Government plays an important role in The Tempest. It is because of the importance of government that Prospero has been trapped on this island and it is because of government that the story continues to progress. The key element in the play and its heavy subject of government is the character Prospero. He is the law of the island, and he has the power to achieve any goal he so desires. The visitors to the island, mostly political figures from Italy, depict another facet of government in the play, the opposition. After all, Prospero was once the Duke of Milan, but that position was usurped from him by his brother Antonio. There is also a general idea that Shakespeare was demonstrating his own opinion of what government meant to him, especially that of his own country. Government in the play The Tempest is most strongly represented not only...