parody of Prospero.
Masters and Servants
Nearly every scene in the play either explicitly or implicitly portrays a relationship between a figure that possesses power and a figure that is subject to that power.
Water and Drowning
The play is awash with references to water. The most important overall effect of this water motif is to heighten the symbolic importance and meaning of the tempest itself. Without the reference to water the play wouldn't be what it is. It is as though the water from that storm runs through the lanmguage and action of the entire play. For example, Stephano and Trinculo are always drunk and this is because of drinking and the main catalyst of wine and beer is water.
Mysterious Noises
Much of the noise of the play is musical rather than all sound effects and much of the music is played by Ariel but in our case Ariels. The noises, sounds and music of the play are made most significantly by Caliban's speech about all of the noises and sounds of the island which seem to creep Stephano and Trinculo out.
The Tempest
The Tempest symbolizes the suffering Prospero endured and which he wants to inflict on others because of this. Prospero must make his enemies suffer as he has suffered so that they will learn from their suffering something he believes he has but truly hasn't. The play also is a symbol of Prospero's magic and the freightening side of his power.
Prospero's Books
Like The Tempest, Prospero's books are a symbol of his power from all of his studies. The books are also a symbol of Prospero's dangerous desire to withdraw entirely from the world, somethingt in which everyone on the island fear. It was his devotion to study that put him at the mercy of his ambitious brother and it is this same devotion to study that has made him content to raise Miranda in isolation and to allienate her from the rest.
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