Another person that we meet that is under the control of Prospero is Miranda. Miranda is Prospero’s daughter. The relationship between them can be seen in two ways. The first being is to see Prospero as loving father doing what he can to keep her safe. Indeed at times though he has had to rely on Miranda throughout the play when he wanted her to fall in love with Ferdinand, “O, a cherubin, / Thou that did preserve me. Thou did smile/ Infused with a fortitude of heaven.” This tells of how Miranda was the only thing that kept Prospero alive when they where exiled. The fact that he says that she preserved him shows that he is not all powerful and does need help from others at times. It also shows that he has the humility to admit it, which is rare in powerful people.
However on the other hand he can be seen as a domineering character that just uses people for his own gain. This can be shown through Miranda because he is always telling her to listen and calling her such thing as “Wench”. This kind of language shows that he does try to control her. From this kind of attitude you could take the idea that he is just using her to gain the power that he lost.
The loss of power is also a key aspect of the character of Alonso. This is quite ironic because in his home of Naples he is the king and even though the people around him see him as a king still he has no real power on the island. This is because on the island there is no real structure of power so no one has more power that the next. Another reason why Alonso losses power is because just like when Prospero lost his power because he was distracted by his books, Alonso is distracted with the loss of his son.
Another ironic situation that involves Alonso and his non-existent power is Sebastian’s and Antonio’s plan to gain power by killing Alonso. This is ironic also because even if they did kill the king they would not have any power unless they got back to Naples which didn’t look like they where going to do until the very end.
Both of these examples show just how much power Prospero has on the island. Even though Prospero is not as powerful as the real king Alonso on the island he almost becomes like a king. It shows that he is the one who has control of what everyone does on the island because he knows what everyone is doing all the time.
The character of Caliban is very naïve. This is because not only does he fall for the charms of Prospero but he also becomes the servant of Stephano and makes the same mistake twice. However this is only because they all become very drunk and Caliban has never had alcohol before so he decides it is magic. The fact that he is not used to the normal things from the outside world also makes him naïve. He decides that he will help them take over the island even though they see him as a monster only because he hates Prospero so much. But Stephano has power over Caliban because Caliban lets him. This is shown when Caliban says, “I’ll swear upon that bottle to be thy true sub/ject, for this liquor is not earthly.” I believe that this shows how easily he is won over. Just the idea that something is not the normal to him makes him almost worship it. This whole idea that they will try to take over the island is very comedic because of the fact that they are drunk and also that Prospero knows exactly what they are doing. He even sends them on round the swamps of the island. However this scenario does show us just how much Caliban really does hate Prospero. “There thou mayest brain him… or with a log / Batter his skull”. This is what Caliban would like to happen to Prospero but he would never do himself because he is too scared of him.
From this you could take the view that actually even though Caliban has sworn servitude towards Stephano he is almost using him for his own use of getting rid of Prospero. This is a change from what we are used to seeing from him because all we have seen is Caliban being ordered to do everything. This also makes a good comparison to Prospero who is also manipulating people for his own ends even though Prospero looks like he is doing it for the good of Miranda as well.
Throughout the play Prospero is in total control of everything that is happening on the island. He does this through his use of magic and the spirit Ariel. I think that this is interesting because even when we don’t realise it Prospero is controlling what is happening, for example the fact that everyone on the island land on different points and never cross paths.
The main kind of magic that he uses to control people is the use of a sleeping spell and a spell to make them follow, which he uses when he wants people to stop what they are doing. This makes sure that everything happens when he wants it to. For example when Sebastian and Antonio were going to kill Alonso Ariel comes to them and says, “My master through his art foresees the danger…for else his project dies- to keep them living.” He then put them to sleep, this shows that he is using it to make sure his plan goes right because of where it says “for else his project dies”.
He also uses a spell that entices people to follow it, this helps him because he wanted all the people to think that they where the only people alive on the island. One example of this is when he led Caliban, Sebastian and Antonio through the bogs on the island to keep them busy and teach them a lesson. Both these spells show how easily he finds it to keep his power.
The way he does all of this is through his spirit servant Ariel. Ariel is like Caliban in that he does serve Prospero. However, he has been promised his freedom for doing all the magic that is asked of him. This is one of the reasons why Prospero is so powerful. Ariel is a spirit of the air who is very quick and nimble with both tongue and movement. He is the opposite of Caliban because he does no manual work and he will be free. Ariel is the eyes and ears of Prospero on the island.
However all the magic power that Prospero gains on the island is let go of towards the end of the play. This is because when his plan is finished and has worked he no longer sees the need for his magic, this is because his daughter and Ferdinand the kings son are in love, so he will regain his former power in Milan and eventually Naples and Milan will be united.
The main portrayal of the giving up of power is when Prospero breaks all the spells he has cast and gives up magic. This is because throughout Prospero has been the main power on the island and that is only because of his magic. He also set Ariel free from his power. This shows that his plan has finally come to an end. He does this by giving up his robe and all his books. These were the main signs of his power so the fact that he gives them all up means that he really has given up all his magic power. Also the fact that he has given up his power and stopped controlling people shows that he not only has the power to punish people but he has the power of forgiveness. Although even though he has given up his magic power he still has a lot of power where he lives.
After this has happened the rightful order of power is restored again. The king then becomes the leader again, Alonso then shows that has knowledge and understanding this is because he does not punish Prospero but just forgives him. This also shows that he does not just have physical power like Prospero and his magic. He shows that he is a good ruler of his subjects because he can give his subjects freedom just like when Prospero frees Ariel and everyone who was under his spell.
I think that throughout the entire play Prospero has been in charge of everything that has happened. However there have been other power struggles in the play, for example Stephano wanting to be the king of the island. This was never going to happen because of Prospero. Also the plot to kill the king so that Antonio would become king. This was ironic because even if they had killed Alonso they wouldn’t have any power unless they got back to Naples which they had no way of doing. However in conclusion all power was set back to normal with Alonso staying king, Prospero once again becoming a duke and everyone else not gaining any power. I think that the play shows that an unbalance of power will sort itself out after a while making sure that only certain people have power because the can handle it.