What is the relevance of Ferdinand and Miranda's relationship in Act 3, Scene 1 of The Tempest?

In act 3, scene 1 of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero watches unobserved from a distance while Ferdinand and Miranda profess their love for one another and resolve to be married—just as Prospero hoped they would.

Prospero says that everything he does is for Miranda's benefit.

PROSPERO: I have done nothing but in care of thee. (1.2.19)

For the most part, this is true. Prospero brought Ferdinand and Miranda together so they would fall in love and Miranda would be happy, but Prospero also has ulterior motives. He hopes that the marriage of his daughter to Ferdinand, the son of Alonzo, the King of Naples, will help restore Prospero to his former position as Duke of Milan.

This is all part of Prospero's larger plan to take revenge on those who usurped his dukedom and cast him adrift with three-year-old Miranda twelve years ago.

However, Ferdinand and Miranda's inherent goodness and their caring relationship demonstrates the kindness and humanity of one person towards another, and this tempers Prospero's desire for revenge against the people who wronged him.

Prospero confronts his brother, Antonio, for usurping his dukedom, and he criticizes Alonzo for assisting Antonio in his usurpation. Due to Ferdinand and Miranda's positive influence on him, however, Prospero forgives Antonio and Alonzo and restores their ship so that everyone can sail back to Naples for Ferdinand and Miranda's wedding.

What is the relevance of Ferdinand and Miranda's relationship in Act 3, Scene 1 of The Tempest?

This scene, which features the main courtship of Ferdinand and Miranda, raises many interesting issues that are central to the play as a whole. One of the crucial things it is important to remember is the role of Prospero in this scene. Even though the main action of the scene only concerns his daughter and his future son-in-law, Prospero, as always, is present, cloaked in invisibility, as he stagemanages what occurs on his island and ensures that his will becomes reality. This is a central theme of the play, as Prospero is a figure who is shown to have immense authority and power on his island as he uses his own magic and his control of Ariel to effectively divide the different groups and supervise them, bringing them together according to his will and enacting a resolution as he desires in his timing. Note Prospero's words at the very end of this scene:

So glad of this as they I cannot be,

Who are suprised with all; but my rejoicing

At nothing can be more.

Prospero says that although he cannot share in Ferdinand and Miranda's gladness because it comes from surprise, he is definitely able to rejoice with them. He is not surprised because the union of his daughter and Ferdinand is something he has planned. His total control of the island allows him to bring this plan to fruition, and his invisible presence in this scene is symbolic of his control of the entire island and the action of the play. That this scene concerns the romantic engagement of two characters only serves to emphasise the theme of Prospero's control: their love has been planned and Prospero is the director of this scene, watching his plan develop and become reality.

Why is Miranda and Ferdinand's relationship important to The Tempest?

As happens to young couples in most of Shakespeare's comedies, and in one notable tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, Ferdinand and Miranda fall deeply in love at first sight in The Tempest.

Miranda sees Ferdinand from a distance, and is the first to fall in love.

MIRANDA. I might call him
A thing divine, for nothing natural
I ever saw so noble. (1.2.491-493)

When they're closer together, Ferdinand instantly succumbs to Miranda's ethereal beauty and wants to stay with her forever.

FERDINAND. Most sure, the goddess
On whom these airs attend! Vouchsafe my
prayer
May know if you remain upon this island,
And that you will some good instruction give
How I my bear me here. (1.2.498-503)

Prospero arranged for Ariel to bring Ferdinand to Miranda, and Prospero is delighted with the result, which he believes will help him to recover his dukedom in Milan.

PROSPERO. ... At the first sight
They have changed eyes. (1.2.523-524

Ferdinand proposes marriage even faster than Juliet proposed to Romeo in the balcony scene. (Romeo and Juliet, 2.2.148-154)

FERDINAND. O, if a virgin,
And your affection not gone forth, I'll make you
The Queen of Naples. (1.2. 531-533)

That's all that Prospero wants to hear for now, and he decides to slow down the romance.

PROSPERO. [to Ferdinand] Soft, sir! One word more.
[Aside] They are both in either's powers; but this swift
business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light. (1.2.534-538)

Prospero can't resist controlling Miranda and Ferdinand's relationship the same way he controls everything and everyone else on the island, but their love for one another exists beyond Prospero's sorcery. Ferdinand and Miranda overcomes every test and condition that Prospero imposes on them.

Ferdinand and Miranda's quiet, loving relationship is a stark contrast to the noisy, contentious relationships between and among all of the other characters on the island. Their relationship represents calm in the midst of the tempest of intrigue and revenge swirling around them.

This is clearly exemplified in act 5. Prospero is trying to resolve the many complex and confusing issues of the play. Prospero leads Alonso into Prospero's home, where they discover Ferdinand and Miranda, quietly playing chess, oblivious to the chaos outside.

