Editing Prospero

{{short description|Character in William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox character
| name               = Prospero
| series             = [[The Tempest]]
| image              = Prospero and miranda.jpg
| caption            = ''Prospero and [[Miranda (The Tempest)|Miranda]]'' by [[William Maw Egley]]
| creator            = [[William Shakespeare]]
| based_on           = 
| portrayer          = 
| alias              = 
| affiliation        = 
| family             = [[Miranda (The Tempest)|Miranda (daughter)]]
}}

'''Prospero''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|ɒ|s|p|ər|oʊ}} {{respell|PROS|pər-o}}) is a fictional character and the [[protagonist]] of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Tempest]]''.

== Character ==
Twelve years before the play begins, Prospero is usurped from his position as the rightful [[List of dukes of Milan|Duke of Milan]] by his brother Antonio, who puts Prospero and his three-year-old daughter [[Miranda (The Tempest)|Miranda]] to sea on a "rotten carcass" of a boat to die. Prospero and Miranda survived and found exile on a small island inhabited mostly by spirits. Prospero learned [[magic (paranormal)|sorcery]] from books, and uses it to protect Miranda.

Before the play begins, Prospero freed the magical spirit [[Ariel (The Tempest)|Ariel]] from entrapment within "a cloven pine". Ariel is beholden to Prospero after he is freed from his imprisonment inside the pine tree. Prospero then takes Ariel as a slave. Prospero's sorcery is sufficiently powerful to control Ariel and other spirits, as well as to alter weather and even raise the dead: "Graves at my command have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth, by my so potent Art." - Act V, scene 1.

On the island, Prospero becomes master of the monster [[Caliban (character)|Caliban]], the son of a malevolent witch named [[Sycorax]], and forces Caliban into submission by punishing him with magic if he does not obey.

=== Prospero's speech ===
''The Tempest'' is believed to be the last play Shakespeare wrote alone.<ref name="yale"/><ref name="huffPo"/><ref name="heritage">{{cite book|last1=Shakespeare|first1=William|author2=Guthrie,Tyrone|editor1-last=Alexander|editor1-first=Peter|title=The Comedies|url=https://archive.org/details/comedies00shak|url-access=registration|date=1958|publisher=The Heritage Press|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/comedies00shak/page/4 4]|language=en|chapter=The Tempest|quote=Shakespeare himself was at the end of his career, and it is hardly possible not to see,...in Prospero's resignation of his magic a reflection of Shakespeare's own farewell to his art.}}</ref> In this play there are two candidate soliloquies by Prospero which critics have taken to be Shakespeare's own "retirement speech".

One speech is the "Our revels now are ended" or "Cloud-capp'd towers..." speech:<ref name="yale"/><ref name="huffPo"/>

<poem>
           Our revels now are ended: These our actors—,
           As I foretold you—, were all spirits and
           Are melted into air, into thin air;
           And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
           The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
           The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
           Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
           And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
           Leave not a rack behind: we are such stuff
           As dreams are made on, and our little life
           Is rounded with a sleep. — ''The Tempest'', Act 4, Scene 1
</poem><ref name="yale">{{cite book|last1=Shakespeare|first1=William|editor1-last=Horne|editor1-first=David|title=The Tempest|date=1913|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|page=72|edition=Revised hardcover|language=en|chapter=Act 4, Scene 1|quote=...it was probably Shakespeare's last effort.}}</ref><ref name="huffPo">{{cite web|last1=Jacobs|first1=M W|title=Shakespeare's Parting Words|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mw-jacobs/shakespeares-parting-word_b_6969080.html|website=HuffPost|date=30 March 2015|access-date=16 June 2017}}</ref>

The final [[soliloquy]] and [[epilogue]] is the other candidate.<ref name="heritage"/>

