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CORE CLASSICSA BRIDGED FOR Y OUNG R EADERSThe TempestBYW ILLIAM S HAKESPEARE
The TempestbyWilliam Shakespeare
CORE CLASSICS editor for this volumeJohn Holdrenisbn 9 7 8 - 1 - 6 8 3 8 0 - 8 4 0 - 4copyright 2021 core knowledge foundationall rights reservedpri nted in canadaCORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION801 east high streetcharlottesville, virginia 22902w w w . co r ek no w l edg e. o r g
Table of ContentsIntroduction2Shakespeare and the Globe12The Tempest: A Story17The Tempestby William Shakespeare35A Note on Prose and Poetry in Shakespeare36Characters in the Play41Act 151Act 2105Act 3149Act 4189Act 5215Think About Performance247
INTRODUCTIONWilliam Shakespeare, widelyregarded as the greatest poetand playwright who ever lived,wrote his plays in England fourcenturies ago—that’s four hundred years. Andyet today in the United States, more theatersput on plays by Shakespeare than by any otherplaywright.Why? Because of the stories Shakespeare tells,the characters he created, and his magnificent waywith words—some of the most beautiful, profound,and sometimes hilarious words you will ever hear.Shakespeare wrote at least thirty-seven plays.He sometimes acted in them himself. In his lifetime,Shakespeare’s plays were enjoyed by people fromall walks of life–from butchers and blacksmithsand shopkeepers to Queen Elizabeth herself, andafter her King James, for whom The Tempest wasfirst performed in 1611.The Tempest is a late work in Shakespeare’scareer, the last play he wrote on his own. Somescholars think the central character of the
3The Tem pestplay—Prospero, whose magical powers enablehim to create great illusions—is in some waysShakespeare’s depiction of himself. If so, theportrait is not flattering. Prospero is complex—he sometimes uses his power in ways that arenot admirable. He can be harsh, bad-tempered,impatient, obsessive, and controlling. He is alsocapable of extraordinary generosity of spirit.At first, Prospero, who has been cruelly betrayed,is filled with rage and set on revenge. His fury andpower give rise to the tempest, the great storm, thatopens the play—a storm so powerful and violentthat it causes a shipwreck. Shakespeare’s stagedirections call for “a tempestuous noise of thunderand lightning.” The script includes the cries ofdesperate men who think their next breath will betheir last.It is, without a doubt, a dramatic way to begin aplay. If this were a present-day movie, there wouldbe hyper-realistic computer-generated crashingwaves with subsonic rumbles of IMAX thundershaking the viewers in their seats. But how doyou create a storm onstage, in a theater with liveactors? Some big theaters today have elaborate
i ntrodu ction4sound and lighting systems, but nothing like thatwas available in 1611. In Shakespeare’s day, theycreated thunder by rattling a big sheet of thinmetal, called a thunder sheet. They used fireworksfor lightning. And the audience loved it.Lacking the means for high-tech special effects,how would you create a powerful storm onstage?That is one of the challenges—and delights—of The Tempest. The play excites both theatermakers and audience members alike by inspiringtheir imaginations to embrace possibilities beyondstraightforward realism.In one recent production in a small theater, thestorm was created purely through music, and theshipwreck powerfully evoked by the movements of theactors behind a large sheet of thin, clear plastic (thekind used to cover floors in rooms being painted, andeasy to buy from any hardware store). In this show,the plastic sheet was held by two actors costumed as“spirits.” They shook the plastic so that it rippled in thelight. They moved the rippling sheet upward from thefloor till it reached above the actors’ heads. The effect,while not realistic, was very effective—you couldeasily imagine the actors being lost beneath the waves.
