The "fantastic" elements of William Shakespeare's The Tempest are highlighted by the introduction of Ariel, the spirit, Caliban, the son of a witch, and of Prospero, a banished duke who mastered occult powers. Despite what appears to be an expression of gratitude and repayment of debt for their respective rescue from imprisonment, Ariel and Caliban both submissively serve Prospero because they are enslaved by his powers and are essentially mere instruments in his complex plan to regain his usurped power. Shakespeare uses the characterizations of Aerial and Caliban and their interactions with Prospero on a remote island in the first act to illustrate themes of power, pecking order, law, and justice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayAriel is a spirit who seems indebted to Prospero and assists Prospero with her own servant powers, but at the same time, that of Ariel The relationship with Prospero is not as simply defined as that of master and slave. Without doubt, Ariel obeys her “noble master” (1.2.357). Ariel's exaggerated language when he "answers" (1.2.225) to Prospero with "[his] best pleasure" (1.2.225) and "[his] strong task of bidding" (1.2.227) is at no sycophant as he desperately tries to appease Prospero. Prospero also does not pass up opportunities to reassert his dominance over Ariel, such as when Prospero lets out a barrage of sarcasm and rhetorical questions when Ariel coyly proposes her impending freedom. Prospero denounces him as a "malignant thing" and that "if [Ariel] whispers again, he will tear an oak / And thrust [Ariel] into its gnarled bowels until / [Ariel] has howled twelve winters" (1.2. 349-1.2.351). Prospero's hypocrisy is evident, as he appears to force Ariel to submit in a manner similar to what Sycorax once did. However, Prospero does not treat him as a humble slave. For him, Ariel is more of a respected but subordinate servant. Although only a servant, Ariel possesses and controls the powers of the elements, including flames that "crack / With sulfurous roars" and "terrible claps of thunder" which he uses to immobilize the ship on command of Prospero. Prospero describes Ariel as a "spirit" (1.2.229) and a "sea nymph" (1.2.359), further implying that Ariel is a pure figure who represents nature and its elements themselves. Shakespeare insinuates that the relationship between Ariel and Prospero is one of mutual dependence, to some extent, since Prospero needs Ariel's elemental powers, while Ariel serves to free himself from Prospero's "earthly" but restrictive magic . Caliban, unlike "picturesque" (1.2.380) Ariel, is at the bottom of the island's social order, condemned to menial labor and being a lowly slave of Prospero, but in many ways he also seems to be a exaggerated manifestation of Prospero himself. From a literal perspective, Caliban is the offspring of a social outcast, a witch, and a seemingly uneducated bully. This characterization is demonstrated both in his speech and in Prospero's remarks towards him. Prospero refers to Caliban as the "freckled whelp, witch-born and unhonored with / A human form" (1.2.336-1.2.337) that Sycorax "threw" (1.2.335) on the island. The play on words in Prospero's description refers to Caliban as a social outcast, trash and trash, even on an island with four beings, and also implies that Caliban is a filthy spawn of an animal. Furthermore, Caliban's speech.