THE TEMPEST

Shakespeare’s final play

Characters in The Tempest

On the island
 Prospero
 Miranda
 Caliban
 Ariel
Prospero

Exiled Duke of Milan

 Lost his dukedom by focusing too
much on himself and not his people.
 Studied magic, a dark art.
 Was betrayed by his brother, who
took his dukedom, leaving Prospero
and Miranda in a leaky boat to die
at sea.
Miranda

Daughter of Prospero
 Went into exile with her father when
she was three years old.
 She grew up on the island with only
her father and Caliban for company.
 Has a top-notch education thanks to
her father, but is naïve of the wider
world.
Caliban

Inhabitant of the island

 The son of a witch called Sycorax.
 He was the only mortal inhabitant of
the island prior to Prospero and
Miranda’s arrival.
 He feels betrayed by Prospero, as he
believes he is the rightful lord of the
island.
Ariel

A Spirit of the island

 Probably the most powerful spirit on
the island.
 He was trapped in a tree for twelve
years before Prospero freed him.
 In debt to Prospero, he promised him
twelve years of service. The last day of
this service is when the play begins.
Characters in The Tempest

From the ship

 Alonso  Gonzalo
 Sebastian  Stephano
 Ferdinand  Trinculo
 Antonio  two minor attendants
Alonso

The King of Naples

 Leader of the most powerful city-state
in Italy at the time.
 Aided Antonio in overthrowing his
brother, Prospero, as Duke of Milan.
 Is overcome with a sense of guilt and
hopelessness throughout the play,
thinking he has lost both his children.
Sebastian

The younger brother of King Alonso

 Has some issues with his brother.
 Has a mean streak in him that Antonio
compounds with his meanness.
 Allows Antonio to lead him astray
down the path of betrayal.
Ferdinand

The son of King Alonso

 Separated from the others, he
believes himself to be the only survivor
of the shipwreck.
 He embodies the ideals of honesty
and nobility in royalty.
Antonio

The brother of Prospero and new Duke of

Milan
 King Alonso helped him in his ambition
to become the Duke of Milan.
 He has to pay annual tribute to
Alonso, but is unhappy about it.
 He is looking for a way to escape his
debt to Alonso and gain more power.
Gonzalo

Adviser to King Alonso

 A wise and noble adviser to the king.
 When Prospero and Miranda were left
at sea to die, Gonzalo sneaked
supplies onto the boat, including food,
water and some of his books.
Stephano

King Alonso’s Butler

 Serves the king, but wishes he had
power of his own.
 He doesn’t have the sense of
responsibility to be a real leader.
 When left to his own devices, he is a
drunkard.
Trinculo

King Alonso’s Jester

 His job is to entertain the king and
bring a sense of humour to serious
situations.
 He does not know how to behave
away from court and continues to
make fun of people, even though his
audience (the king) is absent.
Adrian and Francisco

Two of King Alonso’s attendants

 Their job is to serve the king.
 Adrian discusses history with Gonzalo.
 Francisco gives account of Ferdinand
during the storm, giving Alonso some
hope that he’s still alive.
Themes in The Tempest

 Betrayal, Revenge and Forgiveness

 Imprisonment
 Power and Control
 Betrayal

 Prospero feels betrayed by Antonio for usurping his position

as Duke of Milan.
 Prospero feels betrayed by Alonso and Sebastian for helping
Antonio steal his dukedom.
 Prospero feels betrayed by Caliban for trying to force himself
on Miranda. He then feels further betrayed when Caliban
plans to kill him.
 Betrayal

 Caliban feels betrayed by Prospero for turning him into a

slave and stealing his island.
 Caliban feels betrayed by Ariel and the other spirits who
serve Prospero and help to torment Caliban.
 Betrayal

 Antonio betrays Prospero because he is ambitious and feels

that he has the right to be the Duke of Milan.
 He plans to betray Alonso to escape having to pay him
annual tribute.
 He convinces Sebastian to betray his brother, Alonso.
 Betrayal

 Miranda has always looked up to her father, yet she feels

almost betrayed by him when he turns Ferdinand into a
slave.
 Miranda “betrays” Prospero by secretly siding with Ferdinand,
putting her love for him above her love for her father.
 Imprisonment

