Hello everyone.

It's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr Clayton and I'm here to guide you through your learning journey today.

Welcome to today's lesson.

It's called understanding the characters of The Tempest and as the title suggests, we're going to be delving into the character of The Tempest, considering their motivations for acting the way they do, the relationships between them, but also what role they play within The Tempest.

The keywords that we'll be using in our learning today are master, wronged, slave, imprisonment, and ambition.

The definitions for our keywords are appearing on your screen now.

These words will help you unlock the learning for today and you'll see them throughout the material.

If you can, try to use them in your discussions and written work today.

So we have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to look at the three main characters who are Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban.

We're going to think about what happens to each of these characters within the plot of The Tempest and then we're going to create a character profile for each of them.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to consider the secondary characters who are Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, Stephano, Trinculo, Miranda, Ferdinand, and Gonzalo and consider how each of them contributes to the plot of The Tempest.

We're then going to create an overall character relationship diagram to show how all of the characters are connected.

So our three main characters are Prospero, Caliban, and Ariel.

These are the characters whose interactions form the basis of the key themes of power and magic within The Tempest.

What I'd like you to do is think about what you can remember about these characters and the relationship between them.

Pause the video and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing and some great ideas there.

Like Laura, you might remember that Prospero is the master of both Ariel and Caliban.

Ariel and Caliban are both living on the island before Prospero, but when he arrives, he enslaves Caliban and forces Ariel to perform magic for him.

He's able to do this because Prospero's the most powerful character on the island and is able to use his magic to control others.

Now let's look at Prospero in more detail.

We learn from Prospero he used to be the Duke of Milan, but he says he spent too much time in the library learning about magic, which allowed his brother to usurp his power and take control of Milan.

As a result, Prospero had to flee Milan with his infant daughter, Miranda, and they ended up on the island.

When Prospero arrives, he finds Ariel magically enslaved in a tree and so he frees Ariel.

However, once free, he forces Ariel to serve him and perform magical tasks for him.

Prospero also enslaves Caliban through threats of violence and forces him to perform physical tasks for him.

One of the tasks he asks Ariel to perform for him is to create a storm that will wreck the boat that King Alonso and his companions are travelling on to the island.

One of Alonso's companions is Antonio, Prospero's brother, and he sees this as his chance to get revenge on those who wronged him.

However, even though he has all of these characters who have wronged him under his control, he decides to forgive them all at the end of the play and give up his magic.

What I'd like you to do is consider what you think of Prospero.

What kind of character do you think he is? Pause the video and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing and some great ideas there.

I really like the ideas around how Prospero's a complex character who seems to want to be able to control everyone and everything, but at the end he forgives everyone, which shows he's redeemed at the end of the play.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is select which two of the following statements are true.

Is it A, Prospero used to be the King of Naples? B, Prospero used to be the Duke of Milan? C, Prospero gave up his magic willingly? Or D, Prospero gave up his magic unwillingly? Pause the video and make your selections now.

The correct answers are B, Prospero used to be the Duke of Milan, and C, Prospero gave up his magic willingly.

So very well done if you selected those answers.

Now let's think about Ariel.

Before Prospero arrived on the island, Ariel had been magically imprisoned by Caliban's mother, Sycorax, in a tree.

Using his magic, Prospero frees Ariel and they are then forced to become his servant.

We learn in the play that Prospero threatens to return Ariel to their magical imprisonment to the tree if Ariel does not do what Prospero wants.

Ariel is forced to perform magical acts for Prospero, such as creating the storm at the beginning of the play, but their ambition is to be free.

We see them asking for their freedom in the play and we see Prospero's frustrated reaction, which implies that Ariel often asks for their freedom.

Prospero denies them their freedom until the very end of the play.

What I'd like you to think about is what do you think of the relationship between Prospero and Ariel? How might we see Ariel as wronged by Prospero? So how might we see Ariel as being treated unfairly? Pause the video and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing and some great ideas there.

I really like the discussions around how Prospero's actions seem particularly unfair because he frees Ariel only to immediately force them into another form of captivity when they so clearly desire to be free.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is select which two of the following statements are true.

Is it A, Ariel has magical powers? B, Ariel has no magical powers? C, Prospero frees Ariel at the end of the play? Or D, Prospero doesn't free Ariel at the end of the play? Pause the video and make your selections now.

The correct answers are A, Ariel has magical powers, and C, Prospero frees Ariel at the end of the play.

So very well done if you selected those answers.

Now let's consider Caliban.

Caliban is the only character that we know for certain was born on the island.

Although Ariel is there when Prospero arrives, we don't know anything about Ariel's origins.

We do know though, that Caliban's mother, Sycorax, was banished to the island and gave birth to him there, so he sees the island as his home.

When Prospero first arrives, Caliban shows Prospero how to live on the island in terms of what food to eat and how to find shelter.

Miranda also teaches Caliban their language.

