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The Tempest

William Shakespeare,

Paul Werstine (Editor),

David Lindley (Editor),

Israel Gollancz (Preface & Glossary),

Barbara A. Mowat (Editor)

3.81 · Rating details · 179,162 ratings · 4,466 reviews

Alternate Cover/publisher Edition ISBN 0743482832 (ISBN13: 9780743482837)

Each edition includes:
• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

• Scene-by-scene plot summaries

• A key to famous lines and phrases

• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

• An essa ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, Folger Shakespeare Library (UK/CAN), 218 pages

Published July 2004 by Washington Square Press (first published 1611)

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Mar 24, 2009 Madeline rated it liked it · 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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May 12, 2007 Bill Kerwin rated it it was amazing

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 it ...more

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Dec 21, 2017 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: shakespeare

****Spoiler alert. Which seems really funny to do with a play over 400 years old.****

”Our revels now are ended...These our actors,
As I fortold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air,
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which is inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind: we are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and

...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 17th-century, literature, fiction, poetry, plays, british

The Tempest, William Shakespeare

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–1611, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone.

It is set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation.

He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to cause his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso The Tempest, William Shakespeare

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–1611, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone.

It is set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation.

He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to cause his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to believe they are shipwrecked and marooned on the island.

There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio's lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: پنجم ژوئیه سال 1972میلادی؛

عنوان: طوفان؛ نویسنده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: ابراهیم یونسی؛ تهران، نشر اندیشه، 1351؛ چاپ دوم 1357؛ در 174ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، دادار، سماط، 1383؛ در 144ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، نگاه، 1393، در 157ص؛ شابک 9786003760110؛ موضوع نمایشنامه های نویسندگان بریتانیایی - سده 17م

مترجم: اسماعیل دولتشاهی؛ تهران، بدیع، 1374؛ ؛ در 248 ص؛

نمایشنامه در پنج پرده تدوین شده؛ و دارای شانزده شخصیت، و تعدادی سیاهی لشکر است؛

شخصیتها: «پروسپرو: دوک میلان، مردی دانشور، خردمند، آشنا به نجوم و فلسفه، پرهیزگار، و بعدها جادوگری بس نیرومند»؛ «میراندا: دختر دوک، هرگز چشمش به مردی جز پدرش نیفتاده‌، همچون مرواریدی بیرون از صدف است»؛ «فردیناند: پسر پادشاه ناپل، میراندا بجز برای او، برای مرد دیگری شوق و آرزو نداشت»؛ «آریل: روحی در فرمان پروسپرو، حیله گر، نشانه‌ ای از تردستی و قدرت پروسپرو در سحر و جادو، برای تسلط بر عناصر فرادست زمین، همچون: باد و تندر و آتش»؛ «کالیبان: برده و آلت دست پروسپرو، تخم ریز شیطان، و جادوگری در زمین، نقطه ی مقابل آریل، نشان قدرت پروسپرو در سحر و جادو، برای تسلط بر عناصر فرودست زمین همچون: خاک و آب»؛ «آلونسو: پادشاه ضعیف‌، و بی اراده ی ناپل»؛ «سباستین: برادر خائن پادشاه ناپل»؛ و «آنتونیو»؛ «گونزالو»؛ «ترینکولا»؛ «استفانو»؛ «آدریان»؛ «فرانسیسکو»؛ «آیرس»؛ «سیریس»؛ «ژونو»؛ «ناخدای کشتی»؛ «حوریان»؛ «پاروزنان»؛ و «ملوانان»؛

