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write summary of shakespeare's tale " The Tempest ". Also write about the chracters - Prospero and Miranda.

Summary of The Tempest

The Tempest is a play that was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s. When the play begins, Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, and his teenage daughter, Miranda, live on a remote island where they have been stranded for the past twelve years. Their only companions are Ariel, a magical spirit enslaved by Prospero, and Caliban, a native of the island who is also enslaved by Prospero. Prospero was originally Duke of Milan, but his position was usurped by his brother Antonio, possibly with the consent of King Alonso of Naples and Alonso's brother Sebastian.

The play opens with Antonio, Alonso, and several of their retainers on a ship in a great storm, the titular tempest. Unbeknownst to them, the storm is the work of Prospero, who aims to shipwreck them on his island. Once they are washed ashore, Prospero plans to take revenge on his foes and regain his position as Duke of Milan. Eventually, through magic, intimidation, and trickery, Prospero succeeds in his plans. Prospero is restored to his dukedom, brings about the revelation of Antonio's betrayal, and secures the marriage of Miranda to King Alonso's son, Prince Ferdinand.

Characters

Let's take a look at the characters in this play:

  • Prospero is the former Duke of Milan, treacherously overthrown by his brother Antonio. Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, narrowly escaped death during the coup with the help of Gonzalo. Now stranded on a remote island, Prospero is a great sorcerer who draws his powers from his books and from the enslaved spirit Ariel. Prospero plots revenge on his enemies, and this drives much of the action in the play.
  • Miranda is Prospero's teenage daughter, who has been stranded on the island with Prospero for the past twelve years. By the end of the play, Miranda has fallen in love with Ferdinand and the two are engaged to be married, much to Prospero's delight.
  • Ariel is a magical spirit enslaved by Prospero. Ariel as well as Ariel's magic play a key role in Prospero's deceptions and powers. At the end of the play, Prospero agrees to free Ariel as a reward for Ariel's service.
  • Caliban is the son of Sycorax. Caliban and Sycorax inhabited the island when Prospero and Miranda arrived. When the play starts, Sycorax has died and Prospero has enslaved Caliban. Over the course of the play, Caliban rebels against Prospero, but at the end of the play, Caliban agrees to obey Prospero again.
  • Sycorax is an earlier inhabitant of the island and Caliban's mother. Sycorax has died by the time the play starts, but she is mentioned several times by Prospero and Caliban.
  • Alonso is the king of Naples. Prospero believes Alonso was complicit in Antonio's betrayal of Prospero, but by the end of the play, Alonso restores Prospero to his dukedom and agrees that Alonso's son, Prince Ferdinand, should marry Prospero's daughter, Miranda.
  • Sebastian is Alonso's treacherous brother. Over the course of the play, Sebastian plots unsuccessfully to kill Alonso and Ferdinand in order to place himself on the throne. At the end of the play, Sebastian's treachery is revealed and forgiven.
  • Antonio is Prospero's brother, who usurped Prospero's position as Duke of Milan. While on the island, Antonio and Sebastian plot, without success, to kill Alonso and his family. At the end of the play, Prospero begrudgingly forgives Antonio after Prospero is restored to his dukedom.
  • Ferdinand is Alonso's son and Prince of Naples. With help from Prospero's magic and manipulation, Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda over the course of the play. By the end of the play, the two are engaged to be married.
  • Gonzalo is a Neapolitan courtier who provided Miranda and Prospero with water, food, and books when they were at sea.

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The play begins on a ship, with a ship-master and a boatswain trying to keep the ship from wrecking in a tempest. Alonso, King of Naples, is on board, as are his brothers Antonio and Sebastian. Alonso comes above deck merely to give the mariners an unnecessary order; the boatswain begs the nobles to keep below deck during the storm, so that the men can do their jobs without distraction. However, Antonio and Sebastian take the opportunity to make rude and sarcastic remarks to the good boatswain, and can do nothing to help. A spell comes over all on board, and the mariners all flee in desperation; the nobles on deck decide that all is lost without the sailors, and go below deck to say goodbye to their king.

Miranda and Prospero are revealed on the island; Miranda laments that a shipful of men must have died in the tempest, but her father reassures her that none were hurt, and that the tempest was of his own doing. Upon Miranda's request, Prospero begins to tell her of his history, and how they came upon the island; Miranda was very young when she left the island, and cannot remember anyone but her father, not even her dead mother. Prospero tells her how his kingdom was usurped by his brother Antonio, while Prospero was distracted by his studies, and how the king of Naples supported Antonio's rule. Antonio then cast Prospero and Miranda out of Milan, and ordered both of them killed; however, Prospero tells his daughter how the good councilor Gonzalo arranged for them not to be killed, which led to their landing on the island.

