Key points
The Tempest is a play by English playwright William Shakespeare. It was first performed in 1611.
Miranda is Prospero’s teenage daughter. She has lived on an island with him since the age of three.
At the start of the play, Miranda and Prospero have lived on the island for 12 years.
Miranda falls in love with Ferdinand, the son of King Alonso, and their engagement helps to bring peace at the end of the play.
Did you know?
In Shakespeare’s lifetime, women were not allowed to act on the stage, so Miranda would have been played by a male actor.
Plot summary
Miranda’s key moments
Click through the slideshow to see Miranda’s key moments
Image caption, Miranda has lived on the island since she was three years old, with just her father and Caliban for company. Miranda got on well with Caliban until he attacked her.
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Character traits
Kind
When Miranda sees the ship in the storm she is worried about the people on board, showing the kindness and empathy of her character. When Prospero tests Ferdinand, by making him do physical tasks, she offers to do some of the work herself.
Innocent
Miranda doesn’t have much experience of the wider world and is amazed when new people arrive on the island. When she meets Ferdinand, she falls instantly in love. She describes herself as “naive” for proposing to him so quickly.
Strong-willed
Although Miranda generally does what her father tells her to, she can also be quite bold. She tells her father to calm the seas at the start of the play during the storm, she speaks to Ferdinand when her father tells her not to and she even proposes marriage to Ferdinand.
Women in Shakespeare’s plays
During Shakespeare’s lifetime, women did not have the same rights as men. It was believed that women were the property of their fathers or their husbands. Women were expected to be kind and gentle. Strength, power and ambition were considered male characteristics.
In some ways, Miranda matches these expectations. She is kind and generally does what her father tells her to do. When Prospero doesn’t want Miranda to see or hear something, he simply uses his magic powers to send her to sleep.
On the other hand, Miranda is intelligent and strong-willed. She stands up for herself against Caliban and is not afraid to disagree with her father. She also proposes marriage to Ferdinand, which was uncommon in Shakespeare’s time.
How does Miranda’s character change throughout the play?
In the beginning of the play, Miranda is presented as an obedient character. However, as the play goes on she disobeys her father several times, including by talking to Ferdinand when she has been told not to and helping him with his physical tasks.
Miranda’s view of the world grows as she meets new people on the island. She is amazed by humankind but keeps her sense of innocence.
Relationships
Caliban
Miranda has a difficult relationship with Caliban. When she and Prospero first came to the island, she taught Caliban to speak and was kind to him. Then he attacked her, and Miranda stopped trusting him. She describes him as a “villain”.
Ferdinand
Miranda falls in love with Ferdinand, who she calls “a thing divine”. At first, she thinks Ferdinand is a spirit. In her relationship with Ferdinand, Miranda shows some of her more independent characteristics. She proposes marriage to him, she offers to help carry logs for him and disobeys her father when he tells her not to speak to Ferdinand.
Prospero
Miranda has a close relationship with her father, although they do sometimes disagree and Miranda does disobey him at times. Their isolation on the island means that her father has a strong influence over her life as both her parent and her teacher.
Prospero is protective of his daughter, and wants Ferdinand to prove himself before approving of him as a match for his daughter. When Miranda and Ferdinand tell Prospero that they are engaged, Prospero is delighted.
How does Prospero celebrate Miranda and Ferdinand’s engagement?
Prospero, with the help of Ariel, organises a masque to celebrate Miranda and Ferdinand’s engagement. A masque was a type of spectacular performance popular during Shakespeare’s time. They typically included poetry, dance, music and costumes. The masque in The Tempest includes spirits who appear in the form of Ancient Greek goddesses.
Activity - Order it
What do these key quotations mean?
I pitied thee,
Took pains to make thee speak.
Miranda
Act 1, scene 2
Miranda showed kindness to Caliban and taught him to speak. She is angry that he attacked her and calls him a “villain”.
I am your wife, if you will marry me
Miranda
Act 3, scene 1
Miranda is direct with Ferdinand and proposes marriage to him, which was very unusual in Shakespeare’s time.
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t.
Miranda
Act 5, scene 1
These lines show Miranda’s wonder and innocence. She is amazed to see more new people on the island.
Listen to a scene
In Act 3, scene 1, Miranda asks Ferdinand to be her husband. Listen to this audio clip:
Ferdinand: Wherefore weep you?
Miranda: At mine unworthiness, that dare not offer
What I desire to give, and much less take
What I shall die to want. But this is trifling,
And all the more it seeks to hide itself
The bigger bulk it shows. Hence, bashful cunning,
And prompt me, plain and holy innocence.
I am your wife, if you will marry me;
If not, I’ll die your maid. To be your fellow
You may deny me, but I’ll be your servant
Whether you will or no.
Ferdinand: My mistress, dearest,
And I thus humble ever.
Miranda: My husband then?
Ferdinand: Aye, with a heart as willing
As bondage e’er of freedom. Here’s my hand.
Miranda: And mine, with my heart in’t; and now farewell
Till half an hour hence.
Ferdinand: A thousand thousand!
What do we learn about Miranda’s character from this scene?
Miranda is direct in her speech, which shows the strength of her character. She speaks in blank verse, which is lines of speech with a regular rhythm but no rhyme. This shows she is an educated character.
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