در جزیره‌ ای زیبا و افسونگر، در دریاهای مناطق گرمسیری، «پروسپرو» و دخترش «میراندا»، زندگی می‌کنند؛ دوازده سال پیشتر، «پروسپرو» حاکم دوک نشین «میلان» بوده است؛ ایشان در آن سال‌ها، شب و روز سرگرم، و مجذوب مطالعات، پیشگویی، و احضارِ ارواحِ مردگان بوده، و امور دولتی نیز، در دستان برادرش «آنتونیو» بوده؛ «آنتونیو»ی پلید، با زد و بند، و یاری «آلونسو، پادشاه ناپل»؛ رفته رفته دولت، و اموال «پروسپرو» را غصب کرده؛ و سرانجام او، و دختر خردسالش را، در قایقی بی بادبان، در دریا رها میسازد؛ آنچه جان آن دو را نجات میدهد، یاری پنهانی «گونزالو»، دوست خوب، و از مشاوران دیرین «پروسپرو» است؛ «گونزالو»، چون از نقشه خبر داشته، شب پیش از تبعید بی رحمانه ی دوک، دست به کار یاری رساندن شده، و افزون بر مهیا کردن وسایل لازم برای قایق، و ذخیره ی آب و خوراک، عصای سحرآمیز، و بسیاری از کتب خود، درباره ی سحر و جادو را نیز، برای دوک تبعید شده، میگذارد؛ دوک و فرزندش، پس از سرگردانی بسیار در میان امواج، عاقبت در جزیره‌ ای کوچک، و دور افتاده، که متعلق به «کالیبان»، بچه خوک بی مادر، و جادوگر شرور است، به ساحل میرسند. تلاش‌های فراوان «پروسپرو»، برای آدم کردن بچه دیو، بیهوده است؛ چون او به گونه‌ ای ارثی، ابلیس زاده و هیزم شکن است؛ افزون بر آن، برده ی خام و خشن، موجود دیگری نیز در آسمان جزیره، به خدمت «پروسپرو» درآمده: او «آریل» نام دارد، با روحی لطیف و دلپذیر، همچون بادهای آسمانی، و نقطه ی مقابل «کالیبان» زمینی و حیوانی است؛ اکنون سال‌ها بگذشته، «پروسپرو»، با دانش پیشین خود، و با خواندن کتاب‌های «گونزالو»، تبدیل به جادوگری چیره دست شده است؛ او از راه سحر و افسون آگاه می‌شود، که جمع دشمنان دیرینش، پس از عروسی شاهزاده خانم ناپل، برای خوشگذرانی، و دوران ماه عسل، با کشتی عازم همان جزیره هستند؛ «پروسپرو» به یاری «آریل»، طوفانی سهمناک برمیانگیزد؛ و کشتی آنان را غرق می‌کند، ولی تمام سرنشینان را به نحوی بر تخته پاره‌ های کشتی شکسته، به صورت گروه‌ های پراکنده، به سواحل جزیره می‌آورد.؛ و ...؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 05/10/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

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Jan 15, 2015 Sean Barrs rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, love-and-romance, plays, shakespeare, 5-star-reads, postcolonial

It’s so easy to judge Caliban based upon his actions and his violent speech, but he does have some real problems that cause them. He tried to rape Miranda. This is, of course, an absolutely terrible thing; however, does Caliban actually know this?

In his life he has only known two people prior to meeting Prospero and Miranda. The first person he knew of was his mother; she was the evil witch who raised him. This doesn’t sound like a fun childhood. The second person he knew was his mother’s slave ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 Leonard Gaya rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s last plays, and somehow he probably knew this as he was writing and producing it. While I was rereading this book for the umpteenth time, I realised how strongly this particular play goes over and wraps up all the thirty-five plays that came before it.

The plot is intricate, but could be summed up like so: Prospero lives on a remote island, deposed and exiled from his dukedom of Milan (as in King Lear, as in the Duke in As You Like It, or even the Duke in The T ...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Henry Avila rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