   

Prospero declares his intention of reclaiming his dukedom, and that the tempest and his brothers' shipwreck on the island are part of this plan. Ariel makes his first entrance, and declares that Prospero's bidding has been perfectly performed, and none of the party are harmed; the sailors are still upon the ship, while the King and his companions have been scattered about the island. Ariel reminds Prospero of his promise to free Ariel, and Prospero impresses upon him how much more generous a master he believes himself to be than Sycorax.

Caliban enters, stating his claim to the island that comes through his mother Sycorax; Prospero's teachings, for whatever reason, have failed upon Caliban, and Caliban retains his more primitive nature, for which Prospero and Miranda despise him. Ferdinand stumbles upon Miranda, and they immediately fall in love, due to Ariel's magic; but Prospero decides to make him a servant, and will put him to hard tasks about the island.

Act II

King Alonso has landed on the island, with his brothers Sebastian and Antonio, noblemen Adrian and Francisco, and the councilor Gonzalo. Gonzalo tries to console Alonso upon their good fortune of surviving the shipwreck - but Alonso is grieved - not only because his son Ferdinand is missing and presumed dead, but because he was returning from his daughter's wedding in Africa, and fears he will never see her again because of the distance. Antonio and Sebastian show great skill with mocking wordplay, and use this skill to stifle Gonzalo and Adrian's attempts to speak frankly to the rest of the party. Ariel's magic makes the party fall asleep, with the exception of Antonio and Sebastian.

A strange seriousness, of Ariel's doing, falls upon Antonio and Sebastian. Antonio begins to concoct a plan to get his brother the kingship, which will be much easier if Ferdinand, the current heir, really is dead; and since Alonso's daughter is very far away in Tunis, Sebastian might be able to inherit the crown with only two murders, those of Alonso and Gonzalo. Ariel, however, hears to conspirators plan, and wakes Gonzalo with a warning of the danger he is in. Ariel intends to let Prospero know that the conspiracy has indeed been formed as he wished, and Prospero in turn will try to keep Gonzalo safe, out of appreciation for his past help in preserving the lives of Prospero and Miranda.

Caliban curses Prospero, as another storm approaches the island; he takes the storm as a sign that Prospero is up to mischief, and hides at the approach of what he fears is one of Prospero's punishing spirits. Trinculo, Alonso's court jester, finds Caliban lying still on the ground and covered with a cloak, and figures him to be a "dead Indian"; but, the storm continues to approach, so he also hides himself, using Caliban's cloak as a shelter, and flattening himself on the ground beside Caliban's prostrate form.

   

 

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Alonso, the king of Naples, is returning from his daughter’s wedding in Tunis. He is accompanied by his son, Ferdinand, his brother, Sebastain, and Antonio, the Duke of Milan. An old Milanese courtier, Gonzalo, is also on board. The ship is wrecked in a storm and all the passengers and crew are thrown into the furious sea.

Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, and his fifteen year-old daughter, Miranda, are watching the shipwreck from an island. He tells her, for the first time, how they came to be on the island. Twelve years before, when he had been Duke of Milan, his brother Antonio, had usurped him, but with Gonzalo’s help he had escaped in a small boat with his baby daughter, Miranda, and his library of books about magic. They had ended up on the island and Prospero had turned the only inhabitant, Caliban, a deformed and savage creature, into his slave. There are also spirits on the island. One of them, Ariel, had been imprisoned in a tree trunk by Caliban’s mother, the witch, Sycorax, who had then died. Prospero used his magic abilities to rescue him and he made the spirit swear to serve him.

The ship’s passengers are cast up on the island unharmed, and even their clothes are not wet or damaged. Alonso believes his son to be dead but Ferdinand has landed on another part of the island. He encounters Miranda and they fall in love at first sight. He is the first man, apart from her father and Caliban that she has ever seen. Prospero puts Ferdinand to work manually, controlling all his movements with magic. Ariel pesters Prospero for his freedom and Prospero promises it once he has done some things for him, regarding the newcomers.

Ariel leads the party towards Prospero’s cell. During this journey Antonio and Sebastian plan to kill Alonso so that Sebastian can be king. Two other members of the party, Trinculo, the court jester, and Stephano, a boisterous butler, are also wandering about on the island. Caliban recruits them to help him overthrow Prospero. They all get drunk then set off for Prospero’s cell. Ariel reports the plot to Prospero.

Prospero has released Ferdinand and given his blessing to the marriage of the two young people. When the three would-be usurpers arrive at his cell they are distracted by some brightly coloured clothes that have been hung out for them, then they are chased away by a band of spirits who have taken on the form of dogs.

Ariel brings the party to the cell. Prospero renounces his magic and reveals himself. He forgives his brother and prepares to return to Milan to resume his dukedom. Miranda and Ferdinand are betrothed. Sailors arrive and announce that the ship hasn’t been wrecked after all, and is safely anchored off the island. Ariel is set free. Caliban and the drunken servants are also forgiven. There is a final celebration of their reunion.
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