One of William Shakespeare’s later plays, ‘The Tempest’ is among his most treasured and admired works.
Prospero, the Duke of Milan and a student of the magical arts, is overthrown by his brother Antonio and exiled to a deserted island with his daughter Miranda. Years later, Antonio and his retinue are aboard a ship that is passing by the island and Prospero, who has now grown into a powerful wizard, whips up a terrible storm and strands his brother and the rest of the crew on shore.
With the assistance of Ariel, a spirit in his service, Prospero puts Antonio and his crew through a series of torments and ultimately arrives at a crossroads: Can he give up his powers and embrace forgiveness or will he forever live a life of vengeance and retribution?
One of Shakespeare’s most beloved and powerful works, ‘The Tempest’ is presented here in its original and unabridged format.
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William Shakespeare is generally acknowledged as the greatest dramatist in the history of English literature. Also a poet and actor, Shakespeare was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he received an education at the local grammar school, but whether he attended any educational institution subsequent to his early tutelage is unknown. By eighteen, Shakespeare was married – to an already-pregnant Anne Hathaway – and the couple would go on to have three children, Susanna and the twins Hamnet and Judith. (Hamnet died at 11 years old.) Shakespeare moved to London soon after the birth of the twins and began publishing poems (‘Venus and Adonis’ (1593) and ‘The Rape of Lucrece’ (1594)) and joined the Lord Chamberlain’s Men as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare stayed with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men throughout his career, producing some of his finest work – ‘King Lear, ‘ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Tempest’ among them – after the company fell under the patronage of King James I and became The King’s Men. During his career, Shakespeare penned 38 plays, two narrative poems and over 150 sonnets and enjoyed considerable financial success, eventually buying New Place, one of the largest homes in Stratford. Following his death in 1616 at the age of 52, thirty-six of his plays were collected and published as the First Folio and his entire canon – including his extant plays, sonnets and poems – were published as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays are the most produced dramatic works in existence and they have been translated and adapted into countless stage, screen and television productions over the years. Entire theatres are devoted to producing his works and his writings are studied and analyzed in literature classes around the world.