The Tempest - William Shakespeare

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54 of 54 Ciao users found the following review helpful

Discerna

True Love in a False Paradise 15/08/2003

User recommends the product

Advantages Good storyline, interesting characters, humour/feel-good factor, hidden meanings open to interpretation
Disadvantages Some of the make-believe a bit over the top

I first saw a production of the Tempest when I was far too young to understand the language or appreciate the plot. I recall that I was frightened by the opening scene that (if acted well) portrays very vividly the terror of shipwreck. I was then bemused by the attempts of the adults with me to explain the whole idea of spirits that could be conjured up by magicians to control the winds. These same adults were the ones responsible for my rational upbringing through which, by the age of seven, I already knew to disregard fairies and the like as childish things. I had no understanding of ... more
33 of 33 Ciao users found the following review helpful

MI9to5

Whip up a Storm
Review with images
30/04/2009

User recommends the product

Advantages Superb characters
Disadvantages Possibly a little difficult to read

The Tempest by William Shakespeare is another piece of literature that I have had to read as part of my degree and I must admit one of the pieces I was most looking forward to. In general I must admit that I am quite a lover of plays and really enjoy both reading and watching plays by Shakespeare, Webster and Marlowe. Because of this I hit this play running so to speak and threw myself whole-heartedly into devouring it and must admit that I am so pleased that I did. The Tempest tells the story of Prospero who after loosing his dukedom because of his love of books and the power they gave up ... more
24 of 24 Ciao users found the following review helpful

Bryn_Pearson

Kings and monsters 06/02/2002

User recommends the product

Advantages quite provocative and with some interesting subtext
Disadvantages getting into the language

The Tempest is a fascinating play, bleniding large scale politics with the personal, drawing on strong natural imagery and dabbling with magic - lots of the best Shakespeare ingredients. Obvious comparions can be made with "A MIdsummer Night's dream" but this is by far the more focused text, and has a far smaller cast. The Plot: Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, but due to some politicking, he's an exile, trapped on a small island with his daughter. Fate, chance or magic brings a boat to flounder on the island's shore - on that boat is Ferdinand, son of the King of Naples, and the Duke ... more
9 of 9 Ciao users found the following review helpful

lil_devilg

Anarchy Rules... 08/04/2001

User recommends the product

Advantages Many contraversial topics are explored.
Disadvantages Sometimes reading plays can become tedious.

Well who knew that this play was full of so many issues? It explores the themes of slavery, disloyalty, nature vs. nurture, punishment and redemption. This play is an amazing piece of literature in which Shakespeare says goodbye to his audience. This was the last of his plays, and Shakespeare knew that his life was coming to an end, he was an old man and conveyed the message that man cannot control nature. The opening scene is when the Tempest is occuring and there are men on a ship, they are the Royal party who are trying to get back home to Milan. On this ship are men that have sinned ... more
20 of 20 Ciao users found the following review helpful

crapitoche

sorry... 24/09/2001

User doesn't recommend the product

Advantages some
Disadvantages too straight forward

I'm so sorry.... I know The Bard is some kind of a VIP, I know everything he wrote was wonderful. Still, I don't like The Tempest. To me, it's one of his worst plays. I must say that some of his plays are really boring... For instance, The Winter Tale, it is very cute, but it looks like Mickey Mouse in Wonderland, mum comes back, we are glad, we cry a bit, but finally we smile. Completely excentric. Titus Andronicus... How could Shakespeare write such a tragedy ? It is so tragic that I laughed for hours. Lavinia is raped, her hands and her tongue are cut off, and Titus says something very ... more
10 of 10 Ciao users found the following review helpful

dave27

Underrated 03/04/2001

User recommends the product

Advantages Caliban
Disadvantages Prospero

The Tempest is one of the more underrated of old Bill Shakeshaft's work and has a lot of connections for me. I remember seeing it as a play put on by the sixth form when I was at school and I particularly remember a damn fine performance as Caliban by one of our prefects who was a pretty wild character, although it was the drunken and shipwrecked sailors who took most of the plaudits. (Moggy Matthews, whew, what a guy!) I also had this as one of my set books for English A-Level and remember quite getting into it and lastly, it wa sthe story on which the 50's sci fi movie The Forbidden Planet ... more
14 of 14 Ciao users found the following review helpful

dean-in-da-hole

The tempest 09/01/2004

User recommends the product

Advantages A good book and is written by shakespeare
Disadvantages Old english and hard to understand

This is a peice of year 10 coursework whick i got a b+ for. I was realy proud of this so i have decided to type it out and review it after. If any one is reading this and wants a copy of the essay you are more then welcome :-p. Imagine that you are going to direct a version of The Tempest. Explain how you would present the character of prospero to an Audience in act 1 scene 2 and The Epilogue. From the very start of William Shakespeare’s play `` The Tempest `` We can see that the character Prospero has a range of personalities. They can change rapidly from heartless and cruel to soft and ... more
9 of 9 Ciao users found the following review helpful

bevron

Fun Shakespeare 19/06/2003

User recommends the product

Advantages witty, intelligent, easy reading classic
Disadvantages a bit jumpy and erratic at times

I loved the Tempest. It was a really good read and the few times that I have seen the play, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The characters are fabulous. You could not get so many completely different characters in the same play, so successfully, if you tried. The characters are loveable and you really feel for them and sympathise with them especially Caliban who you just want to mother like a pet, and Ariel who you can pity in one instance and then get really angry with in the next. Shakespeare has written the play so accurately and really established the characters so well. His scene with a few ... more
11 of 13 Ciao users found the following review helpful

Suchet

A cracking good story. 30/04/2001

User recommends the product

Advantages A bit easier than other Shakespeare stories.
Disadvantages Maybe a bit too long like all his other stories.

I have a soft spot for The Tempest. It's almost like an allegory of the stage - and much more than that, it works on a number of levels - It's a comedy, a romance and a thriller. Ship wrecked on an island Ferdinand is seperated from his royal father and the rest of the crew - He soon meets Prospero (The magician who rules the island) and his lovely daughter Miranda (Who Ferdinand falls in love with.). There are many mysterious and wonderful characters in the play - I especialy liked Ariel and Caliban. Shakespeare must have written his plays not just for a white audience but for the young ... more
32 of 41 Ciao users found the following review helpful

Quick review of The Tempest - William Shakespeare by Henndrix 25/11/2007

the tempest is not the best story in the world. the tempest is a lonh boring story.the video with real people is wrong because you see a males sex organ sticking out. so it is not suttable for men exept if you are gay.i would rate it a 15+. less