A Bitter Warning of Evil in Romance: Antonio in The Tempest


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İncesu F.

LITERA, no.13, pp.109-119, 1998 (ESCI)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 1998
  • Journal Name: LITERA
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), MLA - Modern Language Association Database, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.109-119
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Shakespeare, in The Tempest (1623), creates an environment in which malice and wrongful deeds are eventually overcome. However, this microcosm which is ruled and manipulated by Prospero's magic does not fill the reader with confidence or relax the audience when the play ends; since the reader/ audience is aware of the fact that the island is enchanted and Shakespeare sows the seeds of insecurity and mistrust by the very existence of the unrepentant and unpunished Antonio, who does not learn anything from his experience. He is the only character who does not change even in the slightest, and consistently constitutes a contrast for virtue, good-will and the soft side of mankind throughout the play.