Overview

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, whereProspero, the rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughterMiranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio's lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand.

There is no obvious single source for the plot of The Tempest, but researchers have seen parallels in Erasmus's Naufragium, Peter Martyr's De orbe novo, and an eyewitness report by William Stracheyof the real-life shipwreck of the Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda. In addition, one of Gonzalo's speeches is derived fromMontaigne's essay Of the Canibales, and much of Prospero's renunciative speech is taken word for word from a speech by Medeain Ovid's poem Metamorphoses. The masque in Act 4 may have been a later addition, possibly in honour of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V in 1613. The play was first published in theFirst Folio of 1623.

The story draws heavily on the tradition of the romance, and it was influenced by tragicomedy and the courtly masque and perhaps by the commedia dell'arte. It differs from Shakespeare's other plays in its observation of a stricter, more organised neoclassical style. Critics see The Tempest as explicitly concerned with its own nature as a play, frequently drawing links between Prospero's "art" and theatrical illusion, and early critics saw Prospero as a representation of Shakespeare, and his renunciation of magic as signalling Shakespeare's farewell to the stage. The play portrays Prospero as a rational, and not an occultist, magician by providing a contrast to him in Sycorax: her magic is frequently described as destructive and terrible, where Prospero's is said to be wondrous and beautiful. Beginning in about 1950, with the publication of Psychology of Colonization by Octave Mannoni, The Tempest was viewed more and more through the lens of postcolonial theory—exemplified in adaptations like Aimé Césaire's Une Tempête set in Haiti—and there is even a scholarly journal on post-colonial criticism named after Caliban. Because of the small role that women play in the story, The Tempest has not attracted much feminist criticism. Miranda is typically viewed as having completely internalised the patriarchal order of things, thinking of herself as subordinate to her father.

The Tempest did not attract a significant amount of attention before the closing of the theatres in 1642, and only attained popularity after the Restoration, and then only in adapted versions. In the mid-19th century, theatre productions began to reinstate the original Shakespearean text, and in the 20th century, critics and scholars undertook a significant re-appraisal of the play's value, to the extent that it is now considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

Characters

Prospero, the main character. The overthrown Duke of Milan. He now lives on an island and has become a great sorcerer. Miranda, Prospero's daughter, who then falls in love with the Prince of Naples, Ferdinand. Ariel, a mischievous spirit who does Prospero's bidding and is visible only to him. He became Prospero's "slave" because he was saved by him from being trapped in a tree by Sycorax. Caliban, a villainous island native, son of a witch namedSycorax, who ruled the island before Prospero arrived. He now works as Prospero's slave but despises him. Sycorax, a deceased Algerian sorceress and mother ofCaliban who was banished to the island before Prospero arrived and enslaved the spirits on the island, including Ariel. She is not seen or heard in the play, only referred to by other characters. Iris, Ceres, and Juno, spirits and goddesses

Alonso, King of Naples Sebastian, Alonso's treacherous brother. Antonio, Prospero's brother, who usurped  his position as Duke of Milan. He and  Sebastian plot unsuccessfully to kill Alonso and his family so as to come to the throne. Ferdinand, Alonso's son. Falls in love  with Miranda. Gonzalo, a kindly Neapolitan courtier, who  secretly providedProspero and Miranda with  food, water, and books when they were  pushed out to sea. Adrian and Francisco, lords. Trinculo, the King's jester and friends  with Stephano. Stephano, the King's drunken steward and  friend of Trinculo who tries to help Caliban  overthrow his master Boatswain

Three plots then alternate through the play. In one, Caliban falls in with Stephano and Trinculo, two drunkards, who he believes have come from the moon. They attempt to raise a rebellion against Prospero, which ultimately fails. In another, Prospero works to establish a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda; the two fall immediately in love, but Prospero worries that "too light winning [may] make the prize light," and compels Ferdinand to become his servant, pretending that he regards him as a spy. In the third subplot, Antonio and Sebastian conspire to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so that Sebastian can become King. They are thwarted by Ariel, at Prospero's command. Ariel appears to the "three men of sin" (Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian) as a harpy, reprimanding them for their betrayal of Prospero. Prospero manipulates the course of his enemies' path through the island, drawing them closer and closer to him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest