Prospero

            In Shakespeare's highly acclaimed play, The Tempest, a character by the name of Prospero is introduced as the mandated duke of Milan and an all-powerful magician. Prospero's enchanted abilities permit him to dominate a chaotic situation which was fabricated by his sudden expulsion from Milan. Prospero is dishonored by his brother Antonio, and as a result is abandoned on a ship with his loving daughter Miranda to never be seen again. Knowing that Prospero's divine powers are able to overtake any living mortal, readers are left with the conflict of whether or not he will use them for good or to seek revenge. This conflict suddenly arises when Prospero finds himself with his daughter stranded on an unknown island. Furthermore, the destructive tempest encountered a ship containing Prospero's detestable enemies, leaving them strewed on the very island Prospero was on. Nevertheless, the question remained to be asked is whether Prospero will become a righteous ruler, or a merciless tyrant.
             The tale of Prospero's expulsion from Milan is told by none other then Prospero himself. Also, the tone used by this character inspires distrust, and from this readers learn how Prospero is not only relentless, but self-pitying and pretentious. As seen in Act I, readers are able to somewhat foreshadow the nature of Prospero's decree as unpleasant and incisive. When Duke of Milan, Prospero felt that his brother Antonio could be trusted, and this was the beginning of his downfall. As a result of his trustworthiness to his brother, Prospero lost his place of Duke in Milan, and nearly his life. As his life on the island begins, Prospero meets Caliban, brings him into his home and treats him with the respect of another member of the family. Here, readers see a pattern of trust, and betrayal forming which began with Antonio and now is passed onto Caliban. This second betrayal is caused by Caliban trying to rape Miranda, which was utterly looked down upon b y Prospero.