Ferdinand and Miranda are apparently having their first argument, which, compared to every other argument on the island, is respectful, loving, remarkably civil, and wholly lacking in merciless, vengeful intent.

[Here Prospero discovers Ferdinand and Miranda playing at chess]

MIRANDA. Sweet lord, you play me false.

FERDINAND. No, my dear'st love,
I would not for the world.

MIRANDA. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle,
And I would call it fair play. (193-197)

Ferdinand and Miranda's love is a reminder to everyone else of their own temporarily lost humanity. Prospero renounces his sorcery, freedom is restored to servants and masters alike, order returns to the island, and happiness reigns.

What happens at Miranda and Ferdinand's first meeting in The Tempest?

My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.

My father’s loss, the weakness which I feel,

The wrack of all my friends, nor this man’s threats,

To whom I am subdued, are but light to me,

Might I but through my prison once a day

Behold this maid

What happens at Miranda and Ferdinand's first meeting in The Tempest?

It's interesting, with this question in mind, to note just how much of the action in the tempest is itself being manipulated by Prospero, through his magic and illusion, to advance his own aims. It does seem like Miranda and Ferdinand's encounter and relationship falls into this same theme and is itself (at least on some level) under the influence of Prospero's manipulations.

The moment your question refers to comes in the later part of act 1, scene 2. Ferdinand appears, being led by an invisible Ariel, into the presence of Miranda and Prospero, and Miranda and Ferdinand fall under each other's spell. Even so, Prospero believes that, if their relationship is to become stronger, the two need to contend with real adversity. With this in mind, Prospero sets himself up as an antagonist, accuses Ferdinand of treachery, and takes him prisoner.

What decision do Ferdinand and Miranda make during their conversation in The Tempest?

In Act III, scene i, Ferdinand and Miranda decide to get married. This is exactly what Prospero had planned. Miranda, isolated on a desert island, has never seen a young man. Prospero arranges for Ferdinand to be the first male that his daughter sees, rightly predicting that she will be charmed at first sight.

Miranda, having no idea of the ways of the world, doesn't realize she should hide her feelings, play hard to get, and let the man do the proposing. She simply states plainly what is on her mind, stating to Ferdinand:

I am your wife, if you will marry me.
If not, I’ll die your maid. To be your fellow
You may deny me, but I’ll be your servant
Whether you will or no.

Luckily for her, Ferdinand, unlike some of the other men shipwrecked on the island, is a man of honorable character. He is honest and good, so he doesn't take advantage of her naive openness about her feelings.

What decision do Ferdinand and Miranda make during their conversation in The Tempest?

During their conversation in 3.1, Ferdinand and Miranda agree to get married. It actually seems less like a decision and more like an impulsive reaction to discovering the other's love, however. Both of them give their love without restraint basically right upon meeting one another, and when they later find out the other loves them, they have little hesitation about getting together as a couple and even getting married. Miranda briefly delays because she is worried about her father's prohibition of her talking to Ferdinand, but it doesn't stop her from speaking to him for long. Soon, she offers herself as his wife, of course an unusual step at this time. Ferdinand agrees immediately. So, if there is a decision, it is that they get married, but the moments in 1.2 when they see each other are almost more the decision point than their conversation in 3.1 is.

How does the love between Miranda and Ferdinand develop in The Tempest?

These two characters really fall in love at first sight.  I do not think their love develops much -- it just happens when they first see each other.

It makes some sense for Miranda to fall in love so easily since Ferdinand is the first man she has ever seen outside of her father and Caliban.  But I do not really understand why Ferdinand falls in love so easily.   I suppose Miranda must be very beautiful and Ferdinand is quite emotional at this point because he thinks his father is dead.

I guess you can say their love develops further as Ferdinand proves he loves her by working for her father and she proves she loves him by helping him work.

What do Ferdinand and Miranda intend to do in The Tempest?

While Ferdinand is forced to be Prospero's servant, thus necessitating his spending time around Prospero's daughter, Miranda, as a result, both he and Miranda fall in love. Ferdinand and Miranda discuss their newfound affections in act 3, scene 1. Ferdinand admits that while he has admired some women before, he has never met anyone he loved as he does Miranda. Miranda, for her part, has never been in love before at all, due to growing up in isolation, but allows her feelings to consume her. Her romantic yearning is so strong that she even defies her father's orders not to share her name with Ferdinand. Once the two realize their romantic feelings are mutual, Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand happily accepts.

The ironic part about this scene is that both Miranda and Ferdinand assume Prospero will not be pleased with their plans, but this is not so. Prospero, who was watching their exchange from afar, actually counted on the two falling in love as part of his master plan. In act 4, scene 1, Prospero announces to the young couple that he approves of their marriage plans (though he sternly warns Ferdinand against taking Miranda's virginity before they are properly married).