Help Me Understand The Tempest!: Includes Summary of Play and Modern Translation

By William Shakespeare

Magic! Betrayal! Revenge! Sounds like a YA fantasy novel, right? If only Shakespeare wasn’t so Shakespeare!

It’s not that Shakespeare is a bad writer--he’s obviously one of the greatest; the problem is his plays were written hundreds of years ago and if you don’t understand the context, the plays can be really confu

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golgotha Press, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781087829203

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

Book preview

cover-image, Help Me Understand Tempest (8x10)

Help Me Understand

The Tempest!



Picture 10

Includes summary of Play and Modern Translation

William Shakespeare /

Scott La Counte (Editor)

 image2.png

SwipeSpeare

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA

www.SwipeSpeare.com

Copyright © 2019 by Golgotha Press, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Limited Liability / Disclaimer of Warranty. While best efforts have been used in preparing this book, the author and publishers make no representations or warranties of any kind and assume no liabilities of any kind with respect to accuracy or completeness of the content and specifically the author nor publisher shall be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or incidental or consequential damages caused or alleged to have been caused, directly, or indirectly without limitations, by the information or programs contained herein. Furthermore, readers should be aware that the Internet sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared. This work is sold with the understanding that the advice inside may not be suitable in every situation.

Trademarks. Where trademarks are used in this book this infers no endorsement or any affiliation with this book. Any trademarks (including, but not limiting to, screenshots) used in this book are solely used for editorial and educational purposes.

Table of Contents

Historical Context

Plot Overview

Detailed Synopsis

Themes

Sanctity of Marriage

Freedom and Confinement

Forgiveness

The Supernatural

Loyalty and Betrayal

Chess Game

Men and Monsters

Divine Power

Ruling

Restoring Order and Balance

Characters

Prospero (Pros-pe-ro)

Miranda (Meer-an-da)

Ferdinand (Fur-di-nand)

Ariel (Air-ree-ell)

Caliban (Ka-lee-ban)

Stephano (Stef-ah-no)

Trinculo (Trin-cue-lo)

Alonso (Al-on-so)

Antonio (An-toe-neo)

Sebastian (Seb-ast-ian)

Gonzalo (Gon-zaa-low)

Boatswain (Boat-swain)

Ceres/Juno/Iris – the Spirits (Sear-rees/Jew-no/Eye-ris)

Adrian (A-drian)

Francisco (Fran-cis-co)

Summary of Play: Act One

Act One: Scene One

Act One, Scene Two

Summary of Play Act Two

Act Two, Scene One

Act Two, Scene Two

Summary of Play: Act Three

Act Three, Scene One

Act Three, Scene Two

Act Three, Scene Three

Summary of Play: Act Four

Act Four, Scene One

Summary of Play: Act Five

Act Five, Scene One

William Shakespeare Biography

The Times Shakespeare Lived In

Shakespeare’s Family

Shakespeare’s Childhood and Education

Shakespeare’s Adulthood

Modern Play: Act One

Act 1: Scene 1

Act 1: Scene 2

Modern Play: Act Two

Act 2: Scene 1

Act 2: Scene 2

Modern Play: Act Three

Act 3: Scene 1

Act 3: Scene 2

Act 3: Scene 3

Modern Play: Act Four

Act 4: Scene 1

Modern Play: Act Five

Act 5: Scene 1

About the Editor

For more help understanding Shakespeare, visit www.SwipeSpeare.com.



Picture 5

Historical Context

William Shakespeare, playwright extraordinaire, lived in 16th to 17th Century England. He wrote a vast number of plays, including the still popular Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo & Juliet. Many of his plays were written as part of the Lord Chamberlain's Men—later known as the King's Men—who were a company of players, or actors. Although Shakespeare is synonymous with the Globe Theatre, a great number of his plays were performed at Blackfriars Theatre and at court for royalty and their guests. He was also a seasoned poet and is still celebrated for his 154 sonnets, including the popular Sonnet 18. The beginning lines are possibly the most quoted out of all the sonnets: Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. I bet you've heard those lines before!

