The Tempest discussion

Discussion points: (Feel free to add more.)
1. Prospero annoys me. First, he keeps telling Ariel he'll be free. Then he says, "Oh, wait, just do this one thing, and then you'll be free. Oh, wait...". Second of all, he wasn't even ruling his Milan, he 'cast the government to his brother' and engaged himself in his secret studies. And then, no way, Antonio usurped him.
2. Ariel's name bugs me. It makes me think of The Little Mermaid. :)
3. Compare and contrast of Miranda and Caliban.

What is there to compare Miranda and caliban,,,,there can be no comparison between them,miranda is a Beautiful princess and caliban is a monster and servant,,,

1- First, he does free Ariel, though reluctantly. Second, he was the true leader of Milan. Just because he did not perform his duties does not mean that he was not the rightful duke. I have added below my take on Prospero so that you can get a fresh opinion.

In the final act of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the reader witnesses the transformation of Prospero from a vengeful magician into a merciful man. After his brother, Antonio, usurps his dukedom on Milan, Prospero attempts to regain control in his life by magic. He seizes control of an island somewhere in the Mediterranean by enslaving its inhabitants, Ariel and Caliban. While his relationship with Ariel is akin to a man and his dog, Prospero’s relationship with Caliban and attempt to nurture his base nature are failures. He acknowledges his inability, despite his powerful magical powers, to force Caliban to assimilate: “The thing of darkness I/Acknowledge mine” (5.1.330-331). It is intriguing that Ariel’s compassion and description of the plight of Prospero’s enemies inspire Prospero to show mercy. By asserting that he would feel sorry for Prospero’s enemies if he were human, Ariel questions Prospero’s humanness and simultaneously shows him that mercy should be in his nature. Utterly moved, Prospero asks Ariel:

Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
Of their afflictions, and shall not my self
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,
Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art? (5.1.28-31)

Prospero addresses that Ariel, who is only air, feels compassion for their suffering; and so, their plight should move Prospero, a human, more than it does Ariel. Recognizing that they are sorry, Prospero reforms his enemies through forgiveness: “The rarer action is/ In virtue than in vengeance” (5.1.35-36). His wise decision to forgive and give up his magic is a decision to come back to reality, give up his unrestrained power, deal with the loss of Ariel and Miranda, and accept his failure with Caliban. With the breaking of his magic staff, drowning of his book, and abandoning of his magic robes, Prospero completes his transformation from a magician into a mere man.

2- The Tempest came before The Little Mermaid, but I get what you mean.

3- They're both extremely sheltered and ignorant of the world. Their differences are pretty obvious.

Peace :)

1)I actually really liked Prospero. I disagreed with his treatment of Ariel, naturally, and he was a neglectful ruler of Milan. But there was something about him I really liked. I can't quite put my finger on what it was, unfortunately . . .

2)I wouldn't mind Ariel's name at all if my edition didn't keep insisting that Ariel was male. I always picture Ariel female, and it's not because of "The Little Mermaid."

3)Miranda is clearly a bit of an airhead, but mostly due to sheltering. I felt sorry for Caliban until I read what he tried to do to Miranda. Then I hated him and could care less about his ignorance or how he's treated.

Julia wrote: "1- First, he does free Ariel, though reluctantly. Second, he was the true leader of Milan. Just because he did not perform his duties does not mean that he was not the rightful duke. I have added ..."

Mostly agree. The play it read like a reflection on lifelong journey of prospero where he changed as he learned from others and most of the characters were redeemed in the end. Definitely one of my favorite things to read and generally, one of my favorites ever!

On Prospero's freeing of Ariel...remember, the action of the entire play covers about half a day.

Neha wrote: "What is there to compare Miranda and caliban,,,,there can be no comparison between them,miranda is a Beautiful princess and caliban is a monster and servant,,,"

Both characters are comparable in the respect that they are both enslaved to Prospero. Ferdinand has been brought to the Island so that Prospero can continue his dynasty through Miranda marrying Ferdinand, the future King of Naples and Caliban is enslaved and constantly threatened by Prospero as a punishment for him attempting to "violate the honour" of his daughter.

Monty wrote: "On Prospero's freeing of Ariel...remember, the action of the entire play covers about half a day."