However, this peaceful relationship does not last and Prospero enslaves Caliban and forces him to perform physical tasks for him under threat of physical violence.

What I'd like you to think about is what do you think about the relationship between Prospero and Caliban? How might we see Caliban as wronged by Prospero? Pause the video and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing and some great ideas there.

I really like the ideas of how we might consider the fact that Caliban shared his knowledge with Prospero and Miranda to help them live on the island means that we might consider it then very unfair that Prospero enslaves Caliban and forces him to work for him.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

Which two of the following are true of the main characters? Is it A, Prospero freed Caliban from imprisonment? B, Prospero freed Ariel from imprisonment? C, Caliban performs acts for Prospero willingly? Or D, Caliban performs acts for Prospero unwillingly? Pause the video and make your selection now.

The right answers are that B, Prospero freed Ariel from imprisonment, and D, Caliban performs acts for Prospero unwillingly.

So very well done if you selected those answers.

We're now going to consider how we can take all this information we just learnt and store it in a more manageable way.

A character profile is a useful tool for summarising information about a character.

It contains all the key information about a character, such as their relationships with other characters, abilities, and family.

Let's take Ariel as our example.

Their name is Ariel.

We know that they can perform magic, so we'll put that in the abilities box.

The only relationship to another character we really know Ariel has is a relationship with Prospero.

They're a servant to Prospero and they feel wronged by Prospero since he refuses to free them until the end of the play, despite Ariel repeatedly asking for their freedom.

We don't really ever hear much about Ariel's personal feelings, so we don't know how they feel towards the island and we don't know if they have any family.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

Which two of the following are true of character profiles? Is it A, they contain key information about a character? B, they are useful summary tools? C, they allow you to be creative and make up a backstory for a character? Pause the video and make your selections now.

The right answers are A, they contain key information about a character, and B, they are useful summary tools.

So very well done if you selected those answers.

You're doing amazingly well everyone.

We're onto our first task of the lesson.

What I'd like you to do is create a character profile for either Prospero or Caliban.

So, in your profile, write in their name, write in their abilities, write in their relationships to other characters, write in their feelings towards the island, and write in anything we know about their family.

Pause the video and create your profile now.

Amazing and some great ideas there.

Let's go through Prospero's character profile first.

So, his name is Prospero.

We know that he's a powerful magician since he freed Ariel from magical imprisonment using magic and forces Ariel and Caliban to serve him through magic.

So we can put perform magic under his abilities.

In terms of relationships to other characters, Prospero feels betrayed by his brother, Antonio, since he stole the Dukedom of Milan from him.

However, he decides to forgive Antonio at the end of the play.

We also know that Prospero enslaves both Ariel and Caliban, but frees them at the end of the play.

From Prospero's language, we get the impression he feels more warmly towards Ariel than Caliban, but he does free them both at the end.

In terms of feeling towards the island, we don't ever hear explicitly what his feelings are, but we know he was stranded on the island, which would imply some negative feelings and we also know he exploits the inhabitants of the island, since he enslaved Ariel and Caliban, which suggests perhaps that he doesn't respect the island or its inhabitants.

In terms of his family, we know that Miranda is his daughter and Antonio is his brother.

Now let's consider Caliban.

So, his name is Caliban.

In terms of abilities, we know he doesn't have any magical powers like Prospero and Ariel and we never hear of any other abilities, since Prospero only has him performing physical tasks for him.

In terms of relationships to other characters, we know he feels wronged by Prospero since Prospero enslaved him and threatened him with physical violence.

This resentment of Prospero's obvious when Caliban tries to get Stephano and Trinculo to help him kill and overthrow Prospero, in order for Stephano to instead be the ruler of the island and Caliban to be his servant instead.

In terms of his feeling towards the island, there's an amazing speech within the play where Caliban lists all the beauty of the island and how he feels that the island would never hurt him.

He was born on the island and it's always been his home.

In terms of his family, the other family member we hear of was his mother, Sycorax, who was a witch banished to the island and gave birth to him there.

You're doing amazingly well everyone, we're onto our second and final learning task where we're going to consider the other characters in the play.

So the other characters are Miranda, Ferdinand, Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo.

What I'd like you to do is think about what you can remember about these characters.

Pause the video and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing, some great ideas there.

Like Aisha, you might remember that Miranda and Ferdinand fall in love at first sight and end up getting married at the end of the play.

Or, like Jacob, you might remember that Antonio took Prospero's dukedom away and banished him, but Prospero forgave him at the end.

We're gonna start by looking at Miranda and Ferdinand.

Miranda is Prospero's daughter and Ferdinand is Alonso's son.

Prospero arranges their meeting by making Ariel play magical music to bring them together.

They fall in love instantly and are married at the end of the play.

What I'd like you to think about is the fact that Prospero arranged the meeting between Miranda and Ferdinand.

What does this tell us about him as a father? Pause the video and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing and some great ideas there.