The 16th and early 17th Centuries in England were periods of immense wealth and strength. Shakespeare lived through the Spanish war, saw the end of Elizabeth the Virgin Queen's reign, and heralded in the reunification of the English and Scottish thrones under one monarch, King James VI. However, despite the Royal family's enormous wealth and rich noblemen in the upper classes, the poor were extremely poor. Famine, poor hygiene and the lack of wages created an environment full of disease, crime and pestilence. If you were poor during this time, you had mighty little to look forward to! Some would visit the theatre as a means to escape their lives if they could afford it, but they would only be able to afford standing room. Imagine standing up through an hour long play! Other entertainment available to the poor included watching executions, tormenting those placed in stocks and attending witch trials. A pretty grim past-time, but there was little else to do!

The Tempest is a well loved play for its use of magic, location of the island and the political plots. The play itself doesn't subscribe to one specific genre: it takes on some elements of a romance, but also of a tragic-comedy. It is also an extremely straightforward play in terms of its plot with only nine scenes, and darned few speaking parts! Miranda is also, quite notably, the only female character in the play and does not contribute to the main plot at all, aside from being used as a pawn by her father. Ariel can be played by either a man or a woman, but this depends on the interpretation of the director and performers of specific revivals, and was not specifically written for either gender. For this reason, many feminists have not explored this play in their studies.

Historians seem to agree that the first date The Tempest was performed was probably 1611, when it was performed for a court. They believe Shakespeare wrote the play the year before in 1610. Since then, there have been numerous performances, each one tweaking slight aspects of the characters, setting and plot. Prospero has been played by a woman a few times on stage, probably to account of the lack of female representation in the play. In fact, in 2010, Helen Mirren performed the role of Prospera (a female Prospero) in a Julie Taymor adaptation. The Tempest has also inspired paintings, many references in literature and other media works, and at least forty operas!



Picture 5

Plot Overview

Prospero, a powerful sorcerer, brews a storm to cause the King of Naples and his crew to shipwreck onto his island. He seeks his Dukedom back, after it was taken from him by his traitorous brother, and he uses his magic to draw them closer to his home. His daughter and the King of Naples' son meet, fall in love and are engaged to marry. In the meantime, Caliban, Prospero's monstrous servant, plots to kill Prospero and take back the island for himself.

Detailed Synopsis

On a ship in the middle of a storm, the crew and the Boatswain try to traverse the waves to prevent their ship from wrecking. Alonso—the King of Naples—Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand and Gonzalo enter above deck. They talk with the Boatswain about the storm, and ask where the Master is. The Boatswain is curt and tells them to go back below deck just in case they are killed. Gonzalo asks him to calm down, but the Boatswain is convinced that they are going to sink. The sea doesn't care that there is a King on board. Foolishly, Gonzalo believes they will not drown because the Boatswain looks like someone who is destined to hang. As Sailors cry out that the ship is breaking up, the noblemen retreat under the deck to pray with the King for their safety.

On an island, Prospero—the rightful Duke of Milan—and his daughter, Miranda, talk about the storm. It is revealed that Prospero was the one to conjure the storm, but he did it so well that none of the men died, and the ship is safe and sound. He has done all of this to protect her. He tells her the story about her childhood and how they came to the island. Prospero's brother, Antonio, who was given some control over Milan's affairs when Prospero was the Duke, forced him out of his position and exiled him and Miranda with help from the King. They were thrown onto a wrecked ship and sent away from Milan. Gonzalo, a good and kind Lord, gave them food and clothing so that they could survive the ordeal. Prospero reveals that these same men have arrived at the island, and now is the time for him to get his revenge.

