Power vs. Authority in The Tempest

             In Act 1, Prospero and Antonio are revealed to have a dysfunctional relationship. Antonio has forced Prospero from the authority of the Duke of Naples. Antonio has acquired governmental authority through the betrayal, but the questions remain:

Who really has the upper hand in this relationship? Who has the authority AND the power?

        In Scene 1, Antonio is introduced to be traveling in a ship with the king of Naples. In this scene, the only proof of his position is the fact that it is mentioned by the Boatswain. Antonio curses the Boatswain just as the mariners do. This shows that Antonio is just as base as the mariners, who are considerably low on the job food chain during this era. 

        In Scene 2, as Prospero limns the story of his brother’s betrayal to Melinda,  there are implications that Prospero has magical power. Prospero has engendered the very tempest that has overthrown the ship with these powers. As he orders around Ariel, the ghost, he reveals that he has freed her from the imprisonment of magic. THrough his own disparaging words, Prospero demonstrates power that goes beyond his brother’s: the power to control the dead. 

         The wrathful Prospero throws his weight around in the way that he treats Ariel and Caliban. On the island that Prospero has been exiled to, Caliban is a physical slave to Prospero. In this scene, Ariel is presumably an indentured servant; she began the tempest in order to obtain her freedom. The dependant positions that the two are placed in demonstrated that Prospero has authority on the island. 

      Antonio has acquired great power in his betrayal, but only to a certain extent. Antonio is limited as the Duke, an underling of the King. Prospero, on the other hand, is the king of an island. Prospero has his own slaves and an heir, while Antonio only has the shifty position of the Duke and more money than the other underlings. So far, on the scoreboard, Prospero has the three points while Antonio only has two. 

        Power is, as Emily Dickinson once said, “A fickle food on a shifting plate.” In this case, Prospero has shifted the plate, and Antonio is at his mercy.