Shakespeare, Wlliam - The Tempest

The Tempest

Time:the action takes place within three hours.
Place:a ship at sea and an island: may be located somewhere in the Mediterranean, away from national claims and from any kind of civilisation: this makes it theatrical, the ideal stage for a series of magical occurrences that involve exotic, strange and even invisible characters with sounds and music.
Story:the King of Naples and his court were travelling between Naples and Tunis when the storm hit them.

Acts

First Act: the play begins with a tempest near an enchanted island.
Alonso, King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, Antonio, Duke of Milan, and their court are shipwrecked and magically washed up on the island. This tempest was created by Prospero for revenge , he is a magician who lives on the island with his daughter Miranda. Years before Prospero had been unfairly exiled from his dukedom of Milan by his brother Antonio and had reached this island, which was the refuge of the witch Sycorax. She lived there with her son Caliban, a strange creature of brute intelligence, and Ariel, a gentle spirit of the air whom Sycorax had imprisoned.When he arrived on the island, Prospero overcame Sycorax, released Ariel,who became his agent, and used Caliban as a servant.

Second Act: King Alonso is in despair because he thinks his son has drowned. Ferdinand has survived and wanders(vaga)through another part of the island, moved by Ariel's singing. He meets Miranda and falls in love with her

Third Act: to test Ferdinand, Prospero makes him perform menial tasks. Caliban meets Trinculo, the king's jester(giullare), with Stephano, the royal butler, and they plan to kill Prospero. Ariel hears them and reports the plan to Prospero.

Fourth Act: this act is a sort of interlude where Miranda and Ferdinand entertain each other while Prospero completes his plans of reward(ricompensa) and punishment.

Fifth Act. The play ends in an atmosphere of general reconciliation: Miranda and Ferdinand marry, Prospero forgives his brother and returns to Milan to take possession of his lost dukedom. Caliban is left alone on the island and Ariel is released
The characters
Prospero. Prospero was the rightful Duke of Milan who was deposed twelve years earlier and set adrift with his daughter Miranda on a boat on the orders of his brother Antonio. He is a magician, his magic powers come from his studies and he tries to use them to do good. The symbols of Prospero's power are his books,his robe, which he wears as a magician and takes off when he is an ordinary man, and his wand.
Ariel is a spirit of the air who is very fast, can become invisible and can change his appearance, he can appear as a sea-nymph or as a fire-spirit who sets the ship on fire, he used to be in the service of the witch Sycorax, who had confined him in a pine tree after twelve years' imprisonment, he was released by Prospero, who gave him tasks more suited to his gentle nature the meaning of his name is 'Lion of the Lord, and his voice sometimes sounds like a lion's roar. Shakespeare may also have played on the word 'aerial.
Caliban is the only native of the island he is the son of the witch Sycorax and the devil when Prospero came to the island, he showed him how to survive and Prospero taught him to speak later he tried to rape Miranda and Prospero enslaved and punished him he is repulsive in appearance and behaves instinctively, he can be sensitive and has a sense of beauty for some critics his name may derive from the word 'cannibal'(flesh-eaters) in the play his name is also associated with darkness in contrast to Miranda's purity.
Miranda is not a suffering heroine she embodies female perfection through her ethereal beauty and unspoilt innocence.

Themes

It’s characterized by serenity in human relationships good may come of evil there is no tragic ending: The most interesting themes are:
● Forgiveness: all ends in peace and reconciliation, with music intensifying the atmosphere of enchantment.
● The 'element of magic' and its representation as 'theatrical illusion there are two types of magic in the play: the witch Sycorax's black magic(which tends to work evil on its victims and is usually the result of a pact with the devil),and Prospero's magic(which comes from study and knowledge and is used for good purposes)
● A warning against the dangers of English expansion abroad Prospero is a European who has taken charge of a remote island where he has organized a life for himself he maintains his power by a combination of force and promises of future freedom, he becomes a symbol for European colonial power, with which England was growing increasingly familiar in Shakespeare's lifetime.