Originally published March 3, 2010

Achilles, in The Iliad, and Prospero, in The Tempest, both possess a certain “art” that gives them power with which they can assert their authority over others. Prospero’s art is his magic, and he uses that to control people, like his servant Caliban, by establishing a fear of punishment. Achilles’ art is his skill in fighting, which he uses to control those around him through an instillation of fear in them. However, although both of them control others through fear of their art, Prospero was successful in achieving his goals, while Achilles died trying to achieve his.

Prospero’s ability to convert his authority by his art into an authority based on respect allows him to successfully meet his goal, and return to Milan to reclaim his dukedom, however, Achilles’ unwillingness to relinquish his dominance causes him to be held in contempt by the gods, and achieve an eternal reputation of stubbornness and mercilessness, rather than one as a glorious war hero.

Prospero used his art to control Caliban through a fear of being “pinched to death” (The Tempest, V.i.332). Although Caliban despises serving Prospero because of his harsh treatment after his attempted rape, he “must obey. His art is of such power it would control my dam’s god, Setebos, and make a vassal of him” (The Tempest, I.ii.448). But however much control over others Prospero’s art gives him, he is still prepared to surrender it to return to Milan with the royal party. As Prospero is preparing for the unification of the shipwrecked Milanese royalty, he declares the renunciation of his art:

“This rough magic I here abjure, and when I have required some heavenly music, which even now I do, to work mine end upon their senses that this airy charm is for, I’ll break my staff, bury it certain fathoms in the earth, and deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book.”(The Tempest, V.i.59-66)

This quote demonstrates Prospero’s forswearing of his “potent art”(The Tempest, V.i.59.) so that he may regain his political authority in Milan. Prospero is successful in completion of his goal, as he returns to Milan, repossesses his dukedom, and establishes a new authority through respect of his title, instead of fear of his art.

            Achilles is unwilling to abdicate that which gives him authority, his fighting skill, to take up a new authority with a basis of respect. A demonstration of Achilles’ authority through instillation of fear in others can be seen when Patroclus dons Achilles’ armor for a battle. As he and the Myrmidons arrive at the battle,

 “The Trojans, when they saw the powerful son of Menoitios (Patroclus) himself and his henchman with him in the glare of their war gear, the heart was stirred in all of them, the battalions were shaken in the expectation that by the ships swift-footed Peleion (Achilles) had thrown away his anger and chosen the way of friendship. Then each man looked about him for a way to escape the sheer death.”(The Iliad, Book XVI, Lines 278-283)

The Trojan reaction to the entrance of ‘Achilles’ into the battle reveals the impact that a single man, Achilles, can have on an entire battle, the Trojan’s recognition that Achilles’ presence means certain death, and their utter disbelief and dismay at his unexpected arrival. However, with the murder of Patroclus by Hector in this same battle comes the vengeful rage of Achilles. Achilles confronts Hector, and kills him with a spear through the throat. Hector’s dying wish was to “give my body to be taken home again, so that the Trojans and the wives of the Trojans may give me in death my rite of burning”(The Iliad, Book XXII, Lines 342-343). In spite of this request, Achilles is still inclined to assert his dominance, as he “thought of shameful treatment of glorious Hector”(The Iliad, Book XXII, Line 395). This treatment entailed the dragging of Hector behind Achilles’ chariot, as he is “defiled in the land of his fathers”(The Iliad, Book XXII, Line 404). This extreme disrespect expressed towards Hector troubles Apollo, who conveys his pity as he “guarded the body from all ugliness, and hid all of it under the golden aegis, so that it might not be torn when Achilles dragged it”(The Iliad,Book XXIV, Lines 19-21). This action represents the contempt held by the gods for the treatment of Hector’s corpse. The god’s contempt and remorse for Achilles’ actions is also shown as the gods “looked upon him and were filled with compassion, and kept urging clear-sighted Argeiphontes to steal the body”(The Iliad, Book XXIV, Lines 23-24). This contempt, coupled with Achilles’ prophecy that if he fights in the war, he will not return to Phthia, leads up to the event of Achilles’ death at the hands of Paris, who pierce’s his heel with an arrow guided by Apollo, “on that day when Paris and Phoibos Apollo destroy you in the Skaian gates”(The Iliad, Book XXII, Lines 359-360).

Achilles’ death does not seem to represent a failure of Achilles in his achievement of his goals, as Achilles was successful in exacting his revenge on Hector, and also successful in his attainment of eternal glory, which was his major goal. So how was his disinclination to renounce his dominance, and authority through superiority, a setback in the achievement of his goals? The fact is, that although Achilles did manage to accomplish his goal of eternal glory, as can be seen in his portrayal in The Iliad, the reputation that comes across through Homer’s depiction is negative, to some extent. On one hand, Achilles is described as an invincible, fearless, war hero. But on the other hand, he is exposed as a stubborn and pitiless individual. These two, unbecoming, qualities of Achilles are demonstrated as he denies Hector’s final wish, for his body to be returned to Troy. Having refused to relinquish his authority through power for respect from the gods, Achilles responds to Hector’s wish with, “there is no one who can hold the dogs off from your head, not if they bring me ten times and twenty times the ransom, not if Priam should offer to weigh out your bulk in gold” (The Iliad, Book XXII, Lines 348-352). This response demonstrates Achilles’ stubbornness, as he would refuse any amount of payment for Hector’s body just so that the “dogs and the birds will have you all for their feasting”(The Iliad, Book XXII, Line 354). It also shows his lack of pity, as he feels no guilt in not giving Hector a proper burial, but instead drags him by his chariot and leaves him to be feasted on as carrion. Hector acknowledges this stubbornness, as he then answers back, “I know you well as I look upon you, I know that I could not persuade you, since indeed in your breast is a heart of iron”(The Iliad, Book XXII, Lines 356-357). The portrayal of Achilles, as heartless and adamant, has remained constant since Homer first wrote the poem, through the 21^st century, and has thus achieved Achilles eternal, negative, recognition as an unforgiving, spiteful, and pigheaded character.

So in conclusion, the reason for Prospero’s success was that he was willing to exchange his art, his authority through power, for an authority based on respect, so that he may accomplish his goal, whereas Achilles was reluctant to abandon his art at all, which led to his ultimate downfall, and only partial achievement of his goal. Prospero’s renunciation of his magic at the end of the book demonstrates his devotion to the achievement of his goal to return to Milan and reclaim his dukedom. Achilles, on the contrary, is unwilling to relinquish his military power, and is thus unable to earn the respect of the gods, as he is reluctant to return Hector’s body to his family, which causes the failure in his goal.