William Shakespeare's last play which he wrote every word of, the burnt-out but rich distinguished gentleman just wanted to go back to his little, quiet, pretty home town of Stratford-upon-Avon and relax, enjoy himself. After more than twenty strenuous, nevertheless productive years of writing for the stage, he needs the calm and leave noisy London, far, far, behind. Besides Shakespeare is pushing 50, old for the time (17th century ) his illustrious career unmatched, then or now... The Tempest s William Shakespeare's last play which he wrote every word of, the burnt-out but rich distinguished gentleman just wanted to go back to his little, quiet, pretty home town of Stratford-upon-Avon and relax, enjoy himself. After more than twenty strenuous, nevertheless productive years of writing for the stage, he needs the calm and leave noisy London, far, far, behind. Besides Shakespeare is pushing 50, old for the time (17th century ) his illustrious career unmatched, then or now... The Tempest story begins with a terrific storm that drives a ship carrying noblemen on the shore of an unnamed, small 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 the passengers and crews, believe the nobles vessel has sadly gone down, unable to survive the gigantic waves...still they were lucky returning, and had been to a very important wedding in Tunis North Africa, the royals think it's a deserted isle...not so. Prospero, a sorcerer rules this land but since only three "people" live there , his attractive young daughter Miranda and the deformed slave , son of a witch Caliban are the others, the kingdom's value is very limited indeed. Prospero a thinly disguised Shakespeare, has learned black magic from obscure, maybe evil books the former Duke of Milan, who was overthrown by his treacherous brother Antonio, with the help of the equally wicked King of Naples Alonso. He and his infant daughter had narrowly escaped death, the Duke was a bookworm, not the best way to govern, during those tumultuous days of constant wars ... Both Alonso and Antonio are not coincidentally shipwrecked on this land now, being 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 mighty sorcerer seek understandably sweet revenge? After twelve excruciating years, stuck on this miserable bleak place. Ferdinand the King's son meets Miranda age 15, she has only seen two men in her life Caliban, the primitive and the gentle Prospero. It's love at first sight, something is strange about their encounter the father seems happy over 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 the enigmatic Prospero wants peace and tranquility, to enjoy himself in his last fleeting days. One in Milan the other Stratford, since they are both the same man it doesn't matter... the "brief candle" goes out. ..The author believes, in the meantime that men (and women) should be kind to one another. Such passion from a gentleman if ever proof is required, the unparalleled genius of the Bard. ...more

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May 20, 2018 Kenny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: scripts, theatre, classics, favorites, brits, shakespeare, top-11, desert-island-books, magical-realism

"Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;"
Prospero, (Act IV, Scene i)

THE TEMPEST is my favorite of of all of William Shakespeare's works. THE TEMPEST is a marvel on several levels chiefly among them is the playwright's talent had not waned in all the years he had written for the stage. This is Shakespeare's farewell to the stage and to public life. It is brilliant.

My take on THE TEMPEST is quite different from many o ...more

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May 03, 2019 J.L. Sutton rated it it was amazing

William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is interesting on so many levels. I especially like how it looks at both the economic benefits of colonialism along with its much uglier side, namely, exploitation and racism. In the play, Prospero, as banished duke of Milan, has taken control of a small island and enslaved Caliban who Prospero sees as unfit to rule his native land. Shakespeare brilliantly captures this attitude of superiority toward the colonized. This is something that will have implications f William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is interesting on so many levels. I especially like how it looks at both the economic benefits of colonialism along with its much uglier side, namely, exploitation and racism. In the play, Prospero, as banished duke of Milan, has taken control of a small island and enslaved Caliban who Prospero sees as unfit to rule his native land. Shakespeare brilliantly captures this attitude of superiority toward the colonized. This is something that will have implications for hundreds of years as England and the other European powers vie for territory around the world. The other-worldly setting for The Tempest shows the mechanism of turning the colonized into the ‘other.’

Caliban is repeatedly referred to as a monster and called out for his lack of gratitude; civilization has been brought to him yet (for some reason) he isn’t thankful. Of course, these supposed benefits come with a cost: oppression, exploitation and all the other evils of ‘civilization.’ Prospero takes his ownership over the island a step further as he uses his magical abilities to exercise complete dominion over the entire island and its inhabitants. It is critical that, in the course of the play, Prospero struggles with his conscience and, in the end, gives up power (magic) and prepares to leave the stage:

“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.”

