Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano are chased off into the swamps by goblins in the shape of hounds.

The masque is suddenly interrupted when Prospero realizes he had forgotten the plot against his life. The masque will also instruct the young couple on marriage, and on the value of chastity until then. The masque will feature classical goddesses, Juno, Ceres, and Iris, and will bless and celebrate the betrothal. Prospero intends that Miranda, now aged 15, will marry Ferdinand, and he instructs Ariel to bring some other spirits and produce a masque. The ship's captain and boatswain who, along with the other sailors, are asleep until the final act.Later, Ariel, in the guise of a Harpy, confronts the three nobles (Antonio, Alonso and Sebastian), causing them to flee in guilt for their crimes against Prospero and each other. Antonio and Sebastian conspire to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so Sebastian can become King at Prospero's command Ariel thwarts this conspiracy. Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and two attendant lords (Adrian and Francisco).These three will raise an unsuccessful coup against Prospero, acting as the play's 'comic relief' by doing so. Trinculo, the king's jester, and Stephano, the king's drunken butler who are found by Caliban.

It is part of Prospero's plan to encourage a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda and they do fall in love.

Ferdinand, who is found by Prospero and Miranda.

Using magic he separates the shipwreck survivors into groups on the island: Prospero is determined to regain his dukedom. Prospero and Miranda, by William Maw Egley, c. The Tempest has been put to varied interpretations, from those that see it as a fable of art and creation, with Prospero representing Shakespeare, and Prospero's renunciation of magic signaling Shakespeare's farewell to the stage, to interpretations that consider it an allegory of Europeans colonizing foreign lands. In Act IV, a wedding masque serves as a play-within-a-play, and contributes spectacle, allegory, and elevated language.Īlthough The Tempest is listed in the First Folio as the first of Shakespeare's comedies, it deals with both tragic and comic themes, and modern criticism has created a category of romance for this and others of Shakespeare's late plays. It explores many themes, including magic, betrayal, revenge, and family.

The play contains music and songs that evoke the spirit of enchantment on the island. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, the rest of the story is set on a remote island, where Prospero, a complex and contradictory character, lives with his daughter Miranda, and his two servants: Caliban, a savage monster figure, and Ariel, an airy spirit. The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. Title page of the part in the First Folio

The Tempest by William Shakespeare