The Tempest

The tempest is considered the William

Shakespeare's last work and maybe the most
personal, is a five-act play written by William
Shakespeare between 1610 and 1611.
 The work is part of the romances group,
or stories of love, adventures and magic
that always have a happy ending composed
by Shakespeare at the end of his career.
It was first published on the first folio in 1623
and was first staged in London in 1611.
Setting in time: The storyline takes place
over four hours.
Setting in place: unidentified island
in the Mediterranean Sea.
•Historical background
•Historical background
•The sources
•Historical background
•The sources
•The characters
•Historical background
•The sources
•The characters
•The plot
•Historical background
•The sources
•The characters
•The plot
•The structure and lenguage
•Historical background
•The sources
•The characters
•The plot
•The structure and lenguage
•The themes
•Historical background
•The sources
•The characters
•The plot
•The structure and lenguage
•The themes
•Performation and succes
•Historical background
•The sources
•The characters
•The plot
•The structure and lenguage
•The themes
•Performation and success
•Metatheatre
•Historical background
•The sources
•The characters
•The plot
•The style and lenguage
•The themes
•Performation and succes
•Metatheatre
•Hidden meaning
Historical background
Shakespeare lived during the era of Elizabeth I
James I, it was the the golden age of the English
literature and theater.
 Drama became:
The national literary manifestation of the time, and it
moved away from miracle and moralities.
Major changes:
Abandoned religious theme, rigid rhyme, and language
became more flexible.
Purpose:
Celebrated England, was the mirror of society and
rappresented the break of the order
The sources
The sources

There is no single source from

which Shakespeare took inspiration
but we don't know for sure what
were the sources that influenced
Shakespeare, especially he was
inspired by travel stories in the new
world, we can quote:
The sources
•A True Reportory of the
Wreck and Redemption
of Sir Thomas Gates
•On Cannibals
•Comedy of the Beautiful Sidea
•Commedia dell’arte
A True Reportory of the
Wreck and Redemption
of Sir Thomas Gates
A True Reportory of the
Wreck and Redemption
of Sir Thomas Gates

It was written by William

Strachey in 1610, which tells
the true story of the sinking of
an English ship near Virginia,
whose crew remained on the
island of Bermuda for an
entire year, before arriving at
their destination.
On Cannibals
On Cannibals
It was published in 160,
wrote by Michel de
Montaigne, it concerning
the contrasts between
civilized peoples and the
natives of the New World.
Comedy of the
Beautiful Sidea
Comedy of the
Beautiful Sidea

