It is often noted that The Tempest is an odd play in Shakespeare's canon; unlike any of his other works, with the exception of the Comedy of Errors, he observes the classical unities of time and setting. Of all Shakespeare's opening scenes, The Tempest is probably the most dramatic, involving both a storm and a shipwreck. However, the drama seems to calm down almost completely in the next scene, in which Prospero recounts the prehistory of the play. This is an extreme challenge for the actor playing Prospero, as it is his job to maintain momentum in a scene filled with long passages of exposition. This is one of the reasons why many actors who played him have called him the most difficult character they have ever played. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMiranda remembers her past only vaguely; "more like a dream than a certainty that my memory deserves." Prospero explains that he was once the Duke of Milan, the title having been forcibly taken from him by his brother Antonio, who had been an ally of Alonzo, King of Naples. Walter Clyde Curry argues that Prospero does not say he neglected his duty; rather, he says he neglected “worldly ends” – a virtue for Shakespeare's predominantly Christian audience, but not a virtue for a duke in a Machiavellian Italian Renaissance. Prospero here describes an irreconcilable collision of value systems. Some critics argue that he is a weak ruler who brings his fate upon himself by isolating himself in his studies, thus allowing the dukedom to be taken from him. However, many believe that Shakespeare wrote Prospero as a wise man studying to become a better person, victimized by a power-hungry brother. Both interpretations are at least partially correct, and I think it is best to see Prospero as a combination of these two models. It is clear here that Prospero is not a good ruler, as he is more interested in his studies than his dukedom. Therefore, he is not entirely free of blame regarding his loss of power. His “false” brother could not have taken power away from Prospero so easily if he had been more involved in Milan's activities. This diminishes Antonio's betrayal and immediately establishes the romantic genre: if Prospero is irreproachable, the comedy becomes a tragedy, since the "bad guy" would be irreconcilable. Prospero therefore cannot be perceived as vindictive: Shakespeare goes to great lengths to assure us of this, telling the audience at least twice that, although the ship in the opening scene was wrecked, everyone was saved and the passengers are safe on the island. Leslie Dunton-Downer argues, I believe correctly, that the "stereotype of Prospero as a purified figure of the wizard Merlin is misleading." It is neither simple nor purely good. He lashes out at his "false" brother, but admits that he was "so withdrawn" from his duties as Duke that an "evil nature" was "awakened" in his brother, and his "confidence has bred in him a lie." He can be calm and empathetic, as he demonstrates at the beginning of the scene when he calms Miranda's fears for the safety of the castaways in the previous scene. However, he becomes a completely different person when he tells the story of Antonio's betrayal. Dean Ebner notes the seriousness with which Shakespeare's audience would have taken this tale: the rebellion was “thoroughly condemned in the homilies of the English Church and by Shakespeare in his earlier works. Homilists viewed mass rebellion and individual usurpation as sins against God's anointed that violated the order of nature, bringing calamity to the community and damnation to the,.