Essay Example on Prospero's Daughter: Miranda in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'

Introduction

William Shakespeare is the author of The Tempest play at around 1610 to 1611. The play stands out as one of the greatest works of Shakespeare that he had the opportunity to write on his own. The play is a Shakespeare's story that sheds light on an exiled ruler Prospero who makes use of magical power to restore Miranda, his daughter to the position power. Miranda's character in the play is one of the magnificent Shakespeare's creations. Miranda remains loyal to Prospero her father and follows whatever he says to her. Miranda is the rightful Milan's princess, but she does not know the past until her father opens up during the play's second scene. Miranda and her father got banished to an island before she had attained three years and lived in the following twelve years with Prospero, her father and Caliban their slave as her only accompanying individual. The paper shall provide a literary analysis with regards Miranda's character in Tempest play authored by William Shakespeare.

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Miranda's Purity Aspect

To begin with, is the illustration of purity in Miranda's character. Miranda is a Virgin girl who is around fifteen years of age because her father indicated that she had not yet attained three years at the time they got onto the island with twelve years lapsing from that time. The play keeps talking about her being a virgin, and that is how the determination of her being a virgin comes about. The reference to Miranda as being a pure child of Nature highlights that she is indeed entirely unsophisticated, dedicatedly refined and she is all but not ethereal (Grindlay). In Shakespeare's creations, no other woman in mind could compare to Miranda by her description in play. Miranda's name is equivalent to "the wonderful one" or even a person who causes admiration. The name is symbolic of Miranda's modesty, innocence, and beauty. Miranda in The Tempest is the only one taking the female character, in this case, to make an appearance on stage in the play and is mentioned alongside other women who are her mother, Sycorax, and Claribel (Valdivieso 301). In the play there is an occasional allusion to the other three female characters.

Feminine Bias and Gender Roles

Miranda's character revolves around elements of womanhood and gender roles. Miranda in The Tempest appears as a depiction of female virtue. Miranda is viewed as an individual who has internalized the patriarchal order fully, the order of things and believing to be subordinate in relation to her father (Valdivieso 302). Miranda is the only figure representing the female within a cast that has strong male characters, and even much of the interaction that she has on stage gets dominated by the male around her (Cieslak 166). Prospero appears to dictate Miranda's behavior from the interactions she has with Caliban to the decisive marriage decision.

Simplicity and Innocent Aspect

Miranda displays simplicity and innocence in her character. The innocence and simplicity come out as a natural product from the circumstances under which she was brought up on the island. She was cut off from interacting with other people when they were banished when three years old. Miranda has not had the chance to see any other man apart from her father. She had no understanding of the human interaction in society with her expression at Ferdinand's first sight characteristic of the situation. There is a similar response to a sense of wonder that appears after a shipwrecked party manifest before her. The same features as highlighted earlier that make the femininity pinnacle are the ones that appear to disenfranchise her. Miranda's vulnerability and innocence as depicted in the play manifest as things that make room for her to be easily manipulated, first of all, by her father and secondly by Ferdinand.

Compassion Trait

Miranda's character manifests as a compassion embodiment. Her compassion and pity come out as the dominant traits in the play. The first words that Miranda utters at the beginning make known her deep pity (Grindlay). Miranda's heart melts as a result of the shipwrecked party's suffering highlighting that she has suffered together with the ones that she saw going through the suffering (Shakespeares 13). The suffering cry knocks against Miranda's heart. Also, she has a gentle disposition that explains why her heart naturally in sympathy goes out to Ferdinand when under suffering and harsh treatment at the hands of Prospero, her father. Miranda offers to be Ferdinand's log bearer and disobeys his father for him, an act of compassion in the play.

Conclusion

Miranda is a significant character in The Tempest and the only female one to make an appearance on stage in the play. The gender role and womanhood comes out in the play with instances of Miranda who is aware of her father's powers begging him to stop the storm and have mercy on Ferdinand who was undergoing harsh treatment. The feminine traits as illustrated by Miranda highlight her strong feminine presence with regards to the play and the outcome. Miranda throughout in the play acts to Prospero as a foil to his harsh, violent acts, instincts and also helps to push the play's plot more. Miranda is a critical figure in Prospero's revenge acts that enables his father to significantly gain political prestige by getting married to Ferdinand who is Prince of Naples. The feminine presence in the play in Miranda dulls her father's anger and is central to play's theme. Miranda's character throughout the play is that of an unwitting player in Prospero's political revenge pursuit.

Works Cited

Cieslak, Magdalena. "Authority in Crisis? The Dynamic of the Relationship Between Prospero and Miranda in Appropriations of The Tempest." Text Matters 7.7 (2017): 161-182.

Grindlay, Lilla. "Character Analysis: Miranda in The Tempest." The British Library, British Library, 19 May 2017, www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/character-analysis-miranda-in-the-tempest.Shakespeare, William. The tempest. Vol. 9. Classic Books Company, 2001.

Valdivieso, Sofia Munoz. "Double Erasure in" The Tempest": Miranda in Postmodern Critical Discourse." SEDERI: yearbook of the Spanish and Portuguese Society for English Renaissance Studies 9 (1998): 299-304.