Prospero sends Miranda to sleep and calls for Ariel—his servant and a spirit. Ariel arrives and asks what Prospero needs doing. Prospero asks if Ariel has done everything he has asked him to do: Ariel has. He created the storm and frightened the sailors and noblemen off the ship, which is now waiting in a cove, safe and out of sight with most of the crew in a magical sleep below the deck. The rest of the men believe that they have seen the ship sink. Ariel doesn't actually want to do any more work, but Prospero reminds him of his past Master: Sycorax, the evil witch, who imprisoned Ariel in a tree for twelve years after he refused to do her dark work. Prospero will free Ariel in two days if everything goes to plan. Ariel springs into action immediately. Ariel is told to disguise himself as a Sea Nymph and make himself invisible to everyone but Prospero. He leaves.

Prospero wakes Miranda up: they are going to visit Caliban, Sycorax's son. Miranda doesn't want to, but Prospero doesn't care what she thinks as Caliban is useful to them as their servant. When they call out for Caliban, he tells them they have enough firewood already and refuses to come out of his cave. Prospero orders him out. Ariel returns dressed as the Nymph and Prospero whispers to him. He leaves. Prospero calls for Caliban again, who comes out of his cave insulting and wishing Prospero, and Miranda would drown in poisoned dew. Prospero vows to punish him with cramps for saying that. Caliban tells them the island is his and they should give it back to him. He wishes he had his mother's power to take the island from Prospero, and is sorry that he has to endure Prospero's punishments and torture. Prospero calls him a liar and reminds him he is only mistreated because he tried to rape Miranda. Up until then Prospero treated him like a son, and they had both attempted to teach Caliban how to speak properly. Prospero orders Caliban to collect more firewood.

In another part of the island, Ferdinand—the Prince of Naples—follows Ariel who sings to him and leads him across the island. He can't see where the music is coming from. He thinks his father, Alonso, has died in the shipwreck.

Prospero tells Miranda to look at Ferdinand. She wonders if Ferdinand is a spirit as he is certainly handsome enough to be one, but Prospero points out he is just a human man. Miranda likes him a lot. Prospero compliments Ariel on his work. Ferdinand is amazed to find Miranda and to hear she speaks the same language as him. Prospero is overjoyed that Ferdinand and Miranda have fallen in love on sight, but wants to make them work for it, so they appreciate their love a bit more. Prospero draws Ferdinand away from Miranda, despite her protests, and accuses him of being a spy plotting to take the island from Prospero. Obviously Ferdinand denies this. He draws his sword, but Prospero freezes him into place using his magic. Miranda begs Prospero to release him because she knows he is good. Prospero tells her she thinks Ferdinand is special because she doesn't know any other men, and then unfreezes Ferdinand. He vows to do as Prospero says as anything he will go through will be worth it in the end if he manages to win Miranda's heart. He follows Prospero away.

On the other side of the island, Alonso and his court gather together. Gonzalo tries to cheer Alonso up, but he is convinced that his son, Ferdinand has drowned. Sebastian and Antonio tease Gonzalo throughout, but Gonzalo ignores their insults. Alonso wishes they had not made this journey, and that his daughter Claribel had not been married off to an African King because then Ferdinand would still be alive. Francisco believes he saw Ferdinand swimming through the ocean strongly toward the shore and is convinced he is still alive, but Alonso doesn't believe him. Sebastian, Alonso's brother, continues to rub salt in his wounds: they didn't want Claribel to be married off, and yet Alonso didn't listen to them. The loss of both of his children is his fault.

