Ariel (The Tempest)
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Ariel is a spirit who appears in
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''. Ariel is bound to serve the magician
Prospero Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...
, who rescued him from the tree in which he was imprisoned by Sycorax, the witch who previously inhabited the island. Prospero greets disobedience with a reminder that he saved Ariel from Sycorax's spell, and with promises to grant Ariel his freedom. Ariel is Prospero's eyes and ears throughout the play, using his magical abilities to cause the tempest in Act One which gives the play its name, and to foil other characters' plots to bring down their master. Ariel means "Lion of God" in the
Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. Ariel may also be a simple play on the word "aerial". Scholars have compared Ariel to spirits depicted in other Elizabethan plays, and have managed to find several similarities between them, but one thing which makes Ariel unique is the human edge and personality given to Ariel by Shakespeare. The name is also phonetically similar to the word "areal", meaning 'pertaining to an area'. Because the stage directions in ''The Tempest'' are so precise, critics and historians are better able than with other Shakespeare plays to see how this play may originally have been performed. Several of the scenes involving
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
have clear instructions on how to create the illusion required, causing critics to make connections and guesses as to exactly what sort of technology would have been used in Shakespeare's troupe to stage Ariel's role in the play. Also, a line by Ariel in Act IV allows scholars to ask whether, due to a shortage of boy actors, the original actor playing Ariel also played the part of
Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
. Ariel is widely viewed as a male character, although this view has wavered over the years, especially in the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
when, for the most part, women played the role.


Role in the play

Ariel first appears in the second scene of the play to report to Prospero on his success in carrying out his command to shipwreck the King of Naples and his crew in a violent tempest. Ariel adds that, as commanded, he saw that none of the group was harmed, but that all landed safely on the island, scattered and separated along the coast. After being praised by Prospero, Ariel pleads for his freedom from the magician's service in return. Prospero declines, reminding him of the state he was in before Prospero rescued him: Ariel had been trapped by the witch Sycorax in a "cloven pine" as a punishment for resisting her commands. After 12 years of pain (and the death of Sycorax), Ariel was released from his prison by Prospero, who pressed the spirit into his service. The magician denies Ariel's request for freedom at this time, but promises that on the condition he follows the rest of his commands, he will grant his wish in two days. For the rest of the play, Ariel is Prospero's eyes and ears—spying on the shipwrecked sailors in invisible form, but only Prospero can see Ariel. In the second act Ariel briefly appears to stop a conspiracy to kill Alonso, King of Naples, whose brother (and heir to the dukedom), Sebastian, plots to kill him in his sleep. Ariel sings in the ear of Gonzalo, a counsellor to Alonso, to wake him and foil the plot. Ariel also appears in Act Three to foil Caliban's plot to turn the sailors against Prospero and murder him. Later in the same act, he appears with a clap of thunder and rebukes those who were involved in the plot to banish Prospero to the island, displaying his fearful power to the men. He is later called on to gather the spirits of the island before Miranda and Ferdinand and to bring Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban before Prospero for judgement. In the final act, Ariel releases the prisoners of Prospero and awakens what is left of the crew of the ship from a deep slumber. Thanks to Ariel's work, Ferdinand and Miranda have fallen in love. Prospero is so impressed by Ariel's matchmaking that he says that he would set Ariel free for that one act. Thus, having fulfilled all of Prospero's tasks, and Prospero himself now being free to leave the island, Ariel is set free.


Sources

The source from which Shakespeare got the idea for Ariel is not known, though there have been many candidates proposed by scholars. Sprites or demons such as Ariel were viewed during the Renaissance from either religious or scientific points of view: religion seeing them as either agents of the devil or agents of God, and science viewing them as neutral subjects which could be brought under the control of the wise. Some scholars compare Ariel to demons of the air described in Renaissance
demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may b ...
, while others claim that he is an archetype of a more neutral category of sprites. Several of these proposals are outlined below: The '-el' ending of Shakespeare's name translates in Hebrew as 'God', placing Ariel inline with more benevolent spirits, many of which were listed in sorcery books published in Shakespeare's day with similar suffixes. Jewish demonology, for example, had a figure by the name of Ariel who was described as the spirit of the waters. Another spirit,
Uriel Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is mentio ...
, is also comparable. In
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
29, Ariel is mentioned as another name for Jerusalem. In the Geneva Bible, which Shakespeare and others of the time would have known, the entry carries an interesting footnote describing this Ariel as the "Lyon of God." Further descriptions of this Ariel as having the power to confuse and weaken his enemies with sounds and tempests increase the parallel. The name Ariel might also be a simple derivation of aerial, though the character's abilities stretch beyond those of a typical air demon, encompassing fire and water demon abilities as well. Other scholars propose that the ca. 1589 play '' John a Kent and John a Cumber'' contains a character which may have been Shakespeare's inspiration. The character, named Shrimp, is also an air demon controlled by a magician. A few scenes of the play feature this demon performing tasks nearly identical to those Shakespeare's Ariel performed. Since it is very likely Shakespeare was familiar with the play, it is possible that Ariel is based on Shrimp, but evidence remains inconclusive.Reed, Robert R. Jr. "The Probable Origin of Ariel." ''Shakespeare Quarterly''. (Jan 1960) 11.1 pgs. 61–65 Though the actual source Shakespeare used has not yet been determined, it seems clear that Shakespeare's Ariel and his relationship with Prospero reflects more closely the Renaissance idea of a neutral spirit under the control of a magician than the religious idea of a sprite. Shakespeare, however, refuses to make Ariel a will-less character, infusing him with desires and near-human feelings uncharacteristic of most sprites of this type.


