242 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



Prospero has had the most intimate and viial relations with the four characters 

 already studied. Antonio, the selfish conspirator, is his brother, but 'his greatest 

 enemy. Gonzalo has been his trtie preserver. Ariel is his powerful messenger, 

 Caliban is his wicked but useful slave. He holds a central position with reference to 

 these jour persons, who in their relations to each other are st/ongly contrasted pairs. ^ 

 Prospero is not a magnetic character; his austerity and love of authority are not 

 attractive. In this scene his whole relation to Ariel, Caliban, and Ferdinand is that 

 of a harsh ta.sk -mastir: there is a certain crudeness about the monotony of his injunc- 

 tions to work, and the work assigned the lover ii the same as that assigned to Cali- 

 ban, the carrying of logs. Prospero is wise, just, not more solicitous for himself 

 than for the true interests of all me others; but outwardly at least he is too faultless, 

 unsympathetic, regulated by high purposes, to be attractive through his personal 

 qualities. Even his command of magic has something in it which appeals to none 

 of the customary dramatic interests. 



But there are glimpses of a different Prospero at times; and an occasional effusion 

 of feeling for Miranda, Ariel, or Gonzalo reveals the tenderness and sensibility con- 

 trolled by Prospero's wisdom, and suggests the Hamlet-like refinement and sweetness 

 which had caused his downfall, and of which he had learned to make stronger use. 

 He is a learned, just, and loving man of brooding thought, profound melancholy, 

 and extreme sensibiHty, endowed with boundless power. 



In the fifth scene Prospero appears behind Miranda in her stolen visit to the scene 

 of Ferdinand's labors. He speaks three times. His words are: 

 \^Aside\ "Poor worm! thou art infected 

 This visitation shows it." 

 "Fair encounter 

 Of two most rare aflFections! Heavens rain grace 

 On that which breeds between them!" 

 And in conclusion: 



"So glad of this as they, I cannot be 

 Who are surprised withal; but my rejoicing 

 At nothing can be more. I'll to my book; 

 For yet, ere supper time, must I perform 

 Much business appertaining." 

 He is controlling human life. The absence of the romantic element in learning 

 may blind criticism to the significance of this speech. It is the most emphatic speech 

 of Shakespeare's wisest character. "My rejoicing at nothing can be more." 

 The romantic interest is kept central and uppermost by this speech. The learning 

 of the reader finds much to elaborate in The Tempest, but until the love story is 

 loyally recognized as the true interest there can be no grasp of the play in its simple 

 greatness. All proportion in this romantic drama depends upon the recognition of 



■ There is a chilling symmetry in the character-contrasts. 