<poem>
           Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
           And what strength I have's mine own,
           Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
           I must be here confined by you,
           Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
           Since I have my dukedom got
           And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
           In this bare island by your spell;
           But release me from my bands
           With the help of your good hands:
           Gentle breath of yours my sails
           Must fill, or else my project fails,
           Which was to please. Now I want
           Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
           And my ending is despair,
           Unless I be relieved by prayer,
           Which pierces so that it assaults
           Mercy itself and frees all faults.
           As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
           Let your indulgence set me free.
</poem>

== Portrayals ==
=== Stage ===
Portrayals of Prospero in Royal Shakespeare Company productions include:
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Robert Harris (British actor)|Robert Harris]] (1948)
* [[Michael Redgrave|Sir Michael Redgrave]] (1951)
* [[Ralph Richardson|Sir Ralph Richardson]] (1952)
* [[John Gielgud|Sir John Gielgud]] (1956, 1957)
* [[Tom Fleming (actor)|Tom Fleming]] (1963)
* [[Ian Richardson]] (1970)
* [[Michael Aldridge]] (1974)
* [[Michael Hordern|Sir Michael Hordern]] (1978)
* [[Derek Jacobi]] (1982)
* [[John Wood (English actor)|John Wood]] (1988)
* [[Alec McCowen]] (1993)
* [[Paul Jesson]] (1995)
* [[David Calder (actor)|David Calder]] (1998)
* [[Philip Voss]] (2000), a production that utilized [[vocal music]] rather than instrumental
* [[Malcolm Storry]] (2002)
* [[Patrick Stewart|Sir Patrick Stewart]] (2006) in [[Rupert Goold]]'s very loose 2006 interpretation
* [[Antony Sher]] (2009)
* [[Jonathan Slinger]] (2012) directed by [[David Farr (theatre director)|David Farr]].
* [[Simon Russell Beale]] (2016), a production directed by [[Gregory Doran]] that used Digital technology to create many of the special effects.
}}

Portrayals of Prospero at the [[Old Vic]] include:
* [[John Gielgud|Sir John Gielgud]] (1931, 1940, 1974)
* [[Max von Sydow]] (1988)
* [[Derek Jacobi|Sir Derek Jacobi]] (2003)
* [[Stephen Dillane]] (2010)

Portrayals of Prospero for the [[New York Shakespeare Festival]] include:
* [[James Earl Jones]] (1962)
* [[Raul Julia]] (1981)
* [[Patrick Stewart]] (1995) at the [[Delacorte Theater]], later moved to Broadway's [[Broadhurst Theater]].
* [[Sam Waterston]] (2015)

Portrayals of Prospero for [[Shakespeare's Globe|the Globe Theatre]] include:
* [[Vanessa Redgrave]] (2000); she also played "Ariel" to her father [[Michael Redgrave|Sir Michael Redgrave]]'s "Prospero" in the 1964 [[Caedmon Audio|Caedmon]] recording.
* [[Roger Allam]] (2013), videotaped and later broadcast as part of their Live Cinema broadcasts.

Portrayals of Prospero for the [[Stratford Shakespeare Festival]] include:
* [[William Hutt (actor)|William Hutt]] (1962, 1976, 1999, 2005)
* [[Len Cariou]] (1982), videotaped and broadcast on television in 1983
* [[Alan Scarfe]] (1992)
* [[Christopher Plummer]] (2010), videotaped and broadcast on television
* [[Martha Henry]] (2018)