5The Tem pestThis kind of appeal to the imagination is centralto a play that features, as its main character, amagician, one who specializes in creating illusions.The magician, Prospero, is not a showman whopulls a rabbit out of a hat, but someone who haslearned to channel mysterious powers.In the play, Prospero’s magic is associated withcertain objects—a robe, a staff, and especially hisbooks. Through long study of his books of magic,Prospero has gained great power. His power, unlikethat of a superhero, is not within himself. Instead,he has the ability to get the spirits on the enchantedisland where he lives to do as he commands. Thesespirits can fill the air with thunder and lightning,stir up raging waves in the seas, vanish at will, andtake many forms. One moment they may appearas lovely singing goddesses. Later they mighttransform into fierce howling dogs, or even into awinged monster.While Prospero controls these powerful spirits,they sometimes resist him, especially the airy spiritAriel. Ariel serves Prospero out of gratitude—anevil witch had imprisoned Ariel in a tree trunk, andProspero freed the spirit from captivity. But Ariel,
i ntrodu ction6while grateful, longs for complete freedom. WhenAriel protests, Prospero responds with threats ofpunishment. In the end, not only does Prosperofree Ariel, but Ariel, in a way, frees Prospero, whenthis thing of air, this spirit, shows him the need forhuman forgiveness.Another character in the play also servesProspero—not with magic powers, however, butwith manual labor, and not at all willingly. This isCaliban, who lived on the island before Prosperoarrived there. His mother was that same witch—now dead—who had imprisoned Ariel.While Ariel is an airy spirit, Caliban is describedas a thing of earth. He is also called a “monster.”Caliban is not literally a monster, though the manyinsulting descriptions of him make one thing clear—he is unlike anyone else in the play. The othercharacters see Caliban as strange and different, assomething other. And, as is often the case, the oneseen as different, as the “other,” is treated badly.Caliban tells us that at first Prospero and hisdaughter, Miranda, treated him kindly, and taughthim their language. In return, he showed themwhere to find fresh water and other resources on
7The Tem pestthe island. But then Caliban, though not a monster,committed a monstrous act—he tried to attackMiranda—and everything changed. Prospero’skindness turned to fury. He made Caliban his slave.He forced him to gather firewood and do otherhard chores. And Caliban obeys because he fearsthe physical pain inflicted by the invisible spirits atthe magician’s command.In Prospero’s enslavement of Caliban, the playhints at changes in Shakespeare’s world at the timehe wrote The Tempest. During this time, Europeanexplorers were setting sail and finding new lands—new to them, at least. In many cases, the Europeansseized the lands they found, and mistreated orenslaved the native inhabitants.In Shakespeare’s time, those who saw TheTempest would not have found fault with Prosperofor his treatment of Caliban—for, on a small scale,Prospero was doing what Europeans presumedit was their right to do: taking land from, andimposing their will on, people they saw as other,as different and inferior. From our twenty-firstcentury perspective, while we may understandProspero’s desire to protect his daughter and punish
i ntrodu ction8Caliban, we cannot sympathize with a punishmentas inhumane as enslavement.It’s not just that we can’t sympathize with Prosperoin his treatment of Caliban; indeed, Shakespearegoes further and at times makes us sympathizewith Caliban—he makes us feel with, and feel for,the other. Just when we are laughing at Caliban,Shakespeare catches us off guard by giving himsome extraordinary lines of poetry that make us seebeyond his strange appearance and foolish behavior.When Caliban speaks of his home, the magical islewhere he lives, he speaks beautifully in words thatreveal in this “monster” some very human depths offeeling and heights of wonder.The Tempest mixes the stuff of fairy tales—magic, monsters, spirits, witches—with real humanemotions and conflicts. The mistreatment of the“other”; the angry resistance to being controlled; thethirst for power; the burden of guilt at knowing wehave done something wrong; the desire for revenge;the difficulty of forgiveness; the sorrow of losing aloved one; the joy of reunion; the love of parent forchild, and child for parent—these and other veryhuman, very real matters are continuous with the
9The Tem pestmagical and fantastical elements of the play.In this book we present a shortened version ofShakespeare’s play that can be performed in underninety minutes. While condensed, with some wordschanged and some lines moved, this version of TheTempest remains true to Shakespeare, generally usingthe original language. The book provides helpfulbackground information on Shakespeare’s theatreand poetry. And, to help prepare you for bothenjoying and understanding the play, we first presentThe Tempest in the form of a brief story, followingthe long tradition of introducing young people toShakespeare by re-telling his plays as stories.Shakespeare didn’t write his plays for silentreading from a book. He wrote them to be seen andheard. The Tempest will come to life when you gatherwith classmates, friends, or family members to readit aloud, or, even better, to act it out. You don’tneed fancy costumes or high-tech special effects,just curiosity and imagination. And remember theadvice of one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters,Hamlet, who says that you only need to “speakthe speech” naturally, letting the words help youexpress the emotions.
