The Tempest is a hilarious comedic tragedy written by one of the most famous authors/poets the world has ever seen. So, basically, this guy called Prospero conjures a storm using his magic. I think he has a staff that works like a wand, but I might just be remembering that from the play. He is trying to torture shipwreck survivors that are on his island. He is kind of like the god of this island. Also, he has a daughter called Miranda who lives on this magical island with him. The island is called Jan Mayen. I would have picked a cooler name, but it’s chill. I think he is the main character because he is featured a lot. He has this slave, and the slave plots to get rid of him, but Prospero’s ghost-servant, Ariel prevents it. Oh, and also, Prospero was the Duke of Milan but he was kind of exiled so the shipwrecked party is actually headed by his brother, Antonio. So, anyways, Antonio and his group are eventually forgiven after being properly tortured, but Prospero -who is a sorcerer- struggles with the decision. Also, Caliban, the slave, was originally the only island inhabitant (excluding the imprisoned spirit Ariel) until Prospero and Miranda arrived and he (Caliban) is kind of mishappen and ogre-ish.
I enjoyed reading the play. I chose to read it because we had read Shakespeare in English and I had watched the play “The Tempest” a couple of years ago. The reading was super hard to understand but using my knowledge from the play I understood plenty of it. When I did watch the play, my most potent memory is of the mention of a horse’s a*s, during my reading, I could not find that specific quote, which disappointed me, but I suppose the play version was designed for modern laughs.
My only advice would be to either read the play before watching it and then read again after watching it to truly understand, or to watch the play, not understand it, and then read it and fully understand. Also, if you do want to watch it, I recommend The Old Globe, which cycles through Shakespeare's plays.
Comments