Mistakes: The Bigger they Are, The Worse they Are

Wendell Frink

Mr. Salsich

9English

8 January 2009

Mistakes: The Bigger they Are, The Worse they Are

An Analysis of Themes in the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Mistakes are made by people everyday; some are not as considerable as others, but they’re still mistakes. In The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Prospero made a mistake that cost him his dukedom. The first mistake Prospero made was believing that his brother was a good person. “[He] loved […] him” and didn’t think that Antonio (Prospero’s brother) had any evil in him. Shakespeare flashbacked to an earlier part of the story to explain what occurred. Additionally, Prospero entrusted Antonio with his estate. Shakespeare uses alliteration in these lines: “and to him put the manage of my state; as at that time through all the signories it was the first.” He uses alliteration twice, the ‘a’ in ‘as’ and ‘at,’ and the ‘t’ in ‘that’ and ‘time.’ The consecutive sets of alliteration grabs at your attention saying “Look at me, look at me.” In the last analysis, Prospero admits his mistake in giving Antonio the keys to the government and let him control the dukedom. Again Shakespeare uses alliteration to get his point across and keep the reader interested: “my state grew stranger […] and rapt in secret studies.” Both of the articles of alliteration use the‘s’ sound: ‘state and stranger’ and “secret studies.’ When Shakespeare writes “my state grew stranger” it seems as though the alliteration enhances the meaning of “stranger.” Prospero’s mistakes were larger than others, but he will find a way to avenge these happenings.