In William Shakespeare's The Tempest and Sophocles' Antigone, both authors explore and illustrate the differences between “human law” and “higher law”. The two authors have different opinions on such laws. In The Tempest, Prospero uses his magic to manipulate various characters, and often uses his magic to follow the plot of the story in his own way. Prospero uses his magic to have total control over the people on the island where he lives. In Antigone, Creon, the king of Thebes, uses his title to manipulate others by killing Haemon and Antigone. Although the ending is more tragic under Creon's control than under Prospero's, at the end of Creon's manipulation, the Greek gods destroy Thebes. Regardless of the differences between the works, both have different views of “human law” and “higher law.” Through the development of the characters and story setting in both plays, it is obvious that Shakespeare prefers "human law" and Sophocles prefers "higher law". In Shakespeare's The Tempest, the focus throughout the story is on "human law" as Prospero is seen as a manipulator. Near the beginning of the play, Prospero enslaves Caliban and continually obeys Prospero when Prospero orders him to do so. After Prospero gives instructions on what to do, Caliban says in one part that “[He] must obey. [Prospero's] art is of such power / Would control [his] mother's god, Setebus, / And make [Setebus a vassal]” (Shakespeare I.ii.448-450). When Prospero threatens Caliban by telling him that he would "control [Caliban's] mother's god, Setebus" (Shakespeare I.ii.449), making Prospero more powerful than the gods. Prospero's actions demonstrate that he is the pinnacle of the Great Chain of Being. Therefore, Shakespeare's use of indirect characterization demonstrates to the au...... middle of paper...... In Shakespeare's The Tempest and Sophocles' Antigone, the text confronts whether faith is towards "human law" or "higher law". Prospero, in The Tempest, is a person who controls others and demonstrates the fact that no gods rule. However, Creon, in Antigone, also controlled others, yet, at that time, the Gods ruled and made the lives of Thebes destructive when their laws were broken. Comparing the two plays, the authors wrote in two different periods with different beliefs. The ancient belief is the environment in which the “higher law” is in effect when Antigone is in existence. Furthermore, in colonialism, there is a different belief that “human law” is in effect when The Storm is underway. Somewhere, authors seem to favor different laws depending on how they craft their stories or the type of setting in which they take place..