Characters in The Tempest. Literature & Language Essay

Characters in The Tempest
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Characters in The Tempest
The Tempest, a play by the great playwright William Shakespeare, is about a man and his young daughter who live on a remote island. Prospero was at one time the Duke of Milan when he was overthrown by Antonio, his own brother. Antonio had Prospero and his daughter Miranda cast out to sea in a boat. The two land on a remote island located somewhere near Italy and whose only other inhabitants are a strange monster known as Caliban and a female spirit called Ariel. Almost all the characters in The Tempest express a desire to be king of the island. This paper discusses two characters -Prospero and Caliban -and how each envisions the island’s potential as well as his own rule.
Prospero appears to be in charge of the island as he is in control of all the other characters, including their history and future. He is well educated and capable of performing dark arts, although most of his magical acts are in fact orchestrated by Ariel, who is bound to act as his servant. It is revealed that the violet storm that shipwrecked the duke of Milan’s ship was caused by magic performed by Ariel under the orders of Prospero. The ship carried the men responsible for overthrowing Prospero, although they are safe on another part of the island.
To keep his servants in check and retain control of the island, Prospero is full of threats and intimidation. He mistreats Caliban and rarely says a kind word to him. Although he promises Ariel eventual freedom, this will only happen when all the people stranded in the island make it home safely. Prospero is genuin...