The Tempest Literary Devices

Explanation and Analysis—Fortune and Destiny:

Shakespeare often personifies abstract concepts. One such example occurs in Act 1, Scene 2 when Prospero explains to Miranda how their enemies landed on the island:

By accident most strange, bountiful Fortune,
Now my dear lady, hath mine enemies
Brought to this shore; and by my prescience
I find my zenith doth depend upon
A most auspicious star [...]

Prospero quickly divests himself of responsibility by saying that "Fortune" brought his enemies ashore. He assures Miranda that their presence is meant to be and justifies his actions by claiming Fortune's approval. The opportunity to enact revenge and claim his rightful place in Milan has arisen, according to Prospero, by the graces of this "bountiful" entity.

Another example appears in Act 3, Scene 3 when Ariel chastises Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian for their misdeeds:

You are three men of sin, whom Destiny,
That hath to instrument this lower world
And what is in't, the never-surfeited sea
Hath caused to belch up you

Ariel disguises himself as a harpy in order to address the three men. He tells them that Destiny, which controls the earth and everything in it, caused the sea to "belch" them onto the island because they were so unfit to live among other people. He personifies Destiny as a higher power with the moral authority to remove unfit people from society.

The capitalization of words like "Fortune" and "Destiny" suggests their humanlike quality by evoking names. It is interesting to note that the characters' fates do not depend on abstract forces but rather on people, which becomes evident in Alonso's betrayal and Prospero's appeal to the audience in his final soliloquy. Personification helps emphasize the fact that people—not intangible abstractions—control their own fates.

Explanation and Analysis—Antonio's Speech:

The Tempest brims with ingenious metaphors. In Act 2, Scene 1, for instance, Antonio uses metaphors and an instance of personification in his effort to convince Sebastian to murder his brother, Alonso. Speaking about Alonso, Antonio says:

Whom I, with this obedient steel, three inches of it,
Can lay to bed for ever; whiles you, doing thus,
To the perpetual wink for aye might put
This ancient morsel, this Sir Prudence, who
Should not upbraid our course. For all the rest,
They'll take suggestion as a cat laps milk;
They'll tell the clock to any business that
We say befits the hour.

The phrase "obedient steel" personifies Antonio's knife, framing it as loyal to Antonio—and, in turn, showcasing Antonio's thirst for control. Antonio emphasizes the fact that his own weapon obeys him, even though it never had a choice. "Perpetual wink" metaphorically refers to the eternal sleep of death. It sounds cheeky, but it has grim implications. Similarly, "ancient morsel" refers to Gonzalo, because Antonio considers him to be an old piece of flesh. This is also a very dehumanizing epithet that helps distance Antonio from the emotional fallout of his suggested plan for him and Sebastian to murder Gonzalo and Alonso. On the whole, Antonio seems very enthusiastic about the potential murder, but his evasive language implies his desire to distance himself from wrongdoing. For instance, he does not say "my knife"; he says "obedient steel," as if he doesn't want to specifically name his weapon. Likewise, "perpetual wink" is a much softer term than "death."

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