Prospero ( ) is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
and the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play ''
The Tempest''.
Prospero is the rightful
Duke of Milan
The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna.
Before elevation to duchy
Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that elect ...
, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter,
Miranda) to sea on a "rotten carcass" of a boat to die, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda had survived and found exile on a small island. He has learned
sorcery
Sorcery may refer to:
* Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces
** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities
* Magic in fiction, ...
from books, and uses it while on the island to protect Miranda and control the other characters.
Before the play has begun, Prospero has freed the magical spirit
Ariel
Ariel may refer to:
Film and television
*Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award
* ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki
* ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
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
Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell H ...
(the son of
Sycorax, a malevolent witch) and forces Caliban into submission by punishing him with magic if he does not obey.
At the end of the play, Prospero intends to drown his books and renounce magic. In the view of the audience, this may have been required to make the ending unambiguously happy, as magic was associated with diabolical works.
Prospero's speech
''The Tempest'' is believed to be the last play Shakespeare wrote alone.
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 "Cloud-capp'd towers...".
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
The final
soliloquy
A soliloquy (, from Latin ''solo'' "to oneself" + ''loquor'' "I talk", plural ''soliloquies'') is a monologue addressed to oneself, thoughts spoken out loud without addressing another.
Soliloquies are used as a device in drama to let a character ...
and
epilogue
An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
is the other candidate.
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.
Portrayals
Stage
Portrayals of Prospero in Royal Shakespeare Company productions include:
*
Robert Harris (1948)
*
Sir Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Mourning Becomes Ele ...
(1951)
*
Sir Ralph Richardson (1952)
*
Sir John Gielgud (1956, 1957)
*
Tom Fleming (1963)
*
Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor.
He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading S ...
(1970)
*
Michael Aldridge
Michael William ffolliott Aldridge (9 September 1920 – 10 January 1994) was an English actor. He was known for playing Seymour Utterthwaite in the television series ''Last of the Summer Wine'' from 1986 to 1990 and he had a long career as a ...
(1974)
*
Sir Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was a ...
(1978)
*
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
(1982)
*
John Wood (1988)
*
Alec McCowen
Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions.
Early life
McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...
(1993)
*
Paul Jesson
Paul Jesson is an English stage, television and film actor and an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He has played leading roles at the National Theatre and the RSC and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supp ...
(1995)
*
David Calder (1998)
*
Philip Voss
Philip James Voss (20 August 1936 – 13 November 2020) was a British stage, radio, film and television actor.
Early life
Voss was born in Leicester, the elder son of James Voss, a pharmacist, and his wife, Viola (née Walmsley). He had a yo ...
(2000), a production that utilized
vocal music
Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with musical instruments, instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which ...
rather than instrumental
*
Malcolm Storry
Malcolm Storry (born 13 January 1948) is an English actor with extensive experience on stage, television, and film. Amongst many roles, he is perhaps best known for 'Yellin' in ''The Princess Bride'', HM Customs Chief Bill Adams on '' The Knock' ...
(2002)
*
Sir Patrick Stewart (2006) in
Rupert Goold
Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013).
Early years
Goold was ...
's very loose 2006 interpretation
*
Antony Sher
Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 a ...
(2009)
*
Jonathan Slinger
Jonathan Charles Slinger (born 15 August 1972) is an English actor.
Slinger was born in Accrington, Lancashire. He trained at RADA, graduating in 1994. From there, he went to work at the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe. He has ...
(2012) directed by
David Farr.
*
Simon Russell Beale
Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He is known for his appearances in film, television and theatre, and work on radio, on audiobooks and as a narrator. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Elizabe ...
(2016), a production directed by
Gregory Doran
Gregory Doran (born 24 November 1958) is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. ''The Sunday Times'' called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'.
Doran was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RS ...
that used Digital technology to create many of the special effects.
Portrayals of Prospero at the
Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
* Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
include:
*
Sir John Gielgud (1931, 1940, 1974)
*
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
(1988)
*
Sir Derek Jacobi (2003)
*
Stephen Dillane
Stephen John Dillane (; born 27 March 1957) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Leonard Woolf in the 2002 film '' The Hours'', Stannis Baratheon in ''Game of Thrones'', and Thomas Jefferson in the 2008 HBO miniseries ''John Ad ...
(2010)
Portrayals of Prospero for the
New York Shakespeare Festival
Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...
include:
*
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
(1962)
*
Raul Julia
Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...
(1981)
*
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
(1995) at the
Delacorte Theater
The Delacorte Theater is a 1,800-seat open-air theater in Central Park, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is home to the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park productions.
Over five million people have attended more than 15 ...
, later moved to Broadway's
Broadhurst Theater.
*
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has receive ...
(2015)
Portrayals of Prospero for
the Globe Theatre include:
*
Vanessa Redgrave
Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...
(2000); she also played "Ariel" to her father
Sir Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Mourning Becomes Ele ...
's "Prospero" in the 1964
Caedmon recording.
*
Roger Allam
Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio.
He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical '' Les Misérables'', First Officer ...
(2013), videotaped and later broadcast as part of their Live Cinema broadcasts.
