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In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, the theme of usurpation is used to make a statement about how the great chain of being is an inadequate system. The great chain of being is an arrangement whereby all existing things have a precise place in the universe. Should they depart from this position, they would be betraying their nature and would be punished. The two groups of usurpers that will be compared and contrasted in this essay are Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano (Group 1) and Antonio and Sebastian (Group ). They will be compared based on the wildly different justifications for their plans, their similar plans of usurpation and the relative successes of their plots. Through these three points, it will be proven that the theme of usurpation demonstrates the idea that the Tempest has made a strong statement about how the great chain of being is insufficient due to its rigidity and the lack of vertical mobility of its links (people, beasts, angels etc.)
One of the areas in which the two groups are different involves the justification of their plots. Group 1 justifies their plan to usurp Prospero by using the logic that the island once belonged to Sycorax, the mother of Caliban. When she died the island passed to her son and so was rightfully his. Prospero had come along and taken it from him. This is shown when Caliban says
I say by sorcery he got this isle;
From me he got it. If thy greatness willOrder custom research paper on The Great Chain of Being: A Broken Link
Revenge it on himfor I know thou dar'st,
But this thing dare not (..50-5)
This quotation clearly demonstrates that Caliban was in control of the island when Prospero came and usurped him and so gained possession of the island. Therefore, group 1 believed it was within their right to kill Prospero, thus restoring the island to its rightful owner. The justification for group 's plot varies greatly in that they do not even remotely have a valid justification. Their justification is greed and lust. The audience learns of this disgusting excuse when Sebastian says, "Draw thy swordone stroke / Shall free three from the tribute which thou payest, / And I the king shall love thee" (.1.87-8). This quotation is spoken to Antonio and signifies that if Antonio helps Sebastian dispose of Alonso and Gonzalo, Milan will no longer have to pay tribute to Naples. Furthermore, Sebastian will be indebted to Antonio. Logically, this shows that Antonio's motivation for the heinous murders is greed (he doesn't have to pay tax) and that he wants some leverage over Sebastian. Sebastian's motivation is of course to become king. When examined, these two motivations clearly equate to greed and the lust for power. Consequently, it is quite obvious that groupdid not have a valid justification. And so, the proposed murder by group 1, being somewhat justifiable, is befitting to a being higher up on the chain than a beast (which Caliban is), while Antonio and Sebastian's act, according to their beliefs, would allow all hell to break loose. As a result, it can be seen that they are clearly not acting as the nobles of their time should and have indeed moved downward into the realm of the beasts by allowing their emotions (lust and greed) to control them.
As with the previous point, the characters' actions in the following paragraph, which discusses the similar nature of the two plots, also give us an idea of which emotion controls the two groups. Group 1 plans to usurp Prospero. The audience learns of their plan when Caliban says "Yea, yea, my lord. I'll yield him asleep, / where thou mayst knock a nail into his head" (..58-5). This quote is self-explanatory and clearly demonstrates the nature of Group 1's plot. They are planning to kill Prospero in a rather primitive fashion (by driving a nail into his head) while he is asleep. The plan of Groupis in many respects similar to that of Group 1, with the exception of the intended target. Groupdesires to kill the king of Naples, Alonso, and his supporter Gonzalo. The audience learns of this wretched plot when Sebastian says
Thy case, dear friend, shall be my precedent as thou got'st Milan,
I'll come by Naples. Draw thy swordone stroke
Shall free thee from the tribute which thou payest,
And I the king shall love thee. (.1.86-8)
To which Antonio replied, "Draw together and when I rear my hand do you the like / To fall it on Gonzalo"(.1.0-1). These quotes show that Antonio and Sebastian are planning to draw their swords and slit the throats of Gonzalo and Alonso, who are both asleep. This reads much the same as the plot contrived by Caliban. Both plans have the targets sleeping, which demonstrates the emotion of cowardice on the conspirators' part and both include primitive means of murder. This clearly shows that The Tempest has made a statement against the rigidity of the great chain of being as Groupis once again acting like cowardly beasts, while Caliban, whose plan it was, is acting quite normally for his station on the chain.
Finally, after having contemplated a similarity, another domain in which the groups are deviant will be examined. This is of course, the relative success of their plots. Group 1's plot failed in principle. The audience discovers this when they hear the cries of Prospero as he shouts "Hey, Mountain, hey!" (4.1.5). This cry signifies that Prospero is urging on spirits in the guise of dogs to chase Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo away. However, although group 1's plot seemed to fail, if you look at the consequences of the failure, it can be seen that this plan results in a success. This is because later in the play, Caliban has taken this failure to heart and has learned from his mistakes. The audience is notified of this when Caliban says
Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter,
And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass
Was I to take this drunkard for a god,
And worship this dull fool!(5.1.4-7)
This quote clearly demonstrates that Caliban has learned from his blunder and as such, his failure against Prospero cannot be considered a failure at all, but more of a successful learning experience. The same cannot be said of the results for group . With their swords posed over the throats of the sleeping Gonzalo and Alonso, Ariel wakes Gonzalo from his slumber. He cries out and Alonso awakens and it is asked why Antonio and Sebastian have their swords drawn. Sebastian replies to this question with the following
While we stood here securing your repose,
Even now, we heard a hollow burts of bellowing,
Like bulls, or rather lionsdid't not wake you?
It struck mine ear most terribly.(..05-08)
This quote basically states that while Antonio and Sebastian were protecting the king and his courtiers, they heard the bellowing of a wild animal and drew their swords. The audience is of course not fooled by this excuse and they realize that the plot did not succeed due to the cowardice of group . However, this would not be enough to classify their plan as a complete failure. But once again, Groupproves to be unlike Group 1 as Antonio and Sebastian do not learn the error of their ways. This is shown later on in an incident where Sebastian says, "Ha, ha! What things are these, my lord Antonio? / Will money buy 'em?" (5.1.64-65). This quote has Sebastian asking Antonio whether they would be able to buy Caliban. It clearly confirms that they have not yet learned their lesson and are still immoral beings. For this reason, it is quite clear that there is a statement here that the views of perfection that are the basis of the great chain of being are flawed. Caliban, a more imperfect being than the nobles, can recognize his mistake and acts like a human to fix it, while Antonio and Sebastian do not realise their error, and so once again are portrayed as cowardly beasts.
In conclusion, it is quite clearly demonstrated that while these groups were similar in one instance, they contrasted in two ways. These comparisons proved the thesis that the Tempest has made a statement against the idea of the great chain of being and its fixed levels of perfection. Both groups had the same basic plan to usurp their target. However only Caliban's group had an understandable justification. Antonio's did not. The plan of Caliban's group, although primitive, resulted in some modicum of success as Caliban learned from his mistakes, while the plan of Antonio and Sebastian failed miserably. It must also be noted that those who had crossed into different sections of the great chain of being were not killed. Caliban though he moved from beast to human was rewarded with the return of his island, while Antonio, having moved from human to beast was offered another chance. Therefore, it is quite easy to conclude from the above arguments and the survival of the character who would have supposedly caused "all hell to break loose" that Shakespeare intended this play to question the nature of the great chain of being. To question the belief that things were fixed into a certain state of perfection. After all, who would enjoy having one's position and life pre-determined before time had even begun?
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