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.