THE TEMPEST
SUMMARY
A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo,
Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding
of Alonso’s daughter. The sink ships.
Miranda and Prospero stand on the shore of their island, looking out to sea at the
recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to do anything he can to help the poor
souls in the ship. Prospero assures her that everything is all right and then informs
her that it is time she learned more about herself and her past. He reveals to her that
he orchestrated the shipwreck and tells her the lengthy story of her past. Prospero
was the Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, the King of
Naples, usurped his position. Kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, Prospero
and his daughter survive because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero’s
books, which are the source of his magic and power. Prospero and his daughter
arrived on the island where they remain now and have been for twelve years.
After telling this story, Prospero charms Miranda to sleep and then calls forth his
spirit Ariel, his chief magical agent. Prospero and Ariel’s discussion reveals that Ariel
brought the tempest upon the ship and set fire to the mast. He then made sure that
everyone got safely to the island, though they are now separated from each other
into small groups. Ariel, who is a captive servant to Prospero, reminds his master
that he has promised Ariel freedom a year early if he performs tasks such as these
without complaint. Prospero chastises Ariel for protesting and reminds him of the
horrible fate from which he was rescued. (Before Prospero came to the island, a
witch named Sycorax imprisoned Ariel in a tree. Sycorax died, leaving Ariel trapped
until Prospero arrived and freed him).
Miranda awakens from her sleep, and she and Prospero go to visit Caliban
(Prospero’s servant and the son of the dead Sycorax.) Caliban curses Prospero, and
Prospero and Miranda berate him for being ungrateful for what they have given and
taught him. Prospero sends Caliban to fetch firewood.
,Ariel, invisible, enters playing music and leading in Ferdinand. Miranda and
Ferdinand are immediately smitten with each other. He is the only man Miranda has
ever seen, besides Caliban and her father. Prospero is happy to see that his plan for
his daughter’s future marriage is working, but decides that he must upset things
temporarily in order to prevent their relationship from developing too quickly. He
accuses Ferdinand of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples and threatens
him with imprisonment. When Ferdinand draws his sword, Prospero charms him and
leads him off to prison, ignoring Miranda’s cries for mercy.
Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and other miscellaneous lords give thanks for
their safety but worry about the fate of Ferdinand. Alonso says that he wishes he
never had married his daughter to the prince of Tunis because if he had not made
this journey, his son would still be alive. Gonzalo tries to maintain high spirits by
discussing the beauty of the island, but his remarks are undercut by the sarcastic
sourness of Antonio and Sebastian. Ariel appears, invisible, and plays music that
puts all but Sebastian and Antonio to sleep. These two then begin to discuss the
possible advantages of killing their sleeping companions. Antonio persuades
Sebastian that he will become ruler of Naples if they kill Alonso. Claribel, who would
be the next heir if Ferdinand were indeed dead, is too far away to be able to claim
her right. Sebastian is convinced, and the two are about to stab the sleeping men
when Ariel causes Gonzalo to wake with a shout. Everyone wakes up, and Antonio
and Sebastian concoct a ridiculous story about having drawn their swords to protect
the king from lions.
Caliban, meanwhile, is hauling wood for Prospero when he sees Trinculo and thinks
he is a spirit sent by Prospero to torment him. He lies down and hides under his
cloak. A storm is brewing, and Trinculo, curious about but undeterred by Caliban’s
strange appearance and smell, crawls under the cloak with him. Stephano, drunk
and singing, comes along and stumbles upon the bizarre spectacle of Caliban and
Trinculo huddled under the cloak. Caliban, hearing the singing, cries out that he will
work faster so long as the “spirits” leave him alone. Stephano decides that this
monster requires liquor and attempts to get Caliban to drink. Trinculo recognizes his
friend Stephano and calls out to him. Soon the three are sitting up together and
drinking. Caliban quickly becomes an enthusiastic drinker, and begins to sing.
, Prospero puts Ferdinand to work hauling wood. Ferdinand finds his labor pleasant
because it is for Miranda’s sake. Miranda, thinking that her father is asleep, tells
Ferdinand to take a break. Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand accepts.
