The Tempest: Study Guide

Prospero Former duke of milan, now is magician on the mediterranean island
Miranda Prospero’s daughter
Ariel Servant to Prospero, a spirit
Caliban Servant to Prospero
Ferdinand Prince of Naples, son of Alonso
Alonso King of Naples
Antonio Duke of Milan and Prospero’s brother
Sebastian Alonso’s brother
Trinculo court jester, Alonso’s servant
Stephano Alonso’s butler
Gonzalo Counsilor to Alonso and friend to Prospero
Tempest violent storm
What was significant about the Tempest it was the last play Shakespeare ever wrote
who was the play 1st performed to King James 1 in 1611
what was the story based off of 1609 shipwreck of an English ship off the coast of Bermuda
Romance An imaginative story in prose in poetry, in which the plot is the most important element
Setting The age of exploration 17th century
Blank Verse Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter
Iambic Pentameter A line of poetry that contains five iambic feet
Prose Ordinary form of written language
Sycorax Evil witch who used to rule the island and is mother to Caliban
Act 1, scene 1 There’s a storm the mariners try to control the boat during it. The ship splits(metaphor)
How did prospero and Miranda get to the island Prospero was once king until his brother got power hungry and joined forces with King Alonso to banish him from the island
Who saved Prospero Gonzalo did by giving him food and books before they were sent away
How long have they been on the island? 12 years
How does Ariel become prospero’s servant After Ariel stopped serving Sycorax she put him in a tree stump she later died but when Prospero came to the island he freed him
What did Caliban do to cause Prospero to turn on him He tried to rape Miranda
What does Ferdinand believe He was the only survivor of the shipwreck
How does Ferdinand fit into Prospero’s plan? He wants Miranda and Ferdinand to meet and fall in love
What is Shakespeare trying to say about the current set up of society? That it’s corrupt and based solely on greed and power
What is Antonio and Sebastian’s plan? To kill Gonzalo and Alonso so Sebastian can become King
Who plants the seed for the plan? Antonio
What happens that stalls S&Ant. Plan to happen Ariel sings and wakes up the men
What do S& Ant say why their swords are drawn? That they heard lions
What does Trinculo believe Caliban is when he first sees him? A fish
What does Stephano show Caliban Alcohol
What does Caliban agree to do while drunk To be Stephano’s servant and show him around the island
What does Caliban tell the men about what they should do He wants them to kill Prospero so stephano can be king and kidnap Miranda to be his queen
What happens when Ariel becomes the harpie The food disappears and he tells the 3 men that this is all revenge for what they did to Prospero and Ferdinand’s “death” was all caused by Alonso
What does Alonso says he’s gonna do after hearing he is responsible for killing Ferd. To drown himself
How long does the plan go on for A few hours
What does Ariel tell Prospero about the men That if he were human he would feel pity for them
When Ariel tells Prospero he feels pity for the men what does he decide To release and forgive the men
What does Prospero say he and Alonso have in common They both lost their children in the storm
How did Prospero actually lose her? To marriage
What are Miranda and Ferdinand doing while all the men are talking Playing chess
Do Prospero and Caliban reconcile their issues? Yes they both forgive each other
What does Caliban say he learned from this? To be more careful who he trusts
What happens to Ariel in the end of Act 5 Prospero frees him
What does Prospero do to his magic He’s going to get rid of it and no longer use his power
Why does he stop using magic Because it’s what got him here in the first place
What does Prospero ask the audience to do in the Epilogue To applaud
How does the Epilogue relate to Shakespeare’s life It was his last play. When Prospero is saying goodbye so is Shakespeare
July 28, 2019