The Tempest
The characters in the play:
Prospero, the right Duke of Milan
Antonio, his brother, the usurping Duke of Milan
Miranda, daughter of Prospero
Ariel, an airy spirit
Iris, a goddess in the masque
Ceres, a goddess in the masque
Juno, a goddess in the masque
ymphs, characters in the masque
Reapers, characters in the masque
Caliban, a savage and deformed slave
Alonso, king of Naples
Sebastian, his brother
Ferdinand, son of the king of Naples
Gonzalo, an honest old councillor
Adrian, a lord
Francisco, a lord
Stephano, a drunken butler
Trinculo, a jester
Boatswain
Master
Mariners
The Tempest
Act I
Scene I
(At sea, near an island)
The play opens in the sea. A ship is fighting against the rough
waves and the strong wind. Finally they cannot avoid the
shipwreck, the ship strikes the rocks of the island, and some of the
travellers jump overboard to gain the shore.
Brief scene, full of dramatic force.
The scene provides a realistic prelude to the strange actions which
take place in the rest of the play.
Control of information
Grouping of characters: those belonging to the royal party and
those belonging to the ship: the master, the boatswain, the
mariners.
Scene 2
(On the island, by Prospero’s cell)
Prospero tells Miranda the story of their lives and that he has
raised the storm, but nobody perished.
Main themes: Prospero as the model of the humanist, the role of
the king.
Ariel has dispersed the travellers into groups. Ferdinand is alone
and, searching his father the king, he arrives to Prospero’s cell,
where he meets Miranda.
The Tempest
Act II
Scene I
(In a forest glade in another part of the island: Alonso, Sebastian,
Antonio, Gonzalo, Adrian, Francisco).
King Alonso is quite depressed as he cannot find his son
Ferdinand and he thinks that he is dead. Gonzalo tries to console
the King and he tells he would establish a commonwealth there in
the island if it were his. All fall sleep, except Antonio and
Sebastian and this is the beginning of the first conspiracy:
Antonio convinces Sebastian of killing Alonso and Gonzalo,
because doing so, Sebastian would be the new king of Naples, but
when they are about to do it, Ariel made Alonso and Gonzalo
awake, and so the conspiracy is not successful.
Scene II
(Somewhere in the island: Caliban, Trinculo, Stephano)
Caliban is there fetching some wood for Prospero, and he hides
under his cloak when he sees a man coming. This is Trinculo,
who discovers Caliban and thinks about the possibility of making
money with him. He is quite afraid of the storm, and he hides
under Caliban’s cloak. Stephano arrives and sees the cloak with
the four legs and four arms. Finally, Caliban is full of admiration
towards Stephano, and he wants him to be his new master.
The Tempest
Act III
Scene I
(By Prospero’s cell)
Ferdinand, Miranda, Prospero.
Ferdinand and Miranda confess their love for each other and
promise to get married as soon as they can.
Prospero is pleased that such a deep love has developed between
them.
Themes of love, marriage and virginity.
Scene II
(Somewhere in the island)
Caliban, Stephano, Trinculo
The comic subplot combines serious and comic elements.
The second conspiracy: Caliban encourages Stephano to kill
Prospero and then take over control on the island.
Scene III
(Somewhere in the island)
Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, Antonio and the rest.
Some spirits, following Prospero’s orders, spread a feast out in
front of the hungry men. When they try to eat, Ariel appears
dressed as a harpy and reminds them of their cruelty to Prospero
and Miranda.
Alonso is filled with grief, but this is not the case of Antonio and
Sebastian.
The Tempest
Act IV
Scene I
(By Prospero’s cell)
Ferdinand, Miranda, Prospero.
Prospero agrees to allow Ferdinand to marry Miranda, and to
celebrate it he organises a masque which is performed by spirits
under the direction of Ariel
Masque
Iris
Juno
Ceres
Naiads
Reapers
.
Themes of love, marriage and virginity.
Prospero’s speech: the transitoriness of life.
The masque comes to an end, because Prospero has to deal with
the three conspirators who are approaching his cell.
Ariel is told to bring out some of Prospero’s rich looking
garments because they may distract the plotters from their original
goal. And it happens so. Caliban tries to tell them that the
garments are merely trash and that their sole concern should be
the murder of Prospero. Finally they are chased by a group of
hounds.
The Tempest
Act V
Scene I
(By Prospero’s cell)
Prospero and Ariel, then the royal party, and the rest of the
characters.
Prospero reveals to Alonso and his royal party that he is alive.
Alonso resigns the dukedom of Milan and bids to be forgiven.
Alonso sees that Ferdinand is alive and that he has promised to
marry Miranda.
The boatswain and the master arrive to Prospero’s cell and say
that the royal ship was ready to sail back to Naples.
Finally Stephano discovers that Alonso is alive, and so his plans
to be the king of the island vanish.
Epilogue
Themes: forgiveness, reconciliation, legitimacy.