Context
- The Tempest was probably written in 1610–1611 and was first performed by the King’s Men in the fall of 1611.
- The Tempest is most likely the last play written entirely by Shakespeare, and it is remarkable for being one of only two plays by
Shakespeare whose plot is entirely original. - Because of its theme of a great magician giving up his art, some scholars believe that The Tempest is Shakespeare’s farewell to the stage.
Major Characters
- Prospero – The play’s protagonist, and father of Miranda. Prospero was the Duke of Milan twelve years before the events of the play.
- Miranda – The 15-year old daughter of Prospero, Miranda is naïve and passive, and absolutely loyal to her father.
- Ariel – Prospero’s airy and mischievous spirit helper of ambiguous gender and identity.
- Caliban – Another one of Prospero’s servants, Caliban is a dark monster-like slave borne of a witch-hag. He is the only authentic native of the island.
Minor Characters
- Alonso – King of Naples and father of Ferdinand.
- Ferdinand – Only son and heir of Alonso, a brave and handsome prince.
- Sebastian – Alonso’s treacherous brother.
- Antonio – Prospero’s younger brother, the play’s main villain.
- Minor Characters
- Gonzalo – An old lord loyal to Prospero and Miranda.
- Trinculo & Stefano – A jester and butler duo that serve as comic foils.
- Boatswain – An gruff sailor in charge of the ship’s crew.
- Iris, Ceres, Juno – Prospero’s spirit helpers.
Minor Character Contrasts
- Categorizing The Tempest
- While The Tempest was originally listed as a Comedy by Shakespeare, recent scholars have chosen to give it the more adequate label of Tragicomedy.
- Tragicomedy refers to works that blend aspects of both tragedy and comedy into one hybrid genre.
- In a typical tragicomedy, the action moves towards catastrophe like a tragedy, but fortunate events or actions intervene to bring about a happy ending.
Form & Structure
- The ancient Greek Laws of Drama, the three unities, were the Law of Time, Place, and Action.
- Law of Time: the four hours on stage should correspond to the length of time in actual action.
- Law of Place: all events must occur in one place.
- Law of Action: nothing must be presented to take attention away from the subject presented, such as secondary plots.
- Unlike many of Shakespeare’s other works, The Tempest is unique in the fact that it does follow these rules: the entire play occurs in one day, in one location, with a focus on one major plotline.
The Tempest’s Setting
- Almost all of The Tempest takes place on a remote magical island where Prospero and Miranda have lived for the past twelve years.
- Prospero, once Duke of Milan, was overthrown by his younger brother Antonio. Antonio then cast Prospero and Miranda out to sea, which brought them to this island by “providence divine”.
A Tempest in Bermuda
- It is believed that The Tempest was inspired by a series of pamphlets concerning the survival of some mariners in the Bermuda Islands after a tempest in 1609.
- The Bermudas were popularly thought to be inhabited by demons and fairies, and this sparked Shakespeare’s imagination for the creation of the play.
Message in a Bottle
- Literature written since The Tempest that also uses the deserted island setting includes Robinson Crusoe, The Swiss Family Robinson, and Lord of the Flies.
- Also, the theme of being stranded on a deserted island has inspired films, such as Cast Away, and TV series, like Lost and the comedy Gilligan’s Island. It is also the driving force behind reality show originator Survivor.
- Real Castaways
- Within a span of a few years, real-life castaways were reduced to an extremely primitive condition of living, and sometimes lost the knowledge of speech.
- After two years of solitude on Mauritius (an island nation off the coast of Africa), one Frenchman survived on a diet of nothing but raw turtles.
- Left alone on the island of Saint Helena (an island of volcanic origin and in the South Atlantic Ocean) as punishment, a Dutch seaman fell into such despair that he dug up the body of a buried comrade and set out to sea in the coffin.
- Another castaway, the Spaniard Pedro Serrano, was rescued after seven years of solitude.
“If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 items would you bring with you?”
Topics/ Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work
- Nature and Civilization
- Forgiveness and Repentance
- Chastity and Desire
- Knowledge and Order
- Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures and contrasts that help develop the text’s major themes. - Masters and Servants
- Water and Drowning
- Mysterious Noises
- Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas. - The Tempest (storm)
- The Game of Chess
- Prospero’s Books
