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The Tempest

by William Shakespeare, Stephen Orgel (Editor), A.R. Braunmuller (Editor), Peter Holland (Introduction)

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 73,491 ratings · 1,263 reviews

"I feel that I have spent half my career with one or another Pelican Shakespeare in my back pocket. Convenience, however, is the least important aspect of the new Pelican Shakespeare series. Here is an elegant and clear text for either the study or the rehearsal room, notes where you need them and the distinguished scholarship of the general editors, Stephen Orgel and A. R...more

Paperback, 128 pages

Published September 1st 1999 by Penguin Classics (first published 1610)

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Mar 12, 2010 Bram rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, the-bard

Knowing that The Tempest is most likely Shakespeare's final play, it's hard to avoid noticing the hints of retirement in the text. Toward the end of the final act, Prospero solemnly describes the conclusion of his practice of the magic arts, just as Shakespeare might describe the end of his writing career:

Have I given fire and rifted Jove's stout oak
With his own bolt; the strong-based promontory
Have I made shake and by the spurs pluck'd up
The pine and cedar: graves at my command
Have waked their...more Knowing that The Tempest is most likely Shakespeare's final play, it's hard to avoid noticing the hints of retirement in the text. Toward the end of the final act, Prospero solemnly describes the conclusion of his practice of the magic arts, just as Shakespeare might describe the end of his writing career:

Have I given fire and rifted Jove's stout oak
With his own bolt; the strong-based promontory
Have I made shake and by the spurs pluck'd up
The pine and cedar: graves at my command
Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth
By my so potent art. But this rough magic
I here abjure, and, when I have required
Some heavenly music, which even now I do,
To work mine end upon their senses that
This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I'll drown my book.

Beyond this connection, it’s fun if idly fruitless to try to expand the Prospero-as-Shakespeare angle. For example, Prospero, the Duke of Milan, was usurped by his brother. Was Shakespeare replaced as the king’s or the populace’s most favored playwright? Perhaps he was eclipsed by or had a falling out with Ben Jonson, who felt confident enough to be the first to publish a written collection of his plays (something Shakespeare never did) and who mocked Shakespeare and his Tempest subject matter in one of his own plays, Bartholomew Fair. As I said, it’s idle speculation, particularly when engaged in by someone unfamiliar with the time period. But the text does seem to encourage some autobiographical reading, and it’s certainly fun to consider the possibilities.

One thing that continues to impress me about Shakespeare is his refusal to create blameless heroes. Even if we end up feeling very sympathetic toward someone, there's always something to nag us and remind us that this character isn’t irreproachable. In the Richard II—Henry IV—Henry V cycle, Hal has a remarkable and redemptive character arc, but he must abandon his rowdy friends most cruelly to achieve this. As someone who wants to love and celebrate Hal unreservedly, this fact is like a thorn that pokes me every time I cheer too loudly during the St. Crispin's Day speech.

Like Hal, Prospero has a troubling relationship that mars his character. As mentioned above, he was usurped. But then he became the usurper, enslaving an 'uninhabited' island's sole inhabitant (and therefore the ruler of sorts), Caliban, and treating him harshly. (For the record, Caliban's witch mother usurped the original fairies of the Island, Ariel et al., when she was dropped off by some sailors while pregnant.) The story of the enslavement is morally complicated, it's true. Caliban was apparently well-treated, if still usurped, before he attempted to rape Prospero's daughter, thus leading to the mistreatment and his begrudging service as we encounter them during the three hours of the play (side note: Before Jack Bauer and 24, Shakespeare had already created a drama where the play length occurs in real time). There's also the troubling distinction between Prospero's two slaves, Caliban and Ariel. Caliban, a hideous semi-human monster, is rude and bitter and therefore 'deserves' his slave state and cruel treatment, while obedient Ariel is set free at the story's end. But because Prospero is leaving the island to return to Milan at the conclusion, even Caliban can look forward to freedom once again.

And so in the end, Prospero wins us over with his capacity for forgiveness and his desire to do everyone a good turn, while only desiring to finish off his days in Milan “where/Every third thought shall be my grave.” While he spends much of the play spooking those who’d wronged him with spirit visitations and magical scenes, he eventually leaves anger and vengeance behind. Interestingly, it’s the nonhuman spirit slave Ariel who encourages Prospero to be humane and compassionate:

ARIEL
Your charm so strongly works 'em
That if you now beheld them, your affections
Would become tender.

