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Shakespeare and Prospero, a la Shmoop. Shakespeare was a master of disguise.

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Think of all the plays he wrote where a character dressed up as someone else, presumably because

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they were undercover spies in service to Ye Olde MI-5.

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It's in The Tempest, however, that Shakespeare pulls off his best disguise yet, with the

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character of Prospero.

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Prospero isn't just the exiled Duke of Milan; he's also a pretty darned talented sorcerer.

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Probably not on par with Dumbledore but, you know, the man can do stuff.

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But did you know that many people think Prospero is a stand-in for Shakespeare?

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Prospero is in control of the characters and spirits in residence on his wee island.

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He uses his sorcery to separate people from one another. He can compel people and spirits

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to become his servants.

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Heck, if he wanted to he could even force the unwilling to come over and play Dungeons

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and Dragons and eat Cheetos with him on a Friday night.

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And let's not forget that Prospero can magic hurricanes out of thin air. That's some serious

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voodoo right there. But who is it that's in control of Prospero?

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Well, ladies and gentlemen, that would be the amazing, astonishing, totally cool William

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Shakespeare himself.

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After all, he's the one who wrote The Tempest, the one who came up with the characters and

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the plot and turned the ideas in his head into words on paper.

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It isn't all about control, however. The Tempest is believed to be the last play Shakespeare

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wrote…

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…and many think that Shakespeare used Prospero's last speech as a way to say adios and hasta

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luego to his audience.

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And what a speech it is. Prospero willingly gives up his magic, but he then asks the audience

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to clap, as their applause is the only thing that can set him free from the island.

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Sounds like a clever way for Shakespeare to get an ego massage but, hey, who are we to

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judge?

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If we could get an audience to clap on command, we'd probably be all over that, too.

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So, you've got a couple of control freaks in Prospero and his creator, Shakespeare.

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You've got Prospero giving a speech that not only echoes Shakespeare's feelings about his

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retirement…

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…but also calls on the audience to clap...and then clap some more...and then keep on clapping.

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You! Yes, you, the red-headed gentleman in the front row! Clap harder!

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Yep, there's a case here for believing that Prospero served as a stand-in for Shakespeare.

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Will we ever know the truth? Probably not, because Shakespeare is dead, and it's not

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like we can ask the man...

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Unless someone has a Ouija board?

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