GCSE · English Literature · AQA · Spec 8702

Prospero

Prospero controls everyone on his island — but he uses a different tool on each person. Can you spot them?

The Tempest · Prospero

One ruler, four tools

Prospero is the most powerful person on the island — but he doesn't control everyone the same way. Tap one of his lines, then tap the tool you think it uses. When you've sorted them all, switch the rule and sort the same lines by who he is controlling.

Which tool of control does this line use?

Still to sort

Threat of punishment (0)

Frightens them with what he will do to them if they disobey.

Words that put them down (0)

Names that make them lower in status — or less than human.

Where the line is: An insult works on who they are; a threat works on what they fear will happen next.

Controlling what they know (0)

Deciding what they are told and when — or steering events behind their backs.

Reminding them what he's done for them (0)

Points back to what he has done for them, so pushing back looks ungrateful.

Where the line is: This looks BACK at what he has done for them; a threat looks FORWARD to what he will do to them.

10 of 10 still to sort.

Now switch to “By who he's controlling” and look at the pattern: Caliban gets threats and insults, Miranda gets a story Prospero controls, and Ariel gets reminders of a debt — backed up by threats and insults.

Watch out: Don't stop at “Prospero is controlling.” Say HOW — the tool changes with the person.

The Tempest · Prospero as a father

Key Quotations

Tap an underlined word to zoom into the language, then reveal how each quotation works.

Control3

to a bootless inquisition,

MirandaAct 1 Scene 2 — before Prospero tells her about her past

Obey, and be attentive.

ProsperoAct 1 Scene 2 — as he finally tells her the story

I have done nothing but in care of thee,

ProsperoAct 1 Scene 2 — justifying keeping her story from her

Ownership1

Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter,

ProsperoAct 1 Scene 2 — the same justification, continued

Defiance1

Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee.

ProsperoAct 1 Scene 2 — after Miranda speaks up for Ferdinand

The Tempest · Prospero the director

Put Prospero's plan in order

Put these in the order they happen, from Prospero's past to the end of the lovers' first meeting.

1 · First7 · Last

  1. Aside: “It goes on, I see,” — as Ferdinand and Miranda meet

  2. Prospero arranges King Alonso's shipwreck

  3. Aside: “It works.”

  4. Prospero's brother usurps the dukedom of Milan; Prospero flees with three-year-old Miranda

  5. Prospero pretends to dislike Ferdinand and accuses him of being a spy

  6. Miranda defends Ferdinand: “I’ll be his surety.”

  7. Ariel lands Ferdinand alone, and Ariel's music leads him to Prospero and Miranda

Watch out: An aside is heard by the audience only. The other characters on stage never hear it — that's what lets us see his plan while Miranda can't.

The colonial reading — Prospero and Caliban

ColonialismvsProspero on the island (as many scholars read it)

In Shakespeare's time England was just beginning to build an empire by creating colonies in North America. Many scholars read The Tempest as a comment on colonialism — an interpretation, not something the play states — and the reading exposes the colonisers' assumptions of superiority rather than agreeing with them.

Focus

Who was there first

Colonialism

Indigenous people — the people already living in the country.

Prospero on the island (as many scholars read it)

Caliban, born on the island: “This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,”

The insight

Caliban's claim by birth is why he can be read as representing Indigenous people — he says the island was his before Prospero came.

Taking control

Colonialism

Colonists take control of the country and occupy it with settlers.

Prospero on the island (as many scholars read it)

Prospero, formerly the Duke of Milan, arrives and takes control of the island.

The land's wealth

Colonialism

They exploit the country economically.

Prospero on the island (as many scholars read it)

He takes control of the island's resources.

The people already there

Colonialism

Indigenous people are controlled by the colonists.

Prospero on the island (as many scholars read it)

Prospero enslaves Caliban.

Language

Colonialism

Colonists taught Indigenous people their language, implying they thought themselves and their language superior.

Prospero on the island (as many scholars read it)

Caliban says Prospero and Miranda taught him to speak: “You taught me language;”

The Tempest · Prospero and Ariel

Who really holds the power?

