ANALYSIS

ACT III SCENE I

Ferdinand continues to cheerfully accept his enslavement to Prospero. The entire
interaction between Miranda and Ferdinand has been carefully manipulated by
Prospero to make them fall in love and marry. That Prospero watches their
conversations unseen, makes his role as the "director" or "playwright" of their affair
even more explicit.

ACT III SCENE II

Stephano is drunk on power. Commanding Caliban, dispensing favours and rank, and
threatening to have people hanged. It's funny because it's so dumb, but it's also a
critique of those who seek power for selfish reasons, such as Antonio. This is another
comical scene. It highlights the ways that Prospero uses magic to control and
manipulate the other people on the island. Caliban seems to revel in the thought of
Prospero's destruction. He knows that Prospero's books are the source of his power,
so Caliban demands that Stephano seize the books but not destroy them. The
implication is that Caliban might appropriate them and use their power when
Prospero is gone. In his speech about the island, Caliban's language and demeanor
are gentle and lyrical, expressing a heartfelt love for the island. The speech makes it
difficult to see Caliban as a brutal savage, and emphasizes the depth of his human
desire for freedom and autonomy. Caliban loves the island, while Stephano wants to
rule the island. In contrast to Stephano, Caliban seems to have some similarities to the
Noble Savages described by Gonzalo in Act 2, scene 1.

ACT III SCENE III

Alonso's despair at having lost his son may help him empathize with Prospero, who
has also suffered great losses. Prospero uses the illusion of the banquet to remind the
men of how hungry and desperate they are. The men try to explain the mysteriously
appearing banquet based on stories they have heard from explorers of the New
World. The banquet's sudden disappearance shows the courtiers how powerless they
are. Ariel's rebuke forces them to realize that everything they have lost is a result of
their own sinful actions. Prospero uses magic to manipulate and humiliate the men as
a way to gain power over them. Now the question remains: What will Prospero do
with his newfound power? The characters' reactions to the loss of the banquet are
consistent with their attitudes toward their past deeds, and foreshadow their reactions
to Prospero's future attempts at reconciliation. Alonso is repentant, Antonio and
Sebastian are defiant, and Gonzalo acts as caretaker.

ACT IV SCENE I
Ferdinand wins his freedom and love because he faced his loss of power without
bitterness. Every character who bears loss in this way in The Tempest is ultimately
rewarded. Prospero has been using his magic to manipulate and control the play's
other characters. Now he steps into the role of playwright and "writes" the masque. In
the process, he displays his full power, so amazing and humbling Ferdinand that the
boy is now in awe of his father-in-law. Prospero has been using his magic to
manipulate and control the play's other characters. Now he steps into the role of
playwright and "writes" the masque. In the process, he displays his full power, so
amazing and humbling Ferdinand that the boy is now in awe of his father-in-law. At
this moment, Prospero almost seems to lose control. It's as if he got so caught up in
his "art" that he lost track of real life (which is also what led to Prospero's fall in
Milan). Though Prospero's speech can be seen as a meditation on age and mortality,
many critics believe that it refers to the impermanence of Shakespeare's own craft and
legacy. Prospero's remark about Caliban echoes Miranda's observation in 1.2 that
certain races are naturally indecent and inferior. This rationale was a common
justification for colonization and slavery. Prospero plays a psychological game
designed to humiliate his enemies and expose their greed and superficiality. Just as
Antonio wanted more to look like a duke than to be a duke, and traded the power
that Prospero gave him for the title of duke and subservience to Alonso, Stephano
and Trinculo would rather look like rulers than be rulers, and so they focus on the
fancy clothes rather than the plot against Prospero. Prosper's anger toward the
conspirators is fierce. Caliban seems to inspire a particularly strong rage in him,
perhaps because, unlike the other characters, he's never able to subdue Caliban
completely. This final line sets the stage for Prospero's confrontation with his enemies
and the restoration of peace.

