Prospero

In brief...

• The rightful Duke of Milan who is sent away by his brother Antonio.
• Gonzalo helps him survive.
• He gains control of the island.
• Rules over the spirits of the island and Caliban is his servant.
• He is powerful and uses magic to keep his power.
• He makes others scared of him, some say he is cruel to Caliban and Ariel.
• He shows great love for his daughter Miranda.
• Loves books,reading and magic. (Gonzalo ensures he has books with him).
• He raises the storm and Ariel ensures all the key characters are separated on the island.
• He is in control of most of the events on the island.
• Threatens Ariel with imprisonment and punishment if he fails to obey him, showing a darker side to Prospero’s character.
• Promises pains for Caliban which is also unpleasant.
• Compliments Ariel for all his help and promises freedom throughout; he eventually keeps his promise at the end of Act 5.

In depth...

Prospero was traditionally portrayed as a well-intentioned magician, a serene old man whose ‘project’ was to restore harmony and achieve reconciliation. But, in many twentieth-century productions, he has been played as a much more ambitious figure, harsh and demanding, impatient and deeply troubled. Opinions about him vary widely.

Name Prospero is Latin for ‘I cause to succeed, make happy and fortunate’. Bearing this definition in mind, how appropriate do you think Prospero’s name is?

Magnus and Scholar Prospero successfully learns to practise magic. His books and his spirits enable him to control the natural world, but to what extent can he control human nature  - his own and others?

Prince Prospero’s self-centred pursuit of study made him neglect his civic duties and subsequently led to his overthrow. When he is reinstated as Duke of Milan, will he devote himself single-mindedly to good government?

Father Is Prospero a loving, kind and devoted father to Miranda? Or is he bad tempered, dictatorial and irritable?

Revenger  Prospero pardons his enemies at the end of the play, but was his original plan to seek revenge for his overthrow and banishment?

Man At the end of the play, Prospero admits to his weakness as a fallible human being: ‘Now my charms are all o’erthrown/And what strength I have’s mine own’. What has he learned in the course of the play?

Master Prospero controls Caliban harshly with cramps and pinches, and has not a good word to say about him. Is he a colonist exploiter or a benevolent ruler of the island?

Actor – Manager Prospero is like a theatre director. He stages the opening tempest; he ensures that Gonzalo and Alonso sleep, so provoking a murder attempt; he is the unseen observer of his daughter and his enemies; and he produces the banquet and the masque. Are all the other characters merely his ‘actors’?

Shakespeare Some people believe that Shakespeare wrote the part of Prospero as a self portrait, particularly in his farewell to his ‘art’ at V.I.33-57. Do you?

Prospero’s project seems to have a number of aims:

• Political - ja) Uniting Naples and Milan through the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda; b) Prospero regaining his dukedom
• Revenge - the punishment of Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio
• Repentance - bringing the ‘three men of sin’ to repent their wrongdoings
• Reform - overcoming the wicked nature of others
• Self-knowledge - deepening Prospero’s humanity by overcoming his own nature, and putting mercy before vengeance
• Reward - releasing Ariel from his service
• Escape - leaving the island to return to Milan
• Harmony - achieving unity and peace in personal, social and natural life

Prospero plays the most significant role in the play in that he is on the stage longer than any other character and he controls the fate of others on the island.

You might like to consider whether he uses his powers wisely and humanely or selfishly.

He lost his dukedom because he failed to recognise his brother’s ambition and because he neglected his first duty, the governing of Milan.

His treatment by his brother, Antonio, has taught him not to trust appearances hence his ‘testing’ of Ferdinand’s love for his daughter.

Is Prospero as affectionate and caring as he suggests?

He tells Miranda that ‘I have done nothing but in care of thee’ although it was his behaviour that caused Miranda’s fate in the first place. He seems to love Ariel but can behave cruelly towards him. His harshness towards Caliban must rate as his greatest weakness. He uses severe language. He is vindictive to plague him with arthritis.

Act 1

• When he tells Miranda about Antonio’s treachery his language becomes convoluted and disjointed under the pressure of his emotions.
• He was a very important man and his fall from power provides the main impulse for the action of the play.
• Many aspects of his character are revealed in this scene, not least the fact that he controls everything that happens.
• Prospero’s authority is challenged by both Ariel and Caliban, thus continuing the theme introduced by the Boatswain in I.i and implicit in Prospero’s account of how he lost his dukedom.
• Although he was betrayed by Antonio, Prospero lost his dukedom partly because he preferred secretive studies, thus neglecting his duties as a ruler. The situation awoke his brother’s ‘evil nature’.
• The story of the witch, Sycorax, parallels that of Prospero. Both are exiled on the island, both have a child, both practise magic and both use Ariel as a servant.

Act 3, sc 3

• The presence of Prospero on the stage, unseen by all the others, yet controlling events, again emphasises the God-like role he is playing.

Act 5

• Prospero explains his reasons for showing forgiveness to his enemies, lines 20-30.
• Though his desire for revenge is strong, he is ruled by his nobler reason which prompts him to act with ‘virtue’.
• The word has several connotations, such as chastity, mercy, or Christian love, and at this point in the play it demonstrates Prospero’s essential nobility.
• Prospero makes himself visible to the royal party (106) in a very theatrical manner, just as Gonzola has appealed for a ‘heavenly power’ to guide them out of their fearful situation. His first words, ‘Behold, Sir King’ (107) seem to ironically allude to the god-like role he has played throughout the play.
• Although he forgives Antonio and Sebastian, Prospero’s language (126-32) suggest a barely suppressed violence towards them.
• When Prospero acknowledges that Caliban belongs to him (275-6) he could also be admitting to a wicked aspect in his own nature.

Epilogue

• He watches over almost all that happens.
• He controls Ferdinand and Miranda’s love as much as he can, testing Ferdinand’s love for her. He complements them both and calls Ferdinand his son once he has passed the test.
• “We are such stuff as dreams are made of” his life is coming to an end, showing a sense of weariness.
• Draws all to a satisfactory close, everyone is forgiven and hopefully learns their lessons.
• Signs off with “my ending is despair” a sad lonely figure who has spent all energy. Many say this is a parallel with Shakespeare signing off at the end of his writing career.