Three readings of the same relationship. Tap each one — none is the official answer.

How much power does Prospero really have over Ariel?

Prospero dominates

  • In their Act 1 Scene 2 exchange Prospero has many more lines than Ariel — his voice dominates and seems to matter more.
  • Ariel is forced to obey because of Prospero's threats to return Ariel to the tree.
  • Read respectfully, “I will be correspondent to command,” is simple obedience.
  • “That’s my noble master!” can be read as Ariel acknowledging Prospero as superior.
Staging: in one Royal Shakespeare Company performance, Ariel emerges from a barrel with Prospero towering over them — suggesting Prospero is more powerful.

Ariel pushes back

  • “Is there more toil?” shows Ariel's frustration at yet more work.
  • Ariel bluntly demands “My liberty.”
  • Ariel reminds Prospero of a debt too: “Remember I have done thee worthy service;”
  • Read sarcastically, “I will be correspondent to command,” mocks the obedience it promises — and Prospero's “How now? moody?” suggests he thinks Ariel should be grateful, not complaining.
Staging: in another Royal Shakespeare Company performance, Ariel floats above Prospero — suggesting Ariel is the more powerful.

A bond that ends in freedom

William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays — who saw Ariel as imaginary power, the swiftness of thought personified, with a fellow-feeling for the people Ariel works among.

  • Prospero promises “I will discharge thee.” after two days, and Ariel answers with excitement: “That’s my noble master!” — here “noble” can mean a kind master.
  • Prospero insults Ariel, but he never actually hurts Ariel.
  • In Act 5 Scene 1 he keeps his promise: “Be free, and fare thou well!”
Hazlitt called the Act 5 Scene 1 exchange exquisite: Ariel says “Mine would, sir, were I human.” and Prospero answers “And mine shall.”

Common ground

  • Prospero freed Ariel from the tree where Sycorax had imprisoned Ariel, and makes Ariel perform magical tasks in return for a promise of freedom.
  • The same words can carry more than one reading — which is why Ariel's lines, and how they are staged, matter so much.

Which reading could you argue best — and which line would you use to do it?

Comparing 3 positions: Prospero dominates, Ariel pushes back, A bond that ends in freedom.

English Lit · Paragraph craft

Build a paragraph: Prospero at the end of the play

Tap a slot to see the job it does, or fill them all to see the model paragraph. Hazlitt thought two of the most striking speeches in The Tempest are Prospero's: this one, and the Act 4 speech beginning “The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,”.

The Tempest · How is Prospero presented at the end of the play?

Tap a slot to fill or empty it.

Selected slot

Tap a slot above

Watch out: Don't retell the ending. Every sentence should be about how Prospero is presented, not just what he does.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

One ruler, three people, a different kind of control for each — and what changes when he gives it up.

What you need to know

  • Power means the ability to control others and influence events — and the abuse of power is a common theme in Shakespeare's plays.
  • Prospero uses different methods on different people: threats and insults for Caliban, control of her own story for Miranda, reminders of debt and threats of the tree for Ariel.
  • His asides — “It goes on, I see,” and “It works.” — show the audience that he is secretly directing Miranda and Ferdinand's courtship.
  • The colonial reading (many scholars), the patriarchal reading (Shakespeare's society) and Hazlitt's view are interpretations: attribute them, never state them as facts about the play.
  • At the end he frees Ariel and gives up his magic: “I’ll drown my book.”

The big picture

Prospero rules the island and directs the events of The Tempest, from King Alonso's shipwreck to the meeting of Ferdinand and Miranda. He controls Caliban with threats of pain and names that put him down, Miranda by controlling her story and secretly steering her courtship, and Ariel with reminders of what Ariel owes him and threats of the tree. Many scholars read the play as a comment on colonialism, and Prospero fits the patriarchal father of Shakespeare's time — yet he never actually hurts Ariel, frees Ariel, and gives up his magic at the end.

