"The Tempest" takes place on an island ruled by the right Duke of Milan, Prospero. Although the island is far from the political machinations of Milan the island is not without of the political structure which existed there. It is quite evident that Prospero dominates the island as he may have done in his Dukedom. Power is one of the central themes; it incorporates other themes such as usurpation and colonisation.
             In this scene Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, Adrian, Francisco, Gonzalo and their servants appear on the island after Prospero's storm causes their ship to wreck. This in itself links to power. Prospero uses his magical power to create a storm as revenge on his brother Antonio, the usurping Duke of Milan. They are out searching for Alonso's son, Ferdinand whom they believe to be dead. Alonso is quite despondent and unreceptive to the good-natured Gonzalo's attempts to cheer him up he tells the group that they should "be merry...for our escape". "He receives comfort like cold porridge" is the simile that Sebastian uses to describe the King's reaction. Gonzalo meets resistance from conspiring Antonio and Sebastian as well. These two mock Gonzalo's suggestion that the island is a good place to be and that they are all lucky to have survived. Alonso brings the conversation to a halt when he bursts out to Gonzalo, and openly expresses regret at having married away his daughter in Tunis: "Would I never have married my daughter there! For thence, my son is lost, and, in my rate, she too" Francisco announces at this point that he saw Ferdinand "beat the surges under him, and ride upon their backs...to th'shore", but this does not comfort Alonso. Sebastian and Antonio continue to provide little help. Sebastian tells his brother that he is indeed to blame for Ferdinand's death-if he had not married his daughter to an African (rather than a European), none of this w...