The Tempest Group

Question:


just-talia
Student
High School - 9th Grade

Is Ariel a male, female or a genderless spirit?

I've seen many different referrals and was wondering what "it" really is.

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Posted by just-talia on Tuesday May 1, 2007 at 12:14 PM and tagged with ariel, the tempest.

Answers:


  1. jamie-wheeler Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    Ariel is male. You can find out more about him by visiting the eNotes link below. Here is an excerpt:

    He is a spirit of the air. In I.ii.250-93, we learn that Ariel was once the servant of Sycorax, a wicked sorceress who had imprisoned the spirit in a "cloven pine" for refusing to fulfill her "earthy and abhorr'd commands" (I.ii.277,273). Ariel remained trapped inside the tree for twelve years, crying out in pain, until Prospero arrived on the island, released him, and bound the airy spirit to his service.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/tempest/36473

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    Posted by jamie-wheeler on Tuesday May 1, 2007 at 12:38 PM

  2. nja1
    nja1 Student

    As far as I know, Ariel is genderless, he is merely a sprite of the air. According to most scripts, Prospero rarely calls Ariel a he or she. The people who I know to think Ariel as a man also think he is a bit homosexual.

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    Posted by nja1 on Wednesday May 9, 2007 at 11:34 AM