The Tempest

The mysterious island of Prospero exists somewhere out in the ocean beyond Europe. It’s an exotic locale filled with magical beings whom Prospero commands to manipulate his seafaring guests. The place symbolizes the mystery, isolation, and untamable strangeness of the New World in the eyes of Europeans.

A stash of liquor hidden near the coast by wine butler Stephano powers his crazed drunkenness and that of his companions Trinculo and Caliban. It fuels their ineptitude and the comic relief of their farcical slapstick.

The island is imbued with magic and magical creatures. Prospero, a self-taught sorcerer, uses magic to control events when his enemies arrive at his shore. The Spirit Ariel performs magical deeds at Prospero’s command. He sometimes calls on the island’s other magical beings to help him. The storm is a magic conjured up by Ariel, who also has the power to protect the ship and its passengers from harm. He and Prospero can make themselves invisible so as to spy on the visitors. They summon charms that cause others to fall asleep or experience strong emotions such as regret. They conjure music, feasts, and entertainments, all of them illusory. The purpose of all this magic is to stage-manage the thoughts and feelings of the ship’s passengers until they come around to Prospero’s view that his overthrow was a miscarriage of justice and morals.

Act I, Scene 1 depicts a ship caught in a terrible storm. Its passengers and crew, hearing the sounds of a breakup, fear the ship is lost and that they will drown. But the noises are made by Ariel, who created the storm and guides the ship to safe harbor. Ariel watches over the passengers as they jump overboard and clamber onto shore, puts the crew into a deep sleep, and makes sure that everyone on the ship remain safe and unharmed, as Prospero wishes.