“Prospero Is a Colonialist Tyrant.” “Prospero Is the Hero of Act 1 Scene 2.” How Far Do You Agree or Disagree with These Definitions?

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“Prospero is a colonialist tyrant.” “Prospero is the hero of act 1 scene 2.” How far do you agree or disagree with these definitions? Prospero strikes the audience as a suspicious character that the audience are wary of, due to the unknown magic used to cause the storm in the first scene of the play. We learn this when Miranda runs up to her father, Prospero, and exclaims ‘If by your art…you have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.” He is introduced to us as a mysterious protagonist, as act one scene two opens up with the revelation that a natural disaster had nothing to do with the shipwreck previously. This is the first time where we see Prospero’s power, and to the great lengths of how he can manipulate earthly physical elements, even so as to harm others. One could say that ‘tyrant’ is the most fitting word to identify with Prospero. There is a clear sign from the way that Prospero refers to himself in the third person as ‘thy father’ that Prospero’s abstract nature comes to him naturally as the ruler of the island, but his unapologetic pride can easily intimidate the audience. A tyrant is an oppressive, punitive and brutal ruler, a hero is someone admired for their courage. At this point in the beginning of the scene, neither word seems to portray Prospero’s persona in the slightest. Prospero delves into his past to his daughter Miranda. Prospero used to be in power and did not take responsibility for his own authority, he admits to ‘neglecting worldly ends’. He then says that his ‘false brother’, Antonio, had taken away his ‘dukedom’ due to his negligence. Miranda sympathises with her father, admiring his resilience, ‘Your tale, sir, would cure deafness’, proving her to be an earnest person. Surely heroic qualities do not include laziness, which is what the audience could depict from the tales of Prospero’s heedless actions in order to

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