KP

The Tempest – Condensed Revision Notes

Plot Overview

  • Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, uses magic to raise a tempest that wrecks his usurping brother Antonio, King Alonso of Naples, and their retinues on Prospero’s island.
  • Act I
    • Storm scene shows social order inverted (Boatswain vs nobles).
    • Prospero reveals to daughter Miranda their exile story; commands spirit Ariel and enslaved native Caliban.
    • Ferdinand (Alonso’s son) meets Miranda; instant mutual love.
  • Act II
    • Alonso’s party wander; Antonio persuades Sebastian to murder Alonso (parallels Antonio’s earlier betrayal of Prospero).
    • Comic subplot: Caliban joins drunken butler Stephano and jester Trinculo in plot to kill Prospero.
  • Act III
    • Ferdinand’s log-carrying test; engagement to Miranda.
    • Ariel thwarts Antonio & Sebastian; Harpy scene accuses nobles of their “three men of sin”.
  • Act IV
    • Prospero stages masque (Iris, Ceres, Juno) celebrating chastity & harvest; abruptly ends on recalling Caliban’s plot.
    • Spirits drive off Caliban’s gang with dogs.
  • Act V & Epilogue
    • Prospero renounces “rough magic”, forgives enemies, frees Ariel, pardons Caliban, restores dukedom, and plans return to Naples for wedding.
    • Epilogue asks audience to “set me free” with applause.

Key Characters

  • Prospero – magician-duke; embodies authority, knowledge, parental control; arc from vengeance to forgiveness.
  • Miranda – innocence, compassion; her marriage secures political & emotional resolution.
  • Ariel – airy spirit; represents art, music, freedom; longs for liberty.
  • Caliban – earth-bound native; claims island; themes of colonisation & nature vs nurture.
  • Ferdinand – honourable prince; tests of labour & chastity.
  • Alonso – repentant king.
  • Antonio & Sebastian – usurpers; unrepentant ambition.
  • Gonzalo – idealistic counsellor; utopian speech contrasts realpolitik.
  • Stephano & Trinculo – drunken clowns; parody court politics.

Core Themes

  • Power & Usurpation: ducal overthrow, assassination plots, master–servant hierarchies.
  • Magic & Art: Prospero’s books/staff, masque, metatheatre; art’s capacity to shape reality.
  • Colonisation: Caliban’s dispossession, language as control, “new world” references.
  • Forgiveness vs Revenge: Prospero chooses “virtue” over “vengeance”.
  • Illusion vs Reality: shipwreck, spirits, masque, theatre metaphor; “We\;are\;such\;stuff…”.
  • Freedom & Servitude: Ariel’s liberty, Caliban’s bondage, Ferdinand’s labour, social inversion in storm.

Key Symbols / Motifs

  • The Tempest – catalyst for plot; symbolizes upheaval & purification.
  • Prospero’s Staff & Books – source of power; renunciation = moral growth.
  • The Island – liminal space for testing characters; microcosm of society.
  • Masque & Music – harmony, artifice, colonial exoticism; abruptly broken = fragility of illusion.
  • Sleep/Enchantment – control over others (nobles’ slumber, Ferdinand’s charm).

Quotations for Recall

  • “We\;are\;such\;stuff\;as\;dreams\;are\;made\;on.” – Prospero IV.i
  • “O\;brave\;new\;world that has such people in’t!” – Miranda V.i
  • “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” – Ferdinand I.ii
  • “The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.” – Prospero V.i
  • “You taught me language, and my profit on’t / Is, I know how to curse.” – Caliban I.ii
  • “Thought is free.” – Stephano & Trinculo II.ii

Structural / Stylistic Notes

  • Unities of time & place largely kept (single day, single island).
  • Mixture of high romance, political intrigue, and low comedy; masque-within-play.
  • Frequent prosodic switches (blank verse ↔ prose) marking class & mood.
  • Self-reflexive ending: Prospero’s epilogue = Shakespeare’s farewell to stage.

Exam Pointers

  • Compare Prospero–Ariel–Caliban triangle for contrasting servitude models.
  • Explore Gonzalo’s utopian speech (II.i) vs power realities.
  • Discuss Miranda & Ferdinand’s relationship as political reconciliation.
  • Analyse imagery of nature (sea, storm, music) reinforcing emotional states.
  • Consider colonial readings: Caliban’s resistance, language, body imagery.