Similarities Between Principal Characters in Shakespeare's The Tempest Dan Reimold

In almost every respect, Gonzalo's ideas on how best to govern an island relate directly in some form to Prospero's existing reign. Gonzalo, an honest, sage, aging councilor first openly asserts his vision of a perfect society while meandering with his comrades on the sandy beach of some uninhabited, distant isle. Prospero's own notion on how a society should be set up and governed is evidenced most clearly through his current rule over the island he had long before washed ashore on. In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Gonzalo's vision of ruling and maintaining a commonwealth mirrors that of the actual rule of Prospero.

Gonzalo first states that, in contrast to ordinary custom, trade in his commonwealth would be completely abolished. He undoubtedly believes that the benefits of self-reliance far outweigh the gains made by engaging in trade with neighboring isles. Prospero oversees no traffic on his isle more out of necessity than by choice. Branded an outcast and banished to an uninhabited island after his exile from Naples, Prospero is left alone with only his infant daughter, Miranda, and precious few resources to survive on. He engages in no trade because he has not the means, the goods nor the desire....