Throughout history, the struggle for power has led humanity to commit unspeakable acts of violence to gain or maintain dominance over others. Imprisonment, torture, and murder are all tools that tyrants such as Caligula of Rome, Ivan IV of Russia, and Pol Pot of Cambodia used to subjugate their will to others. At the most basic level these are all stories of men obsessed with power. The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, is another similar story that shows how far a person will go to gain control and power over others. The character relationship between Prospero and his slaves, Ariel and Caliban, provides insight into the overall theme of the story, which is the struggle between those who hold power and those who are envious of that power and will stop at nothing to take it for themselves themselves. Throughout The Tempest, Caliban is seen as an evil, brutal, and constantly ruled being, but he is very keen with his senses. Prospero, however, counteracts this and is very powerful, intelligent and is a natural at ruling and having control over others. When Prospero and Miranda first arrived on the island where Caliban is native, they got along quite well, however after Caliban attempted to rape Miranda, things went awry. This is the symbol of women losing their virginity. It also shows how women are weak compared to men and how men are stronger and more powerful than women. Because Caliban attempted to rape Miranda, Prospero imprisoned Caliban. As Prospero says to Caliban: “Thou poisonous slave, taken by the devil himself/ Upon thy wicked mother, come forth! “(1.2.383-384). This shows that because Caliban raped Prospero's daughter, Miranda, Prospero thinks that Caliban is of a different race and perhaps raised by the devil. This also shows…half of the card…rhymes. Caliban is similar to Antonio in this way because Caliban feels sorry for raping Miranda. Antonio is afraid of Ariel's magical powers. Caliban is similar to Antonio in this way because Caliban is afraid of Prospero's powers. Finally, Caliban is similar to Antonio because Caliban created a plan to kill his master Prospero and Antonio and Sebastian had created a plan to kill Alonso. In The Tempest, power is depicted as a major theme and some of the ways power is depicted as women are seen as weaker than. Some characters like Caliban; being power hungry and wanting a lot of power and not wanting to be ruled. It is also portrayed as many people struggling for power and trying to have total control of everything. It also shows how powerful spirits and magical powers can be and how when people least expect something to happen, something happens.