PROSPERO
Dost thou think so, spirit?

ARIEL
Mine would, sir, were I human.

PROSPERO
And mine shall.
Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
Of their afflictions, and shall not myself,
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,
Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art?
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick,
Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury
Do I take part: the rarer action is
In virtue than in vengeance.

Perhaps this suggestion had to come from a nonhuman since treating kindly those who’ve wronged us can seem most unnatural. Shakespeare seems to recognize that this type of forgiveness, especially offered to those who have intentionally affected one’s life for the worse, is exceptionally difficult to bestow. But he also seems to recognize that overcoming this difficulty is well worth it, perhaps more for the sake of the forgiver than that of the forgiven.
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Mar 24, 2009 Madeline rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: shakespeare, assigned-reading

The Tempest, abridged.
*or maybe not so abridged. But in my defense, this play is really fucking complicated*

MIRANDA: So, um, Daddy, did you notice that huge-ass storm that just crashed a ship on the shore of our previously deserted island?
PROSPERO: Wow, is it exposition time already? Okay, kiddo, listen up: I used to be the duke of Milan, but then my asshole brother and the King of Naples put you and me on a boat and we ended up here on Wherever-The-Hell-Island, but luckily it's full of spirit...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Henry Avila rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

William Shakespeare's last play ,that he wrote every word.The burnt-out but rich gentleman ,just wants to go back to his little home town of Stratford-on-Avon.After more than twenty years of writing for the stage, he needs to relax and leave London, far behind.Besides Shakespeare is pushing 50, old for the time. The Tempest story begins with a terrific storm that drives a ship carrying noblemen on the shore, of an unnamed island, off the coast of probably Italy(Shakespeare is vague about the loc...more William Shakespeare's last play ,that he wrote every word.The burnt-out but rich gentleman ,just wants to go back to his little home town of Stratford-on-Avon.After more than twenty years of writing for the stage, he needs to relax and leave London, far behind.Besides Shakespeare is pushing 50, old for the time. The Tempest story begins with a terrific storm that drives a ship carrying noblemen on the shore, of an unnamed island, off the coast of probably Italy(Shakespeare is vague about the location).The rest of the fleet is scattered around the Mediterranean Sea and believe the noble's vessel has gone down.They had been to an important wedding in Tunis,North Africa. The royals think it's a deserted island.Not so. Prospero,a sorcerer rules this isle.But since only three "people" live there ,his daughter Miranda and the deformed slave and son of a witch, Caliban,are the others. The kingdom is very limited. Prospero a thinly disguised Shakespeare, has learned black magic from books.The former Duke of Milan,who was overthrown by his treacherous brother Antonio ,with the help of the King of Naples, Alonso. He and his infant daughter , narrowly escaped death.The Duke was a bookworm.Both Alonso and Antonio are not coincidentally , shipwrecked on this land now.Being passengers on the doomed ship.Ariel,the magician's servant,one of several supernatural entities,controlled by Prospero, is a powerful,wind spirit, caused the bad weather(at his master's request). Does the sorcerer seek revenge? After twelve years stuck on this miserable place! Ferdinand,the King's son meets Miranda,age 15,she has only seen two men in her life,Caliban,the primitive, and gentle Prospero. It's love at first sight.Something's strange about their encounter.The father seems happy of the situation.But Alonso is an old enemy.Plots of course for power ensue, even here.Men always seek to better their lives by killing others.Will it ever change? Shakespeare like Prospero, wants peace and quiet and to enjoy himself in his last days.One in Milan the other Stratford. But since they are both the same man, the author believes that men(and women), should be kind to one another.(less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Giulia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: preferiti, teatro

Se c’è una cosa che ha reso Shakespeare immortale e degno di tutte le attenzioni possibili è la sua immaginazione. Ovvero, ci sono altre centinaia di ragioni, ma la sua immaginazione prevale su tutte. Sebbene una certa critica contemporanea (si dice il peccato ma non il peccatore) tenti di sminuire i meriti di questo genio sottolineando il fatto che la maggior parte delle trame di Shakespeare non sia originale, ma tratta da fonti a lui più o meno contemporanee, il potere immaginifico non diminui...more

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Sep 20, 2010 Terence rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Who would I not recommend it to?

