Jul 26, 2008

The Tempest | Prospero (Character Analysis)

He is the usurped duke of Milan and the father of Miranda, as well as a powerful magician. Prospero is responsible for the tempest which casts Alonso and his courtiers upon the island where he and his daughter live. Faced with his daughter's distress at the storm and the foundering ship, Prospero concedes that he has caused the tempest but assures her that no harm has come to any of the passengers. Declaring that "I have done nothing but in care of thee" (I.ii.16), he doffs his magic robes and tells Miranda the story of their past. Twelve years ago, he explains, he was not merely the...