Chaps. 33-35 Summary and Analysis

The Tempest

pp. 662-684

Sadly, the play the Tempest has been badly performed, with the half-human Caliban appearing as an African freedom fighter and other absurdities. A production by Jonathan Miller had Caliban as an American Indian, which the author approved over another production which had Caliban and Ariel as black slaves. The critic and poet Dryden was more accurate when he noted that a half-human could not be classified as a natural man. The critic Browning saw Caliban suffering much because Prospero would not fully adopt him.

The play, the Tempest is centered on the development of the sorcerer Prospero. The author describes Prospero's story as being both comical and tragic. Prospero, with his spirit Ariel, adopts secret hermetic magic. In the course of the play Prospero abandons his magic and decides to return to his life as...