How significant is forgiveness in "The Tempest"?

Question

What are some points that could be written about forgiveness in "The Tempest"?

Answer 1

In "The Tempest" Prospero is on an island because his brother overthrew him and banished him.  When the brother, the King, and a bunch of other guys are sailing in a ship, Prospero makes the ship crash on his island so he can (eventually) confront his brother).

Prospero has also enslaved two idland creatures: Ariel (whom he promises to free at the end of the play) and Caliba (whom he's pretty crappy to the whole time)  Before the action of the play, Caliban tried to rape Miranda, and Prospero does not seem to ever forgive him for that.

Miranda meets and falls in love with Ferdinand, the king's son.  In a weird way, dad Prospero had to forgive his daughter for growing up, and allow her to go off with her chosen man. Ferdinand has to forgive Prospero for making him do a lot of menial labor and treating him shabbily, but this is not a major theme.

Alonso the king also has to ask for forgiveness from Prospero for being complicit in the plan to set Prospero and the baby Miranda adrift on the ocean years earlier.  It's not until he thinks his own son (Ferdinand) is ead that he truly understands the horror of what he did.  Prospero forgives him.

Ultimately, Propsero frees Ariel and gives up his ability to do magic so he can go back to Italy and be a Duke again.  He forgives his brother (I don't think he does it in a particularly generous way, but he does do it--sort of).

hope this helps.