Prospera's Power

Throughout Shakespeare's tragic comedy, The Tempest, Prospero uses his magic and supernatural powers to influence the course of events.  Throughout the play, Shakespeare makes clear that Prospero's power is external; it comes from his "magic gament[s]" (1.2.20)--namely his staff and his cloak--rather than his own being.  Therefore, Prospero has the ability to relinquish his power, just as he eventually does in Act 5, and explains this action in a powerful soliloquy.

Helen Mirren's depiction of Prospera (the female Prospero) in the 2010 film version of The Tempest provides viewers with an interesting perspective on Shakespeare's play.  The film expertly uses body language, imagery, and line delivery to portray the three stages of Prospera's power mentioned in her soliloquy: her rise to power, her dominance at her height of power, and her letting-go of power.

In the first part of the soliloquy, the movie scene gradually builds in order to relay that Prospera's power is growing.  Prospera begins her speech by calling out various characters, including "elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves" (5.1.42) and "demi-puppets" (5.1.45).  While these characters seem quite obscure, Prospera admits that she has used these "[w]eak masters" (5.1.50) to increase her own power.  In the movie scene, Mirren starts to draw a circle in the sand as she calls out these supernatural beings.  But, only after she mentions each of these creatures does she complete the circle; each one was necessary for her to create completely her power base.  Also, as she delivers these lines, her voice increases in volume to show that she has gained confidence in her power and ability, and was more willing to assert it.  As the scene continues, the amount of light on set increases dramatically; at first, the set was almost entirely black, but gradually becomes lighter, as if Prospera's power has changed the set-lighting.

The Tempest movie brilliantly depicts Prospera as she explains the immeasurable magnitude of her power as it reached its apex.  After she has completed the circle, Mirren uses Prospera's staff to set fire to it.  As this occurs, the scene immediately shifts from powerful to absolutely epic.  Prospera explains that she has "bedimmed / The noontide sun, called forth the mutinous winds, / and 'twixt the green sea" (5.1.50-52) and has "rifted Jove's stout oak" (5.1.54).  As Mirren proclaims these lines, the camera begins to rotate around her, as though it was tracing the circle. Mirren continues the soliloquy, and the camera moves faster and faster.  Interestingly, the shot encompasses all of the classical elements: fire, earth, wind, and water, that were elaborated upon in Shakespeare's lines.  The earth can be found in the land behind Mirren, the fire in the circle that surrounds her, the blue of water in her dress, and the wind in the movement of the clouds.  Yet, Mirren stays virtually still at the center.  Thus, the movie reveals that, while she was at the height of her power, Prospera could control all nature around her and, quite literally, became the center of the world.

At the conclusion of Prospera's soliloquy, the movie slows the scene down, in an attempt to highlight Prospera's internal power.  After she has discussed all the powers of her magic, Mirren takes a long pause.  The camera stops rotating, and the circle disappears.  Mirren begins to talk in a lower volume, and the camera zooms in on her.  The set becomes dark once again.  Although it appears that Prospera has lost all of her power because the special effects have disappeared, this thought is misleading.  In reality, the scene shifts from Prospera's external power to her internal power.  And, quite frankly, her internal power is more meaningful because it trumps her external power; she aims to "break [her] staff" (5.1.63) and to "drown [her] book" (5.1.66).  In reality, this moment is as powerful as the second part of the soliloquy, if not more.  Prospera has finally decided to give up her powers and, as a result, grants freedom to virtually everyone in the play.

In conclusion, the film rendering of The Tempest does a fantastic job of depicting Prospera's soliloquy; it uses a unique combination of body language, set design/special effects, and line delivery to present an extraordinary perspective of Prospera's soliloquy.  Often, critics say that Shakespeare used this character of Prospero/Prospera to deliver a message to his audience regarding his own legacy. Indeed, this soliloquy from Prospero almost undoubtedly represents Shakespeare's thoughts on his own success as a writer.  At the pinnacle of his career, Shakespeare had control of the entire universe contained in his plays.  Like Prospero, however, he realized that he needed to put down his instruments for magical power at the end of The Tempest.