Prospero
The exiled Duke of Milan and the play's central figure. He controls every event through magic and planning. His arc is about whether a man with total power will choose revenge or mercy, and what it costs him to choose mercy.
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Characters
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Contents
Characters
Who matters and what they help you prove.
Miranda
Prospero's daughter, raised entirely on the island. She has never seen another young man, which makes her love for Ferdinand feel both genuine and engineered by her father. She is kind but has almost no agency in the plot.
Ariel
A spirit Prospero freed from imprisonment and now commands. Ariel carries out Prospero's plans, watches over the other characters, and keeps asking when he will be free. He is loyal but not willing. His freedom at the end of the play matters.
Caliban
The island's original inhabitant, now Prospero's enslaved servant. He is presented as monstrous but makes real arguments about ownership and injustice. His plot to kill Prospero fails, but his grievance stays on the table.
Ferdinand
The son of King Alonso, separated from his father by the storm. He falls in love with Miranda and submits to Prospero's tests without complaint. He is decent and earnest, which is the point. Prospero needs to know he is worthy.
Antonio
Prospero's brother, who stole the dukedom of Milan. He shows no remorse in the play and immediately starts plotting another murder when he lands on the island. Prospero forgives him, but Antonio never asks for forgiveness.
Alonso
The King of Naples who helped Antonio overthrow Prospero. He spends most of the play grieving what he believes is Ferdinand's death. His guilt makes him more sympathetic than Antonio, and he genuinely repents when Prospero confronts him.
Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo
The comic subplot trio. Stephano is a drunken butler and Trinculo is a jester. Caliban recruits them to kill Prospero. Their plot is ridiculous, but it mirrors the Antonio-Sebastian conspiracy and shows that the desire to seize power runs through every level of the social order.
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