Discuss the character of King Alonso

Alonso is one of the finest characters in the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare. His role is very important in this play. He is the King of Naples. He is the father of Ferdinand. We meet him first in the very beginning scene when his ship has been caught in a storm and is in danger of sinking. As the danger increases with the increasing intensity of the storm, the passengers on board the ship lose all hope of surviving the danger which threatens them. Alonso then gets busy praying to God for mercy. Here we might get the impression that Alonso is a religious kind of man. He is a villainous character in the play. He had largely been responsible for the misfortunes of Prospero and Miranda. Thus Alonso is here printed in dark colors and he appears as a villain.

Alonso loves his son Ferdinand very much. That is why; he is lamenting the fate which his son Ferdinand is believed to have met. Ferdinand, having been separated from Alonso and the others by Ariel's manipulations, Alonso thinks that Ferdinand had got drowned in the sea during a storm. Alonso's crime against Prospero was unpardonable. But Prospero pardons him because Prospero has achieved a degree of wisdom that convinces him that forgiveness is nobler than revenge. Prospero's wisdom has made a true sage of him and his main purpose in subduing his enemies was to make them realize the gravity of their crime and to make them repent of it.

Alonso was certainly a villain who had aided another villain, namely Antonio, in ousting Prospero from his dukedom. But Alonso has now suffered greatly. He had got the impression that Ferdinand had drowned in the sea. The supposed death of Ferdinand had undergone indescribable grief as a result of his belief that Ferdinand was dead. Sorrow made him wiser. He has realized the seriousness of his crime against Prospero. He has begun to repent of that crime. This repentance on his part earns him the forgiveness of Prospero.