1. The shipwrecked people are separated into three groups; the first consists of Ferdinand alone; the second group is the court party consisting of Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio—the “the three men of sin”—who are accompanied by Gonzalo; the third group consists of the comic low-life characters Stephano and Trinculo, who are some of the time accompanied by Caliban. Each of these groups undergoes a quest, an ordeal, and a symbolic vision or temptation. Explain what the quest and ordeal is for each group, and note that with the second and third groups the visions and temptations are different for different members of the group. (You might want to draw a chart for this; it’ll be easier to keep track of characters and plot development that way.) Explain as fully as you can the purpose and effect of these ordeals and vision for each person and group.

2. Prospero’s experience is different from that of the above groups, yet he too suffers a temptation which he eventually overcomes. What is the nature of his temptation and of his new insight? Can you mark a point in the play at which Prospero grows or comes to see something that makes him want to change? What is the nature of his change?

3. The Tempest is often considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, if not the greatest. Yet the characterization is flat and conventional and the plot is thin. So, obviously, the appeal of the play must lie elsewhere than in its plot and characterization. For example, the different characters might have symbolic significance, and Shakespeare might be attempting to depict a vision that cannot be conveyed by dramatic action. What qualities do you find in the play that would account for its high reputation?

4. Measure for Measure explores the qualities of justice and mercy. What are the human qualities or virtues that are emphasized in The Tempest? Support your answer with examples from the text.

5. Where are the mothers in The Tempest? Does their absence have a similar effect upon the characters and their actions as it does, say, in King Lear?  

6. Look up the term metonymy in the OED and explain how it affects this play. Who does the term apply to? Why? How does this invalidate this character's access to power?

7. What’s your favorite scene, speech, or line in The Tempest? Copy it down, and explain why you like it so much. Be sure to contextualize, and remember to substantiate your claim with examples from the text.

8. Like Macbeth and Hamlet, The Tempest is concerned with a conflict brought about by the “unnatural” behavior of a villainous protagonist who plots against and overthrows the rightful ruler of the land, usurping the throne. Antonio seems doubly “unnatural”: in usurping the throne of Milan, he has sinned against God and violated the bonds of brotherly love. Antonio's “unnatural” behavior also recalls that of the traitors in Henry V: in order to usurp his brother's Dukedom, he conspired with Alonso, King of Naples, the traditional enemy of Milan, whom he now serves. But, as in Macbeth, what goes around comes around; shipwrecked on Prospero's island, Antonio is at the mercy of the brother he deposed, while Alonso's younger brother Sebastian plots to kill him and usurp his throne. Look for passages that illustrate these parallels as you read. Note references to “natural” and “unnatural” behavior, to divine justice or Providence, and to “nature” in the text. 

9. The "unnatural" behavior of the brothers Antonio and Sebastian is mirrored by the comic subplot of the drunken butler Stephano, the jester Trinculo, and Caliban, who enlists their aid to help him kill Prospero. Here the themes of treachery, plotting, and fitness to rule are treated in a burlesque manner. But these characters also serve as foils to the protagonists. Note the ways in which the comical subplot mirrors darker, more serious events in the play as a whole. Do the three “low lives” get what they deserve? Is their punishment just, appropriate, fitting their crime?
 
10. As might be expected—from Condell and Heminges’ original classification of the play as a comedy—the various conflicts in the play will be resolved through marriage. Find passages that focus on Miranda and Ferdinand's respective characters, their growing love for each other, and the symbolic rightness of their union, and note the way in which marriage is used as a symbol of social and political harmony. There are dark undertones to this union, however; see, for example, Prospero's warning that Ferdinand is not to break Miranda's "virgin knot" before the wedding, and the cautionary tale of Caliban's unrestrained sexuality. What do you make of this type of “happy ending”? Is it comical in the tradition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, etc.?

11. Why does Prospero decide to give up his magic and return to Milan? Discuss this in terms of the Renaissance ruler's responsibility and the dynastic themes of the play.

12. What is the use of Prospero's magic in this play? What is it for? How does he use it?
It has been claimed that The Tempest is Shakespeare's allegorical farewell to the stage. In this construction, Prospero is seen as Shakespeare himself, and Prospero's farewell to his art is Shakespeare's final farewell to his London audiences. How might you strengthen this argument? How might you argue against it? (Pick one or the other.) Remember to use the text for support.

13. Discuss the relationship between Prospero and his two servants, Arial and Caliban. What does each seem to represent? How are they related to the four elements? Could the three of them form a single self? (In order to answer this question, it might be helpful to look into elemental theory and the Renaissance; Google might be a good start.)

14. Does Prospero begin by plotting revenge but end by granting mercy or does he carry out his original plan with no changes? How does Ariel's half-expressed wish to be human fit into this? Support your answer with examples from the play.

