Ariel (The Tempest) - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

The character of Ariel, as played by David Brandon, appears in the 1977 film Jubilee as a guide for Queen Elizabeth I visiting Queen Elizabeth II's England. Jubilee's director, Derek Jarman, subsequently directed a film of The Tempest in 1979.

Appears in The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen as part of the first incarnation of the group, Prospero's Men, alongside her master and Caliban.

In Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World, the character John Savage remarks that "Ariel could put a girdle 'round the Earth in forty minutes" when shown the elaborate equipment in the World State in chapter 11. However, this line is in fact said by Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, making the quote inaccurate.

In the 2010 film The Tempest, directed by Julie Taymor, Ariel is portrayed by British actor Ben Whishaw.

A monster in the 2007 video game Silent Hill: Origins is named after and inspired by Ariel.

In the 2012 series of Grandma's House, the character played by Simon Amstell is offered the part of Ariel.

The novel series ''Théâtre Illuminata by Lisa Mantchez stars Ariel as one of the main characters, and he persists as so throughout the trilogy.

In the Summer of 2013 Colin Morgan will be playing Ariel in the Globe Theatre in London.

Sylvia Plath's most famous book of poetry is called Ariel which is named so because she considered the poem to be the best in the book. Many readers know that the title of the poem was changed to "The Horse" for the less discerning newspaper readers and think the poem Ariel is simply about her riding a wild horse. Others, however, such as Nick Mount, consider Plath's earlier childhood fascination with The Tempest's character Ariel and view the poem as talking about creativity and the dangerous direction her creativity was taking her.