Nobody can go back and start a new beginning but anyone can start today and make a new ending (Robinson).People can alter the way they are in live and become something else in future. Change is a state of transformation which results in a fundamental shift in the way we perceive and interact with the world. It is the state of being turned into something or someone else. Change is very important in our lives as it gives us new experiences either in positive or negative way. The character Prospero from Shakespeare’s The Tempest undergoes some changes toward the end of the play. Throughout the course of the play, Prospero’s character grows, and he goes from being an unsympathetic character to a much more sympathetic and likable character with redeeming characteristics. Therefore, in this paper, I am going to explain when and how Prospero changes over towards the course of the play. This will help in defining his real nature through the actions he performs throughout the play.
The Tempest by Shakespeare includes elements of both tragedy and comedy. It was written around 1610 and it’s generally considered Shakespeare’s final play as well as the last of his romance plays. The story is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, plans to restore his daughter Miranda to her proper place using manipulation and illusion. He conjures up a storm, the aptly named tempest, to lure his powerful hungry brother Antonio and the conspiring King Alonso to the island. Prospero from The Tempest is the rightful Duke of Milan and father to Miranda who he loves. In the plot, he was supplanted by his brother and sent on a boat to his death but survived by landing on the island where he accesses his magic books. Many of the characters in the play are locked into a power struggle for their freedom and for control of the island, forcing some characters (both good and evil) to abuse their power.
Prospero possesses magical powers and is able to conjure spirits and nymphs to perform tasks. With Ariel’s help, he conjures the tempest at the start of the play.
Prospero is quite a foreboding character, dealing out punishments, treating his servants with ignominy and raising questions about his morality and fairness. Both Ariel and Caliban want to be free of their master which suggests he is not easy to work for.
Ariel and Caliban represent the two sides of Prospero’s personality; he can be kind and generous but there is also a darker side to him.
Prospero’s character changes from a relentless being into a remorseful wizard. When we are first introduced to Prospero in the first few chapters he is foreseen as an evil wizard as he commits lurid acts such as causing the storm and he shows no remorse at all. The unrepentant character is evident in his reply to Miranda after he is asked whether he is the one who has caused the storm, “tell your piteous heart theres no harm done”. This tells us he starts off as an evil character. Later Prospero changes as he understands that what he has done is wrong and he asks for forgiveness, “As you from crimes would pardoned be, let your indulgence set me free” (act 5 scene 1).
Another factor showing that Prospero has changed is when he stops being constantly evil and vicious. He releases Caliban and his companions “Set Caliban and his companions free: untie the spell”. If Prospero was in the state we explored previously he would not have released Caliban and his companions but as he has changed and is no more the evil wizard he was he has a change in mind causing him to pursue in releasing them.