The Tempest By William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) Essays - Operas

The Tempest by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) The Tempest by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) Type of Work: Romantic fantasy Setting A remote island; fifteenth century Principal Characters Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, cast away on an island in the sea Miranda, his beautiful daughter Alonso, King of Naples Ferdinand, Alonso's son Antonio, Prospero's wicked brother, and false Duke of Milan Sebastian, Alonso's brother Gonzalo, a kind philosopher Trinculo and Stephano, two drunken courtiers Ariel, Prospero's spirit servant Caliban, Propero's grotesque slave-monster Story Overveiw A great tempest arose that drove a certain ship, bound to Naples from Tunis, off its course and onto an uncharted island. The storm had been magically called up by Prospero, one of the two human inhabitants of the island, in order to bring the vessel to shore. Prospero had once been the mighty Duke of Milan, and had reigned justly. But he had grown so absorbed in his intellectual pursuits - most o them relating to the supernatural - that he turned over the tedious reins of government to his "trusted" brother Antonio, freeing himself to devote his time to the library and the studies he loved. But, sadly, his ambitious brother, taking advantage of Prospero's naivete, usurped his power - a plan he was only able to carry out with the help of Alonso, the King of Naples and sworn enemy of Milan. Antonio and Alonso cruelly captured Prospero and his infant daughter Miranda, and set them adrift at sea in a small, rotting craft. They would have been drowned - Antonio's wish had not a counselor on the ship, Gonzalo, provided them with food and drink, and with those volumes from Prospero's collection that contained his magic spells. When Prospero and Miranda washed ashore on their remote island, they found two rather unusual inhabitants. The first was a fairy spirit named Ariel, who had been imprisoned within a tree by her former master, a witch named Sycorax. Prospero freed Ariel from the tree and thus became her new master. The other creature, Caliban, son of Sycorax, was a lumbering, deformed, half-savage figure. He hated Prospero - and everyone and everything else, for that matter - but was also forced to acknowledge him as master. For twelve years Prospero had kindly ruled over the other three islanders, all the while practicing a form of benevolent sorcery. Why, then, did Prospero incite the elements to cause this ship to be tossed aground on his island? Because he knew, as it turned out, that the ship bore the very people who had usurped him ofhispowersomaiiyyearsbefore Antonio, Alonso, and their courtiers. The kind, wise Gonzalo was also aboard, along with Ferdinand, Alonso's honorable son. Prospero's plan was to magically scatter the passengers about the island in three groups, put them through a series of trials and adventures by which the bad would be chastised and the good rewarded, and then bring them all together to make peace once and for all. Alonso, together with Antonio, Sebastian, Gonzalo, and others, found themselves together on the beach. They were astonished to discover that not only had they survived the shipwreck, but that their clothes were clean, dry and pressed (one of Prospero's many bits of magic). However, Alonso did not see Ferdinand among the survivors, and supposing his son had drowned, cried out in grief. Still the good-hearted counselor, old Gonzalo tried to cheer the distraught Alonso, but Sebastian joined Antonio in mocking his efforts at optimism. At this time, the invisible Ariel came on the scene. By playing her tilting music she caused a deep sleep to come upon everyone except Sebastian and Antonio. The situation prompted Antonio to tempt Sebastian with a proposition: , My strong imagination sees a crown dropping upon thy head," he began. He went on to say, in effect, "You remember how simple it was for me to seize the entire rule of Milan by overthrowing my brother? Well, by killing your brother Alonso as he sleeps, you could become King of Naples. No one would ever know how you ascended to the thronc." Sebastian succumbed to the temptation, and was just about to strike off his brother's head when Ariel awakened the company. Antonio's plot had been frustrated. As the men tramped awkwardly around the island in hopes of finding Ferdinand alive, Sebastian and Antonio looked forward to a second opportunity to murder Alonso. But suddenly the group was beset by a miraculous vision, sent by Prospero: a numerous troupe of fairies and sprites, dancing about a table laden with rich foods. The hungry company, invited to eat, was just about to partake, when suddenly lightning , struck and thunder rolled; Ariel appeared in the