Shelves: shakespeare-stuff, audio-books, the-plays-the-thing

I finished my rereading of The Tempest earlier today. As usual when I reread one of the Bard's plays, I appreciate it more. I can definitely upgrade my initial reaction to a solid 3 stars. It's still not a favorite; many of the qualms I had from my original review remain. Except perhaps at the end when Prospero gives up the power his magic gives him, though I couldn't tell you why he does so - Shakespeare doesn't give us much in the way of motivation for any of his actions. For example, why does...more I finished my rereading of The Tempest earlier today. As usual when I reread one of the Bard's plays, I appreciate it more. I can definitely upgrade my initial reaction to a solid 3 stars. It's still not a favorite; many of the qualms I had from my original review remain. Except perhaps at the end when Prospero gives up the power his magic gives him, though I couldn't tell you why he does so - Shakespeare doesn't give us much in the way of motivation for any of his actions. For example, why does he forgive Antonio? How secure is Antonio going to be with a restored Duke Prospero? Why is Prospero OK with Ferdinand courting his daughter? (I realize that in the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean England it's usual but the modern reader must realize that Miranda is only 15 years old. I wonder how young she was when Caliban - how old is he? - attempted to rape her, and was it really "rape" or just two children playing "doctor"? Considering Prospero's decidedly aristocratic temperament, I can easily see him overeacting and the incident becoming more and more lurid with each passing year.)

That aside, The Tempest is a good play by itself. I was particularly taken with Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano who came across as the most "real" in this reading. (I'm sure something else will engage me the next time I read the play.)
______________________________________________________

This is probably the least 3-starry play amongst my Shakespeare reading. More like a 2.5 or 2.6; I'm rounding up because it is Shakespeare and I do wish I could write half so well.

The greatest impediment to a full-throated 3 stars is that I don't find anyone in the play all that admirable or interesting. The two characters I feel any regard for (and it's sympathy) are Ariel and Caliban, enslaved these dozen years by Prospero, whom I think Caliban rightly calls "tyrant."

My practice over the last year, ever since I discovered that my Glendora library has all of the plays on Audio CD and most of BBC TV's versions on DVD, has been to read (or reread) the text, listen to the play, and watch a version (or versions). Perhaps when I get the time to watch the DVD this weekend, I'll have more sympathy for the play.

(And I just wanted to mention: I'm not approaching this from the point of view of colonialist-native. Heck, I'm one of the white males who've been oppressing the rest of you for four centuries. Prospero's a "tyrant" by any measure.)(less)

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Nov 08, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tam-lin, in-theater, 2010, gods-myths-heroes, in-by-of-england, reviewed, romance-with-a-capital-r, fey

I've always had a Romantic impression of this play. It's not hard. Shipwreck. First love (also being true love, impressively). An ancient magician. Invisible and dancing spirits. And, as if out of nowhere, Gods. How do you not get romance when images like this are floating around?

The Pre-Raphaelites had a way of making everything romantic, whether it should be or not, so I was skeptical when I finally started reading this one. It's all there though. All of the elements that would bring out a sig...more I've always had a Romantic impression of this play. It's not hard. Shipwreck. First love (also being true love, impressively). An ancient magician. Invisible and dancing spirits. And, as if out of nowhere, Gods. How do you not get romance when images like this are floating around?

The Pre-Raphaelites had a way of making everything romantic, whether it should be or not, so I was skeptical when I finally started reading this one. It's all there though. All of the elements that would bring out a sigh in a romantic sensibility. And what I mean by that isn't the romance of bodice-rippers. I'm not talking about the people who stick a wedding at the end of every Austen film or the women who thinks Heathcliff is just misunderstood and the love of a better woman (i.e. themselves) would keep him from killing puppies. (You are wrong, girls). I am talking about the sensibility that lead to the Romantic poets and the interpretation of Hamlet as a melancholy young man in a black turtleneck, Browning's epic poems, and the Pre-Raphaelite painters. The Tempest was ahead of its time.

