The Tempest characters
A piteous creature, deformed slave of Prospero, Caliban is an offspring of witch Sycorax, possibly from her “romantic involvement” with the Devil himself. In fact, he is the only native inhabitant of the island and spent there alone something like twelve years since his mother’s...
A beautiful daughter of Prospero, princess Miranda had grown up on their island, never seeing another human face except for her father’s. She deals only with him and Caliban, while Ariel and other sprites stay invisible for her. Prospero treats her well: for twelve years he’d been...
Prospero, a former Duke of Milan, is a well-educated bookish magician who lives in exile on an island with his daughter, fair Miranda. After his treacherous brother Antonio steals his dukedom, he barely escapes, thanks to faithful Gonzalo who arranged Prospero’s departure in a boat stuffed...
At his first appearance on the stage, young Ferdinand, the Prince of Naples, being miraculously saved from drowning, mourns his father’s supposed death and only the mysterious music and singing of Ariel and his kin distracts him by its beauty. The music leads him to Miranda, so, stunned by...
Alonso, the King of Naples, is depicted as a rather weak person, easily moved by feelings or carefully spoken words; a possible reason for this is his age. He constantly wavers between Gonzalo’s good attitudes and crude flattery of Antonio. But, weak as he is, Alonso is a kind man, capable...
Gonzalo, “an honest old counsellor of Naples” is a good, optimistic man, brave enough to intervene in an argument between royal courtiers and marines on the deck during the storm. In spite of his respectful age, he looks into the future and finds it promising; his utopian speech...
A younger brother of Alonso, the King of Naples, Sebastian is a two-dimensioned villain number two in this story. He looks like a puppet of Antonio, who persuades him to kill his elder brother, following his own pattern used against Prospero. Sebastian probably views Antonio as his tutor in his...
A present Duke of Milano, Antonio is the villainous usurper, guilty for Prospero’s exile. Knowing his elder brother’s love for books and studies, Antonio practically literally pushed the throne from under him. Prospero’s trust and reliance paid off badly: not being able to kill...
Alonso is a jester with a charactonym derived from the German word “trinken” (“to drink”). He is a crooked reflection of Sebastian, while his good friend Stephano resembles Antonio. Dizzy after storm, Trinkulo runs into Caliban, thinking that he is hit by lightning, while...
Sprites or fairies in classic literature usually lack any human feelings, except, possibly, for anger. Ariel is quite different from these schematic characters. First of all, this creature is capable of being faithful: he serves Prospero in exchange for saving him from a tree trap and the promised...