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Quotations About Magic

Prospero's magic is presented as good and productive, unlike the black magic of Sycorax.

Sycorax's black magic

Sycorax's black magic

  • 'For mischiefs manifold, and sorceries terrible.'
  • 'Damned' and 'foul witch Sycorax'.
Heroic Prospero

Heroic Prospero

  • Prospero is presented as heroic for ridding the island of 'her most unmitigable rage.'
Punishments for using magic

Punishments for using magic

  • Prospero states he will 'bury' and 'drown' the three items that symbolise his powers: his 'magic garment'; his 'book'; and his 'staff'.
    • The verbs 'bury' and 'drown' are reminiscent of (recall) the punishments for practicing witchcraft after King James I became King of England (1590).
Giving up magic

Giving up magic

  • Prospero is also able to give up his magic without much hesitation in Act 5, Scene 1. This shows that it was a temporary way to get political power back: 'But this rough magic / I here abjure.'
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