The epilogue to Shakespeare's The Tempest, although distinct from the body of work that precedes it due to the nature of an epilogue, is an integral part of the work. It provides resolution to an otherwise unresolved play, and the play actually sets up the epilogue by reflecting it throughout the play. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout the play, the themes of power and magic develop, complementing each other so that ultimately the nature of Prospero's power can be either revered or revered. reduced to smoke and mirrors. Prospero's power to administer pain gives him control over Ariel and Caliban. However, with many other characters, control is gained through illusions - sometimes pleasant and sometimes upsetting. Prospero makes Ferdinand follow the "sweet air" of Ariel's music, but he confuses Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo by adding a faceless voice, which disturbs them and causes them to argue. Prospero does not force anyone to do anything; it appeals to their senses in a positive or negative way, and their response to these sensations provokes an action required by Prospero. However, by the end of the play, it is never determined whether Prospero had real power or was simply manipulative enough to get what he wanted. This issue will be resolved in the epilogue. The epilogue is a monologue spoken by Prospero. The play is finished in the sense that no further action must be taken by the characters. However, the piece is not really finished. Prospero is still there rather than with the curtain closed. He left the “room” finished. His character, however, is greatly modified. Prospero was an all-powerful character who did everything in the play. Now that the play is over and everyone has left, Prospero can no longer seem to control anything, leaving him helpless. However, he claims to still hold a “weak power” of his own. If power requires someone to have power over, then someone outside of the other characters is subordinate to Prospero. It can only be the public. He goes on to make an appeal, asking that the audience applaud the play and send him back to Naples, and he says that if we don't do this, he will remain trapped on his island. As mentioned above, the epilogue is reflected in the play. , and comparing this reflection 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 perform in a sort of play for Ferdinand and Miranda. When Ferdinand begins to speak, Prospero tells him to be silent "or [his] spell is wasted" (line 127.) Most importantly in this comparison of the Act IV mini-play, scene I, the large room of the pre-epilogue Storm is at the end of the mini-room. Prospero tells Ferdinand that these actors were spirits that "melted...into the air" (147-149) and he continues to compare these actors to the world (it is important to note that their "world" is their own literature ). world, because it is the only world to which they have access), and finally to themselves: "We are the stuff on which dreams are made" (155-156.) Prospero also created a larger play , The Tempest. This is why Prospero, in his play, refers to the nature of their world and themselves as “matter on which dreams are made.” The spirits in the mini-play are the same "stuff" as the characters in The Tempest, including Prospero. This confines The Tempest to the same rules as the mini-play, and therefore our attention to the play supports the existence of the character. The reaction of.