The Tempest Characters

Prospero is the ousted Duke of Milan who has been living in exile on a remote island for the past twelve years. He's also a powerful magician, father of Miranda, master of Ariel and Caliban, and a...

"Hag-born" "whelp," not "honoured with human shape." "Demi-devil." "Poor credulous monster." "Hag-seed." "Strange fish." These are just a few descriptions of Caliban, one of the most debated fig...

Miranda is the virginal, fourteen-year-old daughter of Prospero. (We know her age because her dad says she wasn't yet three years old when they landed on the island and twelve years have passed si...

In the play's dramatis personae (literally, a list of the "persons of the play"), we're told that Gonzalo is "an honest old counsellor of Naples." He's travelling with the King's party when he's...

Ariel is Prospero's "tricksy" spirit servant and attends to Prospero's every need. Unlike Caliban, Ariel has a (mostly) warm and loving relationship with Prospero, who saved Ariel when he arrived o...

Alonso, the King of Naples, is not a particularly good guy, but not a particularly bad one, either. We know he was an enemy of Prospero, but the first we hear of the King is that he was easily sway...

Prince Ferdinand is Alonso's son and the heir to the throne of Naples. He is quick to love, and seemingly quick to forget his father's "death," but it does seem that his heart is true and his affec...

This pair can mainly be dealt with together, since nearly all of their lines are together, and their action is matched. They're also in similar positions, as both are traitorous younger brothers. A...