Or was it? One of the things that leaves me with this romantic impression is the sense of exploration, reinforced by the magical and mysterious. The discussion of natives and feeling of dislocation that the survivors of the shipwreck feel, was strangely familiar. I was several scenes in when I realized that it sounded like some of the writing quoted in The Age of Wonder. There's about 150 years between the exploratory trip to Tahiti that opens The Age of Wonder and the writing of The Tempest but that feeling of discovery and exploration is there. If it wasn't science, in the sense we know it, there was still a sense of questioning the powers of the natural world more than I remember from the other plays. Maybe it's just Miranda's line of this being O brave new world, that has such people in 't that triggered this feeling in me. Maybe it's really there. Knowing that people were beginning to bring back plants and animals from the strange new lands that were being "discovered" influenced me. Marvels, like tobacco, were beginning to become available in London. The early modern world was opening up and here was a tired, aging man discovering it.

The play frustrates me in many ways. I feel like the scenes are disjointed. There is a great scene and then a silly one. Another one over here with another set of characters. True love happens in fifteen minutes but it is so pure that some Gods show up to bless it. I am half-convinced that we love this play because of the last scene and epilogue. You can feel the weight on Prospero, even if the motivation might have been lacking, you can feel for him, needing to be set free from whatever is holding him down.

I feel like my impression, maybe all of our impressions, of this play are tainted by what has happened to us, culturally, economically, socially, since it was written. Of course, of course, that always happens. There's no way to avoid it but I feel like it happened to me more this time, with this play. I don't know how to step out of what I know happens next and read the play in a purer form. I don't know if that would actually help or hurt the play. It feels wrong, somehow, to leave it like this, though, as if I didn't get what Shakespeare was trying to say, like something is missing. It's a disturbing state, not one I am used to being in with him. (less)

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Mar 04, 2012 Chiara Pagliochini rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classici-inglesi, teatro

“Non avere paura: l’isola è piena di rumori, di suoni, di dolci arie che danno gioia e non malinconia.”

Quando nessuno guarda, io e zio Billy cerchiamo di stabilire se ci piacciamo o meno. Lui ha questo sguardo un po’ sornione, da puttana di classe, che a me irrita da morire. E non c’è mai una volta che non gli tiri una cuscinata. Tuttavia, poi, sappiamo come far pace e se proprio proprio non ci adoriamo (non ancora), se non altro riusciamo a impostare una discussione costruttiva senza sbranarci....more “Non avere paura: l’isola è piena di rumori, di suoni, di dolci arie che danno gioia e non malinconia.”

Quando nessuno guarda, io e zio Billy cerchiamo di stabilire se ci piacciamo o meno. Lui ha questo sguardo un po’ sornione, da puttana di classe, che a me irrita da morire. E non c’è mai una volta che non gli tiri una cuscinata. Tuttavia, poi, sappiamo come far pace e se proprio proprio non ci adoriamo (non ancora), se non altro riusciamo a impostare una discussione costruttiva senza sbranarci. E questo è il primo passo verso una relazione più matura.