This play has a similar plot to The

Tempest. There is also a
supernatural supernatural aspect.
Commedia dell’arte
 Commedia dell’arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of
entertainment born in Italy in the
sixteenth century, which differs from
other theatrical genres of the time for
the professionalism of the actors.
The characters
The characters
The characters are divided
into real and supernatural.
The characters
• Prospero:
Miranda's father and
protagonist of the story.
• Miranda:
Daughter of a
prosperous, she
represents feminine
perfection through her
beauty and innocence.
The characters
• Ariel: Spirit of the air
present on the island even
before the arrival of
Prospero.
• Calibian: The only one
born on the island, son of
Sycorax and the devil.
• Sycorax: Witch, mother of
Caliban, she is never
present in the work but in
often mention
The characters
• Antonio: Duke of Milan.
• Alfonso: King of Naples.
• Ferdinando: Son of
Alfonso.
• Trinculo and Stefano
The plot
 The plot
• The tale of the English comedy begins when most of the events
have already happened. Prospero and Miranda are present on an
enchanted island, who were exiled thirteen years earlier by
Antonio, since Prospero decided to leave the duchy of Milan to
his brother Antonio to devote himself to literature, so Antonio
driven by ambition and power forced the brother and daughter to
get on a boat that will take them to the island inhabited by the
monster Caliban.
 The plot
• First act
Prospero thanks to his magical powers he understands that his brother Antonio
is near the island so he causes a storm by wrecking the ship on the island, but
the shipwrecked are dispersed in various groups on the island, and no one
knows the fate of the companions.
•Second act
Alonso is in despair as he mistakenly believes his son has drowned, Ferdinand
wanders the island alone until he meets Miranda and falls in love with her at
first sight, Miranda also falls in love with him and the two promise to marry.
 The plot
• Third act
Ferdinand confesses to Prospero his love for his daughter and reveals to him
that he is king of Naples since her father died in the shipwreck Meanwhile,
Caliban plots with Stefano and Trinculo to kill Prospero and become the
master of the island again but Ariel listens to them and reports their intentions
to Prospero.
•Fourth act
Prospero decides to confront everyone, renounces the magical arts and reveals
their identities to the castaways, gathers all the characters in his cave.
 The plot
• Fifth act
The story draws to a close Prospero decides to reward his friends and to
punish his enemies so that everyone gets what he deserves, Prospero
returns to being the duke of Milan, Ferdinando and Miranda get married
uniting the duchy of Naples and Milan, Sebastiano and Antonio they are
pardoned, and he releases Ariel and Caliban. Finally, he asks Ariel for
one last favor, that is, to calm the waters for his return to Italy. The story
ends with a happy ending like every work of the romances period.
The style and
lenguage
The style and
lenguage
• The work can be
defined as a tragicomedy
in which Shakespeare
manages to merge the
tragic and the comic.
• •It is divided in five act.
The style and
lenguage
• The work is part of the
romances group, or
stories of love,
adventures and magic
that always have a
happy ending.
• One of the main
characteristics of The
Tempest is its magical
atmosphere.
The style and
lenguage
• Shakespeare's language
is characterized by a
great variety of linguistic
levels, by a great variety
of rhetorical figures:
• Similes and metaphors,
obscure and archaic
words, mythological
allusions, pauses,
assonances, hyperbole,
alliteration.
The themes
The themes
• The Tempest is a rather
complex comedy in which
reality and magic are
mixed. The play is set in
an ideal, supernatural
world that is in contrast to
and dominates the real
world.
The themes
• Magic
• Freedom and captivity
• Revenge and Forgiveness
• Colonialization
Magic
Magic
• Very popular theme during
the Renaissance.
• Shakespeare opens the
doors of the supernatural
to showing us the infinite
potential of the new
magical art, no longer evil
with witchcraft and
superstition like the
medieval one, but of
wisdom and justice.
Freedom and captivity
Freedom and captivity
• These two elements are
fundamental to the plot of
the comedy. Prospero and
Miranda are forced to live
in exile on a distant island.
On the island, Prospero
also enslaved Caliban, the
only inhabitant of the
island, and forced the spirit
Ariel to serve him.
Revenge and Forgiveness
Revenge and Forgiveness
• Another very important
themes are forgiveness and
revenge, in fact, the plot is
based on Prospero's desire for
revenge towards his brother
but but thanks to Prospero's
forgiveness despite the evil
committed by the various
characters, the work has a
happy ending, everything and
everyone is forgiven and
finally peace reigns.
Colonialization
Colonialization
• The theme of colonization
is very important in this
work, this theme was
loved by the audience, in
fact Shakespeare refers to
the colonization of the
Americas and the idea
of Europeans to impose
their own traditions.
Performation and succes
 The Tempest was first performed on 1 November 1611 in Whitehall in
the presence of King James I. When Shakespeare’s works were collected
and published in 1623, The Tempest became many popular at the time
and has remained popular and relevant today inspiring many plays.
Metatheatre
 The Tempest is considered one
of his most important and innovative works.
 The metatheatrical technique is used a lot by Shakespeare in The
Tempest, the play itself serving as a sort of theater within the theatre .
Metatheater in The Tempest underscores the importance
of theater and theatrical performance as a tool to explore
deeper themes, to reflect on the nature of art, and to create
a meditation on the nature of theater and life.
 Shakespeare represents meta-theatre through two characters:
•Prospero, who is the director and protagonist of his own story.
Prospero controls the events of the island and of the characters that
populate it as a director controls the actors on a stage.
•Caliban, who represents the theater in its most primitive and raw aspect.
Hidden meaning
We can consider this work as Shakespeare's spiritual
testament, his mind in which he invites us to emerge
renewed, transformed and inviting us to reflect on
the human condition, the complexity of our
emotions and relationships.
 Shakespeare's Tempest is often interpreted as a
metaphor for humanity, the story suggests that
human creativity and resilience can weather even the
worst storms, and that the power of art can
help heal and renew that which has been destroyed.
Shakespeare with The Tempest and the setting on an
island represents England and its glory, which it was
experiencing in that historical period after having
begun to colonize and travel by sea.
 With this play and its current themes Shakespeare
makes us understand his profound understending of
human behavior and nature of humans still proving
to be a modern thinker.
The sources:
https://www.studenti.it/la-tempesta-di-william-shakespeare-temi-personaggi-e-analisi.html
https://www.skuola.net/libri/recensione-tempesta-shakespeare.html
https://www.shakespeareinitaly.it/tempesta.html
https://doc.studenti.it/appunti/italiano/scheda-tempesta.html
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_tempesta
https://larivistaculturale.com/2020/01/17/antropologia-culturale-sociologia-letteratura-shakespeare-filosofia-fusini-tempesta/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JopZV5UZq1Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjDb4dNjelY&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceNJT8n-tZs&feature=youtu.be

Andrea D’Orsi, Annalisa Stipcevich, Nicolas Patalano.