Gonzalo tries to distract Alonso by discussing his ideal civilization if he were a ruler. Antonio and Sebastian tease him for this, but because Gonzalo thinks he is already a nobody to them, it doesn't matter what they say. Ariel enters, playing solemn music that starts to send everyone to sleep. Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio stay awake. Alonso suddenly feels sleepy and goes to sleep after Sebastian and Antonio promise to take care of them all. Ariel leaves. While the men sleep, Sebastian and Antonio decide to kill Alonso to take the throne for Sebastian. Antonio urges Sebastian to act now before the men wake up. They consider that Ferdinand could have survived, but then decide he couldn't possibly have done. Sebastian, therefore, would be the next person in line with Claribel so far away from Naples. Sebastian asks Antonio if he ever feels guilty for taking Milan from Prospero. He doesn't. Antonio and Sebastian draw their swords, but Ariel arrives and sings in Gonzalo's ear to wake him up and prevent anyone from being killed. Prospero needs them all alive for his plan to work. Gonzalo wakes up, shouting for them all to save the King. Alonso wakes up and asks why Sebastian and Antonio have their swords drawn. They concoct a story about hearing a wild animal, like a lion, roar loudly. Gonzalo doesn't know what he heard, but he knows there was a sound. They all decide to keep a better and more watchful eye out, and maybe even move their camp elsewhere to protect themselves. Alonso wants to continue searching for his son, so they gather to leave.

Caliban carries wood as asked by Prospero. A storm rages overhead. He talks to himself, hoping that Prospero would be infected by every kind of disease properly. He is aware that the spirits under Prospero's control may tell on him, but they won't punish him unless Prospero tells them to. Trinculo, Alonso's jester, enters. Caliban thinks he is one of Prospero's spirits, and so hides underneath his cloak on the floor. He hopes the spirit won't see him. Trinculo looks around for shelter from the storm and sees Caliban on the floor. He doesn't know if Caliban is a fish or a man, but decides to crawl underneath the cloak for safety. At the same time, Stephano—Alonso's butler—enters. He is dead drunk and sings a sailor's song. Caliban cries out, thinking Trinculo might hurt him. Stephano wonders if Caliban and Trinculo are a four legged monster, and is excited to capture it and present it for money back in Naples. Stephano thinks Caliban is having a fit and decides to give him some wine to calm down. Trinculo reveals he is the butler and his friend. Stephano pulls him out from under the cloak. Trinculo thought Stephano had been killed, and that Caliban was lying on the floor because he'd been struck by lightning. They are overjoyed to find one another. Stephano reveals he escaped clinging onto a barrel of white wine, which he keeps hidden in a cave. Trinculo asks if there is any more wine left. Caliban, meanwhile, thinks that Stephano and Trinculo are spirits who have come down from Heaven and swears to show Stephano the entire island. He wants Stephano to be his master. Trinculo doesn't trust him. Stephano announces they will take the island for themselves as they are the only people who survived, but Caliban reveals that Prospero really rules the island and is his master. He leads the men away.

Ferdinand carries logs to pile them up. He has thousands more to move before his task is over, but Miranda makes his work seem easier. Prospero watches from a distance, unseen, as Miranda asks Ferdinand to stop working for a while. He can't—he has too much work to do before the sun sets. Miranda offers to do the work for him. He would rather break his back though than have her work. Prospero can see Miranda and Ferdinand are genuinely in love. Ferdinand tells her he is a Prince, and probably a King because of his father's death. She feels unworthy of him, but pledges to marry him or remain a virgin for the rest of her life. They declare their love for one another and decide they will marry. They leave. Prospero is exceedingly happy they are in love.

Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo are still drinking. Stephano keeps ordering Caliban to drink more, but Caliban is so drunk he can't even talk. Caliban will be his lieutenant or flag-bearer. Caliban offers to lick Stephano's boot, but refuses to serve Trinculo. He isn't as valiant as Stephano. Trinculo makes fun of him: he calls him a coward and asks if he tells monstrous lies because he is a monster. Caliban cries to Stephano to make Trinculo stop teasing him. If Trinculo doesn't, Stephano vows to hang him from the nearest tree. Caliban asks if they will listen to his request now. They will.

Ariel enters and listens as Caliban reveals he is the servant to a tyrannical sorcerer who has taken the island from him. There is some confusion as Ariel speaks, calling him a liar, as Caliban thinks it is Trinculo who has spoken. Trinculo doesn't know what he has done. Caliban wishes that Stephano would kill Prospero. Then Stephano would be the ruler of the island, and Caliban would his servant. Stephano wonders how they will do this. Caliban suggests they