Prospero has been on stage most of the time, unseen, and he is pleased with this
development.
Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban are now drunk and raucous and are made all the
more so by Ariel, who comes to them invisibly and provokes them to fight with one
another by impersonating their voices and taunting them. Caliban grows more and
more fervent in his boasts that he knows how to kill Prospero. He even tells
Stephano that he can bring him to where Prospero is sleeping. He proposes that
they kill Prospero, take his daughter, and set Stephano up as king of the island.
Stephano thinks this a good plan, and the three prepare to set off to find Prospero.
They are distracted, however, by the sound of music that Ariel plays on his flute and
tabor-drum, and they decide to follow this music before executing their plot.
Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio grow weary from traveling and pause to
rest. Antonio and Sebastian secretly plot to take advantage of Alonso and Gonzalo’s
exhaustion, deciding to kill them in the evening. Prospero, causes a banquet to be
set out by strangely shaped spirits. As the men prepare to eat, Ariel appears like a
harpy and causes the banquet to vanish. He then accuses the men of supplanting
Prospero and says that it was for this sin that Alonso’s son, Ferdinand, has been
taken.
Prospero now softens toward Ferdinand and welcomes him into his family as the
soon-to-be-husband of Miranda. He sternly reminds Ferdinand, however, that
Miranda’s “virgin-knot” (IV.i.15) is not to be broken until the wedding has been
officially solemnized. Prospero then asks Ariel to call forth some spirits to perform a
masque for Ferdinand and Miranda. The spirits assume the shapes of Ceres, Juno,
and Iris and perform a short masque celebrating the rites of marriage and the bounty
of the earth. A dance of reapers and nymphs follows but is interrupted when
Prospero suddenly remembers that he still must stop the plot against his life.
He sends the spirits away and asks Ariel about Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban.
Ariel tells his master of the three men’s drunken plans. He also tells how he led the
men with his music through prickly grass and briars and finally into a filthy pond near
SUMMARY
A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo,
Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding
of Alonso’s daughter. The sink ships.
Miranda and Prospero stand on the shore of their island, looking out to sea at the
recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to do anything he can to help the poor
souls in the ship. Prospero assures her that everything is all right and then informs
her that it is time she learned more about herself and her past. He reveals to her that
he orchestrated the shipwreck and tells her the lengthy story of her past. Prospero
was the Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, the King of
Naples, usurped his position. Kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, Prospero
and his daughter survive because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero’s
books, which are the source of his magic and power. Prospero and his daughter
arrived on the island where they remain now and have been for twelve years.
After telling this story, Prospero charms Miranda to sleep and then calls forth his
spirit Ariel, his chief magical agent. Prospero and Ariel’s discussion reveals that Ariel
brought the tempest upon the ship and set fire to the mast. He then made sure that
everyone got safely to the island, though they are now separated from each other
into small groups. Ariel, who is a captive servant to Prospero, reminds his master
that he has promised Ariel freedom a year early if he performs tasks such as these
without complaint. Prospero chastises Ariel for protesting and reminds him of the
horrible fate from which he was rescued. (Before Prospero came to the island, a
witch named Sycorax imprisoned Ariel in a tree. Sycorax died, leaving Ariel trapped
until Prospero arrived and freed him).
Miranda awakens from her sleep, and she and Prospero go to visit Caliban
(Prospero’s servant and the son of the dead Sycorax.) Caliban curses Prospero, and
Prospero and Miranda berate him for being ungrateful for what they have given and
taught him. Prospero sends Caliban to fetch firewood.
,Ariel, invisible, enters playing music and leading in Ferdinand. Miranda and
Ferdinand are immediately smitten with each other. He is the only man Miranda has
ever seen, besides Caliban and her father. Prospero is happy to see that his plan for
his daughter’s future marriage is working, but decides that he must upset things
temporarily in order to prevent their relationship from developing too quickly. He
accuses Ferdinand of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples and threatens
him with imprisonment. When Ferdinand draws his sword, Prospero charms him and
leads him off to prison, ignoring Miranda’s cries for mercy.
Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and other miscellaneous lords give thanks for
their safety but worry about the fate of Ferdinand. Alonso says that he wishes he
never had married his daughter to the prince of Tunis because if he had not made
this journey, his son would still be alive. Gonzalo tries to maintain high spirits by
discussing the beauty of the island, but his remarks are undercut by the sarcastic
sourness of Antonio and Sebastian. Ariel appears, invisible, and plays music that
puts all but Sebastian and Antonio to sleep. These two then begin to discuss the
possible advantages of killing their sleeping companions. Antonio persuades
Sebastian that he will become ruler of Naples if they kill Alonso. Claribel, who would
be the next heir if Ferdinand were indeed dead, is too far away to be able to claim
her right. Sebastian is convinced, and the two are about to stab the sleeping men
when Ariel causes Gonzalo to wake with a shout. Everyone wakes up, and Antonio
and Sebastian concoct a ridiculous story about having drawn their swords to protect
the king from lions.
Caliban, meanwhile, is hauling wood for Prospero when he sees Trinculo and thinks
he is a spirit sent by Prospero to torment him. He lies down and hides under his
cloak. A storm is brewing, and Trinculo, curious about but undeterred by Caliban’s
strange appearance and smell, crawls under the cloak with him. Stephano, drunk
and singing, comes along and stumbles upon the bizarre spectacle of Caliban and
Trinculo huddled under the cloak. Caliban, hearing the singing, cries out that he will
work faster so long as the “spirits” leave him alone. Stephano decides that this
monster requires liquor and attempts to get Caliban to drink. Trinculo recognizes his
friend Stephano and calls out to him. Soon the three are sitting up together and
drinking. Caliban quickly becomes an enthusiastic drinker, and begins to sing.
, Prospero puts Ferdinand to work hauling wood. Ferdinand finds his labor pleasant
because it is for Miranda’s sake. Miranda, thinking that her father is asleep, tells
Ferdinand to take a break. Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand accepts.
Prospero has been on stage most of the time, unseen, and he is pleased with this
development.
Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban are now drunk and raucous and are made all the
more so by Ariel, who comes to them invisibly and provokes them to fight with one
another by impersonating their voices and taunting them. Caliban grows more and
more fervent in his boasts that he knows how to kill Prospero. He even tells
Stephano that he can bring him to where Prospero is sleeping. He proposes that
they kill Prospero, take his daughter, and set Stephano up as king of the island.
Stephano thinks this a good plan, and the three prepare to set off to find Prospero.
They are distracted, however, by the sound of music that Ariel plays on his flute and
tabor-drum, and they decide to follow this music before executing their plot.
Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio grow weary from traveling and pause to
rest. Antonio and Sebastian secretly plot to take advantage of Alonso and Gonzalo’s
exhaustion, deciding to kill them in the evening. Prospero, causes a banquet to be
set out by strangely shaped spirits. As the men prepare to eat, Ariel appears like a
harpy and causes the banquet to vanish. He then accuses the men of supplanting
Prospero and says that it was for this sin that Alonso’s son, Ferdinand, has been
taken.
Prospero now softens toward Ferdinand and welcomes him into his family as the
soon-to-be-husband of Miranda. He sternly reminds Ferdinand, however, that
Miranda’s “virgin-knot” (IV.i.15) is not to be broken until the wedding has been
officially solemnized. Prospero then asks Ariel to call forth some spirits to perform a
masque for Ferdinand and Miranda. The spirits assume the shapes of Ceres, Juno,
and Iris and perform a short masque celebrating the rites of marriage and the bounty
of the earth. A dance of reapers and nymphs follows but is interrupted when
Prospero suddenly remembers that he still must stop the plot against his life.
He sends the spirits away and asks Ariel about Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban.
Ariel tells his master of the three men’s drunken plans. He also tells how he led the
men with his music through prickly grass and briars and finally into a filthy pond near
