Audiobook (abridged)11 minutes
The Story of Shakespeare's Tempest
Written by William Shakespeare, Mary Ellen Lamb and Charles Lamb
Narrated by Ghizela Rowe
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
The Tempest has the ingredients of a cracking good story – magic, power and love, that kick up a storm. The magician Prospero and his daughter Miranda are banished by his jealous brother Antonio with the help of Alonso, the king of Naples. Prospero conjures up a tempest than ensures justice is done.
Author
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright the world has seen. He produced an astonishing amount of work; 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 poems. He died on 23rd April 1616, aged 52, and was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.
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Reviews for The Story of Shakespeare's Tempest
Rating: 4.269230769230769 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
26 ratings25 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/53½ stars - I found I had some trouble in parts with following the action just reading this rather than seeing a performance. I also found Prospero's sudden reconciliation with his brother rather unconvincing.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5None of the characters sucked me in, but the themes it explores are fascinating within the historical and biographical background.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The tragic story of Prospero, a wizard that is actually the duke of Milan. He is send to and island after his jelous brother. Propero is send with his only daughter, Miranda. Tweleve years had pass now and the beautiful Miranda is now fifteen.In the island, Prospero now has under control Arial, a spirt, and Caliban a men that is now his slave. With the help of Ariel and his own magic, Prospero sank the fleet in were his bother and some other friends were trabeling. His plans of revenge for the moment seem to work out perfectly, it is needed time to see what happens.This is a story full of magic, tangles and mysteries. The characters made this play full of life, letting the reader involves in the events. Although the language used get complicated some times the plot is very interesting.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The story of a prince who is shipwrecked in a strange land on his journey home is a frequent theme of Classical literature. These strange lands are almost certainly snares, attempts to prevent the hero from fulfilling his destiny and arriving at his homeland, and the usual method of entrapment is seduction.Odysseus on Calypso's island, Aeneas in Carthage, and Jason and Medea as told in the Metamorphoses. In The Tempest, Ferdinand finds himself in just such a situation. Washed up on a strange shore, Ferdinand meets the strange and entrancing woman who bewitches him and inspires him to remain in captivity instead of heading home to rule his city. He believes that he is the king (1.2.435 "Myself am Naples"), but will remain on the island for Miranda's sake. What makes The Tempest different from the other stories is the presence of Prospero, the one who is actually orchestrating the lovers' encounter.Prospero was a philosopher-king defeated by a MachiavelProspero was a stranger ot his state, "being transported / and rapt in secret studies." Antonio is described as having set "All hearts i' the' state / to what tune pleased his ear, . . " (1.2.79-116), who realized that he had to learn Machiavellianism if he was to maintain his throne. He speaks in Machiavellian terms of Fortune bringing him the opportunity which he must not neglect (1.2.178-184). He manipulates the situation to his best possible advantage; intersetingly, he does this through Baconian methods. His whole life has been about studying ways to manipulate nature, achieving power over nature. This is what enables him in the end to achieve power over the shipwrecked men -- for the power of man over Nature really means the power of some men over other men with Nature as the instrument.Prospero takes a fundamentally adversarial stance to Nature as portrayed by both of the original inhabitants of the island, Caliban and Ariel. He originally tried being nice to Caliban (1.2.344-348), but learned to his chagrin that this part of nature is tricksy and unyielding. He also freed Ariel from the pine tree, but only because Ariel is useful to him; he dominates Ariel, praising and scorning him by turns even as a large part of his power depends on the sprite. He cannot afford to alienate Ariel as he has alienated Caliban, but he still dominates. Prospero believes that he is manipulating everything for the greater good, but he is still manipulating it all, and this will eventually lead to what we know as the Brave New World (5.1.182-185).It is possible to argue that Prospero's endeavor is not Baconian, since he rarely directly manipulates nature but instead relies on a cooperative spirit. Lewis described the eschatology of our power over Nature in Miracles, this way: "In the walking on the Water we see the relations of spirit and Nature so altered that Nature can be made to do whatever spirit pleases. This new obedience of Nature is, of course, not to be separated even in thought from spirit's own obedience to the Father of Spirits. Apart from that proviso such obedience by Nature, if it were possible, would result in chaos: the evil dream of Magic arises from finite spirit's longing to get that power without paying that price. The evil reality of lawless applied science (which is Magic's son and heir) is actually reducing large tracts of Nature to disorder and sterility at this very moment." But when Prospero hears of Gonzalo's tears, his reason defeats his baser desires for vengeance and he realizes that all his manipulation is of the same school as Medea's.(5.1.15-20) It's not noble, it's selfish witchcraft, and he renounces it by quoting Medea's own description of her powers.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5For me, the most wondrous of the plays.