Character Analysis: Supporting Characters

The Tempest has a rich cast of supporting characters who reflect, contrast, and complicate the play's themes. This lesson covers Ariel, Caliban, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, Antonio, Sebastian, Stephano, and Trinculo.

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Character Relationship Map

                         PROSPERO
                       /    |     \
                      /     |      \
                 ARIEL   MIRANDA -- FERDINAND
                (spirit   (daughter)  (lover/prince)
                servant)       |
                    |          |
                    |      ALONSO (King of Naples)
                    |       /     \
                    |  GONZALO   SEBASTIAN
                    |  (loyal     (treacherous
                    |  counsellor)  brother)
                    |                 |
                 CALIBAN          ANTONIO
                (enslaved        (Prospero's
                 native)         treacherous brother)
                /      \
          STEPHANO   TRINCULO
          (butler)    (jester)

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Ariel

Ariel is a spirit of the air who serves Prospero.

Ariel's Background

• Ariel was imprisoned in a cloven pine by the witch Sycorax for refusing to carry out her commands
• Prospero freed Ariel from the tree and, in return, Ariel serves him
• Ariel longs for freedom and Prospero repeatedly promises it

Ariel's Role

Function	Examples
Agent of Prospero's magic	Creates the storm; leads Ferdinand with music; appears as a harpy
Spy and informant	Reports on Caliban's conspiracy; watches all groups on the island
Moral influence	Prompts Prospero towards mercy: "if you now beheld them, your affections / Would become tender" (Act 5 Scene 1)
Entertainer	Sings "Full fathom five" and "Where the bee sucks"

Key Ariel Quotes

"All hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come / To answer thy best pleasure" — Ariel, Act 1 Scene 2

"My liberty" — Ariel, Act 1 Scene 2 (when asked what he would demand)

"Where the bee sucks, there suck I; / In a cowslip's bell I lie" — Ariel, Act 5 Scene 1

What Ariel Represents

• Obedience and loyalty — but also the desire for freedom
• The creative, airy side of nature (contrasting Caliban's earthiness)
• Colonialism — an indentured servant who earns freedom through compliance

Examiner's tip: Compare Ariel and Caliban as two responses to Prospero's power. Ariel obeys and is rewarded with freedom; Caliban resists and remains enslaved. Consider what Shakespeare might be saying about power and resistance.

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Caliban

Caliban is the most debated character in the play. He is the son of the witch Sycorax, the island's original inhabitant, and Prospero's slave.

Caliban's Background

• His mother, Sycorax, ruled the island before Prospero arrived
• Prospero initially treated Caliban kindly: "I ... lodged thee / In mine own cell" (Act 1 Scene 2)
• After Caliban reportedly attempted to assault Miranda, Prospero enslaved him
• Caliban is forced to carry wood, fetch water, and endure physical punishment

Contrasting Interpretations of Caliban

Interpretation	Evidence
Monster/savage	Prospero calls him "A freckled whelp, hag-born — not honoured with / A human shape" (Act 1 Scene 2); he attempted to assault Miranda
Noble savage/victim	He knows the island intimately; his "isle is full of noises" speech is beautiful poetry; his land was taken from him
Colonised native	"This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou tak'st from me" (Act 1 Scene 2)
Everyman	By the end, he seeks "grace" and wisdom, showing capacity for growth

Caliban's Language

One of the most important things about Caliban is that Prospero taught him language:

"You taught me language, and my profit on't / Is I know how to curse." — Caliban, Act 1 Scene 2

Yet Caliban also speaks some of the play's most beautiful poetry:

"Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, / Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not. / Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments / Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices / That, if I then had waked after long sleep, / Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, / The clouds methought would open and show riches / Ready to drop upon me, that, when I waked, / I cried to dream again." — Caliban, Act 3 Scene 2

Examiner's tip: This speech is crucial. It shows that Caliban has a deep, sensitive connection to the island that Prospero does not share. Shakespeare gives the "monster" the most lyrical, tender poetry in the play — a deliberate choice that complicates any simple reading of Caliban as purely savage.

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Ferdinand

Ferdinand is the son of King Alonso and Miranda's love interest. He serves as a foil to Caliban.

Ferdinand	Caliban
Noble, European, educated	"Savage," native, self-taught
Willingly carries logs for love	Forced to carry logs as punishment
Prospero eventually accepts him	Prospero rejects and punishes Caliban
Gains Miranda through devotion	Allegedly attempted to take Miranda by force

Ferdinand's Function

• Proves himself worthy of Miranda through the log-carrying trial
• Represents the possibility of political reconciliation (Milan and Naples united through marriage)
• His supposed "death" causes Alonso's suffering and guilt, which leads to Alonso's repentance

"Might I but through my prison once a day / Behold this maid" — Ferdinand, Act 1 Scene 2

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Gonzalo

Gonzalo is an honest old counsellor who saved Prospero and Miranda by secretly providing them with supplies.

Gonzalo's Role

• Moral touchstone — consistently kind, optimistic, and loyal
• Utopian visionary — imagines an ideal society in Act 2 Scene 1:

"I' th' commonwealth I would by contraries / Execute all things ... no sovereignty" — Gonzalo, Act 2 Scene 1

• This speech echoes Montaigne's essay "Of the Cannibals" and the "noble savage" tradition
• Antonio and Sebastian mock Gonzalo, revealing their own cynicism

Context box: Gonzalo's utopia — a land with no labour, no laws, no monarchy — reflects Renaissance debates about the New World. Reports from the Americas described societies without European-style governance, which thinkers like Montaigne used to critique European corruption.

Gonzalo's Function

• Represents goodness and loyalty in contrast to Antonio's treachery
• Acts as a source of hope: "Beseech you, sir, be merry. You have cause — / So have we all — of joy" (Act 5 Scene 1)
• Prospero acknowledges his debt to Gonzalo: "Holy Gonzalo, honourable man" (Act 5 Scene 1)

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Antonio and Sebastian

These two characters form a villainous pair.

Antonio

• Prospero's brother who usurped his dukedom
• In the play, he never repents — his silence in Act 5 is one of the most discussed features of The Tempest
• He tempts Sebastian to murder Alonso, showing he is still morally corrupt

"My strong imagination sees a crown / Dropping upon thy head" — Antonio, Act 2 Scene 1

Sebastian

• Alonso's brother — easily tempted by Antonio to commit treason
• A weaker version of Antonio — a follower rather than a leader
• Like Antonio, he does not express remorse in Act 5

What They Represent

Antonio	Sebastian
Active evil — initiates usurpation	Passive evil — follows another's lead
Mirrors Prospero (brothers, dukedom)	Mirrors Antonio (brothers, kingship)
Never repents	Never repents

Examiner's tip: Antonio's silence in Act 5 is crucial. Prospero says "I do forgive thee, / Unnatural though thou art" — but Antonio says nothing. This ambiguity is rich material for analysis: has reconciliation truly occurred, or is Prospero forgiving someone who does not want forgiveness?

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Stephano and Trinculo