The Tempest

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People often go looking for a copy of The Tempest, by William Shakespeare; they often have trouble finding it because everyone classifies it differently. Some people feel it is a play based on history and politics. Some feel that it is a romance because of the relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda. Others consider it a masque because of

Act IV Scene i. Some consider it a tragedy because of how the play opens and turns out even though it turns out that no one dies in the end. There are those who consider it a comedy because of how some of the scenes turn out to make fun of the characters and how Ariel and Prospero are playing games with everyone’s mind. It is a comedy because you see more comedy in it than any other genre it has been classified as.

People have different definitions for Romances. Stephen J. Miko believes that a romance is based on forgiveness, reconciliation, and regeneration. He believes The Tempest contains these aspects. It is true that the play does contain these aspects in Act V. In Act V, Ariel states that King Alonso and his entourage feel sorry for what they have done. In this scene they are let into Prospero’s Cell and there he forgives them all for something they have done. King Alonso also asks for forgiveness of his son, for losing him on the island, and Prospero, for overthrowing him from his position. Caliban also asks forgiveness when he planed on overthrowing Prospero as well. Prospero also forgives him for his plans.

There is no denying that this definition of romance is in the play. Even though the play ends with everyone reconciling and forgiving each other leaving a moral to the play, but that is not the theme of the play. Forgiveness appears only towards the end of the play. In the ...

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Dean, Winter. “Operas on ‘The Tempest.” The Musical Times, 105. 1461 (Nov., 1964) 810-14. Print

Lewis, Liz. “The Mixture of Styles in Shakespeare’s Last Plays: The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest.” Literature Study Online. William Shakespeare. December 2001. Web. 09. May, 2010.

Miko, Stephen J. “Tempest.” ELH, 49.1 (spring 1982): 1-17. Print.

Schmidgall, Gary. “The Tempest and Primaleon: A New Source.” Shakespeare Quarterly, 37.4(Winter 1986): 423-39. Print.

Sleights, William W. E. “A Source for The Tempest and the Context of The Discorsi.” Shakespeare Quarterly, 36.1 (Spring, 1985): 68-70. Print

“The Tempest” Folger-Shakespeare Library. Folger Shakespeare Library. 1994. Web. 8. May 2010.

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