Staging Ariel

The text of ''The Tempest'' contains more stage directions than most of Shakespeare's plays, giving scholars an opportunity to see into the portrayal of characters such as Ariel in Shakespeare's time. In Act III, Scene III, for example, when Ariel, as a
harpy In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; lat, harpȳia) is a half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems. Descriptions They were generally depicted as birds with the hea ...
, is directed to clap his wings on a banquet table, he causes the food to disappear by a "quainte device". Scholars have tried to discover just what sort of "quainte device" would have been used by the King's Men in portraying this scene. Ariel's actor would have been unable to hide the food himself, having harpy wings over his arms which cumbered movement. The actor would not even have been able to sweep the food into a receptacle behind the table, since the theatre had seating on three sides. What was needed was some sort of device to act on the signal of Ariel slapping his wings on the table. This device was probably a false table top which could be tripped by a boy underneath while the harpy's wings covered the food. When the wings lifted, the food would be gone, apparently by magic. Later in act three, when Ariel appears and disappears with thunder, another trick was probably used, involving some sort of basket on wires, covered in cloud designs, which the Globe theatre then had. Ariel may have descended from the air in this device as a harpy, spoken his lines, and ascended in the same device. Ariel may have descended on the back of an eagle, rather than clouds, or with no device at all—wires being attached to his harpy wings.Adams, John C. "The Staging of The Tempest, III. iii." ''The Review of English Studies''. (Oct 1938) 14.56 pgs. 404–419 Later Act IV, Scene 1, Ariel says: "''when I presented Ceres / I thought to have told thee of it / but I feared lest I might anger thee''." Earlier in the same scene, Ceres, along with Iris and Juno, had appeared at Prospero's command in a
Masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
. Scholars have wondered whether Shakespeare originally intended the actor for Ariel to cover Ceres' role, and give it away in this line. The need for a dual role may have been caused by a shortage of boys capable of playing female parts (boys usually played all female roles in Shakespeare's day) as there are many female roles in ''The Tempest''. This changing of parts requires a change in costume, which explains a lot of Ariel's delay in scene four in carrying out Prospero's orders. Time is allowed for the character to change from Ariel to Ceres and back. On the other side, Ceres may have been associated, by Shakespeare, to the
Kairos Kairos ( grc, καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning 'the right, critical, or opportune moment'. In modern Greek, ''kairos'' also means 'weather' or 'time'. It is one of two words that the ancient Greeks had for 'time'; the other bei ...
figure, related to rhetorics, personating the opportune moment to present the convincing argument in a speech.Smith, Irwin. "Ariel as Ceres." ''Shakespeare Quarterly''. (July 1958) 9.3 pgs. 430–432 Early critics were sceptical of the idea, saying that "''presented Ceres''" could merely mean that Ariel introduced Ceres to the gathering. More recent studies, however, have revealed that, given the small number of boys travelling with the King's Men and the large number of parts for them to fill, there would have been little choice in the matter. The entire scene comes together in a way that leads scholars to believe that the Masque scene with the three goddesses was added as an afterthought to work around costuming and role-playing issues.Smith, Irwin. "Ariel and the Masque in The Tempest." ''Shakespeare Quarterly''. (July 1970) 21.3 pgs. 213–222


Ariel's gender

In all textual versions, Ariel is referred to with the male pronoun 'his' twice in the entire play. One example is in the stage directions at III.iii.around 52: "''Thunder and lightning. Enter ARIEL, like a harpy; claps his wings upon the table; and, with a quaint device, the banquet vanishes.''" The other gender pronoun used in the dialogue at I.ii.190-93, when Ariel responds to Prospero saying:
All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly, To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride On the curl'd clouds; to thy strong bidding task Ariel and all his quality.
Originally, the role would have been assumed by a boy-player, but beginning in Restoration adaptations, it would have been played by a woman.Button, Anne.
Ariel
" ''The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare.'' Ed. Michael Dobson and Stanley Wells. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 3 July 200

/ref> Since the male actor Leslie French played the part in 1930, the role has been played by both men and women. In the 2010
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 ...
film version of the play, Ariel is played by
Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...
, but in that same year's Stratford Shakespeare Festival version of the play, also filmed and available on DVD, Ariel is played by
Julyana Soelistyo Julyana Soelistyo is an American stage and film actress who, in 1998, was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in '' Golden Child''. Early life Julyana Soelistyo was born to Roman Catholic parents i ...
. In the Summer of 2013,
Colin Morgan Colin Morgan (born 1 January 1986) is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series '' Merlin'' (2008–2012), Leo Elster in ''Humans'' (2015–2018), and Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh’s ...
played Ariel in the Globe Theatre in London.


