The play begins with a dramatic storm.
This storm has, at its centre, the ship of King Alonso of
Naples, returning to Italy following his daughter’s wedding in Tunis. This tempest is no ordinary
storm, however; it has been wrought by Prospero, a powerful magician in exile on a nearby island, as
part of his plan to wreak his revenge upon those who overthrew him.
Prospero watches with his daughter, Miranda, at his side. Miranda begs for the lives of those on
board the ship; Prospero reassures her that they will all be saved. He then tells her the story of how
they were ousted from Milan; Miranda is shocked, as she was only a baby when this happened.
Prospero calls upon a spirit named Ariel, who is indebted to Prospero for rescuing him from
entrapment in a tree and therefore acts as his servant. Prospero sends Ariel to lure the king’s son,
Ferdinand, towards them using beautiful music. Prospero then has a heated exchange with Caliban,
another of his servants, but a brutish and rude one who hates his master and sees him as having
usurped his place as ruler of the island. Prospero sends Caliban to gather wood.
Ariel successfully lures Ferdinand and he and Miranda begin to fall in love: it’s all part of Prospero’s
plan. However, he deliberately behaves cruelly towards poor Ferdinand in order to evoke sympathy
in Miranda and cause them to fall in love more deeply.
Ferdinand’s father, King Alonso, is devastated as he has been washed up separately from his son and
thinks he is dead. He, Gonzalo, Sebastian and Antonio begin to wander the island, searching for him.
Ariel, sent by Prospero, plays music to send Gonzalo and Alonso to sleep; as they do so, Antonio and
Sebastian plot to kill the king and take his power. Again, this is all part of Prospero’s plan. However,
just as they are about to kill the king, Ariel wakes him up.
Stephano and Trinculo, washed up on another part of the island, meet Caliban and they decide he
will be their servant. He convinces them to kill Prospero so that they can take control of the island
and marry Miranda.
Meanwhile, Gonzalo, Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio come across a beautiful banquet of food –
which disappears as soon as they get close. To their horror, Ariel appears in the terrifying form of a
harpy and outlines their bad deeds against Prospero. They all realise how much trouble they’re in.
Prospero agrees to the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda and calls upon his magic to create a
stunning celebration of their love.
Stephano and Trinculo come across a clothesline with all sorts of fancy clothes hanging on it;
however, this is all a magical illusion wrought by Prospero, who sends spirit hounds to chase them.
In the end, Prospero decides to be merciful and stop seeking revenge. When he finally meets the
courtiers in person, he reveals Ferdinand to a joyful Alonso and forgives them all their deeds against
him. The play ends with him giving up magic, freeing Ariel and returning to Italy with the others.
