Class is the position of a person in society whilst ideology is the belief(s) of a person and/or society. The play The Tempest was written in the renaissance era, exploration was becoming more common and desired as explorers went off to discover new lands. Queen Elizabeth was on the throne, whilst the play was being written most likely, after being declared illegitimate by her brother Edward IV and being imprisoned by her half sister Mary I.Even in these times social class played an important part of life, with the lower classes working and the upper classes living in luxury the majority of the time, this idea of the upper classes being ‘superior’ is an almost constant theme throughout the play. One of the most common methods of showing social class is through the physical attributes of the characters.
Caliban is the lowest person on the isle in terms of class; this is shown through his appearance in the play. A freckled whelp, hag-born – not honoured with human shape” is how Prospero, the ruler of the isle, describes him to Ariel, a sprit under Prospero’s command. This is in sharp contrast to Miranda, Prospero’s daughter and of noble birth, who is a figure of desire on the isle by no less than three of the males. “the goddess on whom these airs attend” Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, thinks Miranda a goddess her beauty is that great.
Then there is the difference in language that the classes use. In the Elizabethan age this difference would have been more recognizable, but it can still be seen today.The upper class of the isle use an archaic form of language, “I’th’air, or th’earth? ” However the lower classes use less gilded language and are more to the point in their speech. The only exception to this rule is Caliban and that is only due to him learning how to speak from Prospero who is of the upper class. Shakespeare uses class to endorse certain idea’s that were common at the time the play was written.
One of these ideas, generally accepted by both upper and lower classes, was that lower classes could never be upper class.They didn’t know the subtle and unspoken rules that governed the upper classes, such as what fork to use and when during a meal. This idea is best illustrated with Caliban. When Prospero first comes to the isle he teaches Caliban how to speak in the language of the upper classes and attempts to civilize him and raise his social standing by doing so.
Caliban soon reverts back to his lower class behaviour and attempts to “violate the honour of my child” in reference to Miranda. Then there is Stephano, a common butler, who takes it upon himself to kill Prospero and be the ruler of the isle.He orders around Caliban and Trinculo, a jester, but in the end his lower class ways shine through with his drunkenness and distraction at “glistening apparel” when he is meant to be on his way to kill Prospero. “The world judge of men by their ability in their profession” said William Hazlitt and it is true, many people judge other by what their occupation is.
This assessment of others based on jobs can include associating social status to people depending on what they do in life. In the play, The Tempest Shakespeare uses occupations to differentiate between classes.Prospero, the usurped duke of Milan, is the ruler of the isle, forcing others to do his bidding with his magical powers. Alonso is King of Naples which is easily identified as being a noble occupation and Miranda is of noble birth as she does no work at all during the entire play, whereas a lower class woman would be cleaning, cooking or at some other menial task. Then there are those of lower caste such as Caliban, slaves to Prospero’s will. Caliban is forced to do what Prospero says otherwise he will be tormented by physical pains, such as cramps.
Fetch us in fuel; and be quick” Prospero commands Caliban to do as it is one of the menial tasks that Caliban must routinely do. Caliban is of a lower class as he is being forced to do the laborious chores required for living whilst Prospero and Miranda do practically nothing for the entire play aside from Prospero’s commanding Ariel to do his will. For eons the richer upper classes have taken advantage of the poorer lower classes, this can still be seen in modern times where large companies take advantage of poorer countries and pay them minimal amounts of money to produce goods, “sweatshops”.In the Elizabethan age this was a common part of daily life, it may not have been liked by the lower classes but it was still present.
Shakespeare advocates this idea through the actions of the characters in the play. Prospero and Calibans relationship is a clear example of this. Prospero is the noble upper class man who is ruler if the isle who can command magic to do his will. Caliban is a sharp contrast to this with his bedraggled and unpleasant appearance, lack of power and occupation as a servant to Prospero. Throughout the play it is never seriously questioned about whether Caliban should be a servant or not, it just is.When Caliban renegades on Prospero and follows Trinculo and Stephano, believing Stephano to be a divine being, he is still kept in the role of a servant.
Prospero is kept as ruler of the isle and spends his time ordering around Ariel, who is a non-human and servant to Prospero, another relationship not questioned throughout the text. Class is also shown through the general success of the upper class people at what they aspire to do. Once again Prospero is a perfect example, he has spent the majority of his time since his arrival at the isle figuring out a way to get back his status and go home to Milan.He has used his magical powers to create a Tempest (through Ariel) and get the King of Naples, his son, and the associated nobles, onto the isle. He plots his way through the play, at first achieving Miranda and Ferdinand getting married so that one of his line is on the throne.
He then gets back at his brother, the usurper Antonio, the king and his nobles by subjecting them to fearful conditions and visions until he wishes to see them. Then there is Ferdinand and Miranda who, although their love was organized by Prospero, end up happily together.Ferdinand completes the menial tasks given to him by Prospero to prove his worth and the King of Naples accepts their marriage “I am hers” Trinculo and Stephano, the lower class servants are punished for their attempts to overthrow Prospero and claim power for themselves “The spirits drive out Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo” They are put back into their proper positions as servants by the end of the play. The upper class have fruitful and rewarding outcomes whilst the lower classes have outcomes which result in little change than what they had/were before.
