The Tempest by William Shakespeare is about how a bad situation can somehow turn good. Prospero, the original duke of Milan, was a man who was exiled and stranded on an island with his daughter, Miranda. His brother, Antonio, plotted with conspirators who would help him rid of his brother so that he may take the position of the new duke of Milan. While on the island, Prospero studied magic that would enable him to adapt to the island and survive. By studying his magic he planned that one day he would have revenged on the people who caused him harm. So as the play progresses, Prospero was able to use his magic and shipwreck a ship whose passengers were the same people who exiled him to the island. But even so when the people who exiled him was at his mercy, he was able to rise above all the petty business that has been dealt to him in the past, and was able to forgive every single person who did him wrong. He showed that you can only get so much from revenge.
Prospero is portrays as a benevolent, kind, loving and above all forgiving man. He plays the role of the person who the audience is encouraged to feel sorry for. His sad story about how his own brother betrays him so that he may have a place in power really gives the audience the sense of why someone could do this to him. Contradicting that, he also symbolizes complete authority and power. Everyone who he surveys or met up with fears his powers. "All hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come to answer thy best pleasure" (I, ii 25). Even the great spirits who possess great powers that can cause storms or other disasters obey his every command. But through his power, that is how he shows interaction with other characters.
When Prospero was stranded on the island, his devotion to studying magic was so that one day he may take revenge on Antonio, Alonso, and Sebastian. He commanded a tempest to shipwreck the royal ship of Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio when they were near the island where he was inhabiting.