I’ve seen The Tempest performed two times, most memorably at Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Patrick Stewart played the aging but powerful enchanter, Prospero. Stewart really made Prospero’s moral struggle come alive. Shakespeare’s evocative language is, of course, on display in this play, but this play also shows how language can be used as a weapon of the colonizer. Thought to be the last play Shakespeare completed, The Tempest is also among his best and most relevant.
...more

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Feb 07, 2015 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: shakespeare, drama, favorites

"Your tale, Sir, would cure deafness!"

These words, spoken by the lovely character Miranda, listening to her father Prospero telling her of the political misfortunes of their previous life, apply to almost anything Shakespeare put on stage!

Whenever I try to review a favourite play by the Bard, I inevitably have to reread, to ponder, to think. What does this mean to me, at this moment in time? Why to I revisit this play - again? And why do I have to add to the countless words spoken on the words ...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Lyn rated it it was amazing

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

Believed to have been written in 1611, this may have been one of his last plays. The mature bard, he would have been 47 at this time and with only 5 more years left in this world, created in my humble opinion one of his finest plays.

“...and then, in dreaming, / The clouds methought would open and show riches / Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked / I cried to dream again.”

Telling the tale of shipwrecked Prospero, the sorcerer Duke of Milan, and his ...more

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Sep 05, 2016 James rated it liked it

Shelves: 4-written-pre-20th-century, 1-fiction

Book Review
3 of 5 stars to The Tempest, a play written around 1610 by William Shakespeare. Ever wonder where the word prosperous came from? Or did Shakespeare name the lead character in this play Prospero as a nod to the word prosperous? They are one in the same... sort of. Prospero's been cast off onto an island and wants to restore a life for his daughter. Thru trickery and imagination, he succeeds in a manner of speaking, and though it's a troubled path, he learns his lessons in t ...more

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May 14, 2015 Dolors rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Tell me what I want to hear

Recommended to Dolors by: One thing leads to another

Shelves: getting-to-know-shakespeare, read-in-2015

Shakespeare’s last play is a stroke of a genius. Defying categorization, The Tempest is the hybrid result of merging tragedy, comedy and fantasy that condenses The Bard's genius in the symbolical representation of the world through the demirugical elements of Greek mythology.
The setting takes place on an exotic island where Prospero and his astonishingly beautiful daughter Miranda have lived in exile for the last twelve years. Overthrown by his treacherous brother, Prospero has crowned himself r Shakespeare’s last play is a stroke of a genius. Defying categorization, The Tempest is the hybrid result of merging tragedy, comedy and fantasy that condenses The Bard's genius in the symbolical representation of the world through the demirugical elements of Greek mythology.
The setting takes place on an exotic island where Prospero and his astonishingly beautiful daughter Miranda have lived in exile for the last twelve years. Overthrown by his treacherous brother, Prospero has crowned himself ruler of the island making use of his supernatural powers and has usurped it from its native inhabitants, who are embodied in the slave Caliban. Aided by the spirit Ariel, who owes loyalty to Prospero; he invokes a turbulent storm that causes the vessel carrying his brother and his retinue to shipwreck on the reefs of his wild domains. A peculiar adventure ensues from destruction and loss and, almost as if by divine providence, the dead resurrect to be given a second chance in the realms of songs and imagination.

The moral process of the characters echoes the interconnectedness of the natural elements -earth, water, wind and fire- in the never-ending circle of life; pagan symbols coexist with Christian imagery, enhancing the procreative forces. With death comes rebirth, and also the generational replacement of the old being lost in the new. Prospero forgives and abandons his schemes for revenge, and as proof of his good will, he renounces to his magic, becoming the virtuous master that Montaigne celebrates in his essays and also a mere mortal who will be eroded by the inescapable passage of time. Thus, the emphasis is not in the promise of eternal life but in the transience of a fading world that continuously changes shape alternating reality and illusion.