A collection of Shakespeare’s plays, known as the FirstFolio, was published in 1623.
SHAKESPEARE AND THE GLOBEIn 1564 William Shakespeare was born inEngland, in the town of Stratford-uponAvon, about ninety miles northwest of thegreat bustling city of London. Shakespeareis sometimes called the “Bard of Avon.” (Bard isanother word for poet.)In Shakespeare’s time, well-off boys attendedschool. Girls stayed home. Young Will probablyspent long hours learning Latin, Greek, the Bible,and English history. It seems Will didn’t enjoyschool much: in one of his plays, he described “thewhining schoolboy, with his satchel . . . creepinglike [a] snail unwillingly to school.”There’s a lot about Shakespeare’s life we don’tknow. Over the years scholars have examined theavailable evidence—there’s not much of it—and havetried to put together a picture of the playwright’s life.We do know that eighteen-year-old William marriedtwenty-six-year-old Anne Hathaway in 1582. Overthe next few years, Anne gave birth to their daughterSusanna, followed by twins, a daughter namedJudith, and a son named Hamnet.
13The Tem pestShakespeare did not linger very long in Stratfordupon-Avon. By 1592, Shakespeare was in Londonand establishing a reputation as a playwright, actor,and poet.When Shakespeare wrote his plays, England wasruled by Queen Elizabeth I and later by King James I.Elizabeth was a powerful and intelligent leader, andvery popular with the English people. The arts thrivedduring the reign of Queen Elizabeth. She filled hercourt with poets, playwrights, and musicians.Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performedin the Globe Theatre, which was built in 1599 onthe south bank of the Thames River in London.The Globe was a wooden, circular building withan open courtyard in the middle. The theater couldhold up to 2,500 people.At the Globe, people who didn’t have muchmoney could pay a penny to stand in the courtyardand watch the play; they were called the groundlings.Richer people could buy seats in the galleries,which were along three sides of the theater andwere covered by a roof to protect the audience fromthe sun or a sudden rain. Performances were givenonly in daylight and only in good weather.
Shake speare and t he Globe14Queen Elizabeth IIn Shakespeare’s time, only men acted on stage. Nowomen were allowed to be actors! The women’sparts were played by young boys who still had highvoices and no beards.
15The Tem pestIn 1613, a cannon fired as part of a performanceof Shakespeare’s play titled Henry VIII set fire tothe Globe’s thatched roof, and the theater burnedto the ground. In the 1990s the theater was rebuiltvery near its original location. So, if you visitLondon today, you can still see a Shakespeare playat the new Globe Theatre.The Globe Theatre, as it appeared in Shakespeare’s day
Shake speare and t he Globe16From the First Folio, the collection of Shakespeare’s playspublished in 1623, this is the first page of The Tempest.