Key points

1Prospero directs the whole play — from the shipwreck to the lovers' first meeting.
2Caliban: ruled through fear of pain, and named “slave” again and again.
3Miranda: kept in the dark, then steered — her “defiance” is his plan.
4Ariel: reminded of the tree and called a “thing” — but never actually hurt, and freed in the end.
5Readings to know: coloniser (many scholars), patriarchal father (Shakespeare's society), “arbitrary, tetchy” magician (Hazlitt).

Worked example

Problem

How does Shakespeare use Prospero's threat “As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging” (Act 1 Scene 2) to show how he controls Caliban? Write one analytical sentence.

⚠ Watch out

Writing Prospero off as simply a wise, loving father-magician — or simply a cruel tyrant. He controls every relationship, sometimes through fear and sometimes in the name of care, and how you judge him stays open to interpretation.

🧠

Memory hook

Three Ps for three people: PAIN for Caliban, PLOT for Miranda, PRICE for Ariel (what Ariel owes him). Then the fourth P, at the end — he PUTS IT DOWN: “I’ll drown my book.”

✓

Check yourself

Prospero insults Ariel but never actually hurts Ariel, and frees Ariel at the end. Does that make him a tyrant or not? Make one argument each way, with a line to back each one.

Flashcards

(15)
What does “power” mean when you write about The Tempest?
The ability to control others as well as influence events. The abuse of power is a common theme in Shakespeare's plays.
How long have Prospero and Miranda been on the island — and why are they there?
Twelve years (“Twelve year since, Miranda, twelve year since,”). Prospero's brother usurped his dukedom of Milan, and Prospero fled with Miranda, who was only three.
What does Prospero repeatedly call Caliban, and what does the word do?
“Slave” — for example “Thou most lying slave,”. It stresses Prospero's superiority (higher status) and Caliban's inferiority (lower status).
What was a rack, and which Prospero line uses it?
A torture device used in Shakespeare's time. Prospero threatens Caliban: “I’ll rack thee with old cramps,”.
Define colonialism.
Taking control over another country, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically. Colonists imposed their own laws and beliefs and taught Indigenous people their language, implying they thought themselves and their language superior.
Why can Caliban be read as representing Indigenous people?
He was born on the island (“This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,”). Prospero arrives, enslaves him and takes control of the island's resources. This is many scholars' reading, not a fact the play states.
What does Caliban's “You taught me language;” suggest?
It is reminiscent of colonists teaching Indigenous people their language — and implies Prospero believes his language superior to Caliban's.
What was expected of fathers and daughters in Shakespeare's patriarchal society?
Men held power and were thought superior to women. Daughters were expected to obey their fathers, and a father chose his daughter's husband, mostly without taking her feelings into account.
What is an aside?
Speech the audience hears but the other characters on stage do not — like Prospero's “It goes on, I see,” as Ferdinand and Miranda meet.
What does Prospero mean by “I must uneasy make, lest too light winning”?
He will make things hard for the lovers so their love does not come too easily — so he pretends to dislike Ferdinand and accuses him of being a spy.
Why might Prospero want Miranda and Ferdinand to fall in love?
One reading: Ferdinand is the son of King Alonso, the king of Naples, and marriage was mostly for power or social climbing — so Prospero, a duke, may want his daughter to be queen of Naples.
What does “subversive” mean, and why could Miranda's defence of Ferdinand be called subversive?
Going against established authority. A daughter disagreeing with her father would have been seen that way in Shakespeare's time.
How did Prospero come to control Ariel?
He freed Ariel from magical imprisonment in a tree by the witch Sycorax. He then makes Ariel perform magical tasks, promising to free Ariel once they are done.
What does Prospero do with his magic in Act 5 Scene 1?
He abjures (gives up) “this rough magic”: he will break his staff, and says “I’ll drown my book.”
How did the critic William Hazlitt see Ariel?
As imaginary power — the swiftness of thought personified — with a fellow-feeling for the people Ariel works among. He called the Act 5 exchange “Mine would, sir, were I human.” / “And mine shall.” exquisite.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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