THE TEMPEST

A play by William Shakespeare, first performed c. 1611 and published in 1623.

Prospero, exiled Duke of Milan, has taken up a 12-year residence on a remote island, previously inhabited only by the airy spirit, Ariel, and the earthy Caliban, deformed son of the dead witch, Sycorax. With Prospero is his innocent daughter, Miranda, together with the books and the staff that enable him to practice magic. It is by magic that he brings about a storm and arranges for the arrival on the island of a group of shipwrecked figures from his past. From Milan come his usurping brother Antonio and the loyal counsellor Gonzalo, who gave Prospero what help he could when he was cast adrift 12 before; and from Naples come King Alonso, his son Ferdinand and Sebastian, the king’s scheming brother.

The play recounts the various adventures of these characters during their days on the island, all overseen by Prospero and organized by Ariel. The outcome is that Miranda, who could recall no man save Caliban and her father, falls in love with Ferdinand, that Sebastian’s malice is exposed to Alonso, and that Antonio restores the dukedom of Milan to Prospero. At the play’s end, Prospero releases Ariel from his service, returns the island to a chastened Caliban, breaks his staff and buries his books. All will sail for home, guided by the gentle winds Ariel has conjured up.

Although formally a comedy, The Tempest is more aptly associated with the group of tragicomic romances. It is a complex poetic work, whose mechanical plotting serves to draw attention to wider aesthetic and philosophical themes.

 

 OUSBY, I. The Wordsworth companion to literature in English. Ware: Wordsworth, 1992.

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their – itself – themselves – herself – her – she – herself – it – himself

their – Their – they – they – themselves – They – they – me – I – they