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely my favorite of Shakespeare's plays. His vision and poetic skill have come to full maturity in this fantasy of loss and redemption.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In contemporary society, vampires and Hogwarts have become a hot-topic obsession for American society; both of which amalgamate action and social conflict in a magical, fantastical world. Such a world is an integral and fascinating portion of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. The progression in the plot roots essentially from the protagonist’s, Prospero’s, powers held on this magical island. From the beginning of the play, he utilizes magic in order to create the tempest that wrecks the ship and places the characters in their own routes. The magic allows him to set up the scenes of his own puppet play and bring about the in-depth look into the characters’ behaviors and changes throughout the play. He uses it to put his daughter to sleep and cloak himself in invisibility as he watches down upon the characters as to how his plans unravel. Furthermore, his control of the spirit Ariel also serves as an important aspect of this plot and character development. Ariel divides and transports the characters around the island. Through the use of the spirit, Propero essentially creates three sub-plays in his overarching attempt at retribution: love between his daughter and the prince; social power and personal struggles between the King of Naples and his court; and the comedic relief with the drunk Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban attempting to take power over the island. Ariel steps in to awake the King when threatened during sleep by his court and also teases them with food. Lastly, the magic also serves as a measure of power creating the themes of power and colonization. Propero’s knowledge of magic makes him more powerful over the previous leader of the island, the witch Sycorax, and her son, Caliban, leading Prospero to eventually make the latter his slave. The power additionally places him in control of the environment and the characters. Thus, the magic brings about fruition of the development and final ending. Though its ending lacks luster with no opposing power against Proper, the story has magic at its integral, partially appealing to many of today’s audience.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have only read about two Shakespeare plays. One of them I have enjoyed and the other I didn’t so much. “The Tempest” is a fantastic story about the lives of a few men and an island. Whether this Island is mystical or not we do not know. However there are fantastical things that occur in the story much like almost all of the other Shakespeare plays. There are angels that can control humans or possess them and there is a monster named Caliban. If you enjoyed Robinson Crusoe then you should definitely give “The Tempest” a read. Although be careful it “is” written by Shakespeare.When I first read “The Tempest” I read it in its original text. Meaning I read it in Old English or whatever the official name for it is. The play was hard to understand although I did enjoy the adventure of the read. I understood most of the characters and even liked some of them. By far my favorite character would have to be the most flawed one: Caliban. To me he was the most intriguing. He is a slave and son of a witch. It just makes my imagination go nuts. What would a witch’s son look like in Shakespeare? It was exhilarating! The book I rented from the library consisted of a huge analysis that I did not read however I looked at the pictures of the characters and drawings. There was this drawing of Caliban and he looked absolutely hideous. It was a gruesome picture that peeked my imagination and drew me further into the reading.Eventually I finished and sat wondering what the heck did I just read? I honestly did not even know they were on an island until the day of class when we discussed it. I was astonished that I missed a huge detail like that. So to be honest I went to spark notes I read the translated version. Awesome.It’s interesting that I read the Tempest now because just three months ago I had rented the movie “Forbidden Planet”, which is a modern translation of “The Tempest” but in space. So not only did I not know what the “The Tempest” was I saw it in space. It is just interesting how things work out like that. Ever since I’ve read the translated version of the play I have been thinking on and on about this island that they are on and what it represents. It is clearly a metaphor for the Americas. However I have been thinking Islands lately and what comes to my mind when I think of that? The mystical and magical island of “Lost” the television series. The show is basically another modernization of “The Tempest”. If your not a fan of the show I’m sorry but I just thought that was cool. I could probably list some parallels between the show and the play but I shall not. So now I’m on an uber-quest to find more of these modernized versions. “The Tempest” is just that awesome I guess.Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” has caught the imagination of generations. Something mystical about it appeals to the people. It appealed to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have a feeling the story of Prospero, Caliban, Miranda, and the storm that shipwrecked a navel ship will not fail to outlast even my grandchildren’s grandchildren. It will live on forever and ever. It may cause a religion or not. It may cause a revolution. Who knows? This is just me speculating at the awesomeness of the story. I’m sorry I couldn’t give more examples of why this story is great. It just is and you should definitely read it before you die.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is my second read through of the play. I'm still not necessarily a fan; the way that Prospero gives blanket forgiveness to Alonso and Antonio seems forced, even if I have a better understanding of why he did it. In addition, the subplot with Sebastian and Antonio's attempt on the king's life goes nowhere. Prospero is still incredibly unlikeable as a main character.
