The Interpretation of the play "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaboration, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, two epitaphs on a man named John Combe, one epitaph on Elias James, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

First of all I would like to begin with the title of the story. Let us analyze its direct meaning. It is clear that the word ‘tempest’ has connection with the natural phenomenon. It means a strong storm at the sea, which is attended by big waves, chilly winds and voices of sinking men.

From my point of view the sitting of the story reveals the full picture of the events which William Shakespeare wanted to show in his play. From my point of view the setting of the story – which is a separate island at the sea – indirectly describes its personality. It seems to be the unique island which is full of magic things and magicians themselves. By the way, the mysterious place predicts future actions and plot development. The whole events alter the story’s meaning.

“The tempest” is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio's lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand.

Prospero is a fictional character and the protagonist of the play. He is the rightful Duke of Milan, who was put to sea on "a rotten carcass of a butt [boat]" to die by his usurping brother, Antonio, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda, his daughter, survived, and found exile on a small island. He has learned sorcery from books secretly given to him, and uses it while on the island to protect Miranda and control the other characters. On the island, he becomes master of the monster Caliban, and Ariel, an elemental who has become enslaved by Prospero after he is freed from his prison inside a tree. However, at the end of the play, Prospero intends to drown his book and renounce magic. In the view of the audience, this may have been required to make the ending unambiguously happy, as magic smacked too much of diabolical works.

Caliban is one of the primary antagonists in play “The Tempest”. After his island becomes occupied by Prospero and his cohort, Caliban is forced into servitude. While he is referred to as a calvaluna or mooncalf, a freckled monster, he is the only human inhabitant of the island that is otherwise. He is depicted as: a wild man, or a deformed man, or a beast man, or sometimes a mix of fish and man, stemming from the confusion of two of the characters about what he is, found lying on a deserted island. Caliban is a Cambion, the son of Sycorax by a devil. Prospero entraps Caliban and torments him. Resentful of Prospero, Caliban takes Stephano, one of the shipwrecked servants, as a god and as his new master. Caliban learns that Stephano is neither a god nor Prospero's equal in the conclusion of the play, however, and Caliban agrees to obey Prospero again.

Narration is very bright here, in this story. There are several types of these language phenomena. We manage to see the interior monologues, narration, description and dialogs themselves. The latest elements are the fundamental construction of the play. We can’t say from whose point of view the story is told, because there are lots of characters with their own vision of this or that situation. But I dare say that the narrator himself – Will Shakespeare is the head of the telling community.

The language of the story is very broad. It is not surprise for me, because of the author – who is supposed to be the brilliant of the British literature. Personally I think the story is based on the simile.

There are lots of themes in the story. For instance the theme of love is shown from the relations between Miranda and Ferdinand. The second one is the fight for the power. We have a chance to see it when the King and his suite argue over the throne. And the third one is the theme of forgiveness. The example of Prospero and his deeds illustrate it to us.

I am sure that the main idea of the story is that forgiveness can give you deliverance from your burden of wrath, sinks and despair. All this has Prospero. But at the end, he escapes from all these things.

In conclusion I would like to say that the play which I have read impressed me greatly. It took me two days to finish reading. Personally I think that it is a great work и the great author.