The Tempest (Shakespeare): The Tempest - Romance or Comedy?

The Tempest is a romantic comedy in which Shakespeare gives a final turn and absorbs other, non-romantic comedy-ish elements. It is one of the most original of Shakespeare’s productions, and he has shown in it all the variety of his powers. Full of grace and grandeur, the human and imaginary characters, the dramatic and the grotesque are all blended together with the greatest art and without any appearance of awkward contrivance.

          The romantic comedy genre draws heavily from the tradition of a romance - a fictitious narrative set away from ordinary life. Romances were typically based around themes such as the supernatural, wandering, exploration and discovery; all of which are present in this play. Also, as found in The Tempest, romances were often set in coastal regions, and typically featured exotic, fantastical locations, the themes of transgression and redemption, loss and retrieval, exile and reunion. All the actions are unified into one basic plot: Prospero’s struggle to regain his dukedom. It is also confined to one place - a fictional island. There is a violence of expression, an unreality of atmosphere and an improbability of the plot. Furthermore, they all deal with the themes of separation and reunion.

            The Tempest is a play of forgiveness. The sin that has been committed is the banishing of Prospero and his daughter - the usurpation of a lawfully appointed ruler. Antonio and Sebastian are evil villains but they can be forgiven because they are human. Somehow, we cannot treat Caliban in the same way. At the end, alone, he is still unreconciled and becomes his own king. We are made conscious that suffering is present in order to atone. This concept brings tragic connotations into a romantic comedy. Madness is used to cleanse all that is vicious in Alonso and his party. It represents a disorder of the mind, while the storm represents a disorder of nature.

          The three villains become aggravated to the extent that they begin to see apparitions and become victims of fits of madness. Gonzalo interprets their insanity as a consequence of their own guilt. The punishment is used negatively for suffering and simultaneously, is the agent in bringing about the cure. Particularly in Alonso’s case, the desperation caused by the apparent loss of his son cuts into him deeply enough to cause an emotional crisis and produces a vital change of personality.

   So, just a romantic comedy? I think not.