As far as this specific version goes, it has to be one of my favorite editions in terms of how it handles footnotes. Most versions have ALL notes either lumped into the bottom, or on the facing page to the play. It makes it difficult sometimes to find what you're looking for without disturbing the flow of your reading. This book relegates short notes (one or two word translations of the Renaissance word into modern English) to the left of the line it occurs in, and longer footnotes and explanations to the facing page. Aside from an uncomfortable amount of white space on each page, it is an excellent edition. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What's not to like about Will
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A quick reread ahead of seeing Julie Taymor's big-screen adaptation. The first/last time I read this play was aeons ago in school, and since it's not one of my favorite ones --the ones I read/see again and again-- I found I needed some help from time to time. I enjoyed the re-encounter with the play as I only remembered vaguely that there was a sorcerer and his daughter, and the most popular quotations: strange bedfellows, brave new world and such stuff as dreams are made of.. Now, I'm ready but it's still not one of my favorite plays.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5i read this on my nook e-book and think it would have been a better experience in tree-book form. with shakespeare, i like to go back and forth and re-read passages and while i highlighted a lot of places in the text, it wasn't the same experience.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On rereading the Tempest, I realize that despite the title there is very little action in the play and it demonstrates Shakespeare's emphasis on character over plot. But the characters are fascinating. Prospero at times seems a type for the author himself, and of course as such he is the wise master and hero. But at the same time or a moment later, his manipulations and his selfishness make it not too hard to empathize with the hatred he inspires in Caliban, despite Caliban's repugnance. Then in the Epilogue, Prospero, not just a character that walks off of the page, actually asks the audience for permission to walk off of the page before doing so. There is not time to discuss all of the characters, but Miranda's sudden transformation from wondering innocence to worldly cynicism is both startling and yet somehow believable. I remember the Tempest being described as Shakespeare's perfect play, because it so completely conforms to Aristotle's unities of time, place and action. Yet the play has to be considered experimental in its deliberate artificiality and the distance between the audience and the action because it is a play within a play within a play. It is in essence a play about the making of a play. Definitely worth repeated readings.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My favorite play by Shakespeare!!!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I picked up the Tempest, I admit, mostly due to Prospero's role in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I was not disappointed.The Tempest tells the story of Prospero, the supplanted Duke of Milan, who takes control of small island. He's freed a spirit from a tree, who now faithfully follows him; and he's enslaved the twisted (physically and mentally) denizen of the island.Prospero discovers that his supplanting brother is nearby on a ship, so he calls a mighty tempest to beach them upon his island. He then tries to work the situation to his advantage, as well as marry off his daughter to the prince, who has likewise washed ashore.The Tempest is a comedy, which may give you some indication of how it ends, but it is not the destination with this play; rather, it is the route traveled.If you have ever read anything by Shakespeare, you're bound to enjoy The Tempest, even if you hated what you read, since you were most likely in high school, dissecting the lifeless dry corpse of literature. Like an airy spirit, breathe new life into your comprehension of literature, and get yourself a copy of the Tempest, and start reading!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of Shakespeare's more unusual an fanciful plays. Not as silly as most of the comedies (and I don't mean silly in a good way). Full of great characters and some of Shakespeare's best quotes. And, of course, the inspiration for Forbidden Planet.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read this before I saw it staged at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. This is Shakespeare's masterpiece.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I was prompted to read this by my re-reading of the entire Sandman series by Neil Gaiman - and now I can go back and read the last chapter. I only read the play, and very little of the additional material in this edition - I probably will go back and read the rest and re-read the play. I kept expecting something horrible to happen at the end. I did like it rather more than Midsummer Night's Dream.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tempest is almost a wisp of a thing. There's little plot and almost no character development. It's like a magic trick: you blow into your hand, and a cloud of flame pops up, and a dove flies out of it, everyone claps.
So the play is the spectacle, and the magic is the language. Prospero's speech, "We are such stuff as dreams are made on," is second maybe only to "All the world's a stage" in crystallizing Shakespeare's philosophy (and better, poetically); and there's Miranda's line, "O brave new world, that has such people in't!" - these and others are among the best lines Shakespeare wrote; and the feel of the play, the atmosphere - that magical island, populated by beasts and wizards, the evocation of a world we were still exploring - it sticks with you, even though, as I said, dramatically speaking, almost nothing happens.
And Caliban! Arguably the only memorable character - Prospero is cool, and Ariel differs from Puck, but is no Puck, and the others are just placeholders, a virtuous maid here, a villainous uncle there - but Caliban, that sniveling, backstabbing, savage would-be rapist, searching for a God whose boots need licking - he's a tremendous find. (And what made me love Tennyson.) Caliban's right up there with Iago.