Ora, “La tempesta”. “La tempesta” ha tirato fuori il peggio di me. Sbuffi a non finire e gomiti schiacciati sotto il peso della testa, smorfie da immortalare e profusione di battutine. Ma poi zio Billy ha parlato: Guarda che sei un’ignorantona, guarda che non tieni in nessun conto il sottotesto! Torna da me quando ti sarai fatta una cultura!
E sapete, zio Billy ha sempre ragione. Ha sempre dannatamente ragione.
Perché “La tempesta” non merita affatto gli sbuffi che ci ho versato sopra (se osservate attentamente la copertina, noterete gli aloni di fiato lasciati dai miei sospironi). No, “La tempesta” è un testo molto, molto intelligente, molto, molto complesso. È un testo il cui sottotesto, a parer mio, è quasi migliore del testo.
Della Tempesta son state date tante interpretazioni. Il protagonista, Prospero, è allo stesso tempo un duca spodestato, un mago, un uomo del Rinascimento, un filosofo, un padre autoritario, un padre che ama sua figlia tanto teneramente da rasentare l’incesto, un padrone affettuoso, uno schiavista senza scrupoli, un dominatore, un vendicatore, un uomo roso dalla rabbia, un conciliatore, un uomo di teatro. Prospero è così complesso che solo definire la sua natura ci prenderebbe quaranta pagine di recensione. E questo ovviamente non è nelle nostre intenzioni.
Gli studi post-coloniali hanno voluto leggere nella Tempesta uno dei primi testi sull’imperialismo, sullo scontro di civiltà. Prospero, l’uomo bianco, il prototipo del colonizzatore, approda su un’isola (quasi) disabitata, dove tenta di ricreare una società occidentale, una società utopica, perfetta, che unisca uno stato di ragione allo stato di natura. Ma ogni isola, lo sappiamo, non è mai realmente disabitata. Non è disabitata l’isola su cui fa naufragio Robinson Crusoe. E non erano disabitate le coste americane, quando spagnoli e inglesi e francesi posero piede sul quel terreno vergine per dichiararlo proprio. Fecero carte e piantarono bandiere e raccolsero granturco, come se tutto fosse loro dovuto, come se quel mondo fosse davvero vuoto come un banchetto bello predisposto. Perché l’uomo bianco è spesso cieco all’altro uomo, quell’uomo deforme o difforme, la cui pelle è più scura o più marroncina, l’uomo mezzo svestito che grida in una lingua incomprensibile. Quell’uomo, per l’uomo bianco, non è un suo simile, ma quasi un’attrazione turistica, un gingillo da esibire a Corte una volta tornati in Europa, un soggetto su cui raccontare orribili storie di perversione e cannibalismo. E Caliban (Cannibal?) è proprio questo agli occhi di Prospero. Caliban, abitante originale dell’isola e suo legale possessore, è la creatura che l’uomo bianco non riconosce e non vede, la creatura maligna, disprezzata, da sottomettere.
Approdato sull’isola, Prospero ha provato ad “educare” Calibano, ci ha provato, non si può dire che non ci abbia provato. Ma questi indigeni… come sono restii, come sono cattivi dentro e perversi. E Calibano, che pure ci ha provato a diventare un Venerdì, ha preferito tornare al suo stato di natura.
Nei dissapori tra schiavo e padrone non è forse ininfluente una questione di natura sessuale. Prospero, l’uomo bianco, ha infatti una bianca figlia, Miranda, giovane, carina e molto innocente. E Calibano, con la sua forza materica, con la sua virilità bruta, non ha tardato ad accorgersi di quanto Miranda fosse giovane, carina e innocente. Così, dopo che per tanti anni l’ha pensata solo come una compagna di giochi, adesso la vede come compagna di altri giochi, più adatti all’età di entrambi. E forse Miranda, la pura, la bianca, si sente oscuramente attratta dalla forza sensuale del nostro indigeno bruto. È il tabù del rapporto donna bianca-indiano che si ripete e si consolida, è il timore di un delitto di razza che Prospero deve impedire venga perpetrato.

Ora, tutto questo come si inserisce nell’immagine della Tempesta per come la conosciamo? Quel testo allegro, meta-teatrale, tutto canti e salti e Ariel e buffonerie… in che modo può essere anche questo? Può essere tutto questo e molto altro ancora, perché zio Billy è così arci-letto che ogni mattina qualcuno nel vasto modo si sveglia e decide di darne un’altra interpretazione. E questo, secondo me, è il motivo per cui Shakespeare è davvero eterno: continuamente studiato, contestato, sviscerato, continuamente beffardo con quel sorriso da puttana, sornione, come a dire, Te l’ho fatta, te l’ho fatta, che dopo cinquecento anni voi state ancora pensando a me.

Una nota di apprezzamento per l’edizione Oscar Mondadori. Sebbene la traduzione non mi abbia particolarmente entusiasmata, il volume contiene un commento di Giorgio Strehler che vale la pena di possedere. Secondo me è quasi più bello del testo originale, ma questo non diciamolo a zio Billy.
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Dec 11, 2009 Rauf rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: fantasy-and-sf, literature, fiction, play, fromthepit, shiny

Hmmm...

Wouldn't it be interesting if Prospero, Ariel, Sycorax and Caliban are used in another story? A darker, bloodier, gung-hoer story involving time-machines and space lizards? I say yes.
--
Dec. 2009 --
Above was my old review. I chose not to erase it so I will always remember just how stupid I was. The Tempest was a great play. The dynamics between the characters -- especially Ariel-Prospero, Caliban-Stephano -- were fantastic.
For my NaNoWriMo novel I borrowed the main characters from The Temp...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Io rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: theater

"We are such stuff
As dream aer made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."

