Jonathan Yam
A captain, boatswain and sailors are trying to save their ship from a terrible storm. A number of noblemen shout at them: Antonio and Sebastian swear at them but Gonzalo is cheerful. The ship appears to be sinking, and those on board prepare for the worst
We are surprised to learn from Miranda, that her father, Prospero, is responsible for the storm. He says he has important information which he has never told her till now. Twelve years ago he was not a poor man living on an island, but the Duke of Milan, and Miranda was a princess. Because he loved to study, he spent all of his time in his library, trusting his brother, Antonio, to rule as his deputy. Treacherously, Antonio plotted against him, with help from Alonso, the powerful King of Naples. One night, Prospero and Miranda were seized, taken out to sea, and set adrift in an open boat. Gonzalo, a servant of Alonso, was in charge of the operation, but made sure that the boat contained food, drink and Prospero's magic books.
On the island he found Ariel, an airy spirit, imprisoned in a tree, where the evil witch Sycorax had left him. Ariel was set free by Prospero's magic, and became his servant, for a time which is almost up; Caliban, the son of Sycorax, an ugly and monstrous creature, was befriended by Prospero, who taught him how to talk, but when he tried to rape Miranda, Prospero made him a slave, to chop wood and do other odd jobs. All this has happened before the start of the play; having Prospero tell Miranda, means Shakespeare does not have to show it on stage. He knows the scene may be a little boring, but he has caught our attention with the explosive opening, and saved time which might be taken up in later explanations!
Prospero causes Miranda to sleep before he speaks to Ariel. Having made the storm, Ariel has split up the survivors from the ship into several groups. He is now sent to bring Ferdinand, Alonso's son, to Prospero's island. He thinks he is the only survivor and that his father is drowned. Miranda has seen no man other than her father, and believes Ferdinand is a spirit; he thinks she is a goddess, and is amazed that she speaks his language. They fall in love, but Prospero is rude to Ferdinand, calls him a spy, and uses his magic to make him a prisoner.
On another part of the island, Alonso is sad because he thinks his son Ferdinand has drowned. Gonzalo tries to comfort him. But Sebastian and Antonio blame him. We learn that the reason for the voyage was the wedding in Tunis of Claribel, Alonso's daughter. On the way back from the wedding, the ship was struck by the tempest. The invisible Ariel plays music which lulls to sleep everyone except Sebastian, and Antonio, who now persuades him that, since Ferdinand is drowned and Claribel is in Tunis, they should kill Alonso, so that Sebastian can become king. Antonio ...
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On another part of the island, Alonso is sad because he thinks his son Ferdinand has drowned. Gonzalo tries to comfort him. But Sebastian and Antonio blame him. We learn that the reason for the voyage was the wedding in Tunis of Claribel, Alonso's daughter. On the way back from the wedding, the ship was struck by the tempest. The invisible Ariel plays music which lulls to sleep everyone except Sebastian, and Antonio, who now persuades him that, since Ferdinand is drowned and Claribel is in Tunis, they should kill Alonso, so that Sebastian can become king. Antonio believes he can control the weak Sebastian more easily than Alonso. But just as they are about to strike, Ariel wakes the sleepers, and the guilty pair have to explain why their swords are drawn.
On yet another part of the island, Caliban, gathering firewood, sees Trinculo, Alonso's jester, and thinks this is a spirit, come to punish him, so he hides under his coat. Trinculo, fearing a rainstorm, joins Caliban under this same garment. Stephano, Alonso's drunken butler, thinks he has found a monster with a head and pair of feet at each end! But Trinculo recognizes Stephano's voice and greets him. Caliban is given strong drink by Stephano, and at once decides to worship him, and desert Prospero.
To test Ferdinand, Prospero has ordered him to pile up logs. Miranda tries to help but he will not allow it. She tells him her name, and he asks her to marry him. Prospero, watching unseen, is overjoyed.
Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban are all very drunk. Caliban tells them of Prospero, and they decide to kill him; Stephano is to be king of the island and marry Miranda. Ariel, watching, speaks in Trinculo's voice and makes the others argument with him. When the invisible Ariel causes music to appear from nowhere, the two men are terrified; but Caliban, in an unusually beautiful speech, tells them not to be afraid, because the isle "is full of noises". They go off, to do their worst.
Tired of looking for Ferdinand, Alonso and his group sit down to rest. Prospero and Ariel cause the spirits of the island to appear in strange shapes and prepare a banquet. The hungry men are at first frightened but then decide to try the food out. As soon as they do this, Ariel appears like a nasty monster, the food disappears, and Ariel charges the "three men of sin" of their crimes against Prospero and his innocent child. They learn that they will suffer a slow death on the island unless they are truly sorry and live in a clear life in future. Alonso admits his guilt but the other two remain challenge.
