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Essay / The role of minor characters in Doctor Faustus and The Tempest
Shakespeare's minor characters are also often as diverse and essential to the plot as their protagonist counterparts, used in his plays to illuminate the characters' goals and feelings main. The presence of these characters also broadens the audience experience while giving audience members characters they can relate to. In The Tempest, for example, Antonio helps illuminate Prospero's final trials, creating sympathy with the audience, while Shakespeare uses Stephano to parody Antonio, creating humor in this mockery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The character of Antonio is first introduced to the audience in the first scene, on the boat, and explained in more detail in Prospero's story of how he was forced to Milan. Prospero's description of his brother, "your false uncle" and "that a brother should be so treacherous", gives the audience an indication of the nature of the character. This would be considered a biased statement, leading the audience to suspect Prospero's interpretations, if not for Antonio's actions on the boat, where he was shown to be an extremely unpleasant character in his treatment of those lower than him on station, the Boatswain and older than him in wisdom, Gonzalo. For example, the quote “Hang cur!” Hang yourself, you son of a whore, you insolent noisemaker. We are less afraid of drowning than you.” Antonio later clarifies that he does not regret having supplanted his brother's power, because when asked about his conscience, he replies: "Yes, sir: where is that?" This has the dramatic effect of alienating him from the public as he feels no guilt after betraying his own family. Antonio is effective as a minor character because he is one of the only characters on the island with the power to stop Prospero. Prospero needs Alonso, the king, to reinstate himself as Duke of Milan. However, Antonio's plot to kill the king and Gonzalo, "come closer, and when I raise my hands, you do the same, only to fall on Gonzalo", threatens this and creates a sense of anticipation and fear in his various appearances. Where Shakespeare uses Antonio to darken the overall mood of the play, he counters this with another minor character, Stephano, whose plot is designed to be humorous. Its story revolves around a plot to kill Prospero with Caliban, "yes, yes, my lord: I will yield him sleep, where you can drive a nail through his head", which Shakespeare presents as a parody of the plot aiming to kill Prospero. the king. The humor of this character is evident through the lines "I was the man on the moon back then", as contemporary audiences would know that he had one of the lowest social positions of any character of the island, but Caliban foolishly believes him to be a god. Shakespeare once again uses his minor characters to eliminate his main plots, as Stephano's treatment of Caliban strengthens the audience's sympathy for him, while giving them a harsher view of Prospero, due to the connotations of slavery . Analyzing the play through a postcolonial reading, the associations of racism and Prospero's acquisition of the island that once belonged to Caliban present Caliban as less of an antagonist. Even Miranda's accusation of rape, "until you seek to violate the honor of my child," can be linked to the white population's assumption that people in colonized countries were savages whom we saw killing and rape. The characters of Robin and Rafe from the Doctor.