In some ways, this play is all flash. But what a flash! - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This wasn't quite a comedy and isn't a tragedy. Prospero is an interesting character -- a scholar, a duke, a stranded man, a plotter, and a dad.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thunder, lightning, magical creatures and islands. A lovely fantasy.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this, though it was a little hard to keep track of everyone and the spirits too.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love The Tempest. I find the summary itself captivating: a powerful sorcerer named Prospero is living in exile on a deserted island with his teenaged daughter, Miranda. The sorcerer has two supernatural servants: a grotesque monster named Caliban, and an enchanting air sprite named Ariel. When the men responsible for his exile pass near the island, Prospero conjures a terrible storm that wrecks their ship and strands them. The plot proceeds quickly and simply, with Prospero orchestrating the romance between his daughter and the handsome Prince Ferdinand, meanwhile sending spirits to torment his traitorous brother. There is also a third (comedic) subplot involving the monster Caliban. Caliban mistakes a pair of drunken idiots for gods from the moon, and tries to get them to slay Prospero. The sorcerer is manipulating and controlling everything, like a writer or a god, he guides each of the characters through their respective moral/mythical evolutions and concludes the story by forgiving those who wronged him. ("The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.") And there's a magical/illusory party involving some Greek goddesses. And then they all live happily ever after, the end. The whole thing is so bizarre that it's hard not to enjoy it, and it's very simple to understand since it has such a basic, straightforward fairy tale/moral fable quality to it. The Tempest lacks the detailed complex characters of such plays as Hamlet or King Lear, but The Tempest is not a story about characters. The Tempest is about morals and philosophy, and the characters are simplistic because they are merely symbols used for illustrating these ideas.The theme throughout the play revolves around nature and the natural order, although the concepts are outdated by modern standards. For example, one of the biggest morals expounded on in The Tempest is that it is wrong to question the natural (i.e.: royal) rulers of a country. It was wrong (unnatural) for Antonio to steal the dukedom from Prospero, even if Prospero did spend all his time in the library brushing up on the occult. It was equally wrong (unnatural) for Caliban to try and overthrow Prospero, even if the island they're stuck on did originally belong to the little monster, because Prospero is a natural (royal) ruler. Also, the philosophy of man returning to nature to regain his purity is to be found in the character of Miranda. Prospero's teenaged daughter is described as being pure and perfect because she's been raised in nature and has the incredibly naive innocence of someone who has grown up in the Garden of Eden, as opposed to the real world. She's never even seen any people, apart from her father, so when she meets Ferdinand she is overcome with his beauty. When she meets the rest of the nobles at the end of the play she is equally astounded. "O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world that has such people in't!"These moral concepts are considerably outmoded now, but at the same time, the story Shakespeare uses to illustrate his principals - full of sorcery, spirits, monsters, illusions, drunkards and schemers, is so mind boggling fantastical and bizarre that I find myself genuinely enjoying it, even if I don't believe kings should be blindly obeyed or girls should be raised in a vacuum of brainwashed obedience and "purity." The Tempest is just fun. Let's face it: a story that features a half-man half-fish monster mistaking a lost drunk guy for a god from the moon is not a story to be missed.A note on the Signet Classics edition: these editions are very nice. They start off with a brief overview of Shakespeare's life and a description of the Globe theatre, and how the plays would have been acted originally. The prefatory remarks and introduction are excellent for explaining the meaning and context of the play. There are helpful footnotes throughout, explaining difficult words and phrases, but not so much that they look cluttered or interrupt the flow of reading. And at the end, there is information on the actual tempest and shipwreck that took place off the Bermudas in 1609 that was probably inspiration for the play. This is followed by a few different essays on The Tempest, and a suggested reading list.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5For the past year, the fates have been telling me I needed to read William Shakespeare's final work The Tempest. Alright fates, I did it! Now you can shove it!!!
Honestly, I was disappointed. There was so much potential in this one, but it was as though Shakespeare, “The Man,” was giving up. Great premise, great setting, great characters with witty dialogue, but why, Prospero? Why do you relent so easily? Ferdinand, what do you see in Miranda? What was the point of it all, Shakespeare? It wasn't clear. These characters just could not convince me of this world.
The ending was classic. C-L-A-S-S-I-C. It seems “The Man” knew he was retiring. Having the magician, Prospero—possibly a reflection of Shakespeare himself—address the audience was brilliant. He explains his mission was to entertain, begs pardon for all his wrongs, and asks to be set free. Loved it.
If only the rest of the play could have been so affecting and clever. Nonetheless, I thank The Man for his entertainment, forgive him his wrongs, and set him free. Run, Shakespeare run. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is one of my favorite of Shakespeare's plays, in terms of the richness of the story and the language.