Hey Prospero...a pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!

In Act 1 of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, it is apparent that, through the manipulation of historical narratives, Prospero's subjects are able to be controlled; similarly, as we all know, the totalitarian Party in George Orwell's 1984 is able to control the citizens of Oceania through the distortion of reality.

Prospero, like the Party, alternates the past in his favor, enabling control to be maintained. For example, during Prospero's speech to Miranda about how she had come to arrive at their current residence, he portrayed his brother, Antonio, to have been "perfidious,...[granting] suits, [denying] them, who t' advance and who to trash for overtopping (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 68, 79-81)." This negative description of Miranda's uncle puts Prospero in a good light, however false it may be. Since there is no other side to the story of how Miranda has arrived at her current location, this is the only side in which she can base her opinion upon, one in which is in favor of Prospero. The fact that Prospero was, as he described, "all dedicated to closeness and the bettering of [his] mind with that which, but by being so retired (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 89-91)," further improves his "image" in the eyes of Miranda. He places himself above others that surrounded him in this description as well, making him seem more intelligent.

Intelligence is definitely something that Prospero has, being that he seems to fully understand why it is necessary for him to alter the past to his favor. By telling Miranda (one of three in this Act that are manipulated) a history that emphasizes the contrast between the good deeds that he made with the horribleness of others, Prospero looks like a saint. Those altered histories give Prospero's subjects an understanding of the past in which Prospero himself looks heroic. Because of this, he has their trust. Thus, he is able to completely exercise his authority through magic and the manipulation of history.

Put simply, as Orwell said, "He who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." Prospero's, like the Party's, continual changes upon history enable him to maintain power in the past, present, and future.