Reviews - The Tempest | The StoryGraph

2.66k reviews for:

The Tempest

William Shakespeare

3.64 AVERAGE

littleyorkshirepudding's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

valliyarnl's review against another edition

3.0

3 stars

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”
The Tempest was good. Not my favorite, but still enjoyable and the themes in this one are particularly picturesque and brutal the more you think about them, I think. After a storm hits King Alonso of Naples's ship, the King and his shipmates find themselves dispersed on an island filled with sprites, nymphs, and illusions. Amidst it all lives the estranged ex-Duke of Milan and sorcerer, Prospero, with his daughter Miranda... and Prospero is out to get back what was taken from him.

I thought the talk about imprisonment/slavery and freedom was really interesting. After all, everyone is imprisoned by someone else in this play. Not even the King or Prospero are free. What I really enjoyed was Shakespeare semi-breaking the fourth wall so much in this play. In a way, we, the audience, imprison the play and set it free when we leave the theatre. This is one of Shakespeare's last plays... could he have also been talking about how he has been the audiences' slave and is about to be set free? That raises more questions: is he a slave like Caliban, or Ariel? Either way, the imprisonment/slavery/freedom theme is also directly tied with colonialism and exploration of the Americas. I think this would have evoked a very different reaction in the peasants watching the play vs the royalty because of that. Because of that, this one was a probably a pretty rowdy play to watch.

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

Dreams and nightmares are another major theme in The Tempest. This area has most of what I shall call "The Little Prince factor": everyone might get something a bit new from this theme. It usually becomes apparent after some illusion, whether it is when the above quote is made, when Ariel terrifies Antonio, Sebastian, and Alonso, or even when Ariel sings of Ferdinand's [maybe] dead father in the beginning. The theme once again may be reflective of the ending of Shakespeare's career, as evidenced by the epilogue, or simply the play, life, or the way exploration is sacrificing the life of the Americas' cultures. I don't know, but it sure is interesting to think about.

Lastly, I'd like to mention Ariel and Trinculo. I loved Ariel, he's probably my favorite Shakespeare character so far (or Hamlet). And Trinculo is hilarious... at least that is my hot take. Also Caliban? Everyone raves about him, but I didn't find him all that amazing...

Overall, I did enjoy this work, though it was a bit more boring/weird (but not in a good way). Now I gotta decide what to read next from Shakespeare... I'm between A Midsummer Night's Dream and Othello.

primesinister's review against another edition

2.0

I know this is probably an incredible show to watch with its musical interludes and special effects and opportunities for physical comedy, but I just could not get into reading it. I’ll definitely see a performance if I get the chance but for now it’s near the bottom of my Shakespeare rankings.