Portrayals of Prospero for the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival include:
*
William Hutt (1962, 1976, 1999, 2005)
*
Len Cariou
Leonard Joseph Cariou (; born September 30, 1939) is a Canadian actor and stage director, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', for which he won the Tony Award ...
(1982), videotaped and broadcast on television in 1983
*
Alan Scarfe
Alan John Scarfe (born 8 June 1946) is a British–Canadian actor, stage director and author. He is a former Associate Director of the Stratford Festival (1976–77) and the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool (1967–68). He won the 1985 Genie A ...
(1992)
*
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
(2010), videotaped and broadcast on television
*
Martha Henry
Martha Kathleen Henry (née Buhs; February 17, 1938October 21, 2021) was an American-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She was noted for her work at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
Early life and training
Martha ...
(2018)
Other stage portrayals of Prospero include:
*
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric "offbeat" scientist, teacher and doctor characters.
Ea ...
(1970), at London's
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new the ...
, directed by
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 19 ...
.
* Sir John Gielgud (1974), at the
National Theatre.
* Sam Waterston (1974),
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
.
*
Sir Anthony Hopkins (1979), opposite
Stephanie Zimbalist as Miranda at the
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...
in Los Angeles.
*
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...
(1989), opposite
B. D. Wong
Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in ''M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Crit ...
as Ariel with the
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
History
The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...
in New York City.
*
Blair Brown
Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play '' Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ...
as "Prospera" (2003), at the
McCarter Theatre Center in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
.
*
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
(2011), at the
Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...
directed by
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas f ...
.
*
Harriet Walter
Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011 ...
(2017), in
Phyllida Lloyd
Phyllida Christian Lloyd, (born 17 June 1957) is an English film director and producer, best known for ''Mamma Mia!'' (2008) and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). Her theatre work includes directing productions at the Royal Court Theatre and Royal Na ...
's
Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...
production, which was set in an all-women's prison and performed by the inmates.
*
Kate Burton as "Prospera" (2018), at the
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
.
Film and television
*
Maurice Evans, 1960 (TV,
Hallmark Hall of Fame
''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...
)
*
Sir Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Mourning Becomes Ele ...
, 1968 (
BBC-TV, ''
Play of the Month
''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...
'')
*
Heathcote Williams
John Henley Heathcote-Williams (15 November 1941 – 1 July 2017), known as Heathcote Williams, was an English poet, actor, political activist and dramatist. He wrote a number of book-length polemical poems including ''Autogeddon'', ''Falling ...
, 1979 (film version directed by
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist.
Biography
Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...
)
*
Sir Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was a ...
, 1980 (BBC-TV, ''
BBC Television Shakespeare
The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...
'')
*
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series ''77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the se ...
, 1983 (videotaped production for Bard Productions)
*
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...
, 1991 (film adaptation ''
Prospero's Books
''Prospero's Books'' is a 1991 British Experimental film, avant-garde film adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'', written and directed by Peter Greenaway. John Gielgud, Sir John Gielgud plays Prospero, the protagonist who provide ...
'' directed by
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...
)
*
Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carter) ...
, 1992 (voice of Prospero in abridged animated production for ''
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales'')
*
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...
, 2010 (
film adaptation
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
directed by
Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...
, renamed "Prospera")
*
Patrick Robinson, 2018 (Filmed for
CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
at the
Lawrence Batley Theatre
The Lawrence Batley Theatre is a theatre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England which offers drama, music, dance and comedy.
The theatre is named after Lawrence Batley, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist, who founded a nationwide cash a ...
,
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
, in front of a live invited audience)
Prospero-esque characters have included:
*
Paul Mazursky
Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards: three t ...
's film ''
Tempest
Tempest is a synonym for a storm.
'' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare.
Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film
* ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...
'' (1982) starring
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...
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'', set in a Mississippi bayou during the American Civil War, based on Shakespeare's play and starring
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...
as "Gideon Prosper", a Prospero-esque plantation owner who has learned voodoo from his slaves.
Audio
Audio portrayals of Prospero include:
*
Sir John Gielgud in four
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
productions: 1933 (on the
BBC National Programme
The BBC National Programme was a radio service which was on the air from 9 March 1930 – replacing the earlier BBC's experimental station 5XX – until 1 September 1939 when it was subsumed into the Home Service, two days before the outbrea ...
), 1948 (on the
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4.
History
1922–1939: Interwar period
Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...
), 1953 and 1989 (on the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
).
*
John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
(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'')
*
Sir Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of William Shakespeare, Shakes ...
(1940) (a one-hour adaptation of ''The Tempest'' on the 24 November episode of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
radio series ''Great Plays'')
*
Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley (16 February 1903 – 21 August 1980) was a British actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's '' Children's Hour''. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera ''T ...
(1951) (
BBC Third Programme
The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and quickly became one of the leading cultural and intellectual f ...
)
*
Sir Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was a ...
(1960) (
Argo Records
Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records.
Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Arg ...
recording)
*
Sir Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Mourning Becomes Ele ...
