Ariel: "a brave spirit"

• Ariel is a spirit associated with air.

• Omnipresent in the play and used by Prospero as a spirit servant to enact his wiiI.

• Scholars have compared him to sprites depicted in other Elizabethan plays, and have managed to find several similarities between them, but one thing whích makes Ariel unique is the human edge and personality given him by Shakespeare.

• Ariel has been described as the essence of the theatre- a star performer, shape-changer and musician by critic Nora Roberts.

• He certainly is a master of the aesthetic e.g. the tempest,

the harpy, the masque.

• He sings beautiful songs and speaks in poetic verse, even about the

  mundane, without appearing foolish.

• He stands for all that is delightful and good in the world.

• Melissa Petrescue says that Ariel articulates "the perfect bodily representation of transformation...to incite transformation in others."

• Some critics see Ariel and Caliban as projections of Prospero's personality (or indeed any human).

• Ariel is thought to represent the rational faculties, while Caliban is symbolic of the instinctive and animalistic aspects.

• Ariel is the (mostly) willing servant to

  Prospero who uses affection, some threats,

  and partnership as a way to control him.

  By contrast, Caliban is the rebel servant.