Prospero’s benign treatment of his lifelong enemies contrasts with his brutish manners with Caliban, a fact that has been interpreted as an allegory of colonialism or even racial bigotry, but that would simplify the complexity of a play that brings the game of scenes and characters to the supreme limit of what words can express. Musical alliterations, rhymes and riddles infuse the language of this dreamland where the reader is torn between reason and mysticism. Words are the true “rough magic”, the “art” that rule in Prospero’s kingdom and in dropping them, the inevitable question arises: is Prospero’s resignation a metaphor for the playwright’s definite retirement and therefore, is the The Tempest a valedictory play as many critics and scholars have presumed?

An answer could be extracted from the Epilogue:

“Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. 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 pardoned be,
Let your indulgence set me free.”

The author begs for applause and appeals to the audience’s forbearance, for his aim was to entertain, and mimicking a religious prayer, he bids farewell and hopes that his masters will follow Prospero’s selfless deed and grant him freedom.

And we do, of course we do, but, as if by some magic spell, his presence is still hovering around, lurking in the corner of every page we turn, talking back at us and shaking his head, an indulgent smile on his lips, not very different from that of a father who has finally become resigned to the foibles of his children.
...more

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Jun 05, 2017 Sr3yas rated it really liked it

Shelves: play

"Your tale, sir, would cure deafness."

The first time I read Shakespeare was when I was around ten years old. I borrowed a collected edition of translated Shakespearian plays from my library just because I heard someone talk about him. I read around half a dozen of his famous plays like a pro.... and everything I read went over my head. There were merchants, betrayal, ghosts, blood, somebody's skull! What's happening?

But Tempest was an exception. My younger version loved that play bec ...more

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Oct 02, 2016 Michael Finocchiaro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, english-16th-c, theatre

This may be my favourite Shakespeare play with its multiple levels of meaning, its enigmatic characters and its driving plot. I remember discussing it for hours in high school and being amazed at how, 600 years later, the themes had still not been exhausted. To be re-read this year for sure!

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Apr 30, 2019 Lucy Langford rated it really liked it

With a bit of hard work and trying to understand the language- I actually enjoyed this one !

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Sep 23, 2017 Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ rated it really liked it

“Hell is empty, and all the devils are here!”

Because of Warner! <3

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May 04, 2017 sunny rated it liked it

Shelves: literal-garbage, boring-af, i-dont-get-the-hype, sick-of-this-bitch, endless-pain, cringe-romance, adult, romance

Well this was okay??

-
my funeral is in a month, i hope to see y'all there.

cause of death: reading this boring shit in class ...more

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Oct 31, 2016 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it really liked it

Shelves: bingo-2016, classics, poetry, fantasy

Prospero manipulates his daughter Miranda, the prince Ferdinand, his father (the King of Naples), Ariel, Caliban, and the rest of the cast! But in the end **spoiler warning here, if anyone actually needs it** he sets his slaves free and forgives those who've wronged (tried to murder) him, and also has some really excellent lines, so it's all good.

Review to come.

Initial comments: The "book from the 1600s" space is one of the last few that need to be filled in on my 2016 Classics Bingo card. I tri ...more

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Feb 25, 2010 Bram rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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 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.
...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Alex rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reading-through-history, 2011, rth-lifetime

This is the racist one. The Tempest is racist. Merchant of Venice is the anti-Semitic one, Titus Andronicus is the slasher one, Much Ado is the vagina one, this is the racist one. Caliban is a “Man of Ind,” the West Indies, where Columbus first set anchor, and he is

A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick: on whom my pains,
Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost!
And as with age his body uglier grows,
So his mind cankers.

Birmingham Royal Ballet gives him a snail shell, rad, ...more

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Nov 16, 2016 Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: play, classics

As part of the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, I needed to read a play and what better play to read than “The Tempest” having recently read and adored Margaret Atwood’s retelling in “Hag-Seed.” I have an even greater appreciation of “Hag-Seed” having read the original again. It had been more than twenty years since I’ve read Shakespeare. I found it simultaneously difficult to navigate the Old English and thematically extremely relevant to modern day. There is so much complexity within this brie As part of the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, I needed to read a play and what better play to read than “The Tempest” having recently read and adored Margaret Atwood’s retelling in “Hag-Seed.” I have an even greater appreciation of “Hag-Seed” having read the original again. It had been more than twenty years since I’ve read Shakespeare. I found it simultaneously difficult to navigate the Old English and thematically extremely relevant to modern day. There is so much complexity within this brief play, that it is no wonder that people study Shakespeare to such lengths!

