The character of Prospero in The Tempest is full of magic, superstition, and the question for the audience about whether Prospero is a good man or a selfish and greedy villain. Then of course, we have to ask, was he even a real man at all, or something supernatural?

When The Tempest was first staged, it was done so before King James I at a celebration for All Hallow’s Day in 1611. As King James was highly suspicious of all things magic and supernatural, it’s impressive that Shakespeare managed to get away with portraying such a highly complicated wizard of magic like Prospero, particularly when you consider that King James had, only two years before The Tempest, put Elizabeth I’s popular Magus (and one potential source for Shakespeare), John Dee, on trial for suspicion of witchcraft.

In this week’s episode, Malcolm Hebron is our guest today to help us unravel the strands of history from fiction as we explore the real life Renaissance figure often seen at English royal courts, the Magus, and how this contemporary wizard-like figure from the real life of William Shakespeare may have influenced the character of Prospero, and that character’s reception on stage, when Shakespeare was writing, and performing his play The Tempest.