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Prospero and Ariel: their origins and relationship

My essay is about William Shakespeare's last play The Tempest written in 1611. William A.
Quayle writer and bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church wrote about him in one of his essays
that We shall never overestimate Shakespeare, because we can not. Some men and things lie
beyond the danger of hyperbole. No exaggeration is possible concerning them, seeing they
transcend all dreams. Space can not be conceived by the most luxuriant imagination, holding, as it
does, all worlds, and capable of holding another universe besides, and with room to spare. Clearly,
we can not overestimate space. Thought and vocabulary become bankrupt when they attempt this
bewildering deed. Genius is as immeasurable as space. Shakespeare can not be measured.1
I choose two characters, Prospero and Ariel to describe. In my essay I would like to discover
the source and probable meanings of the two characters' names and I would like to show their
relationship which I think is in connection with their names. Firstly I will list the different sources
of their names which I found in secondary readings, than I would like to discuss the meaning of
their names. Thirdly I would like to prove the relationship between them with examples from the
drama.

There are five probable sources for Prospero's name mentioned in an essay titled Prospero's
Table: The Name of Shakespeare's Duke of Milan written by Alan R. Young. The first is from The
Historye of Italye written by William Thomas where Prospero Adorno Genovese duke is forced to
1 Some Words on Loving Shakespeare from A Hero and Some Other Folk, The Methodist Book Concern, 1899.

resign from his dukedom by the Fregosi. The second is from Every Man in his Humour written by
Ben Jonson where one character is called Prospero. The third is The Historie of Phillip de
Commines where there is also a reference to someone called Prospero Callone. The fourth is
Edmond Malone's remark that Prospero was the name of a riding-master in London in
Shakespeare's time,... (Young 409). The fifth is Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo's Trattato dell'arte de la
pittura where Viscount Prospero, a Milanese gentleman and scholar is mentioned as the owner of a
painting by Barnazano. (Young)
There are four probable sources for Ariel's name introduced in an essay titled The Genesis of
Ariel written by W. Stacy Johnson. Firstly Emile Grillot de Givry remarks that the sorcerer's black
books , , are filled with invocations of angels and of God by various words, of which there are
seventy-two divine names, all ending in el (Johnson 205-206). Therefore Ariel is a divine name.
Secondly Ariel is the spirit of the waters in Jewish demonology. Thirdly Abel Lefranc suggests that
the work of Trithemius: Steganographia is a direct source where Ariel is a sprit of a magician called
Zachariel. The fourth idea is that the name comes from the Bible, from Isaiah xxix where it refers to
Jerusalem. (Johnson)
Both names have meanings in English and they are both type names2. Prospero might come
from the word prosper which means to succeed in an enterprise or activity (Merriam-Webster).
The word's etymology comes from Anglo-French prosperer which comes from Latin prosperare
which means to cause to succeed.

Ariel might come from the word aerial which means a: of, relating to, or occurring in the
air or atmosphere, b: existing or growing in the air rather than in the ground or in water, c: high in
the air <aerial spires> d: operating or operated overhead on elevated cables or rails <an aerial
2 in dramatic practice, name given to a character to ensure that the personality may be instantly ascertained.

tram> (Merriam-Weseter). Prospero is a type name because he succeeds in his plan to gain his
throne back as the Duke of Milan as well as getting a proper husband for his daughter Miranda.
Ariel is a type name also because he is an airy spirit. He is not only airy, because of his nature, but
also because of his temperance. He seems to handle his tasks merrily and smoothly.
Both the origins and the meanings of the names suggest a hierarchy between them in which
Prospero is on the higher level. In the play Prospero frees Ariel who was locked up in a tree, by the
witch, Sycorax and therefore the spirit became a servant and helper for the rightful duke of Milan in
getting back his lot. He was promised to be free after he completed his service. In the beginning of
the play he is cooperative and ready: ARIEL / 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. (I., 2., 222-226)
Still in this act Ariel questions his master about his freedom, which makes us wonder about
his positive attitude. It also makes us think of Prospero as not being sincere with him, because he
asks for the execution of more assignments. This is the point where the hierarchy shows the best,
that Ariel is like a slave who is promised to be freed. ARIEL / Is there more toil? Since thou dost
give me pains, / Let me remember thee what thou hast promised, / Which is not yet perform'd me. /
PROSPERO / How now? Moody? / What is't thou canst demand? / ARIEL / My liberty. /
PROSPERO / Before the time be out? no more! / ARIEL / I prithee, / Remember I have done thee
worthy service; / Told thee no lies, made thee no mistakings, served / Without or grudge or
grumblings: thou didst promise /To bate me a full year. (I., 2., 285-296)
In the end when all work is done Prospero is about to free Ariel and admits he is going to
miss him. He talks to him as friends now in a touched tone in this act. I think that Prospero had to
have Ariel as a servant in order to not go insane on the island alone with his daughter. Maybe Ariel
was not just a simple a servant for him which he realised only when he was sure about losing him.
PROSPERO / Why, that's my dainty Ariel! I shall miss thee: / But yet thou shalt have freedom:

so, so, so. / To the king's ship, invisible as thou art: / There shalt thou find the mariners asleep /
Under the hatches; the master and the boatswain / Being awake, enforce them to this place, / And
presently, I prithee. / ARIEL / I drink the air before me, and return / Or ere your pulse twice beat.
(V., 1., 100-108)
I described the various origins of the chosen characters in the first part of my essay,
where I have managed to list several probable ones. I don't think we can say that one of them
is the absolute source, because we will never know what was in Shakespeare's mind when he
wrote the play. I also came up with a meaning in their names and stated that these are type
names. From these informations I pointed out the hierarchy of their relationship and examined
it throughout the play.

Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. The Tech. Web. 5
Apr 2010
The most famous quotations about William Shakespeare. Shakespeare-online.com. Amanda
Mabillard. 16 Feb 2010. Web. 5 Apr 2010
Johnson, W. Stacy The Genesis of Ariel Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jul., 1951),
pp.205-210. Print.
Young, Alan R. Prospero's Table: The Name of Shakespeare's Duke of Milan Shakespeare
Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Summer, 1979), pp. 408-410 Print.

type name Encyclopdia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
prosper Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 5 April 2010.
aerial Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 5 April 2010.

William Shakespeare Wikipedia. 19 March 2010. Web. 5 Apr 2010.

Word Count: 1389

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