More specifically, it is Ariel’s time under Prospero’s enslavement that forces him to carry items reminiscent of the mage’s control and limits his ability to carry out his plans. For, below Ariel, Miranda and Ferdinand embrace on a rocky shore, despite the fact that they ought not to be present after the spirit is freed (Fuseli). Meanwhile, the presence of the ocean in the background indicates that all of the characters are still on the island, placing them within the context of The Tempest’s themes. But, as Miranda’s face is completely hidden, and Ferdinand’s is very crudely drawn, there is not enough detail for them to exist as a representation of lovers (Fuseli). Instead, they as a pair represent Prospero’s control, as it was the mage that engineered their relationship. Since Prospero’s control is a theme in the painting, this is what is responsible for Ariel’s inability to let go of the shaft and other human implements, as opposed to a more general contamination by humanity. Prospero’s specific method of enslavement, in which he requires that Ariel carry out his plans “to point,” and even memorize and deliver speeches with “nothing bated” from his script, is then relevant (Shakespeare 1.2.94 and 3.3.85). Even though Ariel is allowed to exercise his powers under slavery, Prospero insists on doing every aspect of the planning, thus reducing potential creative tasks to menial labor. For this reason, Ariel is unable to see that riding a bat is not a viable plan, and is unable to think of how he himself might approach the problem of riding a bat, since he instead uses Prospero’s strategy of relating to the bat as a slave master. On a physical level, Ariel’s former status as Prospero’s slave keeps him from being able to shed the traces of humanity and achieve his goals, and on a mental level, the lack of creativity under a master who plans as much as Prospero stunts Ariel’s ability to think his ideas through.
The details of Ariel’s style of bat riding point to the unwelcome influence that Ariel’s time with humanity exerts on the scene. In the painting, Ariel holds the bat by means of a sparkling chain, but the light source stops illuminating the stars of the chain by the point where it presumably attaches to the bat (Fuseli). In obscuring this detail, Fuseli emphasizes Ariel’s use of the chain, rather than its effects. After all, as Ariel is a former slave, it is indeed paradoxical that he would choose to bind another living creature with a chain, particularly since this method does not help to control the bat. Ariel also wears other bits of metal: he has a bright bracelet and anklet centered over the bat (Fuseli). Despite Ariel’s plans for living amongst flowers, he wears more human accessories than floral items, indicating the continuing influence of humanity on him. Moreover, the bracelet and anklet do not help Ariel in his goals: both are aligned unnaturally over the bat, indicating that they are constricting the options that Ariel has for his balancing act. All of the previous items are very visible in the painting, but Ariel also holds a shaft aloft in the shadows above his head (Fuseli). This is an intentional placement: Ariel takes great care to bend his arm backwards in order to obscure the tip, which is impossible to identify for a viewer. There is nothing that the shaft, whether it is a wand, trident, whip, or something else, can do in that position, and so Ariel is attempting to hide it rather than use it. Yet, Ariel is clearly unable to let go of the unwelcome object. The various non-natural objects that Ariel employs do not solve the problem of the impracticality of bat riding, and in fact both make it worse and serve as uncomfortable reminders for Ariel of his former time spent among humans.
More specifically, it is Ariel’s time under Prospero’s enslavement that forces him to carry items reminiscent of the mage’s control and limits his ability to carry out his plans. For, below Ariel, Miranda and Ferdinand embrace on a rocky shore, despite the fact that they ought not to be present after the spirit is freed (Fuseli). Meanwhile, the presence of the ocean in the background indicates that all of the characters are still on the island, placing them within the context of The Tempest’s themes. But, as Miranda’s face is completely hidden, and Ferdinand’s is very crudely drawn, there is not enough detail for them to exist as a representation of lovers (Fuseli). Instead, they as a pair represent Prospero’s control, as it was the mage that engineered their relationship. Since Prospero’s control is a theme in the painting, this is what is responsible for Ariel’s inability to let go of the shaft and other human implements, as opposed to a more general contamination by humanity. Prospero’s specific method of enslavement, in which he requires that Ariel carry out his plans “to point,” and even memorize and deliver speeches with “nothing bated” from his script, is then relevant (Shakespeare 1.2.94 and 3.3.85). Even though Ariel is allowed to exercise his powers under slavery, Prospero insists on doing every aspect of the planning, thus reducing potential creative tasks to menial labor. For this reason, Ariel is unable to see that riding a bat is not a viable plan, and is unable to think of how he himself might approach the problem of riding a bat, since he instead uses Prospero’s strategy of relating to the bat as a slave master. On a physical level, Ariel’s former status as Prospero’s slave keeps him from being able to shed the traces of humanity and achieve his goals, and on a mental level, the lack of creativity under a master who plans as much as Prospero stunts Ariel’s ability to think his ideas through.
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