In recent times, there has been a power struggle between Republicans and Democrats that continues to polarize the country. Such struggles took place especially around the particularly divisive 2016 presidential election. Dirt on both President Trump and Hillary Clinton was dug up; however, what was particularly damning for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was the discovery of her private email server to conduct official government business. This sparked outrage and an investigation into the possible mishandling of government information that was sent through the private email server. As of October 18, Clinton has been cleared of any wrong doing of using the private server due to the fact that the server did not mishandle any government information. Despite the end of this investigation, Clinton still suffered political repercussions as a result of having the private server: claims of her being crook tipped the electoral votes in favor of Trump, costing her the election.

            Similar to the Hillary Clinton situation and the political polarity that plagues the United States, the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare also explores the implications of what happens when one group gains power by taking down someone else’s. Prospero, the main character who holds the complex dual role of being both the protagonist and the antagonist, was a victim of political espionage. Betrayed by his brother and the king of Naples, Prospero was exiled to the island where the play takes place due to his research in alchemy. As a result, Prospero spent twelve years on the island planning his revenge to take back the throne from his brother who stole it from him.

            Prospero’s attempts to take back power from the people who took it away from is similar to the power struggles that occur in the United States. Usurped from the throne, Prospero was a political victim of his brother’s scheming to take power over Milan. In a similar manner, attempts at mudslinging from both parties led to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server had cost her the election. Although Prospero, through scheming and manipulation, is able to win back his power, Hillary Clinton has been unable to do the same. Prospero had the advantage of being a man who had the power to tip the scales back to his side; Hillary Clinton is a woman whose political standing was already being questioned by the public and as a result of the investigation, was deemed being even more of “crook”. Although semi-active in political again, Hillary Clinton has been unable to truly recover from not being able to the win the election, especially after another previous attempt to run for president in 2008. Despite, the play The Tempest does reflect earnestly on the struggle for power that happens in reality that can either benefit one group of people or destroy another.

For more on the article on the email server investigation: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/us/politics/state-dept-inquiry-clinton-emails.html