THE TEMPESTA StoryHere we retell key events from WilliamShakespeare’s play in the form of a brief story.Prospero, the Duke of Milan, was alearned and studious Milan: a city innorthern Italyman, who lived among hisbooks. He left the management of hisdukedom to his brother Antonio, whom he trustedcompletely—but not wisely, for Antonio himselfwished to be Duke.To gain his ends, Antonio would have killedhis brother, but he dared not, for Prospero wasgreatly loved by the people of Milan. However,with the help of Prospero’s great enemy, Alonso,King of Naples, Antonio managed to take over thedukedom with all its honor, power,Naples: a city insouthern Italyand riches. As for Prospero, he was
A Story18taken out to sea, and when far away from land,forced into a leaky little boat with no mast or sail.With him was his little daughter, Miranda, not yetthree years old. And so they were left to perish inan open boat on the sea.But one honest courtier was true to Prospero.This worthy old man, whose name was Gonzalo,saw to it that supplies were secretlycourtier: one whoplaced in the boat—some food, serves as an advisercompanion tofresh water, clothes, and what ora king or queen orProspero valued most of all, his other royaltyprecious books.The merciful waves cast the boat upon anisland, and Prospero and his little one landed insafety. This was an enchanted island, which foryears had been under the spell of an evil witch,Sycorax, who had imprisoned the good spirits ofthe island in the trunks of trees. She died shortlybefore Prospero was cast on those shores, and thespirits remained locked in their prisons.During the years in which he had allowed hisbrother to manage the affairs of Milan, Prosperohad devoted himself almost entirely to the studyof magic, and he had learned much. Now, on
19The Tem pestthe island, he used his magic arts to free theimprisoned spirits. But he kept some obedient tohis will. One in particular, called Ariel, an airybut powerful spirit, served Prospero faithfully—though sometimes grudgingly, asgrudgingly:reluctantly; showingAriel by nature longed to be freeunwillingnessas the wind.On this enchanted island, Prospero found onehuman form: a strange, young, wild creature calledCaliban, son of the dead witch Sycorax. Prosperotook him home and treated him kindly, and, withMiranda, taught him to speak. But somethingof his witch-mother’s wickedness seemed to liveon in some part of Caliban. When Caliban triedto harm Miranda, Prospero’s kindness turned tofury. He used his magic to punish Caliban, andforced him to work as a slave, to fetch firewoodand do other hard work, with spirits always readyto torment him if he neglected his duties.As the years passed, Miranda, tutored byher father, grew into a young woman. Then itchanced that a ship came near the island. Amongthe passengers were Antonio,treacherous: disloyal;Prospero’s treacherous brother; traitorous
A Story20On this enchanted island, Prospero found one human form:a strange, young, wild creature called Caliban.
21The Tem pestAlonso, the King of Naples, who had helpedAntonio overthrow Prospero; Sebastian, brotherto Alonso; Ferdinand, the King’s son; honestold Gonzalo, who had helped Prospero survive;Stephano, the King’s drunken butler; and Trinculo,the King’s jester. The ship was on a voyage backto Italy from northern Africa, where Alonso hadtaken his daughter to be joined in marriage to anAfrican king.Knowing that the ship was near, Prosperogripped his magic staff and, through the powersof the spirit called Ariel, he raised a great tempest,a storm so furious that even the bravest sailorson board gave themselves up for lost. As thethunder boomed and massive waves crashed ontothe decks, Prince Ferdinand leaped into the sea.His father cried out in grief, thinking his son wasdrowned.But Ariel brought the young Prince safeashore; and the King and his followers, althoughthey were washed overboard, were landed unhurtin different parts of the island. And the goodship herself, which they all thought had beenwrecked, lay at anchor in a hidden harbor where
A Story22Ariel had brought her, with its crew under a spell,unharmed. Such wonders could Prospero and hisspirits perform.While the tempest was still raging, Mirandasaw the ship tossed by the seas. Filled with pity forthe people on board, she pleaded with her father tocalm the furious storm he had raised.“There’s no harm done,” he assured her, for hehad always intended to save the ship and everyoneon it.Then, knowing the moment had finally come,Prospero sat his daughter down to tell her whatshe had never heard before—the story of his lifeand hers, of how he was not only her father butalso the rightful Duke of Milan, and she a princess.He told her how he had caused this storm in orderthat his enemies, Antonio and Alonso, might bedelivered into his hands.Telling her this, but no more, he charmed herinto sleep, for Ariel was at hand, and Prospero hadtasks for the spirit to perform. Ariel, who longedfor his complete freedom, grumbled when heheard there was more work to do. But Prospero,driven by great urgency to proceed with his plan,
