Prospero the Playwright
Magic and Pageantry in Shakespeare’s Tempest
Prospero loses his dukedom, usurped by his brother Antonio, and is left to die at sea with his daughter Miranda. Shipwrecked upon an unknown island, Prospero learns magic from a collection of books and plans his revenge. While Prospero’s newfound power is coercive, allowing him to enslave the native Caliban and the spirit Ariel, his magic possesses a subtler dimension — pageantry. Though The Tempest ends in apparent reconciliation, the epilogue hints at a deeper layer. Prospero, like Shakespeare, understands that humans live not in reality but on the “stage” of their own minds. Thus, rather than merely wreak vengeance upon his brother, Prospero becomes an existential playwright, manipulating Antonio into a narrative of Prospero’s own making.
When their tempest fails to kill Antonio and the others, Prospero and Ariel discuss what to do with the survivors — the first indication that Prospero’s plan has begun to evolve. However, a stronger indication that Prospero’s plan evolves comes after his daughter Miranda’s encounter with Ferdinand. Fearing the grasp Ferdinand has on Miranda, Prospero captures him, forcing him to carry logs at the opening of Act 3. However, Prospero suddenly relents by Act 4, claiming to Ferdinand that “All thy vexations / Were but my trials of thy love, and thou / Hast strangely…