Other stage portrayals of Prospero include:
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Graham Crowden]] (1970), at London's [[Mermaid Theatre]], directed by [[Jonathan Miller]].
* Sir John Gielgud (1974), at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]].
* Sam Waterston (1974), [[Off-Broadway]] at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts|Lincoln Center]].
* [[Anthony Hopkins|Sir Anthony Hopkins]] (1979), opposite [[Stephanie Zimbalist]] as Miranda at the [[Mark Taper Forum]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/28/archives/stage-new-approach-to-the-tempest-on-coast-those-are-pearls.html|title=Stage: New Approach to the Tempest' on Coast|newspaper=The New York Times|date=28 May 1979|last1=Eder|first1=Richard}}</ref>
* [[Frank Langella]] (1989), opposite [[B. D. Wong]] as Ariel with the [[Roundabout Theatre Company]] in New York City.
* [[Blair Brown]] as "Prospera" (2003), at the [[McCarter Theatre|McCarter Theatre Center]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2003/legit/reviews/the-tempest-19-1200542991|title = The Tempest|date = 5 March 2003}}</ref>
* [[Ralph Fiennes]] (2011), at the [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]] directed by [[Trevor Nunn]].
* [[Harriet Walter]] (2017), in [[Phyllida Lloyd]]'s [[Donmar Warehouse]] production, which was set in an all-women's prison and performed by the inmates.
* [[Kate Burton (actress)|Kate Burton]] as "Prospera" (2018), at the [[Old Globe Theatre]] in [[San Diego]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/theater/reviews/la-et-cm-the-tempest-review-20180625-story.html| title = Review: 'The Tempest' at the Old Globe: Kate Burton casts a benevolent spell as Prospera - Los Angeles Times| website = [[Los Angeles Times]]| date = 26 June 2018}}</ref>
}}

=== Film and television ===
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Maurice Evans (actor)|Maurice Evans]], 1960 (TV, [[Hallmark Hall of Fame]])
* [[Michael Redgrave|Sir Michael Redgrave]], 1968 ([[BBC-TV]], ''[[Play of the Month]]'')
* [[Heathcote Williams]], 1979 (film version directed by [[Derek Jarman]])
* [[Michael Hordern|Sir Michael Hordern]], 1980 (BBC-TV, ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare]]'')
* [[Efrem Zimbalist Jr.]], 1983 (videotaped production for Bard Productions)
* [[John Gielgud]], 1991 (film adaptation ''[[Prospero's Books]]'' directed by [[Peter Greenaway]])
* [[Timothy West]], 1992 (voice of Prospero in abridged animated production for ''[[Shakespeare: The Animated Tales]]'')
* [[Helen Mirren]], 2010 ([[The Tempest (2010 film)|film adaptation]] directed by [[Julie Taymor]], renamed "Prospera")
* [[Patrick Robinson (actor)|Patrick Robinson]], 2018 (Filmed for [[CBeebies]] at the [[Lawrence Batley Theatre]], [[Huddersfield]], in front of a live invited audience<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2018/13/thetempest|title = The Tempest}}</ref>)
}}

Prospero-esque characters have included:
* [[Paul Mazursky]]'s film ''[[Tempest (1982 film)|Tempest]]'' (1982) starring [[John Cassavetes]] as "Philip Dimitrius", who is an exile of his own cynical discontent, ego and self-betrayal and who abandons America for a utopian "kingdom" on a secluded Greek isle.
* The 1998 TV movie ''[[The Tempest (1998 film)|The Tempest]]'', set in a Mississippi bayou during the American Civil War, based on Shakespeare's play and starring [[Peter Fonda]] as "Gideon Prosper", a Prospero-esque plantation owner who has learned voodoo from his slaves.

