The Tempest

Tempest art.

Tempest art.

The Tempest is a drama for the theater in five acts, composed in verse and prose by the famous English playwright William Shakespeare. It was written and premiered in 1611. The formal presentation of the work took place at the Palace of Whitehall, before King James I of England, and was in charge of the King's Men theater company. Over the years it has been presented countless times and translated into various languages ​​and is among the 10 best books for lovers of the sea.

It is considered, together with Hamlet, one of the most dense works of its author. His characters, dialogues and situations have had multiple readings by critics. It deals with themes such as ambition, betrayal, revenge and redemption, within an environment that mixes the supernatural with the earthly. The main character of The Tempest, the magician Prospero, closes the play with a remembered monologue, which has become one of Shakespeare's most quoted phrases over the centuries: “We are made of the same substance as dreams. Our little world is surrounded by dreams. "

About the Author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, born in 1564 in Stratford Avon. He is considered the most important author of all time in the English language.

He was the son of a merchant and the heir of a landowner, which gave him good social position since his birth, although without noble titles. It is conjectured that he studied at the Stratford Grammar School, where he would learn advanced Latin and English, and develop his well-known taste for reading classical and exotic texts.

During the 1590s he settled in London, where He was part of the Lord Chamberlain's Men theater company as an actor and playwright. Later, during the reign of James I, it was renamed King's Men.

He wrote numerous dramas, comedies, and tragedies that have been performed on five continents over the centuries. His plays and poems have inspired artists of all disciplines at different times. Wrote The Tempest as one of the works of his maturity, in 1611.

William Shakespeare He died in his hometown in 1616.

An island in the middle of the earthly and the supernatural

The events that are related take place on a desert island to which the characters forcibly arrive: Antonio, Duke of Milan; Alonso, King of Naples; Prince Ferdinand and a few companions and servants.

The shipwreck that leads them to such a situation was not the result of chance, but was a consequence of the storm unleashed by Ariel, a sylph under the orders of the sorcerer Prospero, who lives on the island. It is soon revealed to the viewer that Prospero is the true heir to the Duchy of Milan and that his brother, Antonio, in an act of treason, sent him to die in a boat with his daughter Miranda years before. In his exile, Prospero learned the art of magic and controlled the beings that inhabited the desert island: Ariel and Caliban.

Shakespeare phrase.

Shakespeare phrase.

They coexist like this, in The Tempest, politicians and real world characters with supernatural entities and magic. In the middle of the two worlds is the protagonist, who was once a duke, for most of the play he is a vengeful sorcerer and in the end he abandons his magic books to return to Milan.

After the arrival of King Alonso, Antonio and the rest of the sailors to the island, Prospero and his supernatural servants plot to scare and hold them., thus completing the magician's revenge for what Antonio did in the past. Illusions and enchantments are a central part of the work.

Forgiveness and redemption as a final message

In an unexpected twist towards the end of the play, Prospero forgives his enemies, leaves the spell books behind, and decides to return to Milan and resume his former life.. All this happens thanks to the infatuation of Miranda and Prince Fernando, who met by chance of the storm and decide to marry.

Love ends up victorious and Prospero returns to his humanity. This ending counteracts the darkness and tension of the play, which also has hilarious situations during its development.

Various references to events of his time

For many scholars, the facts of The Tempest They are partially inspired by the George Somers story. This was a famous British Royal Navy admiral who survived after being trapped with his crew in the middle of a storm off the coast of the Bermuda Islands in 1609.

It has also been claimed to be an allusion to the voyages of conquest of the New World, territory for which the British and Spanish crown competed. For many Europeans of the time, America was a land of the unknown, the supernatural, and monsters.

There has been much speculation about the relationship between Prospero and Caliban, a surly and primitive being that the magician submits and puts at his service. According to many readers and critics, it represents the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized natives of America.

Characters

Prosperous

He is the legitimate Duke of Milan, whom his brother Antonio sent away on a ship aimlessly to stay with the Duchy. On the island he becomes a powerful sorcerer and plots his revenge. At the end of the play, he decides to forgive the betrayal and return to his homeland. His final soliloquy and the epilogue (in which he no longer entrusts himself with magic for the return journey) represent two of the top and most remembered texts of Shakespeare's play.

Miranda

She is the young and dreamy daughter of Prospero. Shortly after arriving on the island, Caliban tries to rape her, so Prospero decides to treat him harshly from now on. She falls in love with Fernando, the king's son, and wants to marry him.

Miranda's art in The Tempest.

Miranda's art in The Tempest.

Caliban

He is the son of a witch and a demon. It represents the primitive and visceral part of the human being. During the development of the plot, he tries to convince a servant of the shipwrecks to assassinate Prospero, thus demonstrating his impulsive and fickle character.

Caliban has been mentioned or inspired by other characters in recognized later literary works. He is alluded to in the famous prologue to The Portrait of Dorian Grayby Oscar Wilde, as well as in the Ulysses by James Joyce, among others.

Ariel

It is the counterpart of Caliban, as it represents the highest and most intangible of the human being. He lived locked up by Caliban's mother witch Sycorax until Prospero rescued him, so he pledges fidelity to the wizard in the hope of one day regaining his freedom. It is a being of air, that has multiple magical powers and can control the winds.

Antonio

He is the current Duke of Milan for the supposed death of Prospero. During his stay on the island, he tries to create intrigues between King Alonso and his brother, Sebastián. It is treacherous and ambitious.


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