THE TEMPEST BY SHAKESPEARE - SUMMARY, THEME, CHARACTERS & SETTING

The Tempest

Prospero was the Duke of Milan, and had a brother named Antonio. Prospero was a deeply loved Duke, but unfortunately he naively put his trust in his brother Antonio. Prospero allowed Antonio to manage the kingdom for many years. But Antonio wanted more, and sought to kill Prospero to steal his kingdom and wealth.

Antonio decided to not kill Prospero, but to exile him. He did this with the help of Prospero’s arch-nemesis, Alonso, who was the King of Naples. Antonio took Prospero out to sea and then left him on a deserted island along with his daughter Miranda.

However, there was hope for Prospero. On the larger vessel that Prospero and Miranda were forced off of, Prospero had a loyal ally named Gonzalo. While he could do nothing to save the Duke, he could help him out. With that, he secretly placed in the boat some freshwater, food, clothes and books.

The island that they were cast off to was a magical island. For years, the island was under the spell of the now dead witch named Sycorax. She had imprisoned all the good spirits inside trunks of trees on the island. One of those spirits was Ariel.

This was an interesting opportunity for Prospero, since he was a great magician. It turns out that when Antonio was managing the kingdom, Prospero was devoted to the study of magic. He set out on the quest of freeing the spirits and was successful. He kept the spirits obedient to his will, but treated them relatively fairly. The one spirit he treated badly was named Caliban. He was the son of the wicked old witch. Caliban was also a vicious, horrible monster.

Many years later a boat carrying Antonio, Alonso, with Sebastian, his brother, and Ferdinand, his son, were at sea together with old Gonzalo, and their ship came near Prospero’s island. Prospero, knowing they were there, raised a great storm, and caused even the best sailors to give themselves up for lost. The first among them was Prince Ferdinand, who leaped into the sea first, followed by the rest of the crew. Ariel saved Ferdinand, and the rest were brought ashore by the strong waves. Hilariously, the ship was perfectly intact. It was anchored at the exact place where they had abandoned ship.

Prospero shows his daughter all of this. He also tells her her life story and how they came to be marooned on this island. Then, Prospero knocks Miranda out with magic as he has work to do with Ariel. Ariel wants to be set free from Prospero but Prospero reminds him of the gruelish fate he was saved from.

Prospero says that if Ariel does what he’s commanded, then he’ll be set free. Ariel goes to carry out Prospero’s commands and lures Ferdinand to Prospero with sweet music. Miranda and Ferdinand mutually fall in love. Prospero was delighted, but called Ferdinand a spy anyways. Prospero puts a charm on Ferdinand and makes him carry thousands of logs.
Miranda falls deeper in love with Ferdinand and would have helped him carry the logs, but she was forbade. Finally, Ferdinand is released from the spell. Even more, Prospero allows Ferdinand to marry Miranda!

Meanwhile, Antonio and Sebastian, in another part of the island, were plotting the murder of Alonso, the King of Naples. Since they thought Ferdinand was dead, Sebastian would succeed to the throne on Alonso’s death. And they would have carried out the murder but Ariel woke Alonso in time.

Ariel plays many tricks on the group, even tricking their eyes into seeing a banquet. Just before they can eat, Ariel snatches it away. Ariel criticizes them for their sins and then vanishes himself.

Then, Prospero summons them to his side of the island. When they arrive, they are all trembling and afraid. They’re deeply sorry for the sins that they’ve committed.

Then, Prospero breaks his staff and throws his magical book into the ocean. He goes on to tell the three about the extremely difficult life he and Miranda have had on that island.

Alonso, the King of Naples, was the most distraught and sorry of them all. He was so sorry because he believed he had lost his dear son, Ferdinand. But, Prospero pulled back a curtain that revealed Miranda and Ferdinand happily playing chess. Alonso was overwhelmed and cried out “Give me your hands, let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart that doth not wish you joy.”

But, to everyone's surprise, everything ended happily. The ship was safe in the harbor, and the next day they all set sail for Naples, where Ferdinand and Miranda were to be married. Ariel gave them calm seas and good winds. The wedding itself was joyous and lovely.

Summary too long...

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[Noahskaterat]

2:22 Ferdinand came thru drippin in 21st century swag

[drunknhamster]

why does everyone look like Ferb from Phineas and Ferb?

[aderesthompson]

The story is short but the book is thick

[myflymkultra]

Got an essay due in less than 5 hours, here we go boys

[garryfield]

Let's be honest, we are all here just for homework 😂

[SorcererLord]

Caliban wasn't a spirit though, he was Sycorax's son and entirely of flesh and blood.

[Jewel]

The name 'The Tempest' had made me think it would end in tragedy and vengeance.

[anungikwe]

If Caliban is a visious, horrible monster, then why does he look like Barney.
Never mind.

[riannelore]

If it wasn’t for school, I wouldn’t even have been here. 💀💀💀

[WooshMagoosh]

There were a few errors, but what really sets your telling apart is discussing everything in order.
So many others start with the tempest crashing the ship, then juggling timeline stuff, but you told the full timeline in a straightforward, easy way to digest.

[baibhavibanerjee]

This is way better than reading 15 chapters just before my exam lol thanks

[williamtura]

man why the hell would you leave caliban almost completley out of this???? he's like the most important character in the play

[Mollymae-ly]

I am the only one who came here because I don't want to read the whole tempest

[ishmaelforester]

Shakespeare had become an awakened one. The Tempest is his last play and ultimate masterpiece and every line is coherent multidimensional symbolism. All the universe is there. You don't learn that strictly in any school.

[poulamibanerjee]

Antonio didn't leave Prospero and Miranda in an island but threw them out of the kingdom. It was Gonzalo who gave them a boat, some clothes and some of Prospero's books. After that they floated to the island.

[ashleyfaith]

Have 3 essays to write for a 2 hour exam tmrrw :)

[nugget]

almost the entire comment section belongs on the r/iamverysmart subreddit

[BlueCircle]

Miranda and Ferdinand rocking casuals.

[yonelasakati]

You need to get your facts straight though, there were several errors. It was as if you haven't read the play or seen it performed.