This play takes place on an Island where the magician, Prospero, and his daughter Miranda have been living the last 12 years, since Prospero’s exile from his position as Duke of Milan. The only other person on the Island during this time is Calaban, son of the evil witch, Sycorax, who used to live there as well. Ariel is a fairy who does the bidding of Prospero. Calaban is also enslaved to Prospero, having attempted to rape Miranda. Prospero creates a tempest which bring his enemies by shipwreck to his Island. He scatters them across the Island such that Ferdinand the King’s son is separated from all others and will encounter Miranda, both falling in love with each other under Ariel’s spell. Gonzalo, Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian are landed together. During their time on the Island, Antonio and Sebastian plot against the king’s (Alonso’s) life, assuming that Ferdinand has perished. Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano develop an alliance that intends to murder Prospero, so that they can take over the island. Finally, all come together. Prospero, with urging from Ariel, forgives all and all is calm. Prospero, a thinly disguised Shakespeare, asks for applause to end his imprisonment.

There is much duality of humanity and the world represented within this play. Themes of good versus evil, magical vs earthly, land versus sea, honest versus dishonest, free versus imprisoned, sober versus drunk pervade this play. I loved the infusion of music, poetry and magic within this play. There is obvious brilliance to the themes and the structure of the play. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and found many unique characteristics setting it apart from some of Shakespeare’s other works that I’ve read. ...more

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Feb 19, 2009 Manny rated it really liked it

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

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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Feb 28, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it liked it

What was that?

I expected a long drawn out battle of mariners versus a violent sea. There's a few lines of sailors fighting a storm at the start and then the rest is played out on land. Ah, "played," there's the nub! For this is an early 17th century play meant for the stage. Not a likely time and place for a lavish production with a water tank, ship and wind machine, though that would've been hella cool. Some Shakespeareanophile tell me my envisioned production went down at least once back in th What was that?

I expected a long drawn out battle of mariners versus a violent sea. There's a few lines of sailors fighting a storm at the start and then the rest is played out on land. Ah, "played," there's the nub! For this is an early 17th century play meant for the stage. Not a likely time and place for a lavish production with a water tank, ship and wind machine, though that would've been hella cool. Some Shakespeareanophile tell me my envisioned production went down at least once back in the day, please!

Once I figured out I'd been duped, I still didn't know what was going on. The story felt muddled and frankly not particularly intriguing. Apparently an Italian duke is trying to trying to get revenge on those who ousted him by marrying off his daughter to one of the plotters. That I understood. To make this happen, magical spirits are prevailed upon. That I understood. But who was magical, who was human, who was in between, and what was everyone's motivation, that's where I got lost.

Didn't matter. By the midpoint I'd grasped enough to follow along and what I thought was going to be a 1 or 2 star catastrophe turned out to be a fairly enjoyable romp in a semi-fairy land...kind of a mix between Macbeth or Othello and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I listened to an audio version for this reading. I prefer to hear Shakespeare when I get the chance. I may have received a 4.0 in my Shakespeare class in college (a little more impressive than my 4.0 in my mountain hiking class), but that doesn't mean I understand half of what's being said. Put into context, the otherwise archaic phrases often will reveal their meaning.

The one thing that really perplexed me was that the actor playing Caliban, the monstrous humanoid creature stranded for years on the island, played him - as old timey, racist comedians (and Jon Stewart) would say - "Jewy". Think Alec Guinness' rendition of Fagin. Yeah, heavily over the top. Was Caliban Jewish? I thought his mom - the only person he was stranded on the island with - was a witch from Algiers. Now, I don't know from Algiers witches, but this? What is this? Oy vey...
...more

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Jun 11, 2015 Manuel Antão rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

On this re-reading I noticed that the word "brave" was used a few times in the movies that I watched (Taymor, 2010 & Jarman 1979).

