WHO S WHO? A GUIDE TO THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE TEMPEST

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1 WHO S WHO? A GUIDE TO THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE TEMPEST WHO S WHO? A GUIDE TO THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE TEMPEST Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan. He lives in exile on a magical island and has studied to become a powerful magician. Whilst he uses magic for good and is stern but fair, his right to control Ariel and Caliban can be questioned. He rules the island by magic and will use magic to get back his dukedom. Caliban is an earth-creature, a deformed son of the devil, and a dead witch. He was adopted as Prospero s friend but becomes his slave. Caliban says the island is his and Prospero has stolen it from him by magic. Ariel is the other native of the island. He is an invisible airy spirit a mix of fairy and demon and the chief agent of Prospero s magic. He can create electric storms, enchanting music and appear as mythical creatures. Miranda is Prospero s daughter and his only human companion on the island. She is young and innocent, and believes the best of the humans who come to the island. She falls in love at first sight with Ferdinand. Ferdinand is a prince, the son and heir of the King of Naples. He is handsome and good-natured and passes the tests set by Prospero. He does hard physical toil like a slave and also controls his passions. He earns Miranda as his reward. Alonso is the King of Naples. He helped Prospero s brother steal the dukedom (of Milan) and has been paid for doing so ever since. Prospero magically shipwrecks him on the island and, through various punishments, teaches him to be a better man _The_Tempest_Caribbean_Book.indb 15 02/10/ :57

2 Antonio is Prospero s brother, who steals his dukedom. He learns nothing on the island and both resists and fears its good magic. While there, he plots with Sebastian to kill Alonso. He is witty and mocks anything good or wise. Sebastian is Alonso s brother. He helped Antonio steal Prospero s dukedom and, on the island, plots to kill Alonso and become King of Naples, copying Antonio. His constant joking (like Antonio s) conceals serious thoughts of murder. Gonzalo is an honest old counsellor to King Alonso. He sees a lot of virtue in the island and its magic but is elderly and finds it hard to keep up with the younger men. Stephano is King Alonso s drunken butler. He floats to the island on a barrel of wine and is drunk for the entire period that he is there. Caliban worships him and persuades him to kill Prospero and be his new master and King. Trinculo is a clown who has an easy-going but lazy nature. He joins the drunken plot to kill Prospero but is never very serious about it. Boatswain is an experienced and steady old mariner. Activity 5 Now that you know a little about each character, what else would you like to find out about them? For each character, write down one or two questions that you plan to find answers for as you gain more understanding of The Tempest _The_Tempest_Caribbean_Book.indb 16 02/10/ :57

3 TIMELINE OF SHAKESPEARE S LIFE AND TIMES 1558 Queen Elizabeth I is crowned William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He is arguably the greatest playwright who ever lived, yet very little is known about him His father John, a prosperous glove-maker, is made Chief Alderman of Stratford His father s fortunes decline. Shakespeare probably has to leave Grammar School William marries Anne Hathaway. Their daughter Susanna is born six months later Twins, Judith and Hamnet, are born He leaves Stratford for London Robert Greene, the London theatre critic, calls him an upstart Crow. His early plays comedies like The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew and corpseladen histories/tragedies like Henry VI and Richard III obviously ruffled feathers among the established writers (who were university-educated) Shakespeare s friend Christopher Marlowe, the best dramatist of the day, is stabbed through the eye in a London tavern. He was bold, brilliant and experimental and a good role model for Shakespeare. Prospero in The Tempest is in some ways a re-write of the over-reaching magician story in Marlowe s last and best play, The Tragedy of Dr Faustus (1592) Shakespeare writes Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, poems for an upper-class audience. The established acting company the Lord Chamberlain s Men accept him as a resident writer as well as actor at The Theatre, just outside London Shakespeare writes two plays a year on average, including the comedy A Midsummer Night s Dream, the tragedy Romeo and Juliet and the histories Henry IV Part 1 and Part _The_Tempest_Caribbean_Book.indb 4 02/10/ :57

4 TIMELINE OF SHAKESPEARE S LIFE AND TIMES 1596 He applies successfully for a coat of arms, showing he wishes to be seen as a rich gentleman. Hamnet, his only son, dies. (Hamnet s twin sister lives until 1662.) 1597 Shakespeare buys New Place, one of the finest houses in Stratford, and moves his family there while he remains in London for much of the year. His company is evicted from The Theatre. An Elizabethan playhouse. Note the apron stage protruding into the auditorium, the space below it, the inner room at the rear of the stage, the gallery above the inner stage, the canopy over the main stage, and the absence of a roof over the audience The Lord Chamberlain s Men move The Theatre over the river and re-erect it (timber by timber!) at The Globe The Phoenix and the Turtle (a long poem) appears in Robert Chester s Love s Martyr. Educated readers approve During this period, Shakespeare writes his greatest plays: mature comedies like Twelfth Night; the problem plays like Measure for Measure; and the great tragedies Julius Caesar, Hamlet (a play about a son who, like Hamnet, never lives to inherit his father s kingdom), Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus. Shakespeare moves to Southwark but keeps his money interests in Stratford _The_Tempest_Caribbean_Book.indb 5 02/10/ :57

5 1603 Queen Elizabeth I dies. The new King James I honours the Lord Chamberlain s Men by renaming them the King s Men. Theatre fashions change and the King s Men invest in an indoor playhouse, Blackfriars Theatre, built in The Gunpowder Plot: an attempt by a group of Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament Shakespeare publishes The Sonnets (probably written many years before). Poetry is the high literary art of the time and these works confirm his genius with a highlyeducated audience Cymbeline is produced The Winter s Tale and The Tempest are produced. Shakespeare s last plays (including The Tempest) follow some aspects of the new fashion for more spectacle, magic and make-believe, and the greater scenic scope allowed by indoor playing The Globe theatre burns down during a performance of Henry VIII (Shakespeare s last play). Around this date Shakespeare returns to Stratford He dies there on his birthday, 23 April _The_Tempest_Caribbean_Book.indb 6 02/10/ :57