The Tempest
William Shakespeare (1611)
“Shakespeare's final solo play: a magician who controls everything finally chooses to give it all up — and asks the audience to set him free.”
Short Summary
Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, lives on a remote island with his daughter Miranda, the spirit Ariel, and the enslaved Caliban. Using magic, he raises a storm to shipwreck the men who usurped his dukedom. Over a single day, he engineers Ferdinand and Miranda's love, exposes his enemies, confronts his own desire for revenge, and ultimately chooses forgiveness. He buries his staff, drowns his books, and sails home — releasing Ariel, freeing Caliban, and, in the Epilogue, asking the audience to free him with their applause.
Detailed Summary
Twelve years before the play begins, Prospero — the rightful Duke of Milan — was so absorbed in his magical studies that he neglected his duties of state. His brother Antonio, in league with King Alonso of Naples, usurped the dukedom. Prospero and his infant daughter Miranda were set adrift in a lea...