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Cover of The Tempest by William Shakespeare

The Tempest

  • 144 pages · about 2 hours
  • First published 1623
  • 804 editions
  • Free to read

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1 About this book

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It 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 skilful 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.

  • Classics
  • Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks
  • Magicians
  • Political refugees
  • Shipwreck survival
  • Survival
  • Mathematics
  • Plays

2 What to expect

One of Shakespeare's last plays, set on a remote island where the exiled magician Prospero raises a storm to bring his old enemies within reach. It is about revenge, forgiveness, power and control, and it mixes tragic and comic elements, with music, spirits and a clownish subplot. It is a short play in verse, and it has often been read as an allegory of colonization.

Good for readers who want: Shakespeare, magic and an island setting, and a late romance.

3 Read it free, right here

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4 About William Shakespeare

1564–1616

William Shakespeare (c. 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is 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" or simply "the Bard".

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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