23The Tem pestflared into a temper and threateningly remindedAriel of all the sufferings he had undergone whenSycorax ruled the land, and of the gratitude heowed to the one who had made those sufferingsend. Ariel ceased to complain, and promised to dowhatever Prospero might command.“Do so,” said Prospero, “and in discharge thee: setyou freetwo days I will discharge thee.”Then, as Miranda stirred from her sleep,Prospero sent Ariel in search of Prince Ferdinand.Ariel, quick as thought, found Ferdinand, and,invisible, hovered near him, singing,Come unto these yellow sandsAnd then take hands . . .Ariel led the spellbound prince into the presenceof Miranda, while Prospero stood aside, out ofsight. Then, all happened as Prospero desired. Forhis daughter, ever since she could first remember,had seen no other people besides her father andCaliban. And now, seeing Ferdinand, Mirandalooked on the youthful prince with wonder in hereyes and love in her heart.“I might call him,” she said, “a thing divine, fornothing natural I ever saw so noble!”
A Story24Ferdinand, beholding her with surprise anddelight, wondered if she might be a goddess of theisland. Scarcely had they exchanged half a dozensentences before he promised to make her hisqueen, if she were willing.Prospero, though secretly delighted to seehis plan taking shape so readily, worried thatlove so easily won might be too little valued.So, pretending to be in great anger, he accusedFerdinand of being a spy sent to the island to doharm. “No,” said Ferdinand, and drew his sword.But instantly Prospero charmed him so that hestood like a statue, still as stone; and Miranda,who knew her father’s power, begged him to havemercy on the young man. But Prospero ignoredher pleas and put Ferdinand to work, making himcarry many heavy logs and pile them up.Ferdinand patiently obeyed—for indeed hehad no choice—but he felt his labor lightenedby the affectionate attention of Miranda. “If youwill sit down,” said Miranda to the Prince, “I willcarry your logs the while.” He would not let her.In truth, the work of log-carrying went on veryslowly, for they began a conversation, and he
25The Tem pest“If you will sit down,” said Miranda to the Prince, “I will carry your logs the while.”
A Story26could not keep from proclaiming his love, and she,hearing it, rejoiced and promised to be his wife.Then Prospero, glad at heart, gave his consent totheir marriage. “All thy vexations vexations: things thatwere but my trials of thy love,” irritate and trouble youtrials: testshe explained to Ferdinand. Then,joining their hands, “Sit then and talk with her,” hesaid; “she is thine own.”In the meantime, in another part of the island,Antonio—he who had overthrown his brother,Prospero—was urging Sebastian to murder hisbrother, Alonso, the King of Naples; for then, saidAntonio, with Prince Ferdinand being dead (orso they thought), Sebastian would succeed to thethrone upon Alonso’s death. With their swordsraised and ready to strike the sleeping King andthe good old man Gonzalo as well, they wereabout to carry out their wicked purpose whenAriel woke the sleepers just in time.Dark deeds were also being plotted elsewhereon the island. But the plotters were foolish menwho found false courage in a barrel of wine, whichhad been found by Stephano, the drunken butler toKing Alonso. Stephano shared his plentiful supply
27The Tem pestwith the King’s jester, Trinculo, and with the“monster” they encountered on the shore, Caliban.In his drunkenness, Caliban vowedvowed: promisednever again to work for Prosperobut instead promised to serve Stephano, whom heurged to kill Prospero, marry Miranda, and takeover the island. Ariel, however, overheard themand quickly warned Prospero of their plot.Ariel returned to King Alonso and his company.The King, exhausted from searching for his son,sat in grief, trying to accept the fact that his sonmust be drowned. As old Gonzalo tried to comfortthe King, Sebastian whispered to Antonio hisdetermination to carry out the murder they hadplanned.Suddenly strange music filled the air, andspirits appeared and set before them a banquetof delicious foods. Their hunger overcoming theirfear, the men were just about to eat when, withthunder and lightning, Ariel appeared in the formof a harpy, a horrible winged monster, and the feastvanished. Then, to their amazement and horror,the harpy spoke in a terrible voice, remindingthem of their cruelty in driving Prospero from his
A Story28Stephano shared his plentiful supply of wine with Caliban.
