The Best King

In Act II of The Tempest by William Shakespeare, different possible power holders emerge on the island, when the noblemen of Milan are stranded on the island. Three that stand up the most out of this group, are Gonzolo, Sebastian, and Stephano. As to who would be the ideal king, that would be Gonzalo. Gonzolo is idealistic. His utopian society is one in which no one works, everyone respects and loves nature, which in turn gives them everything they need. In this way, in Gonzolo's imagined, idealistic society, no one wants for power, and everyone is equal. Ambition, an archetype explored in nearly every literary work, is an inherent quality in every man and woman- which takes form through a will to succeed, corrupted through a selfish want for attention and fame. If Gonzalo's world was possible- which Gonzalo, being so wise, knows it is not- Gonzolo would definitely be the best king. The explanation of this society seems pointless to Antonio and Sebastian, but it seems to be a subtle jab at the bad points of Sebastain and Antonio, and perhaps in Shakespeare's point of view, a highlighting of the bad qualities of all corrupt and ambitious rulers.

In regards to Stephano, seeing him as a king would be laughable. Stephano seems to pride himself on being 'the smart one' out of himself and Trinculo, but he is really not very smart at all. Rather than being a cold, calculating ruler such as Sebastian would be, Stephano strikes one as a more Louis XIV type of ruler, who indulges himself with no real regard to his position or his people. Louis XIV's stupidity and over indulgence in the end, unfortunately for him, cost him his life, and the sanity of the whole country, which descended into an anarchy until Napoleon Bonaparte rose up from its depths and took control. Unfortunately, through history, it seems that many examples of a king like Stephano can be seen. In almost every case, they did not hold proper power for too long, or if they did hold power for long, their countries slowly descended into ruin, like Louis XIV's France.

Kind kings in the real world, have not had it so good either. In China, Qin held power until the day he died, while other leaders, during for example the Han Dynasty, were overthrown. It is notable that the country is now named after Qin, the man who was cruel to its people. In this way, if Gonzalo was king, his kindness would make him easy pickings for men like Sebastian, who hungered for power. So, unfortunately, it seems that in the real world, Sebastian would be the most realistic king. His disregard for others would get him onto the throne, and his cold, calculating nature would keep him there Governing by fear is many times very effective, as seen before with Emperor Qin and others, and if Sebastian had fear on his side, he could do whatever he wanted.

So, though the best king may be Gonzalo, a king like that would be a fallacy in the real world. The best rulers always seem to be people who are wise enough to realize that they cannot handle the responsibility of leading a people to the best of their ability. This quality is demonstrated by Gonzalo.

The Role of Power In Act I of the Tempest

The roles of power and authority pose an important theme in the Tempest. This battle of authority versus power begins in the first act of the Tempest, when Alonzo, Antonio, and the rest of the officials who wronged Prosperro were stranded on the island of Caliban and Ariel. In this chapter, the roles of authority and power seem to be shifted, foreshadowing event to come, and the theme of loss of power is formed. For example, when Alonzo, Antonio, and his attendants were in the middle of the tempest, Sebastian and Antonia try in vain to take control of the ship and the Botswain, who is the rightful leader on the ship. At sea, they find that roles are shifted, and power begins to separate itself from authority through the Botswain maintaining order in the middle of the storm. In this way, it is shown that though the usurper Duke of Milan, Antonio, has false power through his role as Duke, when he is away from the eyes of society, his authority is useless. This also foreshadows the events in scene 2, when it is found that the current Duke usurped the real Duke of Milan's, Prosperro's, throne. Prosperro lost his authoritative power when he was usurped, but now that he has come to the island, he is regaining power through control of the island and its inhabitants.

Though the Botswain is not a nobleman in Milan, he is the leader at sea, suggesting that wherever the ship is headed, the new world it lands on will upset all the authority the noblemen stranded had in Milan, and new leaders will be decided on the islands, based on power instead of given authority.

On the island, Prosperro appears to have power, commanding a sprite and a monster to do his bidding. Though Prosperro has authority over the sprite, Ariel, it is evident that Ariel is a very powerful force, easily the most powerful of everyone in the play. In regards to Sycorax, the old witch who birthed Caliban, trapped Ariel in a tree, and died. When Prosperro came, Caliban's false power over the island was dashed, the monster ruled over no one. This supports again the theme of the cycle of power. Almost every character in the play exhibits loss of power, and a possible chance at redemption.