Gonzalo Flashcards
(8 cards)
Introduction
In the Tempest, Shakespeare crafts a rich tapestry of power, betrayal, forgiveness and renewal, set against the backdrop of a magical island and framed by divine-like manipulation. Within this complex moral landscape, Gonzalo- a counsellor to Alonso and a survivor of the shipwreck- occupies an ambivalent position. He is neither ruler nor rebel, neither victim nor aggressor, yet he remains conspicuously present across the play’s most pivotal moments.
His speeches evoke utopian idealism, his actions suggest compassion and foresight, and his absence from acts of sin marks him as distant.
-as the narrative transitions from tempestuous discord to measured reconciliation, Gonzalo’s voice is heard not in vengeance, but in reflection.
-his evolving role from enforcer of order to visionary and choric commentator.
Paragraph 1:Moral Authority within Chaos and Exile
Quotes and analysis
-Gonzalo’s introduction in Act 1 Scene 1 is marked by tension between order and chaos. Amid the raging storm, he insists on preserving social hierarchy, even in a life-threatening crisis. When he says ”Make the rope of his destiny our cable, for own doth little advantage”.Sarcastically suggests that the Boatswain’s insolence will earn him a rope- not to steer the ship, but to hang. The phrase plays on nautical imagery while thinly veiling a threat, as “rope” becomes a metaphor for execution. This reveals Gonzalo’s attempt to reassert class dominance even amid chaos, and hinting at the broader theme of justice and fate that runs throughout the play.
-later in the same scene, Gonzalo’s exclamation, ”Now would i give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground”, utilises the hyperbole to highlight the disillusionment of status and power when confronted with mortality. The shift from expansive “furlongs of sea” to the meagre “acre of barren ground” compresses Gonzalo’s values from gradual to survival. His language evokes the Biblical image of the desert- barren yet spiritually significant- linking to the redemptive landscape Prospero and Miranda will soon inhabit
-in Act 1 Scene 2, through Prospero’s recollection, Gonzalo is retrospectively framed as the enabler of the play’s redemptive arc: “a noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo” “did give us, with/ Rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries” “from mine own library with volumes that/ i prize above my dukedom”. The structure of the lines build toward the climax: Prospero’s treasured “volumes” are not merely gifts, but sacred instruments of moral reordering. Shakespeare delays the reveal of the books to heighten their symbolic value. Gonzalo’s aid is both material and metaphysical; by preserving Prospero’s learning, he preserves the potential for moral and spiritual rebirth. The syntax of this memory, with its careful poised parallelism and listing, creates an aura of reverence- Gonzalo is not just kind; he is providential.
Paragraph 1:Moral Authority within Chaos and Exile
Theatrical interpretations and critics
Critic Frank Kermode notes that Gonzalo offers “a pattern of virtue in a court of vice”, acting less out of loyalty than from an innate sense of righteousness. Consistently acting with compassion and honesty amidst treacherous and self-serving characters, embodying moral integrity that neither seeks power not participates in the corrupt dynamics around him. Quiet and ethical foil to figures like Antonio and Sebastian.
In the 2016 Donmar Warehouse production, this moment was reinforced by Prospero’s almost prayerful tone when mentioning Gonzalo, visually and aurally elevating him above corrupt courtiers.
Paragraph 2: Utopian Idealism and Choric optimism
Quotes and analysis
-Gonzalo’s role deepens in Act 2 Scene 1 with his famous “commonwealth” speech, which reveals the idealistic dimension of his morality. Declaring “I’th’ commonwealth i would by contraries/ execute all things”. His use of “contraries” signals a utopian inversion: a society with “no sovereignty”, “no occupation” and where “nature should bring forth […] all foison, all abundance”. The polysyndeton builds a sense of overflowing generosity and harmony with nature, echoing Edenic and Golden Age ideals. By removing law, labour and hierarchy, gonzalo imagines a return to prelapsarian innocence.
-yet Shakespeare complicates this vision. Sebastian interjects, ”Yet he would be king on’t”, exposing the inherent contradiction in Gonzalo’s ideal: his commonwealth still requires his authority. This dramatic interruption undermines the utopia, revealing impracticality of idealism within a flawed human world. Nonetheless, Gonzalo’s belief in innocence, harmony and natural goodness contrasts sharply with the cynicism and murderous plotting of Antonio and Sebastian, further consolidating his moral position.
-the speech also signals a broader transformation: having survived the shipwreck, Gonzalo, like Prospero, undergoes a renewal. His optimism, “be merry” repeated insistently, establishes his emotional and spiritual resilience.
Paragraph 2: Utopian Idealism and Choric optimism
Critics and context
In Sam Mendes’s 1993 RSC production, Gonzalo’s delivery of the commonwealth speech was whimsical, warm and detached from the others’ cruelty, casting him as the only character capable of dreaming beyond revenge or power.
Northrup Frye sees Gonzalo’s speech as Shakespeare’s evocation of “what a world might look like if innocence were not merely lost, but recovered”, reinforcing his role as a beacon for the audience in a morally fraught play.
Paragraph 3: witness, chorus and moral affirmation
Quotes and analysis
-In Act 3 Scene 3, Ariel condemns Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian as **”three men of sin”, but crucially excludes Gonzalo. His absence from divine rebuke is significant. It marks him as spiritually untainted.
-when Gonzalo later observes ”All three of them are desperate: their great guilt/ like poison given to work a great time after” he speaks not with judgement but with clarity and insight. The simile “poison” links guilt to something corrosive= Gonzalo reads sin as a delayed inevitable corruption. Structurally, his lines serve as moral summary, closing the scene with reflective tone and tempering Ariel’s divine fury with human empathy.
-his line “i’th’ name of something holy, sir, why stand you/ in this strange stare?” directed at Alonso, invokes sanctity in the face of existential crisis. Gonzalo does not dismiss Alonso’s vision but names it “holy”, affirming its spiritual weight. Here he acts as a choric intermediary, translating divine judgement into moral realisation for both characters and audience.
-finally, in Act 5 Scene 1, Gonzalo delivers the play’s great epilogue of rejoicing “O rejoice/ Beyond a common joy, and set it down/ with gold on lasting pillars”. The anaphora and elevation of “common joy” to something “beyond” reveal Shakespeare’s use of poetic structure to mark moral culmination. Gonzalo’s speech reads like an epic invocation- “in one Voyage […] Ferdinand found a wife where he himself was lost”. Here he frames the events of the play within a providential almost mythological narrative.
Paragraph 3: witness, chorus and moral affirmation
Critics and context
In the Cheek by Jowl 1988 production, Gonzalo delivered these lines with solemn grace, as if invoking divine approval for the restoration that had taken place. The structural placement- after Prospero’s renunciation and before the play’s conclusion positions Gonzalo as the final interpreter of its meaning
Neil MacGregor argues that Gonzalo offers not only “ethical continuity” but becomes “the voice of the audience’s conscience” ensuring that justice and mercy are not simply enacted but understood
Conclusion
Across The Tempest, Gonzalo emerges not as a figure of authority or magic, but of enduring virtue. From the confusion of the shipwreck to the final reconciliation, he reflects the play’s movement from disorder to providential order. Through his generosity, idealism and choric reflection, Gonzalo provides moral clarity that other struggle to attain. Gonzalo not only grounds the ethical discourse of the play, but also operates as a choric figure whose commentary and conduct reflect the play’s moral spine. From enforcing order in the chaos of act 1to celebrating providential harmony in Act 5, Gonzalo mirrors and models the movement of the play from tempest to tranquility.