I like this word. It generates a very good feeling in my heart. This word often makes me think of someone who has a quality to face something difficult with the strength of heart / mind / body... Does not take me much to feel a respect and admiration for this person...

I also come to know that the word "bra ...more

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Mar 31, 2020 Dennis rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.

This was the first time I read Shakespeare in English. I liked the play. But it was so immensely difficult for me to read that it wasn't exactly a lot of fun to do so. Hence the three star rating.

The Tempest is a tale of revenge and forgiveness, with some romance, as well as the occasional moments of poetry and comedy. Pretty enjoyable overall, if one is willing to put a bit of effort into reading it.

In my c ...more

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Jun 01, 2020 Emily B rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would and wish I read it much sooner. I love how different it is to the other Shakespeare plays i’ve read so far.

‘This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine’

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Apr 02, 2018 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: because-magic, isn-t-that-convenient, because-marriage, imported-from-britain, let-s-talk-about-slavery, the-gang-s-all-here, the-sea, change-of-pace, colonial-times, classics

Prospero, the rightful king of Milan, was overthrown by his brother Alonso and cast onto the open sea with his toddler daughter, Miranda. Alonso expected the two to drown, but by some fortune or providence they wash up safe on a distant island instead.

They find the island uninhabited save by the recently deceased witch Sycorax, her son Caliban (called “monstrous” in appearance, but never described in any concrete detail), and an “airy spirit” named Ariel who was trapped in a cloven pine by Sycor ...more

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Feb 10, 2018 Brian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“Let us not burden our remembrances with a heaviness that’s gone.”

"The Tempest" is Shakespeare's last great play, and in an oddly appropriate manner it is very different from much of his earlier efforts. Unlike most of Shakespeare's work, "The Tempest" seems to have come mostly from the Bard's own mind, and does not have source materials from which Shakespeare lifted the plot. Pulling from a few current events and bits and pieces of the literature of the day Shakespeare constructed a piece that “Let us not burden our remembrances with a heaviness that’s gone.”

"The Tempest" is Shakespeare's last great play, and in an oddly appropriate manner it is very different from much of his earlier efforts. Unlike most of Shakespeare's work, "The Tempest" seems to have come mostly from the Bard's own mind, and does not have source materials from which Shakespeare lifted the plot. Pulling from a few current events and bits and pieces of the literature of the day Shakespeare constructed a piece that takes place in less than one day.
The play takes the form of following three separate groups on an enchanted isle. A group of noblemen, which contains individuals who gained power through the usurpation of the rightful ruler, a comic duo who stumble about in drunkenness and plot evil deeds (the play's comic relief) and the "lord" of the island (Prospero) and his spirit world servants. The latter group shipwrecked the first two on the island on purpose. When the three plots converge in the final act of the text, Shakespeare gives the reader a satisfying conclusion, but one that still has shades of sadness and darkness to it. The famous epilogue of the play spoken by Prospero (Now my charms are all o'erthrown...) leaves the reader with a plethora of questions and emotions. This epilogue is one of the most beautiful pieces in the entire canon. And one of the most ambiguous.
It has become fashionable to make "The Tempest" a valedictory play for Shakespeare, and there are many moments in the text that can be read as Prospero speaking for Shakespeare. At the play's conclusion Prospero frees his trusty servant Ariel (some say his muse), acknowledges the half-human Caliban as "mine own" (some say his own dark nature) and gives up his magic powers (his talent). This is an appropriate reading, and a satisfying one for lovers of Shakespeare. Just be careful not to limit the text to just that interpretation.
I think the greater strength in the piece is its portrayal of the absolute humanity of forgiveness, and how lucky we as humans are to be able to practice it. The most poignant scene in Shakespeare begins at the beginning of Act V when Ariel tells Prospero that he would be moved to pity for the people that Prospero has entrapped on the island (with the plan of taking revenge) "were I human". This stunning declaration causes Prospero to recant his vengeful purposes, "the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance." A grown up Shakespeare has lived a life and seen the capacity for good that humanity can engender. It is hard to imagine the man who wrote "The Tempest" as the same man who wrote the revenge blood fest "Titus Andronicus" so many years earlier. A mature work, from a mature playwright!
The new RSC Modern Library editions of the plays of Shakespeare are a quality trade paperback edition of the works of the Bard. “The Tempest” in the series contains an engaging Introduction by Jonathan Bate. It explores some similarities between Shakespeare’s work and Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus” that I had never before considered. In addition, it engages the debate about the New Historicist reading of this play, a reading I have never favored.
This edition includes an essay on the performance history of the piece, and interviews with a prominent directors (Peter Brook, Sam Mendes and Rupert Goold). It will be of special interest to those who enjoy exploring the multitude of interpretations “The Tempest” lends itself to. The Modern Library edition also includes a scene-by-scene analysis, which can help point out an image or symbol you might have missed. The edition also includes a nice “Further Readings” list specifically for this play.
Frankly, all of the extra essays allow you to dive into the world of the play, and it is all included in one text.
The RSC Modern Library editions are a nice new trade paperback with worthwhile extras. They are a good addition to the editions of Shakespeare out there. These and the Pelican Shakespeare are my two favorites. ...more

