The tragic comedy, at the end of Shakespeare's career The Tempest The tragic comedy, at the end of Shakespeare's career

A tragic comedy The story begins when Prospero causes a tempest in the Mediterranean Sea, in which his brother Antonio and his fellow Alonso, king of Naples, are washed up on an unknown island and all the characters finally meet in Prospero's cavern. Caliban, a monster, organises a rebellion against Prospero with Stephano and Trinculo, that fails.

Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda, Prospero's daughter and finally Prospero and Alonso reconcile themselves. This comedy, the last written completely by Shakespeare, wants him to leave the role of the playwright to reconcile him with the society, like Prospero, who leave the magic to reconcile him with Alonso.

The five acts of the comedy The structure The five acts of the comedy

Act I: the Tempest Prospero, with his magic powers, breaks out a tragic tempest in the Mediterranean Sea, and gets his brother Antonio and his fellow Alonso shipwrecked on a mysterious island. Prospero uses Ariel, a ghost, to activate his plans.

Act II: desperation Alonso is desperate because he thinks that his son Ferdinand has drowned and he explores all the island searching him. Ferdinand isn't dead, but he's fallen in love with Miranda, Prospero's daughter.

Act III: Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo Caliban, a monster that lives on the island, meets Stephano and Trinculo, two drunken, and they organized a plan to kill Prospero. Ariel heard them and informed Prospero about this plan The plan fails

Act IV: preparing the final Prospero begins to planning his punishment and reward: he prepares himself to the reconciliation. There is a sort of interlude in which are entertained the characters of Ferdinand and Miranda.

Act V: reconciliation The whole work ends with a general reconciliation between the characters; Miranda and Ferdinand marry. Prospero, with the marriage, returns to the dukedom of Milan and reconciles him with Antonio and Alonso.

The characters Plots, fights, disgraces: all depends on Prospero

Prospero: the key character Prospero is (was) the duke of Milan, overthrown by his brother Antonio. He loves reading and knowledge. He is a loving father He has (white) magic powers and he uses them when he causes the tempest, his revenge against Antonio.

His traits Prospero's humanity is clearly obvious in his treatment of Antonio, whom he calls traitor but whom he declines to treat as a traitor. Another example of Prospero's goodness is when he stops Alonso from apologizing to Miranda, telling him that there is no need for more amends. By the play's conclusion, it is clear that Prospero is just and fair, in addition to intelligent.

Antonio: the usurper Antonio is Prospero's brother; he usurped the dukedom of Milan and exiled him on a mysterious island in the Mediterranean. He also planned to kill Alonso and to usurp the throne of Naples. He shipwrecked because of the tempest.

His traits Antonio is motivated by envy and by a desire to create trouble.  is actions against Prospero were not sufficient to satisfy his ambitions, and now, Antonio convinces Sebastian to murder his brother.  Antonio reveals no sign of remorse for the actions he has committed.

The quickness with which he accepts Miranda as his daughter, as well as his attempts to apologize to her, also reinforce the image of Alonso as a good and just king Alonso is genuinely repentant for the pain he caused Prospero in the past.

Sebastian - Alonso’s brother Sebastian -  Alonso’s brother. Like Antonio, he is both aggressive and cowardly. He is easily persuaded to kill his brother in Act II, scene i, and he initiates the ridiculous story about lions when Gonzalo catches him with his sword drawn.

