The Tempest by William Shakespeare

(1 User reviews)   3327
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
English
Imagine being stranded on a magical island for 12 years, with only your books and the power to command spirits for company. That's the life of Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan. When the ship carrying the very men who betrayed him sails close to his shore, he uses his magic to whip up a storm of revenge. But this isn't just a simple tale of payback. It's a story about letting go, about forgiveness, and about the wild magic that lives in both nature and the human heart. It asks: what do you do when you finally have the power to get even?
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other plays from this volume are each available as separate e-texts. General Notes are in their original location at the end of the play. Text-critical notes are grouped at the end of each Scene. All line numbers are from the original text; line breaks in dialogue--including prose passages--are unchanged. Brackets are also unchanged; to avoid ambiguity, footnotes and linenotes are given without added brackets. In the notes, numerals printed as subscripts are shown inline as F1, F2, Q1.... Texts cited in the Notes are listed at the end of the e-text.] THE WORKS of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Edited by WILLIAM GEORGE CLARK, M.A. Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, and Public Orator in the University of Cambridge; and JOHN GLOVER, M.A. Librarian Of Trinity College, Cambridge. _VOLUME I._ Cambridge and London: MACMILLAN AND CO. 1863. THE TEMPEST. DRAMATIS PERSONÆ[1]. ALONSO, King of Naples. SEBASTIAN, his brother. PROSPERO, the right Duke of Milan. ANTONIO, his brother, the usurping Duke of Milan. FERDINAND, son to the King of Naples. GONZALO, an honest old Counsellor. ADRIAN, Lord FRANCISCO, „ CALIBAN, a savage and deformed Slave. TRINCULO, a Jester. STEPHANO, a drunken Butler. Master of a Ship. Boatswain. Mariners. MIRANDA, daughter to Prospero. ARIEL, an airy Spirit. IRIS, presented by[2] Spirits. CERES, „ „ JUNO, „ „ Nymphs, „ „ Reapers, „ „ Other Spirits attending on Prospero[3]. SCENE--_A ship at sea[4]: an uninhabited island._ Footnotes: 1: DRAMATIS PERSONÆ] NAMES OF THE ACTORS F1 at the end of the Play. 2: _presented by_] Edd. 3: _Other ... Prospero_] Theobald. 4: A ship at sea:] At sea: Capell.] THE TEMPEST. ACT I. SCENE I. _On a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard._ _Enter _a Ship-Master_ and _a Boatswain_._ _Mast._ Boatswain! _Boats._ Here, master: what cheer? _Mast._ Good, speak to the mariners: fall to’t, yarely, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir. [_Exit._ _Enter _Mariners_._ _Boats._ Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! 5 yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to the master’s whistle. Blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough! _Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, FERDINAND, GONZALO, and others._ _Alon._ Good boatswain, have care. Where’s the master? Play the men. _Boats._ I pray now, keep below. 10 _Ant._ Where is the master, boatswain? _Boats._ Do you not hear him? You mar our labour: keep your cabins: you do assist the storm. _Gon._ Nay, good, be patient. _Boats._ When the sea is. Hence! What cares these 15 roarers for the name of king? To cabin: silence! trouble us not. _Gon._ Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard. _Boats._ None that I more love than myself. You are a Counsellor; if you can command these elements to silence, 20 and work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more; use your authority: if you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap. Cheerly, good hearts! Out of our way, I say. [_Exit._ 25 _Gon._ I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage. If he be not born to be hanged, our case 30 is miserable. [_Exeunt._ _Re-enter Boatswain._ _Boats._ Down with the topmast! yare! lower, lower! Bring her to try with main-course. [_A cry within._] A plague upon this howling! they are louder than the weather or our office. 35 _Re-enter SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, and GONZALO._ Yet again!...

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Okay, let's set the scene. A wild storm, a shipwreck, and a remote island buzzing with magic. That's where we meet Prospero, a man who was once a powerful duke. He was betrayed by his own brother and set adrift with his young daughter, Miranda. They've been living on this strange island for twelve years, and Prospero has become a powerful sorcerer, with a spirit named Ariel and a monstrous creature called Caliban at his command.

The Story

When Prospero sees the ship carrying his traitorous brother sailing nearby, he summons a tempest to wreck it. The survivors—including his brother, the King of Naples, and the king's son, Ferdinand—wash ashore separated. Using Ariel's magic, Prospero manipulates everyone. He brings Ferdinand and Miranda together (cue instant romance), torments his brother with guilt, and plays tricks on a drunken crew of servants. The whole play is like Prospero's grand, magical stage show, where he's the director trying to settle an old score and secure a happy future for his daughter.

Why You Should Read It

Forget dusty old revenge plots. What hooked me was Prospero's internal struggle. He has every right to be furious, and the power to make his enemies suffer. Watching him wrestle with that anger, and ultimately choose a path of mercy and forgiveness, is incredibly powerful. It feels very human. Plus, the characters are fantastic. Ariel, the eager-to-please spirit, and Caliban, the island's bitter original inhabitant, make you think about freedom, power, and who really owns a place. And Miranda's wide-eyed wonder at seeing other people for the first time is just pure joy.

Final Verdict

This is the perfect 'first' Shakespeare for anyone who thinks his plays are too difficult. It's short, it's got magic and monsters, a sweet love story, and a deeply satisfying emotional core about choosing to be the bigger person. If you love stories about second chances, the wildness of nature, or complex characters who grow and change, give The Tempest a chance. You might be surprised by how much this 400-year-old play has to say.



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Melissa Hernandez
1 year ago

I started reading out of curiosity and the arguments are well-supported by credible references. Highly recommended.

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5 out of 5 (1 User reviews )

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