1. Shakespeare’s plays are meant to be heard; thus, the plays are more easily understood if studied in performance. Selecting a seemingly difficult scene to present to an audience will add depth to your understanding of the text and make complex characters easier to grasp. For instance, Caliban’s role is […]

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1. How does Prospero’s magic differ from that of the witch, Sycorax? 2. Prospero’s need for revenge could easily have led to tragedy. Compare The Tempest to one of Shakespeare’s tragedies, such as Hamlet. What elements of revenge are present in both plays? How are they different? In what way […]

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abstemious moderate, especially in eating and drinking; temperate. Prospero is warning Ferdinand once again about resisting lust before the wedding occurs. amain at or with great speed; here, Miranda’s peacocks fly quickly. bark any boat, but especially a small sailing ship. bass my trespass Here, meaning that the condemnation (my […]

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Adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and other works have been featured in nearly 500 films and/or videos world-wide. That makes Shakespeare the most filmed playwright of all time! Here are the best, and most noteworthy, versions of The Tempest that can help you study and better understand the play. The Tempest […]

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Shakespeare coined many popular phrases that are still commonly used today. Here are some examples of Shakespeare’s most familiar quotes from The Tempest. You just might be surprised to learn of all the everyday sayings that originally came from Shakespeare! “I would fain die a dry death.” (Act I, Scene […]

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Feminism was an important movement in seventeenth century England, generating many attempts by king, clergy, and male writers to suppress women’s attempts to create a greater equality. Men’s patriarchal concern about possible social changes was expressed in the many debates on this issue. Some of this concern was expressed in […]

Read more Critical Essays The Tempest as a Political Romance

Caliban’s Character As he did in many of his plays, Shakespeare uses The Tempest to ask questions about how well society and nature intersect. Most of the characters in this play exist in a civilized world, although certainly not all of them are civilized. Caliban, though, is referred to several […]

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Shakespeare’s Early Life Only a few documents chronicle William Shakespeare’s life, and thus scholars have been forced to attempt a reconstruction of the playwright’s life based on whatever official documents have survived. Shakespeare’s father moved to Stratford-upon-Avon, from nearby Snitterfield, sometime before 1557, when he married Mary Arden, the daughter […]

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As Prospero’s younger brother, Antonio is motivated by envy and by a desire to create trouble. He is now the fraudulent duke of Milan and is still actively engaged in plotting rebellion. His actions against Prospero were not sufficient to satisfy his ambitions, and now, Antonio convinces Sebastian to murder […]

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Alonso is the king of Naples. When he believes that his son has died, Alonso is grief-stricken. Later, he is overjoyed to find Ferdinand still alive. Alonso bears some responsibility for the events in Prospero’s life, because Antonio would not have acted without Alonso’s agreement. However, when confronted with his […]

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