This joyous play, the last comedy of Shakespeare's career, sums up his stagecraft with a display of seem-ingly effortless skill. Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, who is living on an enchanted island, has the opportunity to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore--as well as to forestall a rebellion, to arrange the meeting of his daughter, Miranda, with an eminently suitable young prince, and, most important, to relinquish his magic powers in recognition of his advancing age. Richly filled with music and magic, romance and comedy, the play's theme of love and reconciliation offers a splendid least for the senses and the heart.

Introduction vii

The Tempest On Stage xvii

The Tempest On Screen xxxi

The Playhouse xlii

THE TEMPEST 1

Date and Text

Textual Notes

Shakespeare's Sources

Further Reading

Memorable Lines