ACT V SCENE I

In this dialogue with Ariel, Prospero for the first time seems to care what someone
else thinks. Ariel's compassion for the suitors seems to restore Prospero's humanity.
One can now look back and speculate as to whether his plan was to reconcile with his
enemies all along, or whether he had planned on revenge until this conversation with
Ariel changed his mind. Here Prospero catalogs his feats of magic, in the same way
that you might imagine Shakespeare, at the end of his career, would look back on his
long career as a playwright and list his triumphs in the theater. By changing into the
clothes he wore as duke, Prospero is not using magic but is still using illusions by
carefully crafting his image. He shows that although he lost power, he is still the real
Duke of Milan. The change of clothes also indicates that Prospero plans to assert
political rather than magical power from now on. The restoration of order, which was
upset when Prospero was overthrown, begins when Alonso apologizes and returns
Milan to Prospero. Gonzalo is finally treated with the respect he deserves. The silence
of Antonio and Sebastian is telling. Like Caliban, they are sullen and angry in their
powerlessness. The word "lost" (and variations of it) is used numerous times in the
Alonso and Prospero's dialogue. Some critics think this emphasis reflects the Christian
belief that loss leads to redemption. Miranda's words reflect her naiveté—some of the
men she admires are morally corrupt. Prospero's comment "Tis new to thee," implies
that Miranda will learn that people aren't really so "beauteous" at all. Gonzalo's
speech focuses again on the Christian idea that loss leads to redemption. This might
explain why the characters who accepted loss cheerfully or repentantly were rewarded
—the loss was a spiritual test that they passed. The aspirations of the three
conspirators seem ridiculous as they stand in front of the true king and duke, yet their
ambitions mirrored those of Antonio and Sebastian. It's unclear whether Prospero's
comment about Caliban suggests that he sees him as his property, or that he takes
some responsibility for what has happened to Caliban. Even Caliban is given the hope
of freedom, or at least pardon, as long as he follows Prospero's orders faithfully and
well, as Ariel and Ferdinand did. Yet it's hard not to pity Caliban's ignorant naiveté
when he curses himself for worshipping Stephano. Prospero has restored political
order by regaining his dukedom and by establishing his line through the marriage of
Ferdinand and Miranda. Now when he dies, the dukedom will pass to Ferdinand. Ariel
has served Prospero well. Now he gets freedom, his reward for loyalty and for his
willingness to surrender his autonomy.
 THEMES
LOSS AND RESTORATION

Prospero's attempt to recover his lost dukedom of Milan drives the plot of
the Tempest. But Prospero isn't the only character in the play to experience
loss. Ariel lost his freedom to Sycorax and now serves Prospero. Caliban, who
considers himself the rightful ruler of the island, was overthrown and enslaved by
Prospero. By creating the tempest that shipwrecks Alonso and his courtiers on the
island, Prospero strips them of their position and power, and also causes Alonso to
believe that he has lost his son to the sea.

Through their reactions to these losses, the play's characters reveal their true natures.
Reduced to desperation and despair, Alonso recognizes his error in helping to
overthrow Prospero and gives up his claim to Milan, returning Prospero to power and
restoring order between Milan and Naples. Though he desperately wants to be free,
Ariel loyally serves his master Prospero. Prospero, meanwhile, gives up his magic
rather than seeking revenge and frees Ariel before returning to Milan. In contrast to
Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian never show remorse for overthrowing Prospero and
prove to be ambitious killers in their plot to murder and overthrow
Alonso. Stephano and Trinculo, in their buffoonish way, likewise seek power through
violence. And Caliban, as opposed to Ariel, hates Prospero, and gives himself as a
slave to Stephano in an effort to betray and kill Prospero. As Gonzalo observes in the
last scene of the play, the characters "found ... ourselves, when no man was his own"

POWER

From the opening scene of The Tempest during the storm, when the ruling courtiers
on the ship must take orders from their subjects, the sailors and the boatswain, The
Tempest examines a variety of questions about power: Who has it and when? Who's
entitled to it? What does the responsible exercise of power look like? How should
power be transferred? The play is full of examples of power taken by force, and in
each case these actions lead to political instability and further attempts to gain power
through violence. Antonio and Alonso's overthrow of Prospero leads to Antonio and
Sebastian's plot to overthrow Alonso, just as Prospero's overthrow and enslavement
of Caliban leads Caliban to seek revenge.
Ultimately, it is only when Prospero breaks the cycle of violence by refusing to take
revenge on Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, or Caliban that the political tensions in the
play are calmed and reconciled. After Prospero's merciful refusal to seek revenge,
Alonso and Prospero quickly come to an understanding and unite their once warring
cities through the marriage of their children. The Tempest suggests that compromise
and compassion are more effective political tools than violence, imprisonment, or
even magic.

