The Tempest - William Shakespeare (1610) - How does Shakespeare use the supernatural to establish the status of characters in the Tempest?

Extract

[...] How does Shakespeare use the supernatural to establish the status of characters in the Tempest? The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare in which the author uses the supernatural throughout the play. For example, the storm that appears in the very first scene of the play is a manifestation of the supernatural. There are other supernatural things in the play, Shakespeare uses them in order to establish the position and the relationships of characters such as Prospero, Ariel, and others. [...]

[...] The Supernatural Through Ariel and Caliban Secondly, it can be noticed in the play that the supernatural appears through the characters of Ariel and Caliban. Ariel is an airy spirit, his gender is unknown, but he is referred to as in the play. Caliban is said to be a "monster" so he does not appear to be a human being. He is the son of an "evil" witch, Sycorax. Ariel and Caliban are both supernatural entities under Prospero's control. Indeed, they are both enslaved to Prospero. [...]

[...] With the use of the supernatural, Shakespeare has established the status of Prospero as the brain behind what happens to other characters while the real creator of everything in the play is Shakespeare himself. It also establishes the status of other characters, such as Miranda and Ferdinand, who get married because they felt in love with each other but also because Prospero wanted it to happen. It also establishes Ariel's and Caliban's statuses as creatures enslaved to Prospero. But Prospero himself does not have the status of an almighty character because he seems to have a conscience and does not abuse his powers, he uses them to make it happen what he thinks is fair. [...]

[...] They are there to provide the future couple with all the necessary things in a marriage. It shows that Prospero seems to have unlimited powers, he can enslave a spirit, a monster, create a storm and call goddesses. With the use of his magic, he is shown as a figure of power who has magical creatures under his orders. Lastly, it can be seen that Prospero, even if he seems to have unlimited powers, does not abuse his powers. There is another character in the play who seems as dangerous as Prospero: Sycorax. [...]

[...] Then when they all survived unscathed, he separated the characters who lived the tempest into different groups so he could deal with each group differently. For example, Prospero's powers allow him to control Ariel, a spirit and in the second scene of the first act. Prospero uses Ariel to lead Ferdinand, the son of the King of Naples who was on the ship, to Miranda, Prospero's daughter. Prospero uses his powers to make them meet. He wants them to be married to regain his power as a duke and position because Ferdinand is the heir to the King of Naples. [...]