Consider if you will: The Tempest.....

Parallel stories. Parallel characters. You have entered Shakespeare's Twilight Zone.

Parallel Stories:

In The Tempest, certain themes are repeated between many different characters and situations. A theme that reoccurs throughout the play is that of taking people's power away from them. Examples:

                                                                    *Prospero is usurped by Antonio

                                                                    *Caliban is usurped by Prospero

                                                                    *The Cook attempts to usurp                                                                         Prospero

By repeating this theme, Shakespeare reinforces lessons about dishonesty and personal freedom.

Parallel Characters:

Caliban and Ariel are parallel characters. They differ in many ways, but at the same time they remain similar.

Similarities:

*Caliban and Ariel are both enslaved to masters

*Caliban and Ariel both want to be free

*Both characters are extreme examples are ways of being: Caliban as evil and Ariel as good.

*Caliban and Ariel both have perceptions about the natural reality of the island and the magic that is taking place

*Both are freed by the end of the play

Differences:

*Caliban wants to make people miserable because he is. Ariel doesn't want to harm anyone.

*Caliban is imprisoned by his appearance. Ariel is not physically imprisoned.