Magic, Illusion, and Prospero as Playwright

The Tempest is full of Prospero's magic and illusions. The play begins with Prospero's
magic (the tempest), and ends with Prospero's magic (his command that Ariel send
the ship safely back to Italy). In between, the audience watches as Prospero uses
visual and aural illusions to manipulate his enemies and expose their true selves. At
nearly every point in the play, Prospero's magic gives him total control—he always
seems to know what will happen next, or even to control what will happen next. At
one point, Prospero even goes so far as to suggest that all of life is actually an illusion
that vanishes with death: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life
is rounded with a sleep" (4.1.156-158).

Many critics see Prospero's magical powers as a metaphor for a playwright's literary
techniques. Just as Prospero uses magic to create illusions, control situations, and
resolve conflicts, the playwright does the same using words. Throughout the play,
Prospero often lurks in the shadows behind a scene, like a director monitoring the
action as it unfolds. Prospero refers to his magic as "art." In Act 4 scene 1, Prospero
literally steps into the role of playwright when he puts on a masque
for Miranda and Ferdinand. In fact, many critics take an additional step, and argue
that Prospero should actually be seen as a stand-in for Shakespeare himself. The
Tempest was one of the last plays Shakespeare wrote before he retired from the
theatre, and many critics interpret the play's epilogue, in which Prospero asks the
audience for applause that will set him free, as Shakespeare's farewell to thea tre.

COLONISATION

During the time when The Tempest was written and first performed, both Shakespeare
and his audiences would have been very interested in the efforts of English and other
European settlers to colonize distant lands around the globe. The Tempest explores
the complex and problematic relationship between the European colonizer and the
native colonized peoples through the relationship between Prospero and Caliban.
Prospero views Caliban as a lesser being than himself. As such, Prospero believes that
Caliban should be grateful to him for educating Caliban and lifting him out of
"savagery." It simply does not occur to Prospero that he has stolen rulership of the
island from Caliban, because Prospero can't imagine Caliban as being fit to rule
anything. In contrast, Caliban soon realizes that Prospero views him as a second-class
citizen fit only to serve and that by giving up his rulership of the island in return for
his education, he has allowed himself to be robbed. As a result, Caliban turns bitter
and violent, which only reinforces Prospero's view of him as a "savage." Shakespeare
uses Prospero and Caliban's relationship to show how the misunderstandings
between the colonizer and the colonized lead to hatred and conflict, with each side
thinking that the other is at fault.

In addition to the relationship between the colonizer and colonized, The Tempest also
explores the fears and opportunities that colonization creates. Exposure to new and
different peoples leads to racism and intolerance, as seen
when Sebastian criticizes Alonso for allowing his daughter to marry an African.
Exploration and colonization led directly to slavery and the conquering of native
peoples. For instance, Stephano and Trinculo both consider capturing Caliban to sell
as a curiosity back at home, while Stephano eventually begins to see himself as a
potential king of the island. At the same time, the expanded territories established by
colonization created new places in which to experiment with alternative societies.
Shakespeare conveys this idea in Gonzalo's musings about the perfect civilization he
would establish if he could acquire a territory of his own

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

PROSPERO
The rightful Duke of Milan who was overthrown and exiled by his
brother Antonio and Alonso, the King of Naples. Prospero has lived for 12 years with
his daughter Miranda on a deserted island, where he has become a powerful
enchanter and the master of the spirit Ariel and the "monster" Caliban. Prospero has
become a powerful enchanter, and his magical skill gives him almost complete control
over everyone on the island. He's not shy about using his enchantments either,
whether on his enemies or on his daughter, to manipulate events to his liking. In fact,
Prospero's power on the island is so complete that many critics compare him to an
author of a play—just as an author controls the actions of the characters in a play,
Prospero controls the actions of the people on the island. Prospero is domineering,
and expects gratitude and devotion from both his daughter and his servants. Yet he is
not bloodthirsty, and at the end of the play, rather than taking revenge on those who
wronged him when he has them at his mercy, he instead choose to give up his magic
power and reconcile with his enemies.

