Quote 1
FERDINAND
The ditty does remember my drowned father.
This is no mortal business, nor no sound
That the earth owes. I hear it now above me. (1.2.483-485)
Magic is more than mortal, though it tends to impact mortals. Ferdinand draws the connection that magic might also have a bit of the divine in it (otherwise it would be against God, and kind of blasphemous).
Quote 2
FERDINAND
This is a most majestic vision, and
Harmoniously charmingly. May I be bold
To think these spirits?
PROSPERO
Spirits, which by mine art
I have from their confines called to enact
My present fancies. (4.1.131-136)
Prospero is not above using his magic to his own fancy. We are asked to think about the limitation of his power here—he can make spirits look like gods, but he has no access to the real gods. Is the implication that even Prospero's magic hits a glass ceiling when it comes to the divine?
Quote 3
FERDINAND
Might I but through my prison once a day
Behold this maid. All corners else o' th' earth
Let liberty make use of. Space enough
Have I in such a prison. (1.2.597-600)
Although Prospero has made a big show of bullying Ferdinand, the prince insists that as long as he can see Miranda, he's free enough. That's kind of sweet but also a little scary, don't you think?
Quote 4
FERDINAND
O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound,
And crown what I profess with kind event
If I speak true; if hollowly, invert
What best is boded me to mischief. I,
Beyond all limit of what else i' th' world,
Do love, prize, honor you.
MIRANDA
I am a fool
To weep at what I am glad of.
PROSPERO [aside]
Fair encounter
Of two most rare affections. Heavens rain grace
On that which breeds between 'em! (3.1.81-91)
Though Prospero has practically thrown the two lovers into each other's laps, he still calls out for the heavens to bless them. It seems his homage to a power greater and beyond his own.
Quote 5
FERDINAND
Let me live here ever.
So rare a wondered father and a wise
Makes this place paradise. (4.1.137-139)
Man, Wife, and Father in Paradise, eh? Miranda and Ferdinand seem to stand in for the first pair of true lovers, and they do bring a new hope to all those on the island we thought were lost. Maybe this is an Adam-and-Eve thing?
Quote 6
FERDINAND
Sir, she is mortal,
But by immortal Providence she's mine.
I chose her when I could not ask my father
For his advice, nor thought I had one. She
Is daughter to this famous Duke of Milan,
Of whom so often I have heard renown,
But never saw before, of whom I have
Received a second life; and second father
This lady makes him to me. (5.1.224-232)
Ferdinand seems to say the two were fated to be together, but of course they wouldn't have found each other at all had it not been for Prospero's magic. Here's a chicken and egg question—does Prospero bring the pair together to satisfy Providence, or is Ferdinand mistaking Prospero's magic for a divine plan?