Allinonehomeschool
Writing
1/22/2015
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Significance of the Names in The Tempest
Shakespeare wrote many plays, including The Tempest. In The Tempest, the two main
characters are stranded on an island, on which they are trying hard to be able to survive. Only
four people that live on the island Prospero, Miranda, Caliban, and Ariel. Each character has his
or her own personality and his or her own dealings. The names Shakespeare gives each
character helps us to better understand who they are.
The meaning of the name Prospero is fortunate. Although Prospero was a little
unfortunate because his brother banished him and his daughter to an island, he was also
fortunate with several different things. He was extremely fortunate to have a daughter like
Miranda who respected and loved him very much. In addition, he was fortunate to have been
able to survive on this deserted island that only one person, other than him and his daughter
lived on. It was thought that no one could survive on the island. This is why Antonio,
Prospero’s vindictive brother, sent Prospero and Miranda to this harsh island.
Prospero was also fortunate to have his amazing magical powers. One of the reasons Antonio
kicked Prospero out of his Dukedom was because he was paying too much attention to his
books. Antonio knew when it was the right time to kick him out of his rightful place as
dukedom because all of the people in the kingdom were becoming very fond of Antonio. The
books that Prospero was studying were actually books about magic. He learned every bit of
magic through several different books. Prospero says “By accident most strange and bountiful
Fortunate, now my dear lady. Hath mine enemies brought to this shore; scene 1 act 2 lines
179-181. Prospero implies that he does not believe in the power of chance; however, he does
believe in his own power because he knew he could cause a storm.
In addition, Prospero was extremely fortunate to not only hold power over human
beings but also over nature. This was shown when he created the tempest. He acts like a god
on this island, and after everyone sees his power, they think he is a god. Although Prospero did
work magic, his magic was a good kind of magic. “Prospero’s magic is the white magic of
nature, not the black magic of a devil.”
Miranda means worthy of admiration and wonderful. Miranda is worthy of admiration
because she asked Ferdinand, the love of her life, if he wanted her to do the hard work. “If
you’ll sit down, I will bear the logs while: pray, give me that: Ill carry it to the pile. Scene 1 Act 3
line 3. This shows that she did not mind doing the hard labor for him. In addition, she obeys
her father’s commands and always does what he tells her to do. Miranda was also a superior
wife to her husband, the love of her life, Ferdinand.
In The Tempest, Miranda shows she is beautiful with not just her appearance but also
her actions. She is a very kind, fine-looking, and a responsible daughter to her father Prospero.
She will do anything for him. Miranda is a very innocent young woman and does not enjoy
hurting people or causing them trouble. She is openly compassionate and unaware of the
devils in this world. Although she only really knows two other people in the beginning, she
loves and respects everyone other than Caliban. She admired Caliban when they first inhabited
the island, but once he started to hurt her, she hated him very much.
Caliban means violent and brutalized. He had a deal with Prospero which was that
Prospero would teach him how to speak the same language as Miranda and Caliban. In return,
Caliban would teach Prospero the ways of the island, but that deal broke off when Caliban tried
to rape Miranda. Prospero caught Caliban and forced him to become his slave. Caliban
understands that Prospero’s power is from his books so that was Calibans first step in rebellion
against Prospero, to get rid of the books. Caliban was brutalized because of the ways Prospero
treated him. Caliban also becomes very drunk and forms a plot to kill Prospero, with Trinculo
and Stephano.
Caliban was attached to the island because he had lived there his whole life.
Throughout the whole play, The Tempest, he and his mother, Sycorax, are the only native ones
to the island. He was very angry when Prospero and Miranda first moved onto that island
because they took his power and made him work for them. He thought that because his
mother once ruled the island he should be next, which made him very mad, annoyed, and
unhappy when Prospero and Miranda moved to the island and took over.
The name Ferdinand means very venturous and honest. They were several ways he
showed he was venturous. When Ferdinand boat had been shipwrecked he was wandering
around the island. As he was wandering around the island, he found the place where Miranda
and Prospero live. He was also very honest towards Miranda, he liked her very much and was
not afraid to show it. Even though he did not know her for more than a few hours, he knew
they would one day get married. Ferdinand was also not afraid to try something new such as
the labor that Prospero forced him to do. The only way he could be with Miranda was if he did
the hard labor needed to be done for them to survive. So he did everything Prospero told him
to do, without protest.
There were a couple ways Ferdinand show he was honest, he did not break the virginity
knot before they were married, as Prospero had commanded. He was very honest with
Miranda and did everything for her. He showed he was very much like Miranda by being pure
and naïve just like her.
The meaning of Arial is fairy like, sprite and spirit of God. Arial was introduced into this
play when Prospero rescued her from the inside of a tree trunk. Sycorax, Caliban’s mother had
trapped her in there. Once Prospero let her free from the tree he made her become his spirit
helper. She was very true to Prospero and did everything he asked of her. She was always
faithful to him no matter what. Although referred to as a “he” in plays Arial was a she. Even
though she enjoyed helping Prospero, she was glad to be free of him and not have to work for
him anymore.
The given names of the characters in The Tempest allow us to better comprehend who
the characters were. Prospero and Miranda are both Latin names while Ferdinand is a German
name, and Arial is a Hebrew name. From all of this information we can say that usually a
character’s name is chosen to reveal that character’s actions.
Works Cited
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