When comparing the three characters Prospero, Caliban and Ariel, a reader is able to get a look at three very different, but powerful, archetypes. Prospero, once a king invested his time in learning magic and sorcery. His dedication to mastering these skills represent his need to control all of those around him. We see this controlling demeanor when watching the way he treats Ariel. While we only see the end of their relationship, it is clear that Prospero has been promising to free Ariel after he does various tasks for him, yet he never does. This is the type of control that Prospero posses is the reason that he learned sorcery, however, it did cost him his kingdom. Ariel is a spirit that Prospero rescued from a witch named Sycorax. Throughout the entire play we see…show more content… Now that Sycorax is dead Caliban believes he should have inherited his mother’s island without a problem, but once Prospero reaches the island he takes control over him and the land. When looking at these three characters it is easy to say that Prospero is the most powerful of them all seeing that he is able take control of the and force the other two into being his servants. This is very interesting seeing that of the tree Prospero’s powers are not natural. Unlike Caliban and Ariel, Prospero had to learn sorcery on his own, and practice using his powers to become as powerful as he is. However, I think it would be interesting to see what it would be like if Ariel were to have challenged Prospero. If Ariel were to abandon his kindhearted nature and disregard the fact that Prospero freed him from the curse, it is possible that Ariel could overpower Prospero. This is because it seems as if Ariel is the true muscle in the play and Prospero is simply the brain. Throughout the play it is Ariel displaying his power by conjuring the tempest, putting the men to sleep with his music, and taking the shape of a sea