If your inferring that Ariel is overreacting over being refused liberation as promised by Prospero, it is important to bear in mind the context, which is that Prospero has enslaved Ariel for the last 12 years not just for half a day.

well Prospero couldn't have freed Ariel just when he had his brother and the crew right where he wanted them, now, could he?

I see the original user has been deleted since beginning this post, but still this looks like a fun discussion!

Q: Ariel's name bugs me. It makes me think of The Little Mermaid.

A: Well, ummm, now which do you think came first? Shakespeare, Hans Christian Andersen (who btw, did NOT give his mermaid a name) or... DISNEY?? (Tough question, I know.)

The name 'Ariel' is originally from Celtic mythology, an air spirit, probably where WS got the name.

Q: Compare and contrast of Miranda and Caliban.

Miranda, although 'civilized' must have at least some of Caliban's traits because she has been living on the island for so long and has become attuned to the natural rhythms of the island. Caliban, although 'primitive' must long for at least some of Miranda's traits, as he would like to be equal and free.

I see what Shakespeare did here with this play, and I think it was awesome. In my opinion, it's his finest Romance, which is how I would categorize it due to its "dream-like tone."

"Alonzo I" is actually the German for Alphonso I and his son was Ferdinand II in real time. But in "The Tempest", it's Alonzo I, and Ferdinand I.

If you consider "The Tempest" as an alternate time line, then you can easily insert Prospero as the next "Duke of Milan" (Rightful Duke) and Antonio (the usurper) right into the Visconti (Dukes of Milan) timeline. The easiest way to do it is to replace Gian Maria Visconti with "Antonio" and Filippo Maria Visconti with "Prospero."

In real History, Gian Maria Visconti is murdered outside a Church, and after he had his mother poisoned; but Antonio lives to cause further trouble (taking the Duchy of Milan). Filippo Maria Visconti was actually quite good in terms of leadership abilities. And we see here "Prospero" is quite capable. Only Gian Galeazzo Visconti was better and also probably "Ottone Visconti." Add the usual Italian Renaissance intrigues and some magic, and a good love story (Ferdinand and Miranda) and it's a great idea.

Propero is a prisoner on the island for 12 years. You can just about tweak that to fit into the Visconti Timeline also if you add more years to chaos after Filippo's death, and have this take place before Sforza arrives.

Also the original Star Trek episode, "The Cloud Minders" was a variation of this play and obviously read by the writer. That was in Season 3. The girl who lives in the Cloud City, with her Father (a more evil Prospero) is fascinated by Spock's "exquisite ears", and reminds me of Miranda when she sets her eyes on Ferdinand. She's similar to Miranda in other respects as well.

It seems as if the o.p did not like this play too much. I didn't find it too much of an issue that Prospero kept promising Ariel his freedom. In my opinion Prospero is just a contradicting figure. For so long he chased the idea of retaliation, or at least the idea of having the people who were responsible for him being supplanted to repent for their actions. Can you really blame his motives given the stature of his ruling twelve years prior to the tempest? I did find Ariels name quite peculiar but I believe I also read that back in Shakespeare's day, females had no role in plays. Is that why we consider Ariel a Him? Someone can elaborate on that if they wish. Lastly, I do not think there is much to compare and contrast on Miranda and Caliban. Being apart of the audience, I saw both Miranda and Caliban being major pawns in Prospero's grand scheme but I honestly do not see much significance in their parts in retrospect.

Gia wrote: "I did find Ariels name quite peculiar but I believe I also read that back in Shakespeare's day, females had no role in plays. Is that why we consider Ariel a Him?. ..."

No. Ariel is meant to be a boy. It is true that women were not given acting roles in Shakespeare's time, so all females were played by men -- for example, in The Tempest, Miranda was played by a man. But Ariel was meant to be male. (Yes Disney hijacked the name and used it for their mermaid, but it was originally a boy's name.)

The name Ariel was first used in the Bible to refer to an angel. This from Wiki:

"Ariel (Hebrew: אריאל‎, translit. Ari'el, Arael or Ariael) is an angel found primarily in Jewish and Christian mysticism and Apocrypha. The literal meaning is "lion of God." The word Ariel appears at II Samuel 23:20 and I Chronicle 11:22 as referring to "men of valor" of Moab. It appears at at Ezra 8:16 as the name of a Jewish man. It appears in the context of a class of angels, at least according to Jewish tradition, at Isaiah 33:7."