How does Shakespeare present Prospero and Ariel here?

Most of what we learn of Prospero’s character is conveyed in what he tells

Miranda, beginning with his assertion that he acts in her interests. The scene
functions to provide the audience with the backstory for the play through
Prospero’s explanation, presenting lengthy accounts of events ‘twelve year since’ .
He describes his prior status as Duke of Milan, with anger and resentment
outlining ‘perfidious’ (1.2.68) betrayal by his brother Antonio, ‘an enemy / To me
inveterate’ (1.2.121–22). By contrast, he remembers fondly the ‘charity’ and
‘gentleness’ of his ‘noble’ friend Gonzalo who assisted their safe journey to the
island (1.2.162–65).

Prospero’s version of events also influences our understanding of Ariel, making us

aware of Ariel’s painful imprisonment in a ‘cloven pine’ (1.2.277) in a torment ‘to
lay upon the damn’d’ (1.2.290). This accounts for Ariel’s present servitude to
Prospero, confirmed in the spirit’s first utterance, ‘All hail, great master!’ (1.2.189)

Shakespeare appears to want us to draw parallels between Ariel and Caliban.

Though Ariel may be called ‘a brave spirit’ (1.2.206) by Prospero, while Caliban is
explicitly and repeatedly called his ‘slave’, Ariel too is enslaved by Prospero. This
is most apparent in Prospero’s response to Ariel’s reluctance to perform a new task
and Ariel’s demand for liberty. Prospero exclaims, ‘thou liest, malignant thing!’
(1.2.257), employing an adjective he attributes elsewhere to Caliban.

Prospero is in control of events and of the other characters – including their

histories as well as their futures – though his plans depend on them, too. He is
careful to acknowledge the spirit’s influence and to repeat his promise that Ariel
‘shalt be as free / As mountain winds’ (1.2.499–500) – though this can be read as
another example of Prospero’s masterful techniques of control and manipulation.

How does this presentation of Ariel fit into the play as a whole?

The portrayal of Ariel in Act 1, Scene 2 anticipates the presentation of the spirit
across the play. Here we learn of Ariel’s elemental nature, ‘be’t to fly, / To swim,
to dive into the fire, to ride / On the curl’d clouds’ (1.2.190–91). It is significant,
too, that no gender is assigned to Ariel – we know it only as the ‘spirit’. Its magical
capacity to ‘divide, / and burn in many places’ (1.2.198–99), to ‘flame distinctly’
(1.2.200) and make ‘bold waves tremble’ (1.2.205), is demonstrated again in Act 3,
Scene 3 where Ariel appears ‘like a harpy’ amid ‘thunder and lightning’ to bring
the usurpers to account (3.3.52 s.d.). Despite being subject to Prospero’s control,
Ariel is more than a mere instrument in the magician’s plan, declaring ‘I and my
fellows / Are ministers of Fate’ (3.3.60–61). The ‘three men of sin’ (3.3.53) are
terrified.

Act 1, Scene 2 further introduces Ariel’s intangible and enchanting qualities,

especially as it sings to Ferdinand. Even here Ariel is prompting the progress of
Prospero’s plan, singing, ‘Full fadom five thy father lies, / Of his bones are coral
made: / Those are pearls that were his eyes’ (1.2.397–99). The song triggers
Ferdinand’s grief, prefiguring the ‘sea change / into something rich and strange’
(1.2.401–02) at the play’s end when Prospero and his usurpers are reconciled,
Ferdinand and Miranda married, and Caliban and Ariel freed (Act 5, Scene 1).

Magic and spirits

Act 1, Scene 2 establishes the association of Ariel and Prospero through magic.
Through his ‘art’ (ll. 1, 24, 28) Prospero has gained control of the spirit, his own
powers symbolised by his ‘magic garment’ (1.2.24). Magic is the force behind
Prospero’s plan, and in his own words is linked with ‘accident most strange,
bountiful Fortune’ (1.2.178). He recognises he must ‘court’ the influence of ‘a
most auspicious star’ (1.2.182–83) if things are to work to his advantage; he must
judge the use of his powers according to astrology.

Ariel works with other spirits (‘all his quality’, 1.2.193) to cause the shipwreck. Its
elemental powers are balanced with the capacity to charm others to sleep, as it does
with the mariners (1.2.230), and to charm Ferdinand from movement (1.2.467 s.d.).
Ariel describes its own work as ‘spriting gently’ (1.2.298), consistent with the
subtlety of something ‘invisible / To every eyeball’ (1.2.302–03) but that of
Prospero.

Prospero The rightful duke of Milan. After his brother, Antonio, seized his title
and property, Prospero was exiled with his daughter and eventually found refuge
on an island.

Miranda Prospero's daughter. She has been on the island with her father for 12
years — since she was 3 years old.

Antonio Prospero's younger brother, who is now the duke of Milan. He had plotted
against Prospero years earlier and now convinces Sebastian to murder his brother,
the king of Naples.

Ariel A spirit of the air, he assists Prospero in seeking retribution over his enemies.
Caliban The offspring of the witch Sycorax and the devil. Prospero has made
Caliban his servant or slave, and in response, Caliban plots to murder Prospero.

