Character Analysis

Prospero — Magician, Father, Coloniser

Prospero is Shakespeare’s most complex authority figure. He is simultaneously a victim (overthrown by his brother), a father (protective of Miranda), a master (controlling Ariel and Caliban), and an artist (creating illusions through magic). His power is immense: he controls the weather, commands spirits, and manipulates every character on the island. Yet by Act 5, he gives it all up.

The central question is whether Prospero is a benevolent ruler or a tyrant. He frees Ariel from Sycorax but binds the spirit to his own service. He teaches Caliban language but enslaves him. He orchestrates his daughter’s love life. His final choice of mercy suggests growth, but his earlier treatment of Caliban is troubling by modern standards.

Key Fact

Prospero’s flaw is acknowledged in the play: he neglected his ducal duties for magic (‘my library was dukedom large enough’), enabling Antonio’s betrayal. His journey involves learning that power must be surrendered, not hoarded.

Caliban — Monster, Slave, Poet

Caliban is the play’s most contested character. Prospero calls him a “savage,” a “thing of darkness,” and a “born devil.” Yet Caliban produces some of the most beautiful poetry in the play. His duality is central to the play’s meaning.

A postcolonial reading positions Caliban as the indigenous inhabitant of the island, displaced and enslaved by Prospero. His claim — “This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother” — is a statement of indigenous land rights. A Jacobean reading might see Caliban as a warning about uncontrolled nature that requires civilising force. Shakespeare does not resolve this tension; he presents both perspectives.

Ariel is obedient, versatile, and associated with music and air. Unlike Caliban, Ariel cooperates with Prospero and is rewarded with freedom. A colonial reading sees Ariel as the ‘good native’ who assists the coloniser, contrasting with Caliban’s resistance. But Ariel’s desire for freedom is constant — the spirit repeatedly asks when the promised release will come. Ariel’s most significant moment is teaching Prospero about compassion: “Mine would, sir, were I human.”

Ariel and Caliban can be read as two aspects of Prospero’s personality: Ariel represents his creative, artistic side (the power to enchant), while Caliban represents his darker impulses (the desire to control and dominate).

Miranda — Innocence and Compassion

Miranda has lived on the island since infancy and knows nothing of the wider world. Her famous exclamation — “O brave new world, / That has such people in’t!” — is both joyful and ironic. She celebrates the ‘brave new world’ of the courtiers, unaware that these ‘people’ include the men who plotted against her father. Prospero’s response — “’Tis new to thee” — is weary and knowing.

Miranda’s role is to represent natural empathy. She suffers ‘with those that I saw suffer.’ She proposes to Ferdinand. She challenges her father’s authority. She is the play’s moral heart, and her innocence offers hope that the next generation can be better than the last.

Antonio — The Unredeemed

Antonio is the play’s most clearly villainous character. He overthrew his own brother, conspires to kill Alonso, and shows no remorse when confronted. His silence towards Prospero is chilling: while Alonso repents, Antonio’s one line in Act 5 only sneers that Caliban is “no doubt marketable.” Shakespeare leaves it ambiguous whether Antonio is genuinely forgiven or merely coerced into silence by Prospero’s restored power.

Gonzalo is the play’s most consistently virtuous character. He secretly helped Prospero and Miranda survive their exile by providing food, water, and Prospero’s books. His utopian vision (Act 2) is mocked but reveals genuine idealism. Prospero’s warmest words in Act 5 are reserved for Gonzalo: “Holy Gonzalo, honourable man.” He represents loyalty and kindness in a world of scheming.