| The Tempest. A delightful comedy, full of spirits, monsters, magicians, and mortals. Shakespeare creates a mystical island where an exiled duke sets the world right again by taking the elements into his own hands. Written in 1611. |
Cast: [top] Prospero - Powerful magician, former Duke of Milan, Miranda's father. Miranda - Prospero's 15 year old daughter. Ariel - Magical spirit, servant of Prospero. Caliban - Prospero's servant, as punishment. Ferdinand - Son of Alonso, Prince of Naples. Alonso - King of Naples Antonio - Duke of Milan, Prospero's brother. Sebastian - Alonso's brother. Gonzalo - Alonso's counselor, Prospero's friend. Adrian - Courtier to Alonso. Fransisco - Courtier to Alonso. Trinculo - Servant to Alonso. Stephano - Alonso's butler. Shipmaster Boatswain Mariners Assorted spirits, reapers, and "islanders". 
In my own words... [top] 1 : 1 The play starts on the storm tossed boat carrying the King and all others from the mainland. The mariners are struggling with the ship to keep it afloat through the tempest. Alonso and others come up on deck to see what is going on, but the Boatswain orders them below. After the end of the scene, the ship is abandoned. The people are scattered on the shores of Prospero's mystic island. 1 : 2 Prospero talks with Miranda about why they came to be stranded from civilization. Twelve years before, Alonso and Antonio stole Prospero's dukedom and sent him and his three year old daughter to sea. Gonzalo had secretly stowed Prospero's favorite books on board, the ones which learnt him magical powers. So there they have lived. Prospero then talks with Ariel, a magical spirit which is indebted to Prospero. Ariel created the tempest, and scattered the ship's passengers about the island. Prospero then instructs Ariel to bring Ferdinand to him. Miranda falls in love with him, and Ferdinand falls in love with her. Prospero is pleased, but wants to test their love. 2 : 1 King Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, Gonzalo, Adrian, Fransico, and others are stranded on another shore. They wake and start the search for Alonso's son. Along the way, Ariel charms all but Antonio and Sebastian asleep. Together, they plan to kill Alonso the first chance they get. The others wake and the search for Ferdinanad continues. 2 : 2 Caliban, Prospero's servant, is carrying wood for Prospero. He happens to be a half-fish-half-man, mythical sort of creature, who detests Prospero for making him work. Scared of an oncoming storm, he hides under a cloak. Trinculo also hides under the cloak. Stephano, with some alcohol that he saved from the ship, finds the two and offers some of the alcohol to them. They all get rather drunk at this point, and stay like this for the rest of the play. Caliban, being especially partial to alcohol, pledges his allegiance to Stephano. 3 : 1 Miranda finds Ferdinand hard at work for Prospero, testing his determination for Miranda. They fall in love even further, and get engaged. Prospero is happy for them, but must plan the magic for the evening. 3 : 2 Caliban has convinced Stephano to kill Prospero, and so they and Trinculo start towards Prospero's cell. Along the way, Ariel has some fun with the three, tricking them against each other and ultimately leading them farther away from their destination. 3 : 3 Ariel now has a little fun with the King and his entourage. He tempts the tired and famished men with a banquet, but makes it vanish. As a monster, he accuses Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian with stealing Prospero's dukedom. They leave twitching. 4 : 1 Giving his daughter away to Ferdinand, Prospero feels like celebrating. Ariel and various magical spirits have a mosque (celebration). Remembering Caliban's horde, Prospero ends the mosque and joins Ariel to drive them off like hunters chasing prey. 5 : 1 Prospero, having things almost everything natural again, vows never to use magic again. Meeting up with Alonso and his entourage, Prospero is given his dukedom back. In return, Alonso is reunited with Ferdinand. Caliban is sentenced to more work with the other servants. The boatswain finds the group and plans are made to sail home. Lastly, Ariel is given his freedom. In my humble opinion... [top] I loved this play. Although I love almost all (if not all) for some reason or another, The Tempest is one of my favorites. Prospero, a noble guy wronged, takes matters into his own hands and restore normalcy (It is too a word!). My favorite part would have to be the sweet love scene between Miranda and Ferdinand in 3.1. They are so cute, fawning over each other as if nothing else in the world mattered... My only wish (and I have 2 of them!), was that their courting could have lasted longer. Like an act longer. And the obsticles should have been REAL, not just work.. The funniest parts were with Caliban.. I just get the picture of a bitchy little fishg-guy, complaining of everything -- drunk. It just seems really cool to me. A sarcastic fish... Yeah. This brings me to my last wish. Ariel should have been a girl! I really thought he was until act 5! I dunno.. I just find a scantly clad woman trickster more appealing than a male one... Maybe Shakespeare wrote this for James I. Who was -- how can I put this delicately -- into that sort of thing. "Cheer my arse!" Anyway, this play kicks major ass. Read it if you haven't. Its nice and light, never confusing. Plus you get to know the God of Marriage's name. (giggle). Good music to listen to while reading: Fiona Apple, Reel Big Fish, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Barenaked Ladies. (those last two have connotations in the text. I dare you to find em.) Jeff. ; - ) (Addendum 12-19-98: I rented the Movie, Prospero's Books, and.....Damn. Damn. Just damn. First of all, I liked it. But, to like it, you gotta concede a few things. First, the whole thing is something I like to call "Artistic Overkill". You also have to be a certain type of person to see this flick. There's a cast of about a hundred people....all naked. Men, women, children, fish, you name it - it's naked. So all you dammed republicans, go rent Henry U. Second, all these naked people aren't necessarily real great lookin'. Third, Ariel is played by a trio of Annies (as in Little Orphan..). And they sing opera and urinate from swings. Yeah, you heard me right....THEY URINATE FROM SWINGS. Fourth, usually only Prospero talks, the rest are doin' a little interpretive dance. Fifth, they left out a scene. Its not that important a scene, so its kinda forgivable. 3.2 if you must know. (Maye it was in there and I just slept through it..). Sixth, its British. I guess that makes all the other stuff ok. Well, I must say, I have to go to England sometime. Anyway, if you can get past these things, its a really cool movie. The sets are awesome, and a few scenes were really movies in and of themselves. And, in conclusion (teachers hate it when I use that..), I must say Juno is the most heavenly goddess in da world.) (Addendum 12-20-98: I also taped the NBC version of The Tempest, and got around to watching it today. Wow. I just wish NBC never tries to do Shakespeare ever again... There are so many things wrong with it. First, it takes place during the Civil War. La dee dah. Second, the names are all perverted. Like Prospero changed to "Prospah" in a southern accent. Or Caliban changed to "Gator Man". Sheesh! Third, no nudity. This usually dosen't come into consideration, but I'm still in 'naked withdrawl' from Prospero's books. Anyway, the only thing I really liked was Ariel. He's played by the same guy that got mauled by a bear in The Edge. So, don't ever see this unless you want to make fun of it. I dunno...Miranda was pretty cute though....... 
More... [top] Kevin's Tempest Page - The nicest (except mine) out there. I stole his image, so he deserves a link. He had to make his page for a school project... Mine is PURE generosity... ; - ) Wishbone - As ashamed I am to admit it, my first introduction to The Tempest was on the PBS Kid's Show: Wishbone. The cute little talking dog was Ariel. Prospero's Books - A British movie based on The Tempest. Lots of nudity.
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