"Noi siamo della stessa materia
Di cui son fatti i sogni
E la nostra piccola vita
E' circondata da un sonno."

Prendete questo verso, riempitevi il calice di vino, fatelo roteare e ossigenare, accostatevi il vostro naso e godetevi l'aroma, la mistica fragranza, e inebriatevi l'anima. Quanti significati può avere? Quanti? Mi perdo lentamente per labirintici sentieri - con il sorriso di un bambino ogni tanto mi guardo i...more

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May 28, 2012 Bill Kerwin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 16th-17th-c-brit, stuart-drama

Simple yet profound, "The Tempest" is a heartbreakingly sincere piece of elaborate theatrical artifice. Shakespeare is a magician at the height of his powers, so accomplished at his craft that he can reveal the mechanisms of his most marvelous tricks and still astonish us.

This time through, I was struck by how closely references to language, freedom, power and transformation are bound up together, and how they all seem to point to some metaphysical resolution, even if they don't finally achieve...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Matthew Guerruckey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Alas, the storm is come again! My best way is to creep under his gaverdine: there is no other shelter hereabout. Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. I will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past."

The Tempest represents Shakespeare at the end of his career and the height of his powers. Shakespeare's grasp of emotion and motivation is part of what really sets him apart from the other writers of that era, and makes him, to modern eyes, centuries ahead of his time. Here, long b...more

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Feb 20, 2010 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars

One is tempted to ding this a smidge because of the astonishing speed with which Ferdinand and Miranda fall for each other (then again, she's never even seen a man other than papa). Then too, Prospero is such a fascinating character, the play is so beautifully structured and the use of spirits/magic so cool, that you gotta go all thumbs up. Then there's this: "The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance." How brilliant and prescient was this guy Willie S.?

addendum, post 2/19 brilliant perfr...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, british-literature, drama, read-2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 10, 2011 Manny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: why-not-call-it-poetry, life-is-shakespeare

I might as well admit I don't understand what it's about - it's still absolutely gorgeous to listen to. Here are my three favourite bits. Bronze goes to what's generally considered Shakespeare's farewell to the dramatic arts:

... Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

Silver to the following, surely on...more

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May 02, 2007 liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: readforwork

I first read this play on my own for a European History class, where I was expected to relate the themes to Europe's imperialism and colonies founded in the Indies. I thought it was interesting at the time, but I only really appreciated it after discussing it in a formal Shakespeare class. The main thing that I love about this play is that the line between fantasy and reality is blurred to the point where you're not sure what's being caused by magic and what's actually happening as an effect fro...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Annie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shakespeare, my dear, you are killing me.

I performed as Miranda in this play when I was in the fifth grade. I wish I had more memories of doing so, because how in God's name could we have staged this at an elementary school? Our (AWESOME) director must've cut the whole thing to shreds, because the entire first scene is elaborate and graphic swearing. The entire scene!!

So, I had already pondered this play somewhat, from a postcolonialist viewpoint (like you do). And I had already thought, well, C...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Brad rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: meta-review, fantasy

Harry Potter and the Tempest of Voldemort*
BY JK SHAKESPEARE

Act I, Scene ii

(VOLDEMORT and BELLATRIX in a musty, dusty English mansion in a state of disrepair.)

VOLDEMORT
Here cease more questions:
Thou art inclined to sleep; 'tis a good dulness,
And give it way: I know thou canst not choose.

(BELLATRIX sleeps)
Come away, servant, come. I am ready now.
Approach, my WORMTAIL, come.

(Enter WORMTAIL)

WORMTAIL
All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come
To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly,
To s...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Izzy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Disclaimer: Don't expect any type of intelligent shit to be written here. After studying it, I'm currently doing my best to block out its entirety. What is written here is some dumb-ass points about why it pissed me off. 'Nuf said.

Dissapointed! I was hoping this book would be as awesome as its name- c'mon "The Tempest" is an awesome title- but it was just a book full of uninteresting stuff. For Shakespeare's (arguably) last play he sure didn't go out with a bang in my opinion.

I gotta say, Calib...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Charles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: allegorical, fantasy, shakespeare, plays, classics

If I would have rated this play when I first read it, I would have given it four stars out of five. In time, after my second reading, I recognized the true beauty of this play, its true meaning and its true message. One of Shakespeare's most theatrical plays, which one should not make the mistake of comparing it to Shakespeare's historical plays, I believe.

