In The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, Prospero seems to puppeteer
almost all of the actions of the other players. First, he employs the magic of
Ariel to crash the ship and then scatter the shipwrecked members throughout the
island, so they cannot contact each other. His basic plot seems to focus simply
on becoming the Duke again. However, as the play progresses, and the King’s son
falls in love with Prospero’s daughter, a perhaps deeper plot unveils itself. I
think that Prospero’s original intentions were to only regain his position as
Duke and come out of exile on the island, yet eventually, Prospero recognizes
the potential outcome with the budding romance between Ferdinand and Miranda
and works to capitalize on their love. Ironically, Prospero brushes off the
questioning from the other characters at the end and labels the events he has
orchestrated as simple coincidence.
To
the reader, Prospero has many contrasting qualities. At first, he seems selfish and hell-bent on
redemption and regaining what is his, which retains a negative connotation for
the reader. Then, the reader realizes the nature of the illegitimate Duke of
Milan and begins to almost sympathize with Prospero because they fully comprehend
his struggles. This empathy continues as Prospero helps propagate the marriage
for his daughter. Even with the reader’s growing sympathy towards Prospero, he
comes off as a bit of a fool throughout the entire play because of his awkward
dialogues with his daughter, the king, and Gonzalo. He perpetually begs Miranda
to listen despite her attention, and then he blatantly and awkwardly shakes off
the questions of the king and Gonzalo at the end. Contrastingly, Prospero
coordinated an elaborate plan to recapture his Duchy, thus exemplifying his
intelligence.
It's interesting that you highlight Prospero's selfishness, and how he "capitlizes" on Miranda and Ferdinand's love. While his actions at the beginning of the play show much of his selfish character, do you believe that using Miranda and Ferdinand's love was purely selfish? Could it be that he is happy that his daughter has found a suitable husband. Also, looking at the time frame, the daughter of a Duke is expected to marry someone of high status, and what higher status is there than royal blood? Could it not be silly pride that causes Prospero's actions concerning the young couple?
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