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Nov 21, 2016 Puck rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, plays

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

The last time I read a Shakespearean play was in High School: not because I had to for class, but because the author gave a character in one of his plays my name (and oh joy: Puck the Fae was as small and twiggy as I was in my teens).
This time the bad autumn weather was the reason for me picking up Shakespeare again, and where Richard III and Macbeth are filled with dramatic tension, the Tempest surpris “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

The last time I read a Shakespearean play was in High School: not because I had to for class, but because the author gave a character in one of his plays my name (and oh joy: Puck the Fae was as small and twiggy as I was in my teens).
This time the bad autumn weather was the reason for me picking up Shakespeare again, and where Richard III and Macbeth are filled with dramatic tension, the Tempest surprised me by its humoristic situations and interesting themes.

The Tempest is a busy play: after a heavy storm (created by Prospero, magical man of mystery and the true duke of Naples) drops a boat packed with lots of characters on a tiny island, everyone sets out to reach their own goals.
Prospero wants to get revenge on his usurping brother and the Royal Court, Ferdinand wants to woo this girl he just met, Stephano and Trinculo want to get roaring drunk, and Caliban…Caliban and Ariel want to be free, god damnit! Being a (magical) slave for twelve years to an authoritarian, self-centered wizard is no one's idea of fun.

So many people, so many wishes: hilarious misunderstandings and sneaky schemes are bound to happen. Besides that this play has, as we know from Shakespeare, great characters, witty dialogues and wordplay, and some very interesting themes playing in the background. Themes such as betrayal, forgiveness, and the bond between master and slave.

Only look at the relationship between Ariel, Prospero, and Caliban. Prospero is the human master of the spirit Ariel and the ‘savage’ Caliban, but the last two behave more in a human manner than their master. And since Prospero loves to study so much and to teach his daughter, and the audience, about the important things in life, why doesn’t he educate his servants in the same way? Is it any wonder that Caliban and Ariel grow so bitter and rebellious?
The older this play gets, the more colonial or Darwinian interpretations of the Tempest come up, making this a fascinating play to discuss with your class, theatre friends, or reading group.

So while the Tempest isn’t as thoughtful or dramatic as Macbeth or Hamlet, the questions the play raises are serious enough. Still, those heavy questions never get the upper hand so that we can freely laugh about the adventures Prospero, Ferdinand, and Stephano get into.
Overal I'd give the play 3,5 stars, but since I enjoyed reading it so much, I round it up to 4. ...more

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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

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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 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.

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 wrote 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 attributed to Shakespeare that were not authentically written by the great master of language and literature.
...more