What was Big Willy Shakes going for?
In The Tempest, magic is a dazzling art form that gives the play a sense of wonder and a whole lot of spectacle. And we can't help but notice that Prospero's magic is a craft similar to that of the playwright.
Throughout the play Prospero uses his magic to whip up a dramatic storm, to put on a dazzling wedding entertainment, to bully his servants, to manipulate his enemies, and to orchestrate his daughter's marriage to the Prince of Naples.
In other words, our favorite magician is a pretty powerful guy and quite the control freak. But to be fair, we might have some control issues, too, if our own brother stabbed us in the back and stole our dukedom before we were set adrift at sea.
Still, before Prospero landed on the island, his devotion to the study of magic got him into big trouble. While Prospero's nose was buried in his extensive library, his sneaky brother managed to steal his title and get him thrown out of Italy. So before Prospero was physically isolated on the isle, he did a pretty good job of isolating himself socially by making his "art" (magic) his number one priority.
Hmm. Is Shakespeare trying to tell us something about the dangers of letting one's devotion to mastering his craft consume him? It's a definitely possibility. And if you think Shakespeare is suggesting that being an artist makes for a lonely life, then you'll probably want to think about whether or not Prospero is a stand-in for Shakespeare himself.
How does this work, exactly? Well, Prospero uses magic to manipulate and dazzle, just like Shakespeare uses literary magic to dazzle his audiences. A lot of literary critics think Prospero manipulates the action of The Tempest like a skillful director in a theater. We'll let you decide on that one. But we're betting you can't deny that there are some distinct similarities.
You might have noticed that Prospero even mentions the Globe (Shakespeare's theater) in his speech above. So it might just be that he's talking about the nature of life being fickle and crumbling before our eyes. Or it could be that he's talking about actors on the stage disappearing like a dream. He could even be talking about Shakespeare himself fading into the night like someone does going to sleep.
We don't know for sure, but we do know that this is one speech with a bunch of layers, so it's definitely worth a second look (and a third… and maybe a fourth).