The epilogue of Shakespeare's The Tempest, although separate from the body of the play that precedes it due to the nature of an epilogue, is an integral part of the play. It provides resolution to an otherwise unresolved piece and the piece effectively sets up the denouement by mirroring it throughout the work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Over the course of the play, the themes of power and magic develop, complementing each other so that, in the end, the nature of Prospero's power can be revered or reduced to smoke and mirrors. Prospero's power to administer pain gives him control over Ariel and Caliban. However, with many of the other characters, control is gained by illusions, sometimes pleasant and sometimes shocking. Prospero makes Ferdinand follow the "sweet air" of Ariel's music, but confuses Caliban, Stephen, and Trinculo by adding a faceless voice, which disturbs them and causes them to quarrel. Prospero doesn't actually force anyone to do anything; it appeals to their senses in a positive or negative way, and their response to these sensations results in an action requested by Prospero. However, at the end of the play, it is never resolved whether Prospero had any real power or was simply manipulative enough to get what he wanted. This will be resolved in the epilogue. The epilogue is a monologue spoken by Prospero. The play is over in the sense that the characters no longer have to take any action. However, the comedy is far from over. Prospero is still there, rather than a closed curtain. He came out of the "drama" completed. However, his character has changed a lot. Prospero was an all-powerful character who accomplished everything in the play. Now that the show is over and everyone has left, there seems to be nothing left for Prospero to control, leaving him helpless. Yet he claims to still have a "weak power" of his own. If power requires someone to have power, then someone besides the other characters is subordinate to Prospero. This can only be the public. He goes on to make an appeal, asking that the audience applaud the show, send him back to Naples, and says that if we don't, he will be trapped on his island. As mentioned above, the epilogue is mirrored in the show. , and by comparing this mirroring in Act IV, Scene I, it is easier to determine the purpose of the epilogue and answer the question of Prospero's power. Prospero brings the spirits to act in a sort of comedy for Ferdinand and Miranda. When Ferdinand begins to speak, Prospero tells him to be silent "or [his] spell will be ruined" (line 127). What is most important in this comparison between the mini-play of Act IV, Scene I and the great pre-epilogue play Tempest is found at the end of the mini-play. Prospero tells Ferdinand that these actors were spirits who "melted... into nothingness" (147-149) and continues to compare these actors to the world (it is important to note that their "world" is their literary world). world, since this is the only world they have access to), and finally to themselves: "We are of the same stuff that dreams are made of" (155-156). Prospero also created a larger work, The Tempest. This is why Prospero, in his play, refers to the nature of their world and themselves as the "stuff that dreams are made of." The spirits in the minigame are the same "stuff" as the characters in The Tempest, including Prospero. This confines The Tempest to the same rules as the mini-game, and as a result our focus on the game supports the character's existence. The audience's response to the play determines Prospero's very existence. What Prospero makes the audience perceive can be ignored or imagined.