ARIEL

A spirit and Prospero's servant. Prospero rescued Ariel from a prison in which he was
placed by the dead witch Sycorax. Now Ariel uses magic to carry out Prospero's
commands. Ariel wants his freedom, which Prospero has promised to grant someday.
In the meantime, Ariel serves Prospero loyally, and seems to enjoy the mischievous
tricks he pulls on Prospero's enemies. At the play's end, Ariel's compassion for those
enemies moves Prospero to release and forgive them.

CANNIBAL

Prospero's unwilling slave. As the son of the witch Sycorax, who ruled the island
before she died years prior to Prospero's arrival, Caliban believes that he should be
master of the island. When Prospero initially came to the island, Caliban showed him
friendship, and in return Prospero educated Caliban. But Caliban eventually came to
realize that Prospero would never view him as more than an educated savage. Though
capable of sensitivity and eloquence, Caliban is furious and bitter and wants nothing
more than to rid himself of Prospero. Caliban's name is a near anagram for the world
"cannibal," and in many ways he is a symbol of the natives that European explorers
encountered. Through Caliban, and his relationship to Prospero, Shakespeare explores
the themes of colonization and the relationship between the colonizer and the
colonized

MIRANDA

Prospero's daughter, the rightful princess of Milan. Miranda knows nothing of her
past until Prospero fills her in during the second scene of the play. Miranda is a
compassionate, dutiful daughter, and her only harsh words in the play are directed
at Caliban, who tried to rape her at one time. Completely isolated from other people
except her father, Miranda is amazed when she sees other humans, and immediately
falls in love with Ferdinand, even though he is only the third man she can remember
meeting in her life

ANTONIO
Prospero's brother. Antonio once plotted to overthrow Prospero and later
encourages Sebastian to do the same to Alonso. He is a power-hungry and
conniving character, and never shows remorse for his cruel schemes or their
consequences. Antonio is noticeably silent in response to his brother's offer of
forgiveness at the end of the play.

GONZALO

Alonso's advisor. Gonzalo was charged with carrying out the kidnapping
of Prospero and Miranda. A kind soul, he pitied the pair and arranged for them to
have provisions for survival in exile. Gonzalo makes the best of every situation, while
others seem to tire of his unfailingly positive attitude. Though he is an object
of Antonio and Sebastian's ridicule, he always maintains his dignity.

FERDINAND

Alonso's son. Ferdinand finds love with Miranda. Their union seals the reconciliation
between Alonso of Naples and Prospero of Milan. Ferdinand is kind, courteous, and
dutiful. His love for and loyalty to his father (who he thinks is dead for most of the
play) is sincere, as is his love for Miranda.

SEBASTIAN

Alonso's brother. Sebastian is easily persuaded by Antonio to try to murder his

brother so that he can become king. It is later revealed that he also played a part in
the overthrow of Prospero. Though Sebastian does inquire of Antonio whether his
conscience bothers him, he never expresses remorse for his plans.

STEPHANO

Alonso's butler. Stephano is a comical character who spends the whole play drunk.
When Caliban mistakes him for a god because he gives Caliban wine and gets him
drunk, Stephano begins to fancy himself a king. Caliban's plot to murder Prospero is
therefore very appealing to him, as are the showy garments Prospero and Ariel lay
out to trap him.

SYMBOLS

Prospero's Cloak and Books

Prospero's cloak and books are the source of his power. He deliberately takes off his
cloak at two points in the play: once when he tells Miranda of their history, and again
at the end of the play when he gives up his magic. Gonzalo knows how much
Prospero loves his books, and he arranges for them to be placed on the ship that
removes Prospero and Miranda from Milan. Without the books, Prospero would not
have had the power to summon the tempest and restore order to Milan and
Naples. Caliban advises Stephano to seize Prospero's books when they make plans
to murder Prospero and take control of the island. When Prospero relinquishes his
magic at the end of the play, he says, "I'll drown my book" (5.1.57). If, as many critics
suggest, Prospero is the voice of Shakespeare as he retires from the theater, the
books might also represent the power of words and ideas.

The Tempest

The tempest represents the political upheaval in the play. When the courtiers and
their ship are tossed by the storm, nature and the sailors suddenly have more power
than the courtiers. This state of disorder continues throughout the play until the
injustice done to Prospero is righted at the end. After Prospero has regained his
dukedom, he promises his guests "calm seas" and favorable winds for their journey
home.