Shakespeare's Discourse on Law, Mercy Term Paper

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As things are in the play, the text proves to be much more complicated. Thus, one significant element is Prospero's magic art and his powers.

His great lore and his art give him an unusual power over the island and the people on it. Thus, after completing his act of justice, Prospero relinquishes his powers symbolically burying his 'staff' and drowning his book: "But this rough magic / I here abjure, and, when I have required / Some heavenly music, which even now I do, / to work mine end upon their senses that / This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, / Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, / and deeper than did ever plummet sound / I'll drown my book."("The Tempest," V. i. 55-62) the act is symbolic as it shows Prospero ultimately drained of forces and spirit, and he himself a prisoner of his magical powers. The Epilogue, uttered in the form of a prayer, reveals Prospero's state of mind, and his despair at having lost his art: "Let me not, / Since I have my dukedom got / and pardon'd the deceiver, dwell / in this bare island by your spell; / but release me from my bands / With the help of your good hands: / Gentle breath of yours my sails / Must fill, or else my project fails, / Which was to please.

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Now I want / Spirits to enforce, art to enchant, / and my ending is despair, / Unless I be relieved by prayer, / Which pierces so that it assaults / Mercy itself and frees all faults./as you from crimes would pardon'd be,/Let your indulgence set me free."("The Tempest," Epilogue, 5-20) Thus this idea emphasizes the fact that although the order has been reinstituted, Prospero remains suspended in his love for art and the impossibility of renouncing his superhuman powers.

Thus, the two plays present two different discourses on justice, law and mercy, according to the different societies where they apply.

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