=== Audio ===
Audio portrayals of Prospero include:
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[John Gielgud|Sir John Gielgud]] in four [[BBC Radio]] productions: 1933 (on the [[BBC National Programme]]), 1948 (on the [[BBC Home Service]]), 1953 and 1989 (on the [[BBC World Service]]).
* [[John Barrymore]] (1937) (an abridged version of ''The Tempest'' on the 12 July episode of the short-lived NBC radio series ''Streamlined Shakespeare''; this episode was re-broadcast on 31 August 1950 with the series' name changed to ''John Barrymore and Shakespeare'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mwotrc.com/rr2005_08/shakespeare.htm|title = Radio Recall - MWOTRC}}</ref>
* [[Cedric Hardwicke|Sir Cedric Hardwicke]] (1940) (a one-hour adaptation of ''The Tempest'' on the 24 November episode of the [[Blue Network|NBC]] radio series ''Great Plays'')
* [[Norman Shelley]] (1951) ([[BBC Third Programme]])
* [[Michael Hordern|Sir Michael Hordern]] (1960) ([[Argo Records (UK)|Argo Records]] recording)
* [[Michael Redgrave|Sir Michael Redgrave]] (1964) ([[Caedmon Audio|Caedmon Records]] recording [SRS-201])
* [[Alec Clunes]] (1964) ([[BBC Home Service]]).
* [[Paul Scofield]] (1974) ([[BBC Radio 3]])
* [[Ronald Pickup]] (1996) ([[BBC Radio 3]] ''Sunday Play'')
* [[Bob Peck]] (1999) (''[[Arkangel Shakespeare|The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare]]'' series recording)
* [[Philip Madoc]] (2001) ([[BBC Radio 3]] ''Sunday Play'', adapted for radio and directed by [[David Hunter]])
* [[Ian McKellen|Sir Ian McKellen]] (2004) ([[Naxos Records]] recording)
* [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]] (2012) ([[BBC Radio 3]] ''Drama on 3'', broadcast as part of the ''Shakespeare Unlocked'' series, adapted for radio and directed by [[Jeremy Mortimer]])
}}