(1964) (
Caedmon Records
Caedmon Audio and HarperCollins Audio are record label imprints of HarperCollins Publishers that specialize in audiobooks and other literary content. Formerly Caedmon Records, its marketing tag-line was Caedmon: a Third Dimension for the Printe ...
recording
RS-201
*
Alec Clunes
Alexander Sheriff de Moro Clunes (17 May 1912 – 13 March 1970) was an English actor and theatrical manager.
Among the plays he presented were Christopher Fry's ''The Lady's Not For Burning''. He gave the actor and dramatist Peter Ustinov h ...
(1964) (
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4.
History
1922–1939: Interwar period
Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...
).
*
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...
(1974) (
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
)
*
Ronald Pickup
Ronald Alfred Pickup (7 June 1940 – 24 February 2021) was an English actor. He was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in ''Doctor Who''. Theatre critic Michael Billington described him as "a terrific sta ...
(1996) (
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
''Sunday Play'')
*
Bob Peck
Robert Peck (23 August 1945 – 4 April 1999) was an English actor who played Ronald Craven in the television serial ''Edge of Darkness'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He was also known for his role as game warden Rob ...
(1999) (''
The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare'' series recording)
*
Philip Madoc (2001) (
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
''Sunday Play'', adapted for radio and directed by
David Hunter
David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...
)
*
Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
(2004) (
Naxos Records
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...
recording)
*
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Oth ...
(2012) (
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
''Drama on 3'', broadcast as part of the ''Shakespeare Unlocked'' series, adapted for radio and directed by
)
In popular culture
* In the comic book series ''
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...
'' by
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
and
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
''The Vanishing of Ethan Carter'' is a 2014 horror adventure video game developed and published by The Astronauts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
''The Vanishing of Ethan Carter'' is set in an open ...
'' (2014), is named after Prospero.
* In
John Bellairs
John Anthony Bellairs (January 17, 1938 – March 8, 1991) was an American author best known for his fantasy novel ''The Face in the Frost'' and many Gothic mystery novels for children featuring the characters Lewis Barnavelt, Rose Rita Pottin ...
's novel ''
The Face in the Frost
''The Face in the Frost'' is a short fantasy novel by American author John Bellairs published in 1969. Unlike most of his later works, this book is meant for adult readers. It centers on two accomplished wizards, Prospero ("and not the one you're ...
'' (1969), one of the protagonists is a wizard named Prospero ("and not the one you're thinking of") .
* In the universe of Warhammer: 40,000 and further fleshed out in ''
The Horus Heresy
''The Horus Heresy'' is an ongoing series of science fantasy set in the fictional ''Warhammer 40,000'' setting of tabletop miniatures wargame company Games Workshop. Penned by several authors, the series takes place during the Horus Heresy, a ...
'' series, several books take place on a planet called Prospero, home of Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Space Marine chapter. 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.
* ''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.
* "
The Masque of the Red Death
"The Masque of the Red Death" (originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plagu ...
", by
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, is set at the manor of a Prince Prospero
* In the television series ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' by
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...
and
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
/
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, Prospero appears briefly played by Lt. Cmdr. Data (
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role for ...
) during the beginning of Season 7 Episode 23 entitled "
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own, properties or behaviors that emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole.
Emergence ...
". He recites some lines of Prospero's speech before asking Captain Picard (
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...
) 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 '
based on the books by Ewa Karwan-Jastrzębska.
* Prospero is the main antagonist in season 2 of TV series ''
The Librarians''. This version of Prospero (
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
Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label=Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is s ...
, he imprisons the Librarians within his illusions, but his servant
Ariel
Ariel may refer to:
Film and television
*Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award
* ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki
* ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
(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
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
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'', the drama students of Blackwell Academy are seen rehearsing for their upcoming play, ''The Tempest''. The character, Rachel Amber, playing Prospero.
* In the manga series ''
One Piece
''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...
'', 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
Expanse or The Expanse may refer to:
Media and entertainment
''The Expanse'' franchise
* ''The Expanse'' (novel series), a series of science fiction novels by James S. A. Corey
* ''The Expanse'' (TV series), a television adaptation of the ...
'' use several Shakespearean allusions, including "
Caliban
Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell H ...
" 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
"I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh" is the twentieth episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 659th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 7, 2019.
Plot
A disgr ...
", Sideshow Mel leaves a play Marge is directing to play Prospero and is replaced by Professor Frink.
*In the strategy game ''
Into the Breach
''Into the Breach'' is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by indie studio Subset Games, consisting of Justin Ma and Matthew Davis. ''Into the Breach'' is their second game, following '' FTL: Faster Than Light''. It feature ...
'': 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
''Project Wingman'' is a combat flight action video game developed by Sector D2 and published by Humble Games. It was released on 1 December 2020 on Microsoft Windows and later released on 28 October 2021 on Xbox One. The game features two game ...
, a major city of Cascadia, an allied nation to the protagonist, is named Prospero.
References
External links
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust - past RSC productions
{{Authority control
Literary characters introduced in 1611
Literary archetypes by name
Fictional characters who use magic
Fictional Italian people in literature
Male Shakespearean characters
Fictional dukes and duchesses
Fictional castaways
Characters in The Tempest