• Tossed upon the ocean, a ship carrying the King of Naples is caught in a sudden, violent storm…

• On a nearby island, a lone figure chants incantations, summoning and controlling the storm with his powerful magic…

• Meanwhile, a beautiful young girl watches the ship sinking in the storm and trembles with fear...

• And a monstrous figure, twisted and tortured, secretly watches the girl, and waits…

• The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone.

• There is no obvious single source for the plot of The Tempest, but it’s believed much of its inspiration came from an eyewitness report by William Strachey of the real-life shipwreck of the Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda.

• In addition, one of the speeches is derived from Montaigne's essay Of the Canibales, and much of Prospero's final speech is taken word for word from Ovid's poem Metamorphoses.

• The Tempest only attained popularity after the Restoration, and then only in adapted versions. In the mid-19th century, theatre productions began to reinstate the original Shakespearean text, and in the 20th century, critics and scholars undertook a significant re-appraisal of the play's value, to the extent that it is now considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

• Prospero, the main character. The overthrown Duke of Milan. He now lives on an island and has become a great sorcerer.

• Miranda, his daughter, who has grown up on the island since the age of three.

• Ariel, a mischievous spirit who does Prospero's bidding and is visible only to him.

• Caliban, a villainous island native, child of the now-dead Witch Sycorax, he now works as Prospero's slave but despises him, he lusts after Miranda.

• Alonso, King of Naples

• Sebastian, the King’s treacherous brother.

• Antonio, Prospero's brother, who usurped his position as Duke of Milan. He and Sebastian now plot to kill King Alonso and his family.

• Ferdinand, King Alonso's son. Falls in love with Miranda.

• It’s probable that Shakespeare patterned the character of Prospero after John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) who was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I.

• Dee was an ardent promoter of mathematics and a respected astronomer, as well as a leading expert in navigation, having trained many of those who would conduct England's voyages of discovery.

• Simultaneously with these efforts, Dee immersed himself in the worlds of magic, including alchemy, divination, astrology and Hermetic philosophy.

• He devoted much time and effort in the last thirty years or so of his life to attempting to commune with angels in order to learn the universal language of creation and bring about the pre-apocalyptic unity of mankind.

• King Alonso of Naples and his entourage sail home for Italy. They encounter a violent storm, or “tempest”.

• Everyone jumps overboard and are washed ashore onto a strange island inhabited by the magician Prospero who has deliberately conjured up the storm.

• Prospero has brought the ship’s crew here in order to extract revenge against his brother and the king for his and his daughter’s banishment.

• Caliban deeply resents Prospero as he believes that he is the rightful ruler of the island. He plots with some of King Alonso's company to murder Prospero, and take Miranda for his wife.

• But Miranda and the King’s son, Ferdinand fall deeply in love. Seeing this, Prospero delays his revenge, and decides to test their love to see if it’s real and lasting.

• Plots to kill Prospero and King Alonso are developed by Caliban, Sebastian, and Antonio, and but they fail thanks to Prospero’s magic.

• The play ends with all offenders repenting, even Caliban. Prospero regains his dukedom, Ariel is freed from her service, and everyone, except Caliban, leaves the island.

• The tempest that begins the play symbolizes the suffering Prospero endured, and which he wants to inflict on others.

• Prospero wants to make his enemies suffer as he has suffered, so that they will learn from their suffering, as he has from his.

• The tempest is also a symbol of Prospero’s magic, and of the frightening, potentially malevolent side of his power.

• Prospero eventually chooses to give up all his wondrous magical powers, and live as a normal man.

You taught me language, and my profit on’tIs I know how to curse. The red plague rid youFor learning me your language! Act I scene ii

I have great comfort from this fellow. Methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is perfect gallows. Gonzalo, scene I

A pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous,incharitable dog! Sebastian, scene I

What see'st thou elseIn the dark backward and abysm of time? Prospero, scene ii

I, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicatedTo closeness, and the bettering of my mind. Prospero, scene ii

Full fathom five thy father lies;Of his bones are coral made;Those are pearls that were his eyes;Nothing of him that doth fade,But doth suffer a sea-changeInto something rich and strange.Ariel, Act I scene ii

We are such stuffAs dreams are made on, and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep. Act IV scene I

Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. Trinculo, scene ii

The strongest oaths are strawTo th' fire i' the blood. Be more abstemious,Or else good night your vow! Prospero, Act IV scene i

Stephano: Here; swear then how thou escapedst.Trinculo: Swam ashore man, like a duck; I can swim like a duck, I'll be sworn.Stephano: Here, kiss the book. Though thou canst swim like a duck, thou art made like a goose. Scene ii

He that dies pays all debts. Stephano, scene ii

The isle is full of noises,Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.Sometimes a thousand twangling instrumentsWill hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices,That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep,Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,The clouds methought would open and show richesReady to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd,I cried to dream again. Caliban, scene ii

O, wonder!How many goodly creatures are there here!How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,That has such people in't! Miranda, Act V scene i

• The Tempest’s lush, mysterious setting and tone has inspired countless classical musical composers to set it to music.

• Symphonies, Operas, and Ballets have all been inspired by Shakespeare’s Tempest, and composers from Tchaikovsky to Purcell and Jean Sibelius have tried to capture it’s magical aura in music.

• The Tempest has received over twenty film treatments, the first in 1905! Notable entries include:

• A silent 1908 version

• In 1956, Forbidden Planet took the story of The Tempest and placed it in outer space!

• A 1960 Hallmark Hall of Fame version with Richard Burton

• A 1980 version for the BBC starring Michael Horndern

• A stop-motion animated version for the BBC

• A 2010 live stage edition starring Christopher Plummer

• And most recently, in 2010 The Tempest was filmed by director Julie Taymor with actress Helen Mirren taking the role of Prospera!

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