Reviews

This really fell apart in Act 5. What an interesting plot we started with. Prospero gets all of his enemies chipwrecked on an island and uses magical powers to carry through his revenge plot. Funny little character dynamics and some murder attempts ensue. I was gripped on this idea of his plot coming together. The whole time Prospero was telling his lil spirit Ariel “Soon it will all come together… soon it will all come together…”

and then literally nothing came together and he forgave his brother who sent him and his daughter off to die? And never felt remorse for it for the past 12 years? WHAT IS THIS REVENGE PLOT YOU SPEAK OF? I know this was categorized as a comedy or romance or whatever but still. He should’ve left some of them on that island to see how they felt about it. Anyways. I also have some grievances with Caliban’s character because what the hell was that Shakespeare? Lazy writing if you ask me.

Overall though I enjoyed the whimsy.

book_loser's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

claireescott's review against another edition

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5.0

I've watched Lost twice in its entirety since the last time I read this... I love a stranded on an island with weird magic tale.
Also this was the 4th Shakespeare play I've read in two weeks for a condensed class & now I'm talking to the cat like "thou art"

kpezza's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

irismessenger_'s review against another edition

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4.0

The discourse around this play is so interesting, so many people look at it from a colonialist perspective. I loved reading this for school!

emilymknight's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

4.25

I read this for university and I actually read it alongside watching Shakespeare's Globe Theatre 2013 play and I must say this enhanced my experience a lot more. It was a lottttt of fun and though just over 2h30m long, it didn't feel like it at all. It generally helped with being able to see which parts were more upbeat and the emotion with which the lines were said at different times. Without this play to watch also, I don't know how much I would have understood it - but with all of Shakespeare's being intended for the stage, I don't feel guilty taking the 2013 Globe on Screen play into consideration when rating the play. However, I do acknowledge the fact that there are different interpretations to his plays so they may differ, that being said I do think that the 2013 Globe on Screen play did stick to how Shakespeare would have intended it to look.

I read Twelfth Night also for university at the end of 2022 and before then I hadn't read any Shakespeare since school - I definitely now feel as though I enjoy and appreciate Shakespeare a lot more, and can actually see how insanely good his work is. And it makes me curious and excited to read more of his plays.

The Tempest itself was to me good fun, its combination of magic and realism was interesting and the array of characters was once again, a lot of fun, though a little chaotic at times. The themes of revenge and vengeance was led by Prospero's desire to take control after he was removed of his title of Duke of Milan, and the introduction in the edition I read was useful in better understanding the ending of the play.

I thought the ending with Prospero renouncing his magic and breaking the fourth wall by speaking directly to the audience, acknowledging himself as 'a character in a fiction', was a really interesting ending. This ending, or lack of in the typical sense, I found quite interesting because I feel as though I was quick to tie the loose ends in my head: some get married, some are forgiven, Prospero gets to go back to Milan, all is great... when actually some of both Miranda and Prospero's last lines 'implies that there will always be a great deal of unfinished business' and so, Prospero's last soliloquy actually leaves us with more questions: does Prospero really just renounce all of his magic, just like that? Where will Prospero and Antonio stand in Milan? What happens to Caliban?

And I think, stories in general that leave you with questions, are always the most interesting.

"Here my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you did
My heart fly to your service, there resides
To make me slave to it"

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