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Title: The Tempest
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play
Pages: 195
Words: 56K
Author: William Shakespeare
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Play
Pages: 195
Words: 56K
Synopsis:
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From Wikipedia
A
ship is caught in a powerful storm, there is terror and confusion on
board, and the vessel is shipwrecked. But the storm is a magical
creation carried out by the spirit Ariel, and caused by the magic of
Prospero, who was the Duke of Milan, before his dukedom was usurped
and taken from him by his brother Antonio (aided by Alonso, the King
of Naples). That was twelve years ago, when he and his young
daughter, Miranda, were set adrift on the sea, and eventually
stranded on an island. Among those on board the shipwreck are Antonio
and Alonso. Also on the ship are Alonso's brother (Sebastian), son
(Ferdinand), and "trusted counsellor", Gonzalo. Prospero
plots to reverse what was done to him twelve years ago, and regain
his office. Using magic he separates the shipwreck survivors into
groups on the island:
Ferdinand,
who is found by Prospero and Miranda. It is part of Prospero's plan
to encourage a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda;
and they do fall in love.
Trinculo,
the king's jester, and Stephano, the king's drunken butler; who are
found by Caliban, a monstrous figure who had been living on the
island before Prospero arrived, and whom Prospero adopted, raised and
enslaved. These three will raise an unsuccessful coup against
Prospero, acting as the play's 'comic relief' by doing so.
Alonso,
Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and two attendant lords (Adrian and
Francisco). Antonio and Sebastian conspire to kill Alonso and Gonzalo
so Sebastian can become King; at Prospero's command Ariel thwarts
this conspiracy. Later in the play, 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.
The
ship's captain and boatswain who, along with the other sailors, are
asleep until the final act.
Prospero
betroths Miranda to marry Ferdinand, and instructs Ariel to bring
some other spirits and produce a masque. The masque will feature
classical goddesses, Juno, Ceres, and Iris, and will bless and
celebrate the betrothal. The masque will also instruct the young
couple on marriage, and on the value of chastity until then.
The
masque is suddenly interrupted when Prospero realizes he had
forgotten the plot against his life. He orders Ariel to deal with
this. Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano are chased off into the swamps
by goblins in the shape of hounds. Prospero vows that once he
achieves his goals, he will set Ariel free, and abandon his magic,
saying:
I’ll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms
in the earth,
And deeper than did
ever plummet sound
I’ll drown my book.
Ariel
brings on Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian. Prospero forgives all three,
and raises the threat to Antonio and Sebastian that he could
blackmail them, though he won't. Prospero's former title, Duke of
Milan, is restored. Ariel fetches the sailors from the ship; then
Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano. Caliban, seemingly filled with
regret, promises to be good. Stephano and Trinculo are ridiculed and
sent away in shame by Prospero. Before the reunited group (all the
noble characters plus Miranda and Prospero) leaves the island, Ariel
is told to provide good weather to guide the king's ship back to the
royal fleet and then to Naples, where Ferdinand and Miranda will be
married. After this, Ariel is set free.
In
the epilogue, Prospero requests that the audience set him free—with
their applause.
My
Thoughts:
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I enjoyed this quite a bit. Mostly because I could actually make
sense of what was going on and because the people involved didn't
simply do “things” at authorial fiat.
I have to admit, I was kind of dreading this. Back in '12 I read a
novel entitled Prospero
Lost which was a sequel to the Tempest and a kind of
urban fantasy trilogy. I read the first book and never bothered
getting around to the others. Even though I gave it 3 stars at the
time and nothing in my review says so, it just left a bad taste in my
mouth and I transferred that to the original play.
I am glad I did read this and didn't skip it due to my inclination
from another book. That being said, these are plays, not novels and I
have a really hard time talking about these. I am not a english major
nor am I a Shakespeare buff. I'm reading all of this because I want
to have it under my belt. It is much like eating vegetables at
dinner. I don't dislike vegetables but if I had to choose, I'd eat a
slice of pizza any time before I ate the vegetables. You can tell I'm
middle aged since I'm pretty much using health as an analogy for how
I'm treating Shakespeare. He's my literary vegetables and I'm
shoveling those lima beans down my throat as fast as I can while I
tell myself how healthy and good it is for me. All the while I'm
eyeing that Stouffers french bread pepperoni pizza.
And I don't even know why I'm referencing food so much. I'm not
hungry, as I just had a Dagwood style turkey and cheese sandwich that
was about 2inches thick just a little bit ago. I give up. This review
is done.
★★★☆½
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