Prospero tells Ferdinand that his punishment was only meant as a test. He gives him Miranda's hand in marriage, but tells him they must not make love until the ceremony takes place. As a gift for their engagement he makes the spirits perform a masque. When this is almost done, Prospero, remembering what Ariel has told him about Caliban's plot, becomes impassionate. He reassures Ferdinand, who leaves with Miranda, and he waits for the plotters. Ariel has led them on a wild goose chase, ending up in a smelly pool. He has left some colorful, but cheap, clothes hanging on a line; Caliban knows these are worthless but the two men think it is fine clothing and start to try it on. Immediately, they are attacked by the spirits, in the form of dogs, and run away from their barking.
Prospero now has Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian in his power. He has them jail, in a trance, in a magic circle. He releases them from the spell and slowly they recover their senses. He has put on his Duke's clothing, and wears his sword, and he promises Ariel that he will soon be free. When the men wake, they recognize Prospero but are amazed to see him in this strange place. Alonso is deeply ashamed, Gonzalo is overjoyed that Prospero is alive, while Antonio is still challenge. Caliban and his fellow plotters have to clean out Prospero's cell. The Captain and Boatswain bring news that the ship is safe, and all prepare for the return to Naples, for the wedding of Ferdinand to Miranda, save for Ariel, who is given his freedom, and Caliban, who will stay on the island.
The structure of the play in acts
In the first act we discover who the principal characters are, and why Prospero has created the storm. We see Ferdinand led to his cell, but may not understand Prospero's treatment of him.
In Acts II and III we see how three groups of characters pursue their own agendas, under Prospero's and Ariel's scrutiny: while Alonso is penitent and Gonzalo supportive, Antonio and Sebastian plot their murder; a comic parallel to this appears in the drunken plotting of Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban, and, finally, Ferdinand passes the test which Prospero has set for him.
In Act IV the masque provides both a spectacular interlude and comment on proceedings, which is amplified by Prospero's explanation, and we see the defeat of the drunken man.
Act V shows us Prospero entirely in command, with all his enemies at his mercy; having overcome the "tempest" in his own mind, he forgives the offenders and is settle to Alonso, who rejoices to find his son alive and betrothed to Miranda.
The characters & relationships of the play
In most of Shakespeare's plays I thought metaphor and simile abound so much that it is impossible to comment generally without either writing at length and without coherence, or missing out much of importance. The Tempest is unusual, in that formal comparisons are more sparing than elsewhere. It is unusual in another sense, too. In this play a number of ideas are expressed in terms which recur, alone or in compounds, as well as being, in the world of the play, directly present.
It can easily be seen that Shakespeare moves from an idea of justice and balance in nature, to an idea of a world composed of the four elements, to which reference is repeatedly made in the play.
Caliban and Sycorax are associated with the earth, a word which appears ten times in the play and various characters express affection for the land. Gonzalo asks in I, i for just an "acre of barren ground" and in II, I, he, Antonio and Sebastian discuss the ground of the island.
Ariel is of course an inhabitant of the air, while the storm he raises makes the ship "all afire" with him as he flames "amazement", and flames "distinctly" with "Jove's lightnings" and "the fire and cracks/Of sulphurous roaring".
But the most important element, by far, is water - in this play, the sea. It appears repeatedly in compounds and thirty times in all in dialogue, apart from other references to it. The essential justice of the natural universe is stated in the condemnation of the "three men of sin", where we learn that "the powers delaying, not forgetting" have incensed the seas against the offenders: the sea is the agent, in this play, of change, justice and redemption. Ferdinand sees this as he recovers his seeming drowned father: "Though the seas threaten, they are merciful".
Among the other poetic images in the play, several are notable as they come again. There is an interest in clothes, which leads to such things as Ariel's marvelous cleaning of the nobles clothes; Trinculo's sheltering under Caliban's gabardine; Prospero's use of the "trumpery" as "stale to catch...thieves", and Prospero's discussing and presenting himself as he was "sometime Milan". This idea is picked up as poetic image by Antonio told by Sebastian that he recalls his usurping the Milanese throne, he tells him to "look how well" his "garments sit upon" him, "Much featter than before". Like Stephano and Trinculo, he sees the office he unjustly holds, in terms of wearing the robes it brings with it.
There are various references to swallowing and regurgitation. In II, i, Alonso asks "what strange fish" has "made a meal on" his "heir", while Antonio says that he and his fellows have been "sea-swallowed" but some "cast again". We see plenty of swallowing of liquor in II, ii and III, ii, and Stephano notes that his "stomach is not constant", while in III, iii, a banquet is prepared, but miraculously taken away before it can be eaten.
Music is a reality of life on the island, but also provides us with poetic images on occasion. The most notable of these is Prospero's description of his brother as having the "key of officer and office" so he was able to "set all hearts i' the state/To what tune pleased his ear". In I, ii, it is the music which allays the waters' "fury" and Ferdinand's "passion/With its sweet air", while the same idea recurs in V, I, where Prospero invokes a "solemn air...the best comforter to an unsettled fancy" to "cure" the "useless" brains of his former enemies. Of course, the ambiguous "air" connects the music, usually performed by Ariel, with the element he inhabits and of which he, being "but air", is formed. This in turn leads to a scheme, not unlike that of the four living humors, whereby passion is subdued by the gentle influence of music.