We rely on your support to help us keep producing beautiful, free, and unrestricted editions of literature for the digital age. Will you support our efforts with a donation ? The Tempest , thought to be one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote alone, begins with a storm which shipwrecks the king of Naples and his crew. We quickly learn that the tempest was not a natural occurrence; it was created by Prospero, the usurped duke of Milan who is stranded on a nearby island, with the help of Ariel, a spirit in his service. The rest of the play explores the relationships between the shipwrecked crew, Prospero, his daughter Miranda, and a native of the island: a half human, half monster called Caliban. Though this play is traditionally classified as a comedy, more modern scholarship, out of a desire to highlight the dramatic elements of some of Shakespeare's comedies, created a genre subgroup called the "late romances." The Tempest is included in that subgroup.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) föddes i Stratford-upon-Avon och trots att lite är känt om honom räknas han som litteraturhistoriens viktigaste dramatiker. Känd och spelad redan under sin livstid fick hans trettiosju pjäser ett ännu större erkännande efter den första samlade utgåvan 1623. I Sverige vaknade intresset för Shakespeare relativt sent, men han har alltsedan mitten av 1800-talet spelats på alla stora teatrar i olika odödliga tolkningar och uppsättningar."Shakespeare tillhörde inte bara en tidsålder, utan evigheten." Ben Jonson