== In popular culture ==
* In the comic book series ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' by [[Alan Moore]] and [[Kevin O'Neill (comics)|Kevin O'Neill]], Prospero appears as a founding member of the first such grouping in 1610, alongside his familiars Caliban and Ariel.
* Paul Prospero, the protagonist of ''[[The Vanishing of Ethan Carter]]'' (2014), is named after Prospero.<ref>{{Cite web|title = On The Vanishing of Ethan Carter's Ending (EXTREME SPOILERS)|url = http://www.theastronauts.com/2014/10/vanishing-ethan-carters-ending-extreme-spoilers/|access-date = 2015-10-07}}</ref>
* In [[John Bellairs]]'s novel ''[[The Face in the Frost]]'' (1969), one of the protagonists is a wizard named Prospero ("and not the one you're thinking of") .
* In [[Warhammer 40,000|Warhammer: 40,000]] and further fleshed out in ''[[The Horus Heresy (novels)|The Horus Heresy]]'' series, several books take place on a planet called Prospero, home of Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Space Marine legion. The citizens of the planet are versed in sorcery and psychic powers, earning them the suspicion and ire of the rest of the Imperium of Man.<ref>{{Cite web|title = ''Prospero Burns'' publisher summary|url = http://www.blacklibrary.com/horus-heresy/prospero-burns-hardback.html|access-date = 2015-10-17|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151013063545/http://www.blacklibrary.com/horus-heresy/prospero-burns-hardback.html|archive-date = 13 October 2015}}</ref>
* ''Melon Cauliflower'', by New Zealand playwright Tom McCrory, is about a man Prospero, in his late sixties, who struggles to come to terms with the death of his wife and has mistreated his daughter Miranda.<ref>{{cite book|author=McCrory, Tom|url=http://static.radionz.net.nz/assets/pdf_file/0004/2499610/Drama_Stuff_June_July_2011.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630234552/http://static.radionz.net.nz/assets/pdf_file/0004/2499610/Drama_Stuff_June_July_2011.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-06-30|title=Melon Cauliflower|publisher=RadioNZ}}</ref>
* "[[The Masque of the Red Death]]", by [[Edgar Allan Poe]], is set at the manor of a Prince Prospero
* In the television series ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' by [[Gene Roddenberry]] and [[CBS]] / [[Paramount Pictures]], Prospero appears briefly played by Lt. Cmdr. Data ([[Brent Spiner]]) during the beginning of Season 7 Episode 23 entitled "[[Emergence (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Emergence]]". He recites some lines of Prospero's speech before asking Captain Picard ([[Patrick Stewart]]) to provide some insight into the character of Prospero and Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'' in general.
* In the mobile game ''Star Trek Timelines'' a character was released in February 2017 called Prospero Data, recalling the character's appearance in the previously mentioned ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode.
* A good wizard named Prospero appears in Polish children's animated cartoon ''{{ill|Miś Fantazy|pl}}''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vod.tvp.pl/8236356/mis-fantazy|title=Miś Fantazy|website=vod.tvp.pl|access-date=2016-12-22}}</ref> based on the books by Ewa Karwan-Jastrzębska.
* Prospero is the main antagonist in season 2 of TV series ''[[The Librarians (2014 TV series)|The Librarians]]''.  This version of Prospero ([[Richard Cox (actor)|Richard Cox]]) is a Fictional, a character brought to life by magic, and has become bitter over the way his story was written, as he feels it was made without his consent. After regaining his book and obtaining the Staff of [[Zarathustra]], he imprisons the Librarians within his illusions, but his servant [[Ariel (The Tempest)|Ariel]] (an actual fairy rather than a character) rebels and frees them. Prospero subsequently begins to reshape the world in his image, while also possessing his creator [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] in order to change the past. The Librarians destroy his staff and exorcise him from Shakespeare's body, banishing him back to his original story.
* In episode 1 of the video game ''[[Life Is Strange: Before the Storm|Life is Strange: Before the Storm]]'', the drama students of Blackwell Academy are seen rehearsing for their upcoming play, ''The Tempest''. The character [[Rachel Amber]] plays Prospero and the player character, Chloe Price plays Ariel briefly. The play itself occurs during episode 2.
* In the manga series ''[[One Piece]]'', a character with the name Perospero appears in chapter 834, partly inspired by Prospero. His mother, Charlotte Linlin also seems to be inspired by the character as she is the one to use magic to control everything on the Island with her soul.
* The novels and television series ''[[The Expanse (TV series)|The Expanse]]'' use several Shakespearean allusions, including "[[Caliban]]" in reference to monstrous human-alien hybrids, and correspondingly "Prospero Station", a research facility that was developing and controlling them.
*In the national bestseller ''The Night Circus'' by Erin Morgenstern, magician Hector Bowen, father of protagonist Celia Bowen, goes by the name of Prospero whilst performing.
*In the season 30 episode of ''The Simpsons'' titled "[[I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh]]", Sideshow Mel leaves a play Marge is directing to play Prospero and is replaced by Professor Frink.
*In the strategy game ''[[Into the Breach]]'': There is a possibility to gain a red colored robotic pilot named Prospero by default. This pilot has the special ability of giving the mech he pilots flight.
*In the flight simulator [[Project Wingman]], a major city of Cascadia, an allied nation to the protagonist, is named Prospero.
*In the anime series ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury]]'', the main character's mother goes by the name Prospera Mercury. She has sent her daughter, Suletta Mercury, to a piloting school alongside a Gundam named Aerial.
*Prospero's 'our revels now are ended' speech, is recited by [[Anton Lesser]] to play out the final episode of ''[[Endeavour (TV series)|Endeavour]]'', the prequel to ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]''.
* In the 2023 dystopian novel ''[[The Ferryman (novel)|The Ferryman]]'' by [[Justin Cronin]], the setting is an archipelago named Prospera. Prospero's speeches are quoted several times throughout the novel.
* The novels [[Ilium/Olympos]] by [[Dan Simmons]] feature Prospero as well as several other characters from The Tempest.
* In the BBC television series Doctor Who, the Sycorax are an alien race who invade the Earth at Christmas. The Sycorax possess a science, similar to witchcraft, which allows them to use a blood sample to control all humans of the same blood type.

==References==
{{Reflist|2|}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/search/everywhere:the-tempest Shakespeare Birthplace Trust - past RSC productions]

{{The Tempest}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1611]]
[[Category:Literary archetypes]]
[[Category:Fictional Italian people in literature]]
[[Category:Male Shakespearean characters]]
[[Category:Fictional dukes and duchesses]]
[[Category:Fictional castaways]]
[[Category:Characters in The Tempest]]
[[Category:Fictional characters who use magic]]
[[Category:Fictional exiles]]