The Tempest

First published in 1990, ‘The Tempest’ is a play by William Shakespeare, an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely considered the most splendid writer in the English language and the world's most remarkable dramatist. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the suitable Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her proper place using illusion and skillful manipulation. He invokes a storm, the eponymous tempest, to lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. The characters outshine the roles of villains and heroes. Prospero seems heroic, yet he enslaves Caliban and has a hunger for revenge. Caliban seems to be a monster for attacking Miranda but appears heroic in opposing Prospero, prompting the period of colonialism during which the play was written. Miranda’s engagement to Ferdinand, the Prince of Naples and a member of the shipwrecked party helps resolve the drama.