29The Tem pestAriel appeared in the form of a harpy, a horrible winged monster.
A Story30dukedom and leaving him and his infant daughterto perish in the sea. For these wrongs, cried theharpy, did they now suffer—and then it vanished.King Alonso stumbled away, overwhelmedwith guilt and nearly mad with grief. Meanwhile,not far away, his son, quite alive and well, satwith his beloved wife-to-be, dazzled by a magicalentertainment that Prospero had conjured tocelebrate their upcoming wedding. While spiritsmagically appeared to bless the young couple, andother spirits danced to delight them, Ariel wassent to gather the King and his company and bringthem to Prospero.As his project neared completion, Prosperoseemed filled with an almost fierceexultation:exultation when Ariel returned to a feeling oftriumphant joyreport that his enemies were gatherednearby, trembling and afraid. Ariel then mentionedthe good old lord, Gonzalo, whom the spirit hadleft weeping, tears running down his white beard.Then Ariel—an airy spirit, far removed fromhuman cares—said that, if he were human, hewould pity these men in their suffering.The spirit’s simple words seemed somehow
31The Tem pestto calm the vengeful fury in Prospero’s heart.“Bring them hither, Ariel,” said Prospero; “forif you, who are but a spirit, vengeful: seeking to getat someone for afeel for their distress, shall not backwrong done to youI, who am a human being like hither: to this placethemselves, have compassion on compassion: pity foranother’s sufferingthem? Bring them quickly.”Prospero then determined to give up his magic.He made a vow to break his staff and plunge hisbook of spells deep to the bottom of the sea.As heavenly music sounded in the air, Ariel ledin the King and his company. They saw Prospero,who appeared to them in the garments he had wornas the Duke of Milan. Their grief and terror werelifted when Prospero forgave them. He embracedold Gonzalo with gratitude; then, turning to histreacherous brother, Antonio, he firmly demandedthe return of his dukedom.King Alonso, who seemed sorriest of them allfor his past crimes, felt great sorrow for the lossof his son, Ferdinand. But Prospero drew backa curtain and revealed Ferdinand and Mirandaplaying at chess. Great was Alonso’s joy to greethis beloved son again, exceeded only by his
A StoryGreat was Alonso’s joy to greet his beloved son again.32
33The Tem pestjoy when he heard that the young woman withFerdinand was Prospero’s daughter, and that theyoung folks were soon to be married.Then Ariel led in the bumbling drunkardswho had plotted against Prospero. King Alonsowas greatly surprised to see his butler and jester,and even more astonished at the wild and shaggyappearance of Caliban. Fearing punishment andfeeling shame for his foolishness, Caliban promisedto change his ways.So all ended happily. The ship was safe in theharbor, and next day they would all set sail forNaples, where Ferdinand and Miranda were to bemarried.Before leaving the island, Prospero kept hispromise and made Ariel free as air. And, in adifferent way, Prospero himself was free, for whenhis bitterest foes who had done him deadly wronglay at his mercy, he took no vengeance on them,but nobly forgave them.
