Prospero, the magus, and Shakespeare

Dr. John Dee.

Prospero appears to be very much in control throughout The Tempest. He controls much of what happens the characters on and offstage, and is able to manage the natural phenomena of the island. His power derives from his books, from his mastery of Ariel and, to a lesser degree, from Caliban. In his command of nature and magic, he fits the pattern of the "magus," a figure something between a modern scientist and a magician.

As The Tempest is probably the last play that Shakespeare wrote unaided*, it is tempting to see Prospero, in his command of the action onstage, as a representation of Shakespeare. The impressively orchestrated structure and originality of the play also suggests that Shakespeare may have intended the play as a sort of culmination of his art. This reading has been especially popular because of the final speech made by Prospero, which sounds rather like a formal farewell* to the theatre.

While this response to Prospero is is some ways attractive, it is certainly not the only way his character can be understood: Shakespeare makes him demanding -- even at times almost cranky -- as he rails at Ariel, and even at his daughter. He can also be seen as a source of power that is destructive.

• An Elizabethan magus.