Its theatrical nature may be owed to the fact that, in this case, Shakespeare employed to their full effect the dramatic unities (of time, p...more If I would have rated this play when I first read it, I would have given it four stars out of five. In time, after my second reading, I recognized the true beauty of this play, its true meaning and its true message. One of Shakespeare's most theatrical plays, which one should not make the mistake of comparing it to Shakespeare's historical plays, I believe.

Its theatrical nature may be owed to the fact that, in this case, Shakespeare employed to their full effect the dramatic unities (of time, place and action). Some believed that he was influenced by Ben Jonson in this regard, but for me it is of no matter. The fact is that the time span of this play is that of four hours, the place is Prospero's island and the poet aims in this case at one action alone. These rules, however, do not serve to hinder the action of the play; although it is simple. Concerned with the distinctions between the master and the servant (the 'master,colonizer,-servant,colonized native, dynamic') or the distinction between the temporary material wealth/possessions and mere illusions, 'The Tempest' departed from the basis and contexts of historical plays. It is indeed, one of the most unique, imaginative and graceful of Shakespeare's romantic dramas.

I brought up the unfamiliar distinction between the material and illusions in this play as ,I think, that one of the most beautiful lines is Prospero's prophecy:

"The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
the solemn temples, the great globe itself,
yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve"

This conforms to the famous saying that it does not matter whether a man conquers all the lands of the earth, as long as he does not manage to find the abstract beauty, and significance, in his own heart, and loses himself in the process (due to the inevitability if death). "We are such stuff as dreams are made on". The enchanted island matters not for Prospero, or its natural resources. He looked at its purpose as something more than just a 'sovereignty' over which he could govern undisturbed for the rest of his life. It only served the temporary purpose of supplying him with resources needed for daily life (logs and food etc). This contrasts with the aims of Gonzalo in establishing a permanent 'Utopian' sovereignty on the island: "I would with such perfection govern". However noble his plans for the island, as sceptical Stephano says, "Yet he would (still) be king on it". What I mean is that the island, for Prospero, was a place where he could enact his 'master plan'

I do not wish to go into the characters of Caliban and Ariel. All decent essays should contain a synopsis on the two fascinating characters. Nor do I wish to delve into the symbolic significance of many elements in the play (the tempest, Prospero's books...). This is very easy to find on the internet nowadays. I want to devote my last lines on my personal opinion of the play. First of all, I live in the island fortress of Malta, in the past considered to be a likely model of which this play was based upon. It makes no matter for me which island in the Mediterranean was the basis for Prospero's island, although I do believe that Malta remains a very strong contender. This play is also shorter than usual, but I think that this is of an advantage regarding the poetical aspects of the play, and its message. I have a huge fascination of Shakespeare's many historical plays, but there is something deeply profound in his romantic dramas, where imagination, like love, is 'free' (no historical contexts whatsoever).
Therefore, I have made a promise to myself that I will not compare the two.

