Mercy in the Tempest

By (bobbie5651@aol.com)

In the play The Tempest, Shakespeare developed two servants, one named
Caliban and the other named Ariel. Both were shown at least some mercy by their
master, Prospero, but which one was shown the most? That is the question that I wish
to answer today through definitions and the lives of these two servants.
First, I think we should look at the definitions of mercy. The American Heritage
Dictionary defines it this way: “Kind andCompassionate treatment of a person under
one’s power; clemency.” The New Oxford American Dictionary, on the other hand,
defines it like this: “Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is
within one’s power to harm.” Both these definitions seem to agree, but there are a few
words I like better in one definition than another. I would like to use these words and
combine definitions to create my own definition. Mercy: Kind and Compassionate
treatment toward someone whom it is within one’s power to harm. As we look at who
was shown more mercy, Ariel the spirit, or Caliban the monster, we will use this
definition which combines the first two. The two key words
are kindness and compassion. So… we must look at which servant was shown
more kindness and compassion by Prospero.
Well, we’ll start by looking at Caliban, the half man-half some other creature. At
first he was shown much kindness by Prospero and Miranda. These two taught him
many things, gave him good food to eat, and even let him live in their cell (home). He
was not even a servant like Ariel was. Clearly he even thought that Prospero was
showing him much kindness and compassion by his own words: “Thou strokedst me
and madest much of me, wouldst give me
Water with berries in't, and teach me how to name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night: and then I loved thee
And show'd thee all the qualities o' the isle,
The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile”- (Caliban in the Tempest Act 1
Scene 2 Line484-489).
However, Caliban, like the evil demon creature he was, tried to rape Prospero’s
daughter, Miranda. Immediately, the protective father took all kindness away from
Caliban and made him a true servant. He was made to carry wood and do other things
for his master. Caliban was also made to live in a damp cave instead of the cell, which
he was averse too. Both Prospero and Miranda had no compassion for the evil creature
whatsoever, and no kindness was shown to him. “Come forth, I say! There’s other
business for thee:
Come, thou tortoise!” (The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 461-462) and “Thou poisonous
slave, got by the devil himself
Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!” (The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 468-469) were
some of the words that Prospero said to his servant (I don’t think those words are
compassionate, do you!). He definitely deserved this treatment, and more. Assuredly,
you could say he deserved death. So… that is where some people say Caliban got
much mercy, because he received more than he deserved. But that isnot what mercy
is. Look at the definitions. Do you see anything talking of kindness undeserved? I
certainly don’t. So, from our definitions, it is clear that Caliban was not shown
much mercy at all!
Well… now let’s look at Ariel, the spirit servant of Prospero. She was shown
compassion and kindness from the beginning as well. After all, Prospero did release
her (by magic) from her oak prison. Though the spirit had been captivated there
because she didn’t listen to her original master, Prospero felt compassion for her and
set her free. Nothing is really said about her between her liberties from captivity to the
beginning of the Tempest story, but you get the feeling she was a slave by the way she
asked to be free.
Ariel definitely deserved mercy more than Caliban, for she served Prospero
quickly and joyfully with “What shall I do? Say what; what shall I do?” (The Tempest Act
1 Scene 2 Line 441) when he asked her to do things. Most assuredly he shows
much compassion to her by promising her freedom (which he does not do to Caliban)
and he speaks very kindly to her as well. He said about her, “My brave spirit!
Who was so firm, so constant, that this coil
Would not infect his reason?” (The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 326-328). She did
deserve it, but, like mentioned before, this does not mean it wasn’t so much mercy. She
was shown both kindness and Compassion (which we know is the definition of mercy)
by her master. In the end, she was also given her freedom (which is definitely kindness
and compassion, don’t you think). So I think we can concludeAriel was shown much
mercy.
 Well, now it is time to summarize our information. Our question was this: was
Caliban or Ariel shown more mercy? Well…we know our definition
(kind and compassionate treatment towards one whom it is within ones power to harm)
and we know mercy does not specifically mean kindness to the undeserved. If this was
so, you could say Caliban was shown more mercy, seeing he was veryundeserving. To
answer our question, we must look at our statistics. Caliban is cursed and not talked
well of by Prospero, while Ariel is blessed and talked kindly to. During their lives,
Prospero lessens his kindness to Caliban, but gives more mercy to Ariel. In the end,
Caliban continues to be Prospero’s slave, but Ariel is set free. So, based on these,
which one would you say was shown more kindnessand compassion? I think every
sensible person could determine the answer! Ariel was clearly shown more mercy than
Caliban! There is almost no question to this. The definitions and the lives of these two
servants show that Prospero showed more mercy to Ariel than Caliban!!!
I hope I have proved my thesis well to you. By the definitions, I think it is pretty
clear who was shown the most mercy. I hope you understood what I understood from
the dictionaries and the lives of these two servants.
 Bibliography
Morris, William. The American Heritage Dictionary. Second College ed. Houghton
Mifflin Company. Boston: 1982.
New Oxford American Dictionary, Third ed. Oxford University Press Inc. eBook
Copyright 2008
http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shakespeare/60secondshakespeare/themes_tempest.shtm
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http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=tempest