In popular culture

The character of Ariel, as played by David Haughton, appears in the 1978 film ''
Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
'' as a guide for
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
visiting Queen Elizabeth II's England. ''Jubilee''s director,
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 ...
, subsequently directed a film of '' The Tempest'' in 1979. Ariel appears in ''
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 ...
'' as part of the first incarnation of the group, Prospero's Men, alongside her master and Caliban. Ariel appears in the song " La Romance d'Ariel" with music by
Claude Achille Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of th ...
(1884) and text by
Paul Bourget Paul Charles Joseph Bourget (; 2 September 185225 December 1935) was a French poet, novelist and critic. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Life Paul Bourget was born in Amiens in the Somme ''département'' of P ...
. In
Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...
's 1932 dystopian novel ''
Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarch ...
'', the character John Savage remarks that "''Ariel could put a girdle 'round the Earth in forty minutes''" when shown the elaborate equipment in the World State in chapter 11. However, this line is in fact said by Puck from Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', making the quote inaccurate. In the 1956 science fiction film ''
Forbidden Planet ''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story ...
'', an adaptation of ''The Tempest'', an analogue to Ariel can be found in
Robby the Robot Robby the Robot is a fictional character and science fiction icon who first appeared in the 1956 film ''Forbidden Planet''. He made a number of subsequent appearances in science fiction films and television programs, which has given him the d ...
, a mechanical servant bound to Morbius, the film’s analogue to Prospero. A monster in the 2007 video game '' Silent Hill: Origins'' is named after and inspired by Ariel. A Titan in the '' Huntik: Secrets & Seekers'' franchise is named after and inspired by Ariel. In the 2012 series ''
Grandma's House ''Grandma's House'' is a sitcom television series broadcast on BBC Two. Written by Simon Amstell and long-term collaborator Dan Swimer, the series stars Simon Amstell playing a version of himself: an ex-television presenter searching for meaning ...
'', the character played by
Simon Amstell Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer and director. He wrote and directed the films '' Carnage'' (2017) and ''Benjamin'' (2018). His work on television has included presenting '' Popworld'' and '' Never Mind th ...
is offered the part of Ariel. The novel series '' Théâtre Illuminata'', by Lisa Mantchev, stars Ariel as one of the main characters, and he persists as so throughout the trilogy.
Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, ''The ...
's most famous book of poetry is the 1965 posthumously published ''
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 ...
''. It is named so because she considered the poem to be the best in the book. Many readers know that the title of the poem was changed to "The Horse" for the less discerning newspaper readers and think the poem Ariel is simply about her riding a wild horse. Others, however, such as , consider Plath's earlier childhood fascination with '' The Tempest's'' character Ariel and view the poem as talking about creativity and the dangerous direction her creativity was taking her.
Ariel Durant Ariel Durant (; May 10, 1898 – October 25, 1981) was a Russian-born American researcher and writer. She was the coauthor of '' The Story of Civilization'' with her husband, Will Durant. They were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fi ...
, wife of historian
Will Durant William James Durant (; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American writer, historian, and philosopher. He became best known for his work '' The Story of Civilization'', which contains 11 volumes and details the history of eastern a ...
and joint winner of the 1968 Pulitzer prize and the 1978 Presidential Medal of Freedom, took her name from Ariel in ''The Tempest''. One of the castaways in
Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Handler has published several children's books under the name, most notably ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 million copies and s ...
's 2006 novel ''
The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...
'' is named Ariel; the book contains other allusions to ''The Tempest''. Ariel appears in the 2015 second season of '' The Librarians''. She is presented as an actual fairy, having been sucked into ''The Tempest'' by Prospero when Shakespeare wrote her into the play. For most of the season, she appears as a small blue sprite imprisoned within Prospero's
pocket watch A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a watch, wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wr ...
. However, in the episode "And the Happily Ever Afters", she disguises herself as a human (Hayley McLaughlin), with the watch on her necklace. She helps free the Librarians from Prospero's illusions, and is subsequently freed when the watch is destroyed in the real world. 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 main character,
Chloe Price Chloe Elizabeth Price is a fictional character from the ''Life Is Strange'' video game series published by Square Enix. Created by French developer Dontnod Entertainment, she first appears in the 2015 video game ''Life Is Strange'' and its preque ...
, subs for another student as Ariel in episode 2. Ariel is the origin of the 1900 namesake essay by Uruguayan author
José Enrique Rodó José Enrique Camilo Rodó Piñeyro (15 July 1871 – 1 May 1917) was a Uruguayan essayist. He cultivated an epistolary relationship with important Hispanic thinkers of that time, Leopoldo Alas (Clarín) in Spain, José de la Riva-Agüero in ...
.


References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Ariel (''The Tempest'') Theatre characters introduced in 1611 Shakespearean characters Fictional fairies and sprites Male Shakespearean characters Fictional slaves Characters in The Tempest