There is a lot to be said about this play. There is a lot to say about any of Shakespeare's plays, granted. However, there is something about this play's 'magical' theatricality which I can only compare to 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', especially so because of the addition of the aspect of musicality (these 'mysterious noises' are one of the dominating concerns of this play) and the game of chess at the end. All in all, I am glad I reread 'The Tempest', I enjoyed it (maybe even understood it) better the second time.
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Jan 13, 2013 Nicola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have always been haunted by Ariel's sweet, cruel song, the famous "Full fathom five thy father lies...." Ugh/O!, those heavy, sinking "f's" and "th's," the vivid imagery that follows and the force of that phrase, "sea-change," that now even Beck sings about, and the harshness of breaking the spell of these words: Ding-dong. Shakespeare Man, it's kind of too amazing. But though these words have been with me for decades now, I haven't reread the play since high school and thought I should remedy...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Alison rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I much prefer The Tempest to many of Shakespeare's works. I'm not big on the plots involving misunderstandings, and I pretty much loathe the tritely humorous plays (I'm mostly thinking of Love's Labors Lost here, I'm afraid). I lived in Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and became desperately burned out on Shakespeare, but the one play that always sticks out for me as superlative, that continues to interest me even now, is The Tempest, largely because of the themes of mag...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Sabrina Tedpaogo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading The Tempest alongside thousands of pages of post-structuralist criticism, post-colonial criticism, ecocriticism, and several other criticisms, I've decided that critics simply need a place to regurgitate their hubris with fellow regurgitators. I've always known that art is subjective and no two spectators see the same spectacle, however I'm of the notion that whatever the artist intends his/her piece to put forth is indeed whatever the artist intends to put forth. Unfortunately whe...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Randy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This play shows up in what, 350 editions? This one is the Barnes and Noble Shakespeare, Gordon McMullan, editor. I have to say I'm more than a little partial to this edition. It does a pretty fair job of interpreting many otherwise unintelligible words and placing the story in historical context, sans intrusion. I like using the left-hand page for this detail, while making one-word clarifications in the right-hand gutter. There are brief essays in the first 39 pages that discuss the play, Shakes...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Megan Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’m going to work my way through all of the Shakespeare plays I haven’t read, and I’m glad The Tempest was the first in the giant book. I’ve always wanted to read it. It’s referenced in a lot of the books I read. One of my favorite books, Brave New World, even takes its title from it. And there happened to be five pages about the play in one of the other books I read this month (Empire Writes Back). So even if it was less than amazing, I’d be better off by understanding all the allusions to it.

B...more

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May 14, 2012 Rhett Ramirez added it · review of another edition

In Shakespeare’s the Tempest, William creates various mischievous scenarios created by a sorcerer Prospero. The play takes place on a remote island, where the characters cannot escape from, and are stuck to play out the destinies that Prospero creates. I think the main thing to understand and consider about this play, is that Shakespeare is reflecting himself and his own role through the character Prospero. Prospero creates story lines and issues within the characters that result in the rise to...more

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May 08, 2012 Marco Maniaci rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Tempest by William Shakespeare is a terribly outdated and written book. The only book that I feel should have any say or want to be read in modern days is the bible. Even the bible over the centuries has been translated to become more modern and understanding. Shakespeare’s text have stayed the same over the changing centuries and become more difficult as time advances. Trying to find something in common or relevant with this story as a college student is nearly impossible. The only part tha...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Garrett Zecker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is probably my fourth or fifth time reading this play. I was reading it for an audition that is today, and I am looking forward to the performance of it. The interesting thing about this text is that it is one of Shakespeare's last plays, and it is the last one that he had written on his own. It is also one of the few plays that he had written that has no real known source material that anyone can attach to it with any certainty. In terms of my opinion of it, it i a fantastical romance that...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Dallas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, while an exhausting piece to read, providing an interesting commentary that is all too familiar.
I feel that in the archetypes of man, the island is the perfect setting for the microcosm. To see life as it would be if rank and tradition were thrown out, to see how each man faired against each other on the equal playing field. It calls to mind to me the book “The Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. A novel some 300 hundred years later, still talking in the same ro...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Daniel Streit rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This play by Shakespeare follows the story of Prospero, the former Duke of Milan who is now stranded on an island with his daughter, Miranda, due to a massive storm, with Prospero to blame. Prospero plans a tempest that sends the ship carrying the King of Naples, his rival brother Antonio, and others, crashing on the shore of the island. With his spirit-servant Ariel's help, Prospero strives for revenge on those who mistreated him twelve years ago. The main plot of this play may be interpreted a...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Wendy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The Tempest." Just the title alone draws attention. Even before reading the play, the title alone conjured up multiple images in my mind. At first, I thought back to "Macbeth," where the Weird Sisters conjured up an evil storm that began ultimate destruction. I wondered what it was about storms that Shakespeare loved so much. When thought of in literary terms, a storm, usually tends to be associated with conflict, uneasiness, and turmoil. However, the tempest caused in this play is different as...more

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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been tr...more William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day. It is an interesting idea that English writer is so closely identified with the Patron Saint of England!

At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

According to historians, Shakespeare write 37 plays and 154 sonnets throughout the span of his life. Shakespeare's writing average was 1.5 plays a year since he first started writing in 1589. There have been plays and sonnets contributed to Shakespeare that were not authentically written by the great master of language and literature.
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Quotes from La Tempestad / The Tem...

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” — 2,171 people liked it

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.” — 300 people liked it

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