The Tempest
by: William Shakespeare
The Last Play
Called a tragicomedy – elements of
tragedy and comedy
 A far-fetched fantasy with multiple subplots
 A fairy tale with elements of magic, good
and bad characters, love, miraculous
incidents, charms and fairies.

Main Characters
Prospero, the rightful duke of Milan
 Miranda, his daughter
 Caliban, savage and deformed – their slave
 Ariel, a spirit (male)


These people are on an island in the Mediterranean Sea
Main Characters









Alonso, king of Naples
Sebastian, his brother
Gonzalo, an honest, old counselor
Ferdinand, son of the king
Antonio, Prospero’s brother, the usurping duke
Trinculo, a jester
Stephano, a drunken butler
Adrian, Francisco - lords
These people are on a boat which crashes onto
Prospero’s island
Political Positions
Renaissance Italy was made up of many
city-states vying for control over each
other
 Milan and Naples were city-states
 Antonio agrees to give control of Milan to
Naples if the King will help him gain the
dukedom

Magic
Magic was very controversial during this
time period
 Prospero is described as a rational magician
in contrast to Sycorax who was an occultist
– his was based on science and hers on
black magic ideas
 Prospero uses Ariel, a spirit, to help him
control nature and people
 Prospero also has magic books and a cloak

Setting
The Tempest takes place on an island in
the Mediterranean
 Supposedly, Shakespeare got his idea
when he read about a shipwreck near
Bermuda
 There are some references to the
Bermudas and the ideas of the new world

References to mythology
Harpy – half woman/half bird
 Phoenix – bird who could rise from its own
ashes

Ceres
 Iris
 Juno

Goddesses
Masque
A form of entertainment
 Dancing, music, elaborate costumes

Themes
Forgive and Forget/Revenge
 Repentance
 Exploration of a new world
 Friendship
 Relationships
 Love

Shakespeare’s Farewell
Epilogue is famously referred to as
Shakespeare’s farewell
 Spoken by Prospero as a “magician” who
is giving up his “magic” – seen as
Shakespeare giving up his writing
