In Shakespeare's The Tempest,
Prospero--the former Duke of Milan--has been usurped by his brother Antonio. As a
result, Prospero goes into exile with his daughter Miranda on an unnamed island. There,
Prospero defeats the witch Sycorax and takes her son Caliban as his servant. Prospero
frees the sprite Ariel from a tree and takes Ariel under his service. One day,
Alonso--along with Antonio and a crew of others--are sailing past the island on the way
from Alonso's daughter's wedding. Prospero orders Ariel to create a storm to shipwreck
the crew onto the island. Once on the island, Alonso's son Ferdinand falls in love with
Miranda, and the two eventually marry. Caliban meets two of the drunken crew members
and makes plans to rid the island of Prospero. Prospero eventually confronts his
brother and Alonso and demands to be given back his title. Reconciliation occurs, yet
Prospero decides to remain on the island. He frees Ariel, and keeps Caliban as his
servant.
The play is full of natural magic, and this is
often seen in scenes such as the wedding during which the goddesses of nature bless
Ferdinand and Miranda's union.
To help with your reading of
Shakespeare, you might consider getting a book that provides the original text on one
page with a contemporary re-write on the opposing page.
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