Is Shakespeare’s Prospero based on John Dee?

July 28, 2025 Mike Zonta Leave a comment

A 16th-century portrait by an unknown artist^[a]

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Yes, it’s widely believed that William Shakespeare drew inspiration from the historical figure John Dee for his character Prospero in The Tempest. Dee was a renowned mathematician, astrologer, and occult philosopher in Elizabethan England, and his life and interests bear striking resemblances to Prospero’s character.

Here’s why:

Shared Intellectual Pursuits:Both Dee and Prospero were deeply involved in occult studies, including magic, alchemy, and astrology.
Love of Books:Dee was a renowned book collector with a vast library, and Prospero’s library is a central element in The Tempest, suggesting Shakespeare was drawing from Dee’s passion for knowledge and books.
Status and Influence:Dee was a respected figure at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and Prospero is depicted as a powerful figure who commands spirits and influences events.
Magical Abilities:Both Dee and Prospero were associated with magic and the ability to influence the natural world through magical practices.

While Shakespeare may have drawn inspiration from other sources for Prospero as well, the parallels between Dee’s life and Prospero’s character are strong, making Dee a significant influence on Shakespeare’s creation of this complex and intriguing character.

* * * * *

John Dee (July 13, 1527 – December 1608) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. As an antiquarian, he had one of the largest libraries in England at the time. Wikipedia

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“We see things not as they are, but as we are.”
— Anais Nin

“A change in the weather is sufficient to re-create the world and ourselves.”
— Marcel Proust

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
— George Bernard Shaw

“. . . the only difference between you and God is that you have forgotten that you are divine.”
— Peter Solomon in The Lost Symbol

“Have an open-mind, but don’t let your brains fall out.”
— Jacob Needleman

“When thought races ahead of Being, a civilization is racing towards destruction.”
— Jacob Needleman in his new book What is God?

“A great man knows he is not God, and the greater he is the better he knows it.”
— G.K. Chesterton

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only at night.”
— Edgar Allan Poe

“Give thanks to unknown blessings already on their way.”
— Native American proverb at cafe in San Francisco

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”
–e.e. cummings

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Is Shakespeare’s Prospero based on John Dee?

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Consciousness, sexuality, androgyny, futurism, space, the arts, science, astrology, democracy, humor, books, movies and more