A StoryProspero kept his promise and made Ariel free as air.34
35The Tem pestWilliam Shakespeare’sThe TempestAbridged and adapted for young readers and actorsThis version of The Tempest generally uses Shakespeare’soriginal language, with a few words changed and a fewlines moved. It has been shortened to make it practicalfor production in middle school and up. It can also beenjoyed as a readers’ theater performance. Estimatedperformance time is under 90 minutes.Most of the stage directions [the notes in brackets, likethis] are not Shakespeare’s but have been speciallywritten for this condensed version of the play. Indescribing movements or facial expressions or tones ofvoice, the stage directions suggest—not require—howthis play might be performed. The stage directions areprovided mainly to emphasize that the play is not justthe words on the page but most of all a performanceon a stage—or in a classroom or any appropriate space.To Shakespeare’s cast of characters, this script addsthree Spirits to help guide the audience through theplay. They sometimes take part in the action of the play.The script is printed on the left-hand pages, with somewords underlined. On the right-hand pages you willfind definitions of the underlined words, as well asoccasional explanatory notes. Some of these notes referyou to a section at the end of this book called “ThinkAbout Performance,” where you will find questions andideas about staging the play.
A Note on Prose and Poetry in ShakespeareAs you read through the script of The Tempest, you willnotice that Shakespeare wrote some lines as proseand some as poetry. What’s the difference?Lines in ProseProse is everyday language, the language we usuallyspeak and write. In Shakespeare’s plays, everydaycharacters usually speak in prose.For example, in the following passage, Trinculo, ajester, speaks in prose as he worries aloud about anapproaching thunderstorm:Here’s neither bush nor shrub to bear off anyweather at all, and another storm brewing. If itshould thunder as it did before, I know not whereto hide my head.Lines in PoetryMost of the characters in The Tempest speak in poetry.Many of these characters are people of high socialposition, such as Prospero, once Duke of Milan, orAlonso, the King of Naples. When characters speakin poetry, their words are broken into separate lines,and each new line begins with a capital letter. Forexample, look at these lines spoken by Miranda to her
37The Tem pestfather, Prospero, as she expresses her distress over ashipwreck she has just witnessed:If by your art, my dearest father, you havePut the wild waters in this roar, allay them.O, I have suffered with those that I sawSuffer! A brave vessel, dashed all to pieces.Those lines are poetry, even though they don’t rhyme.Also, notice that while there is a break between thethird and fourth lines, there is no comma or otherpunctuation mark—so, in speaking those lines, youwould not pause between them, but just keep going,like this: “O, I have suffered with those that I sawsuffer!”Blank VerseShakespeare usually writes a kind of unrhymed poetrycalled blank verse. A standard line of blank verse hasten syllables. Count the number of syllables in the firsttwo lines below, in which Prospero speaks to Miranda.I have done nothing but in care of thee,Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, whoArt ignorant of what thou art. . . .Sometimes the ten-syllable line is shared by twospeakers, as in this exchange between Prospero andAriel:
A Note on Prose and Poetry in Shakespeare38PROSPEROWhat is’t thou canst demand?ARIELMy liberty.The ten-syllable blank verse line flows straight throughfrom Prospero’s question to Ariel’s reply, giving asense of urgency:What is’t thou canst demand? / My liberty.Feeling the RhythmAs you read the lines of blank verse aloud, you willfeel a rhythm in them—usually, a regular beat, like aheartbeat, with an unstressed syllable followed by astressed syllable, like this: da DUM / da DUM / da DUM/ da DUM / da DUM.Let’s look again at those lines spoken by Prospero,and notice the pattern of unstressed and stressedsyllables. (The stressed syllables are in bold type.)I have done nothing but in care of thee,Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, whoArt ignorant of what thou art. . . .In speaking Shakespeare’s poetry, while you shouldbe aware of the rhythm, you should not artificiallyemphasize the stressed syllables—that
Tempest remains true to Shakespeare, generally using the original language. The book provides helpful background information on Shakespeare’s theatre and poetry. And, to help prepare you for both enjoying and understanding the play, we first present The Tempest in the form of a brief sto