I really love the discussions around how it suggests Prospero is quite a controlling character, since he engineered the meeting.

But it also might suggest he's quite an ambitious father since he's arranging for his daughter to meet the King of Naples' son.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is select which two of the following statements are true.

Is it A, Miranda and Ferdinand meet by chance? B, Prospero arranges the meeting between Miranda and Ferdinand? C, Miranda and Ferdinand are married at the end of the play? Or D, Miranda and Ferdinand are married back in Naples? Pause the video and make your selections now.

The correct answers are B, Prospero arranges the meeting between Miranda and Ferdinand, and C, Miranda and Ferdinand are married at the end of the play.

So very well done if you selected those answers.

We're now gonna think about Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, and Gonzalo.

Alonso is the King of Naples.

Sebastian is Alonso's brother.

Antonio is Prospero's brother and he took the dukedom of Milan from Prospero.

Gonzalo is an advisor to Antonio.

Sebastian and Antonio plot to kill Alonso since they are all stranded on the island, but Ariel stops them using magic.

What I'd like you to do is have a go at acting out the conversation between Antonio and Sebastian.

How do you think they'd convince each other to try and kill Alonso? Pause the video and take a few minutes to have a go.

Amazing, I saw some great ideas there.

I really like those who started off speaking quite hesitantly to each other and spoke about how no one will ever find out since they were stranded on the island.

Now let's think about Stephano and Trinculo.

Stephano is a butler and Trinculo is a jester they meet Caliban on the island and give him alcohol.

Caliban decides that Stephano is a god and he would rather serve him than Prospero.

So Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo plot to kill Prospero, but Ariel tells Prospero of the plan.

Stephano and Trinculo are very confused when they meet Caliban and they think he's some kind of monster.

What I'd like you to do is act out what you think their reaction would be seeing Caliban for the first time.

Pause the video and take a few minutes to have a go.

Amazing, I saw some great ideas there.

I really like those who really exaggerated their facial expressions and body language to show just how shocked and surprised Stephano and Trinculo would've been.

Now for a quick check for understanding.

Which two of the following are true of the secondary characters? Is it A, Gonzalo and Alonso plot to kill Antonio? Antonio and Sebastian plot to kill Alonso? Alonso is Ferdinand's father? Or D, Prospero is Ferdinand's father? Pause the video and make your selections now.

The correct answers are B, Antonio and Sebastian plot to kill Alonso, and C, Alonso is Ferdinand's father.

So very well done if you selected those answers.

Amazing, you've all done incredibly well today.

We're onto our final task of the lesson where we're going to create a relationship diagram between the character's of The Tempest.

The characters of The Tempest are all connected by relationships.

These relationships can be shown by drawing a line between the characters.

For example, we can draw a line between Ariel and Prospero to show they're connected.

The relationship between Ariel and Prospero is that Prospero is Ariel's master, so we'd write that above the line.

Now I'd like you to complete the rest of the relationship diagram.

So Ariel and Prospero's been done for you, but what are the relationships for the other characters? So for Prospero's other relationships, what's his relationship with Caliban? What's his relationship with Miranda? And what's his relationship with Antonio? For Antonio's other relationships, what's his relationship with Gonzalo? And what's his relationship with Sebastian? For Sebastian, what's his relationship with Alonso? For Alonso, what's his relationship with Trinculo? What's his relationship with Stephano? And what's his relationship with Ferdinand? Finally, what's Ferdinand's relationship with Miranda? And what's Stephano's relationship with Trinculo? Pause the video and create your answers now by writing the relationship above the line between the characters.

Amazing, fantastic work everyone.

So we know that Ariel and Prospero are master and servant.

Prospero and Antonio are brothers.

We know this is a negative relationship because Antonio steals the dukedom of Milan from Prospero.

Antonio and Sebastian are friends and allies, they plot together to kill Alonso while they're all on the island, since then Sebastian can take the throne of Naples from Alonso, since they're brothers.

The relationship between Prospero and Caliban is that they are master and slave.

Prospero forces Caliban to perform physical tasks for him under the threat of physical violence.

Prospero and Miranda are father and daughter and Gonzalo is an advisor to Antonio.

Alonso and Ferdinand are father and son.

Stephano is a butler to Alonso and Trinculo is a jester to Alonso.

Miranda and Ferdinand are lovers who meet on the island, fall in love instantly, and are married at the end of the play.

Stephano and Trinculo are friends and allies since they work together with Caliban in a plot to overthrow Prospero and take control of the island.

So very well done if you completed that diagram.

You've all done amazingly well everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered today.

Prospero, Ariel and Caliban are the key characters in the text.

Ariel was freed from imprisonment by Prospero.

At times, both Ariel and Caliban feel wronged by Prospero.

And a character profile contains key information about a character, such as family and relationships.

I really hope you enjoyed today's lesson everyone, thank you very much for joining me, goodbye.