Ferdinand The son of the king of Naples. During the storm, he was separated
from the rest of the king's party, met Miranda, and fell in love with her.

Alonso The king of Naples. He believes his son has died and is overjoyed to later
find him. Alonso is repentant for the pain he caused Prospero in the past.

Sebastian Alonso's brother. He is easily led into planning his own brother's (the
king's) murder.

Gonzalo An elderly counselor who saves Prospero's and Miranda's lives when they
are exiled. He provides a sense of hope and optimism when Ferdinand is lost.

Stefano The king's butler. He arrives on the island drunk and quickly becomes
involved in a plot to murder Prospero.

Trinculo The king's jester. When Stefano arrives with wine, Trinculo joins him in
drinking and then agrees to a plot to murder Prospero.

Francisco and Adrian Two of the king's lords. They try to offer hope and
protection to Alonso.

Boatswain The ship's petty officer. He is in charge of the deck crew, the rigging,
and the anchor. He must try to keep the boat afloat during the storm, even when the
king's party makes demands upon his time.

Character List

Prospero - The play’s protagonist, and father of Miranda. Twelve years before the
events of the play, Prospero was the duke of Milan. His brother, Antonio, in
concert with Alonso, king of Naples, usurped him, forcing him to flee in a boat
with his daughter. The honest lord Gonzalo aided Prospero in his escape. Prospero
has spent his twelve years on the island refining the magic that gives him the
power he needs to punish and forgive his enemies.

Read an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF PROSPERO.

Miranda - The daughter of Prospero, Miranda was brought to the island at an early
age and has never seen any men other than her father and Caliban, though she
dimly remembers being cared for by female servants as an infant. Because she has
been sealed off from the world for so long, Miranda’s perceptions of other people
tend to be naïve and non-judgmental. She is compassionate, generous, and loyal to
her father.

Read an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF MIRANDA.

Ariel - Prospero’s spirit helper. Ariel is referred to throughout this SparkNote and
in most criticism as “he,” but his gender and physical form are ambiguous.
Rescued by Prospero from a long imprisonment at the hands of the witch Sycorax,
Ariel is Prospero’s servant until Prospero decides to release him. He is
mischievous and ubiquitous, able to traverse the length of the island in an instant
and to change shapes at will. He carries out virtually every task that Prospero needs
accomplished in the play.

Caliban - Another of Prospero’s servants. Caliban, the son of the now-deceased

witch Sycorax, acquainted Prospero with the island when Prospero arrived.
Caliban believes that the island rightfully belongs to him and has been stolen by
Prospero. His speech and behavior is sometimes coarse and brutal, as in his
drunken scenes with Stephano and Trinculo (II.ii, IV.i), and sometimes eloquent
and sensitive, as in his rebukes of Prospero in Act I, scene ii, and in his description
of the eerie beauty of the island in Act III, scene ii (III.ii.130-138).

Read an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF CALIBAN.

Ferdinand - Son and heir of Alonso. Ferdinand seems in some ways to be as pure
and naïve as Miranda. He falls in love with her upon first sight and happily submits
to servitude in order to win her father’s approval.

Alonso - King of Naples and father of Ferdinand. Alonso aided Antonio in

unseating Prospero as Duke of Milan twelve years before. As he appears in the
play, however, he is acutely aware of the consequences of all his actions. He
blames his decision to marry his daughter to the Prince of Tunis on the apparent
death of his son. In addition, after the magical banquet, he regrets his role in the
usurping of Prospero.

Antonio - Prospero’s brother. Antonio quickly demonstrates that he is power-

hungry and foolish. In Act II, scene i, he persuades Sebastian to kill the sleeping
Alonso. He then goes along with Sebastian’s absurd story about fending off lions
when Gonzalo wakes up and catches Antonio and Sebastian with their swords
drawn.
Sebastian - Alonso’s brother. Like Antonio, he is both aggressive and cowardly.
He is easily persuaded to kill his brother in Act II, scene i, and he initiates the
ridiculous story about lions when Gonzalo catches him with his sword drawn.

Gonzalo - An old, honest lord, Gonzalo helped Prospero and Miranda to escape
after Antonio usurped Prospero’s title. Gonzalo’s speeches provide an important
commentary on the events of the play, as he remarks on the beauty of the island
when the stranded party first lands, then on the desperation of Alonso after the
magic banquet, and on the miracle of the reconciliation in Act V, scene i.

Trinculo & Stephano - Trinculo, a jester, and Stephano, a drunken butler, are two
minor members of the shipwrecked party. They provide a comic foil to the other,
more powerful pairs of Prospero and Alonso and Antonio and Sebastian. Their
drunken boasting and petty greed reflect and deflate the quarrels and power
struggles of Prospero and the other noblemen.

Boatswain - Appearing only in the first and last scenes, the Boatswain is
vigorously good-natured. He seems competent and almost cheerful in the
shipwreck scene, demanding practical help rather than weeping and praying. And
he seems surprised but not stunned when he awakens from a long sleep at the end
of the play.