15. It has been frequently pointed out that the play is concerned with the competing claims or virtues of art and nature—or nature and nurture as Prospero refers to it in connection to his failed attempts to educate/civilize Caliban. (Remember that “art” had a much broader meaning then that it has now, and included any human activity that was directed towards transforming nature—cooking and politics would both be “art,” as would be medicine and Prospero’s magic. Likewise, “nature” included both natura naturata, nature as structure or system, the nature of physics, and natura naturans, nature as vitality and growth, the nature of biology.) Write a few paragraphs on how this theme is developed in the play, paying particular attention to the roles of Ariel, Caliban, Miranda, and Prospero. (In answer this question, consider why education seems important in this play? Who can be educated and who cannot? Why? What is the good of education? (Question 16 about the New World might help you in answering this question.)

16. The issue of colonization in The Tempest is larger than it may initially seem. The play was written in 1611, at a time of exploration, discovery, and intense interest in the native peoples of the New World—a Native American was first exhibited in England as a curiosity early in the 16th century, and by 1611 a community of free Blacks had been living in London for fifteen years. Europeans approached the New World with a curious mixture of benevolence, condescension, and greed. The economic stakes were particularly high: the raw materials of the New World—including native peoples (the English joined the slave trade in the 1560s)—held wealth for the countries that laid claim to them, and thus England began to vie with Spain and France for colonial holdings—Shakespeare was linked to the Earls of Southampton and Pembroke, leaders of the Virginia Company that sponsored a colonial expedition in 1609; published accounts of a shipwreck on that expedition likely influenced The Tempest. By the same token, Europeans felt a moral imperative behind their imperialism: they were bringing the Word to heathens, civilization to savages, and culture to the ignorant. On the other hand, there was a current in Humanist thought that saw the "unspoiled" natives of the New World as a foil for the corruption of Europe (much as pastoral poets use an idealized rural society of shepherds to critique their own society, the city or the court). From this perspective, natives of the New World represented a "natural" innocence which was superior to the moral decay of Europe, a viewpoint famously formulated in Montaigne’s "Of the Cannibals." Shakespeare knew this essay in John Florio's 1603 translation and paraphrased it in Gonzalo's speech, 2.1.148-173—notice, too that “Caliban” is an anagram of “cannibal.”In this essay, Montaigne praises the American Indians, thereby contributing to the establishment of the idea of the Noble Savage.
a) In a sense, Prospero has colonized the new world of the island, taking it away from its original inhabitants, Ariel and Caliban, whom he forces to work for him. What does the play seem to say about colonization? What is linguistic colonialism and how does it apply to this play?
b) As the above analogies suggest, Shakespeare seems once again (as in Macbeth) to have shied away from painting a picture in “black and white”—both Caliban and Prospero are richly ambiguous figures. Caliban is at least half human, and Shakespeare takes care to remind us of it, imbuing him at times with poetic grandeur and surprising nobility. Prospero, on the other hand, often appears a larger than life (and perhaps superhuman) figure, while he cannot be considered perfect in any way and is from being a good ruler. He is the rightful duke of Milan, but did Antonio, perhaps, have some justification in usurping the throne? On the island, Prospero governs with absolute authority—a strength he did not show as duke of Milan. Having learned to govern “correctly,” does he now “deserve” to be duke? What is the source of his power on the island? Is there a relationship between that power and his weakness in Milan? Why must he abjure his magic and "drown his book" (5.1.57) before returning to Milan?


17. And what about this Caliban? He is native to the island and claims to be its rightful ruler. He welcomed the shipwrecked Prospero and the infant Miranda to his island, found them food and drinking water and taught them to survive. He is sensitive to the beauty of Ariel's songs, and his own speeches can be surprisingly poetic—see, for example: “Be not afeard; this isle is full of noises” (3.2.138-46)—yet he is also presented as a monster, a "thing of darkness," the offspring of the witch Sycorax and the Devil himself. He is said to be "ungrateful" to Prospero, who brought him civilization and language, but Caliban responded by attempting to rape Miranda. From Prospero's perspective (as well as Miranda's, perhaps), this ingratitude is barbaric and sufficient justification for enslaving Caliban. From Caliban's perspective, however, Prospero is the ungrateful one, and a tyrant to boot. Consider the relative merits of these two positions and perspectives and pay attention to the passages in which they are expressed. 

18. How about Ariel? A spirit in the service of the magician Prospero, he is similar to the fairy Puck who serves Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream. But there are essential differences. What kinds of bonds tie them to their respective lords? Is their service offered willingly? (Remember that service to one's king or rightful lord is considered to be part of the "natural order" in Shakespeare's time. Is Prospero Ariel's rightful king?) On the other hand, Prospero seems to feel genuine affection for Ariel, who for the most part serves him cheerfully enough. What do we make of that relationship? In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the fairies represent the power of dreams—or of poetry, or of art—to change "reality." Is anything analogous going on in The Tempest? Look for passages that emphasize the link between learning, magic, and power. Keep in mind that The Tempest, Shakespeare's last complete work before retiring to Stratford, has commonly been considered Shakespeare's "farewell to poetry."