Comparison of The Tempest and King LearThis essay will focus on the similarities and differences between the plays The Tempest and King Lear in general, as well as the comparisons between Prospero and Lear to some extent. more details.Prospero and Lear are, without doubt, Shakespeare's two most compelling mature figures. In a way, one is, so to speak, the reverse side of the other. Each represents an aging man's relationship with his family, his environment, and, most importantly, himself. One might even be bold enough to venture that if Lear had lived, he might, through the enormity of his painful transformation, have become a character very much like Prospero, a man who learned bitter lessons from his dealings with the world and used them. to create his own unique reality, finally becoming the true master of his destiny. The similarities between The Tempest and King Lear are more numerous than one might assume at first glance. First of all, the theme of nature plays an important role, as in many of Shakespeare's works. This is partly due to the popularity of the pastoral theme in the Elizabethan era, as well as the English appreciation of the countryside. (The latter fact persists to this day, as evidenced by the fact that the cover of every Arden edition of Shakespeare is adorned with paintings by the Brotherhood of Ruralists, a group of artists whose primary inspiration is the English countryside.) The The clearest parallel in the realm of nature, between the two pieces, is the spectacle and grandeur of a storm. In each case, the appearance of a powerful storm is a defining element of the plot, as well as a symbol of transformation. In The Tempest, the storm foresees the arrival of the king of Naples, the usurper D...... middle of paper ......e rewards of such a transformation.Works cited and consultedDavidson, Frank. “The storm: an interpretation. » In the storm: a collection of cases. Ed. DJ Palmer. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1968. 225. Kermode, Frank. Introduction. The Tempest. By William Shakespeare. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1958. xlii. Kott, January. Shakespeare Our Contemporary. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1994. Schlegel, August Wilhelm. Criticism of Shakespeare's tragedies. A course of lectures on drama and literature. London: AMS Press, Inc., 1995. Shakespeare, William, 1998. King Lear. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Solomon, Andrew. “A reading of the storm”. In Shakespeare's last plays. Ed. Richard C. Tobias and Paul G. Zolbrod. Athens: Ohio UP, 1974. 232.Webster, Margaret. Shakespeare without tears. Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, Inc..., 1996.