 Prospero is imprisoned by his studies, favouring them over his

duties. He is also imprisoned by his need for revenge, which
blinds him to all else.
 Miranda is imprisoned physically on the island, emotionally by
her love to Ferdinand and socially by her lack of exposure to
human civilisation.
 Imprisonment

 Alonso is imprisoned by his guilt, believing he has caused the

death of his son, Ferdinand.
 Sebastian is jointly imprisoned by his ambition and his
cowardice. Antonio stirs his ambition for power, yet he
cannot seem to take the necessary action to obtain it.
 Ferdinand is imprisoned emotionally by his love for Miranda
and physically as a slave to Prospero.
 Imprisonment

 Antonio is imprisoned by his ambition which drives him ever

on to attain more power.
 Stephano is imprisoned to his vice, drinking, which keeps him
from truly achieving anything.
 Trinculo is imprisoned by his need for a more powerful figure
to serve. He doesn’t know how to act outside of court.
 Imprisonment

 Ariel was physically imprisoned within a tree by Sycorax.

Once freed, Ariel is imprisoned by his debt to Prospero. When
that debt was paid off, Prospero kept him imprisoned through
the threat of his magic.
 Gonzalo is imprisoned by his loyalty and sense of duty. When
order falls to chaos, he has the ability to take charge of the
situation, but doesn’t because it’s “not his place”.
 Power & Control

Various characters are vying for power and control.

 Prospero and Caliban both want control of the island.
Caliban even offers to support Stephano in becoming the
new king of the island if he helps him kill Prospero.
 Stephano is in service to the king, but wishes for power. On
the island, he tries to claim his own authority, thinking his only
competition to be Trinculo and Caliban.
 Power & Control

 Ariel has power over all the shipwrecked passengers. While

invisible, he travels between each group, sewing chaos and
manipulating them.
 Ariel also has some power over Prospero, by being an
objective voice of reason to him when things go too far.
 Power & Control

 Alonso has power over Antonio, for Antonio owes his

dukedom to the king. Antonio plots to take back that power.
 Antonio has some power over Sebastian, by being his friend
and steering him down a dark path.
Motifs in The Tempest

 Master and Servant

 Magic and Music
 The Elements
 Master & Servant Relationships

Prospero and Ariel

 Ariel serves Prospero initially out of debt, later out of fear that
Prospero will turn his magic on him. Despite this, there is still a
level of friendship and devotion within the relationship.
 Master & Servant Relationships

Prospero and Caliban

 Caliban initially served Prospero as an equal on the island.
Later Prospero used his magic to force Caliban to be his slave
and do his menial work. Their relationship is one of aggression
and hostility, though despite the torments, Caliban is never
bowed.
 Master & Servant Relationships

Prospero and Ferdinand

 Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love at first sight. Prospero,
knowing how fickle emotions can be, turns Ferdinand into a
slave to see how he will react to his new situation. He wants
to measure Ferdinand’s character, but also test if his love for
Miranda is real.
 Master & Servant Relationships

Alonso and Gonzalo

 Gonzalo serves as Alonso’s adviser, being Alonso to be a
good king. The role is strictly supportive. Even when Alonso is
wrapped in guilt and incapable of leading, Gonzalo never
seeks to take command, even though he has the knowledge
and skills.
 Master & Servant Relationships

Antonio and Sebastian

 Antonio manipulates Sebastian into being his servant, to aid
in the plot to kill Alonso. If successful, Sebastian would
become the new king and would owe Antonio a debt for
putting him in that new position of power.
 Magic & Music

Magic is sees as a dark art, something evil characters use.

 Prospero’s compulsion to study and learn led to his dabbling
with the dark arts, which was part of his downfall as Duke.
 Magic is the main tool he employs to seek revenge.
 Caliban, a monster, is the child of one of wielded magic and
cruelly imprisoned Ariel in a tree.
 Magic & Music

Music is seen as an extension of magic.

 The island, which is a magical place, is full of noises. Some of
those are music that can create illusions, put people to sleep
and give people pleasant dreams or nightmares.
 Ariel uses music to manipulate characters. He distracts
Stephano and Trinculo from their goal and makes Ferdinand
believe his father is dead.
 The Elements

The play is full of references to water, earth and air.

 Water is unpredictable. It creates turbulence as in Prospero’s
desire for revenge, but can also be a healing element.
 Earth is a grounding element, representing the timelessness of
nature and the balance of the natural order.
 The spirits and music are aspects of air, representing illusion
and trickery.