sinks deep into the walls of the island
the ship
wreck was just the crashing of wood against stone.
the end of the story, not the beginning.
in which the ship is named prospero prosperity
pros & cons.
in which he causes everything except his
magic
and the wood of the ship is taken from sycorax’s tree
& & and he has only ever controlled one entity
never caliban ariel cali ban
always himself
in which the shipwreck
replay replay s.
eyelashes close & stick together.
and there is no one on the ship but it crashes anyway.
in which this is not an island & this is not the sea
this is just a shell of branches with eyes
opening & closing.
& prosperity stares you in the face
opens the door
& leaves.
Analysis: For my reading week project, I decided to write a free verse poem based on Prospero from The Tempest. I wanted to focus on how Prospero continually exerts his magic and power over everyone else on the island, but also take into account the ending, with Prospero giving up his magic and leaving the island. With the ending, it seems like Prospero’s magic has taken too much out of him, and like he has been consumed by it; this causes him to leave the island and the magic that gives him power. I imagined that the main events of this play were all only within Prospero’s mind, and that the shipwreck became a part of him and everything else on the island. I wanted to frame the events of The Tempest as something more metaphorical and dream-like and focused on the shipwreck happening again and again to only Prospero.
One main idea that I focused on was the wood of the ship also being part of the island; I wanted to include this to make it clear that everything is cycling through Prospero’s mind, and that he has become trapped within this idea of the island. I also included the repeated metaphors of eyes in the second half of the poem to represent Prospero’s relationship with the other characters in the play and everyone he has taken control of. I decided to frame it as if they were all watching him and the slow takeover of his magic. Finally, I repeated the word “prosperity” because it sounded like Prospero’s name; although I am not sure what his name was inspired from, I thought that the contrast between the evolution of Prospero’s character and the word “prosperity” was interesting to think about. This inspired the ending of the poem, with prosperity leaving him even though he had thought that he was successful throughout the entirety of the play. This idea of himself is clearly shown in his conversation with Miranda after the shipwreck, when he states, “By accident most strange, bountiful fortune / …hath mine enemies / Brought to this shore; and by my prescience / I find my zenith doth depend upon / A most auspicious star” (1.2.178-182). Here, he believes that his plans and the use of his magic will benefit him greatly, but the ending shows the negative effects of such magic and the loss of his prosperity, especially with his choice to give it up completely.