Prospero – former Duke of Milan – has been robbed of his state by his brother Antonio, in league with the King of Naples.
Twelve years pass, and the former Duke brings up his daughter (Miranda) upon the deserted island where they were exiled.
As luck would have it, a thunderstorm in the sea (The Tempest) blows the ship in which the conspirators were traveling off course; and they are shipwrecked upon
Prospero’s Island. In effect, his former enemies have been placed at his mercy. How he deals with the situation takes up most of the following Acts. Prospero does not decide upon a course of revenge – nor does he decide to forgive his tormentors. He chooses instead to arrange matters in such a fashion that Ferdinand (son to the King of Naples) and his daughter Miranda fall in love and are married. Thus, he ends his exile, and restores himself to his former state and position.
That was an era in which people believed in
spirits and fairies. Shakespeare introduces an interesting device in the play in the form of Ariel (an invisible spirit). Prospero, as a man of letters and learning, is able to command the services of the spirit Ariel. In fact, Prospero promises the spirit Ariel his freedom if he chooses to do his bidding. And when his aims have been achieved, he decides to bring the book he was writing to a close. Perhaps, by means of this play, Shakespeare wishes to impress upon his audience that the pen is mightier than the sword. Or, perhaps, he just wishes to convey that are more things in heaven and earth than we are aware. This is not an aberration on Shakespeare’s part, for this is not the only play in which the playwright enters the realm of spirits. Men are mere puppets drawn by invisible strings, and the spirits are the real actors behind the stage; or so people believed in times gone by.
This play is important for another reason. In Act II Scene I, Shakespeare – through the words of Gonzalo - lays out the broad contours of the ideal state:
• There would be no illegal trade in goods or dealings between people
• There would be no magistrates and (legal) documents
• There would be no exploitation of the poor by the rich
• There would be no succession, land or other taxes
• Work would not be compulsory
• Currency would not be used
• There would be no sovereignty but the king’s
• The produce of nature would be in common for all
The title of the play – The Tempest – refers not just to the storm in the sea; but to the accompanying changes that it brings to the fortunes of men…