Gonzalo: the helper He is wise. Gonzalo is a neapolitan courtier, and he is the secret helper of Prospero and Miranda after the shipwrecking He is wise. Loyal to Alonso and Prospero Optimistic, caring and observant

Ariel: the magic spirit Ariel has not a body: he/she's an immaterial magic spirit. He/she was imprisoned in a tree by Sycorax, an African witch, and he is freed by Prospero, who uses it to activate his plans Mischievous and loyal

Ariel approaches his/her tasks with enthusiasm, quickly doing what is asked. Sympathised with the Nobel men at the end of the play. Urged Prospero

"a southwest wind blow on ye and blister ye o'er". Caliban: the monster Caliban is a terrifying creature who lives in the island and governed it before Prospero came there. Helped by two drunken, Stephano and Trinculo, he carries out a plan to kill Prospero, that failed. "a southwest wind blow on ye and blister ye o'er". W.Shakespeare

The offspring of the witch Sycorax and the devil The offspring of the witch Sycorax and the devil. Prospero has made Caliban his servant or, more accurately, his slave. Caliban is a poor judge of character: He embraces Stefano as a god and trusts his two drunken conspirators to help him carry out a plot to murder Prospero. By the end he know he was deceived by stefano and returns to Prospero. Acts of more like an animal or savage as he has never been educated but he has a human side which is shown when he describes the beauty of the island.

Ferdinand and Miranda Ferdinand is the Prince of Naples, Alonso's son; Miranda is Prospero's daughter. In the second Act Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love: their marriage, at the end, will be the reason of the reconciliation between Prospero and Antonio

Miranda Miranda is an obedient daughter, Miranda has no experience with people, and she has no experience with men, other than her father and Caliban. Miranda's compassion is evident in the first act, with her concern for the passengers caught up in the storm. Her tenderness is also evident when she begs her father not to use magic to control Ferdinand, whom she loves.

Ferdinand Ferdinand is the son of the king of Naples. During the storm, he is separated from the rest of the king's party. Once ashore, he meets Miranda and falls in love with her. Like Miranda, Ferdinand is honest and kind, a loving son, who will make a loving husband to Miranda. Ferdinand is an honorable match for Miranda, sharing many of the same qualities

The themes J.M.William Turner - The Tempest What the comedy wants to say and how it's composed J.M.William Turner - The Tempest

Forgiveness The theme of forgiveness permits all the events of the work The final reconciliation between Prospero and Antonio; and the marriage between Ferdinand and Miranda depend from it.

Freedom Many characters within this play experience some form of imprisonment or confinement, Prospero and Miranda are banished from Milan and are exiled to the island. Caliban is enslaved by both Prospero and Stephano. Ariel is imprisoned by Sycorax and is then forced to serve Prospero

Ferdinand is kept as Prospero's prisoner after the initial shipwreck Ferdinand is kept as Prospero's prisoner after the initial shipwreck. Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian are confined by madness. Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban are imprisoned through Prospero's spirits torment of them. the sailors of the ship are confined to a magical sleep ns.

Prospero wants to be freed through regaining his rightful status, Miranda achieves freedom, although through marriage, from her father's control, Caliban believes that he can gain freedom by exchanging one master for another, Ariel demands freedom from Prospero's control

This idea of freedom is also emphasised at the end of the play when Prospero's character asks the audience to 'set me free' (Act 5, Scene 1) through forgiveness of his actions

Romantic love /at first sight Parent to child Prospero and Miranda Alonso and Ferdinand Between Siblings Prospero and Antonio Alonso and Sebastian Romantic love /at first sight Ferdinand and Miranda

The End "Passata è la tempesta..." G. Leopardi

Realised by: Guglielmi Tiziano (task oriented) Plescia Lucy (narrator) Gigantiello Vincenza (group oriented) Del Zoppo Nicola (speaker)

Pictures and works of art Bibliography Performer - culture&literature 1+2; M.Spiazzi, M.Tavella, M.Layton English Wikipedia article "The Tempest": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest Pictures and works of art All the works of art have been painted by: J.M.W. Turner, A. Bertè, S. Foissant, J.H. Nixon, A. Kauffmann, P. Rembrandt, M. Poole. There are anonymous photos taken in a representation of "The Tempest" at the Globe Theatre, London. Softwares and websites used: Apple iCloud, Keynote, Pages Microsoft Office PowerPoint Google Chrome Wikipedia