EXTEND – The epilogue

Read the passage and choose the correct alternative.

1 Prospero has ________.
2 He describes his current strength as ________.
3 The two options that Prospero presents for his future are to ________.
4 Prospero asks for ________ from the audience.
5 The 'gentle breath' of the audience is important for him because ________.
6 Prospero's project was to ________.
7 His project might fail unless ________.
8 With the expression that his 'ending is despair', Prospero means that ________.

Complete the text with the expressions given to paraphrase the passage.
Prospero's magic is gone, and he is left only with his own strength. He says he must either stay on the island, imprisoned by the audience's ________ or be sent to Naples.
He asks not to be left on the island now that he has regained his dukedom and forgiven those ________. He needs the audience's applause to ________. Without his magic and spirits, Prospero's only hope is ________. He asks the audience to forgive him, just as they themselves hope to be ________.

Complete the text with the words given. Then look at the prompts and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

Prospero stands as a figure caught between the celestial and the ________, a man at the very heart of the great chain of being. He embodies the eternal struggle between aspiration and temptation. His initial actions, caused by a thirst for ________, paint him in a distinctly bestial light. The manipulation of his magical powers, the calculated storms and orchestrated punishments, resonate with a desire for retribution, blurring the lines between ________ and revenge. Yet, it is his capacity for ________, a quality often associated with the angelic, that ultimately redeems him. He chooses mercy over retribution, a decision that speaks to a deeper understanding of human frailty. In abandoning his demiurgic powers, Prospero demonstrates a profound ________. He acknowledges his own limitations, recognising the potential for ________ that comes with having too much power.

- Connect Prospero's giving up of magic to the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. Is there a connection between letting go of his magic and letting go of his anger and desire for revenge?
- How does the epilogue contribute to our understanding of Prospero's character? Has he changed? How?
- Is Prospero's choice to give up his magic an act of defeat?
- What is the significance of the fact that he needs the audience's help to leave the island?