Prospero's Daughter

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Prospero becomes angry when Ariel asks to be set free, but he does grant him freedom at the end of the play. Meanwhile, without Prospero’s knowledge Miranda has proposed marriage to Ferdinand and he has accepted.

The Tempest: Character List | SparkNotes The Tempest: Character List | SparkNotes

There is some speculation that Miranda, along with her husband, Ferdinand, may be intended to represent Elizabeth Stuart and her new spouse, Elector Frederick V, as The Tempest was originally performed for the court of Elizabeth's father, King James, in celebration of the marriage. After Prospero reveals himself to the assembled crowd he reveals the happy couple engaged in a game of chess. Before the play has begun, Prospero has freed the magical spirit Ariel from entrapment within "a cloven pine". Ariel, Prospero’s spirit servant, reports that the ship’s passengers have safely landed on different parts of the island.Before Prospero’s arrival, he was free to roam around the island and please himself but Prospero enslaved him and made him labour for him. Critic Lorie Leininger argues that Miranda fits into the colonialist interpretation of The Tempest in that Prospero's use of Miranda as an unwitting player in his political revenge is expressive of the play's sexist attitude towards women. She is, furthermore, the only female character within a cast of strong male figures, and much of her interaction on stage is dominated by the male figures around her. Such an analysis is borne out by the numerous indications that Caliban is innocent, childlike, and naïve – with his naivety being most clearly demonstrated by his all-too-ready attachment to Stephano as his new master. At the end of the play, when Prospero has achieved everything he wanted with Ariel’s help, he says goodbye to Ariel and sets him free.

Prospero, The Tempest: A Character Analysis ️ Prospero, The Tempest: A Character Analysis ️

She is openly compassionate and unaware of the evils of the world that surrounds her, learning of her father's fate only as the play begins. However, he was betrayed by his brother, Antonio, and the King of Naples, Alonso, who sent Prospero and his daughter away on a rotten boat.

As the play's only female character, Miranda functions mostly as a representation of women instead of a representation of a colonised group. Furthermore, the use of anger and strong language removes the image of youth and innocence Shakespeare cultivates of Miranda and does not seem to be in keeping with her behaviour for the rest of the play. On the island, Prospero becomes master of the monster Caliban (the son of Sycorax, a malevolent witch) and forces Caliban into submission by punishing him with magic if he does not obey. Miranda, who is a teenager, has lived on the island since she was three years old with only her father and Caliban for company.

The Tempest Character Descriptions | Shakespeare Learning

Prospero, with the help of Ariel, organises a masque to celebrate Miranda and Ferdinand’s engagement. She is loving, kind, and compassionate as well as obedient to her father and is described as "perfect and peerless, created of every creature's best".Close to a Mediterranean island, a storm overcomes a ship that carries King Alonso of Naples, his son Ferdinand, and his brother Sebastian. Caliban thinks that Stephano is a “god” and decides that he would rather be Stephano’s servant than remained enslaved by Prospero. During the encounter Miranda once again stands up to her father, arguing against his harsh treatment of Ferdinand and defending his honour when Prospero refers to him as nothing more than another Caliban. Miranda is teasing Ferdinand for cheating but admits that even if he is dishonest, she's more than happy to believe it for the love she bears for him.

Shakespeare’s The Tempest plot summary - The Tempest - BBC

This means Antonio has to give money and service to Alonso, so Alonso has a lot of power over Antonio. When a ship is wrecked and the survivors come on to the island Prospero recruits two of them to help him overthrow and kill Prospero.

She states that Prospero's treatment of Miranda is in essence the same as his treatment of Caliban, describing his attitude towards both as indicative of their subjugation within the social hierarchy of the Island.