Prospero's Forgiveness

I think a lot of people had an issue with how easily Prospero gave up on his revenge and attempted pursuing forgiveness. I can easily see why people would think that Prospero choosing forgiveness was poorly conceived, as Prospero spontaneously chose the path of forgiveness without any insight really being given on why he decided to choose that path. 

I myself went though that exact same thought process until I began to think of Prospero as an actual person, in the real world, rather than a character on a piece of paper. The reason that changed my thoughts on how easily Prospero offered forgiveness is that people  are not rational, even in real life. Sometimes they spontaneously do things or say things that do not fit with how they've been acting or what they've been saying previously. Sometimes you can know a person inside and out and they can find new ways to surprise you, both good and bad. 

Taking that line of thought and applying it to Prospero and I could see that it was certainly possible for him to give up on revenge and pursue forgiveness. He just did something surprising.