The Characters of the Tempest Walk into a Bar

I don't know where to begin. The clowns of the play Stephano and Trinculo kept me laughing as did drunk Caliban. Prospero's controlling nature still unnerves me and Miranda's innocence is touching. Acts IV and V of this play had me rooting for Miranda and Ferdinand and only them. While I don't dislike Stephano and Trinculo, I have a difficult time fully accepting them as anything but drunkards at this point. I have often wondered how powerful Caliban would be if he was sober. Prospero seems to know everything. It is this factor that I will focus on. Prospero is without a doubt a control freak. Not only does he control every aspect of his daughters life but he controls the lives of everyone else on the island. Prospero is a man with a plan. I don't think that he left anything up to chance throughout the whole play. He planned his daughter's marriage to Ferdinand as soon as he knew he'd arrived on the island, who does that?

Prospero knew what he wanted to get out of his 'guests.' He wanted his dukedom back and when the king offered it, Prospero was quick to take it. Honestly, I believe that the king only gave the dukedom back to Prospero because he wanted to get off the island and he was pretty much stuck there until Prospero decided otherwise. As far as Prospero's giving up of his magic goes, I see it as a bargaining tool. He is trying to prove that he has changed and is more worthy of the dukedom. Whether he is trying to prove is to himself or the king, I cannot say. In a way I think that Prospero has realized that he does not need his magic, though that is also speculation.  Prospero is an interesting character and one whose motives could continually be analyzed. I apologize for the short post this week, I hope you enjoyed my ramblings.