Comments on Act 1 scene 2

I feel that Miranda and her father Prospero haven’t had an open relationship if she never knew who she really was. It seems weird to me that he would hide something from his only daughter. Why would he need 5 women helping him raise her? Its not fair for her to have others raise her. Why after he tells Miranda this story that he is telling more lies and making more horrible plans? Prespero seems very deceitful and can seem to get Ariel to do whatever he wants her to despite what she has previously been through.
I am a bit confused as to who Ferdinand and Caliban is. While I read, I really thought they were the same person just with different names. As I kept reading I realized Prospero reminds me of Hamlet in the sense of telling lies, and seeing spirits and having to cover up for other things. Their seems to be many secrets and lies that have been hidden from Miranda, and Prospero seems to just want things his way because he got his power taken away by his brother.

Recurring themes that I noticed: Dominance, Power, Greed, Deceitfulness etc.
I am hoping the more we read into the Tempest that we will see the lies unravel and hopefully we get the full story of why they are on this island, and why Prospero is so power hungry and wanting everything his way. -Angela
Usually, I’m able to fall straight into one of Shakespeare’s plays. However, with the Tempest, I’m finding it increasingly hard to do just so. The first scene was easy to follow, and it was serious and tragic- two moods and themes that Shakespeare is known for entwining in most of his playwrights. I was intrigued up until Act One, Scene Two. The moment magic was mentioned in this play, Shakespeare lost me, as well as that tone of seriousness I’m so used to reading from him. When magic is involved (such as Prospero’s “magic” cloak, and Ariel, his Spirit servant), I simply fail to comprehend how such things could be taken seriously. Like other spectators, I can’t imagine Shakespeare writing this play. It sounds like a young girl’s fantasy…like say…Shakespeare’s own daughter’s fantasy? For example, when Prospero is able to simply freeze Ferdinand mid-sentence, and when Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love in, oh, I don’t know…? 5 seconds within meeting each other? It just seems so childish and unbelievable to me. It could be my lack of imagination, but this play is something along the lines of being absurd to me. However, with that being said, I do like Miranda’s character. Her loyalty to her father is most admirable, and I find myself relating to her more than the other characters. I’m not sure what direction this play is going to take, or even which characters are going to have an internal conflict- Rema

So far I'm very much intrigued by this story and captivated. With the help of the no fear shakespeare book, the plot is clearly laid out and to be honest could rival any work by the big time producers of our day such as Spielberg. The amount of imagination required to create this story and the thick plot it has is tremendous. The whole betrayal of Prospero by his brother Antonio and subsequenlty Prospero's conjuring of the storm to seize the throne again (atleast I think that's what he's going to do) is awesome. Adding to the realism of this (I know there's magic involved, but the play seems real) is the fact that when Prospero makes his daughter Miranda fall in love with Ferdinand, he even takes into account that he needs to make them value their love by creating a conflit that the two will be forced to solve and subsequently appreciate one another even more for. That's pure genius on the part of Shakespeare. A detail like that could make the difference between a play seeming altogether too perfect and a play seeming well written and realistic. The more realistic it is, the more relatable it is, and as such the more popular it will be. I can definitely say I can relate with this play and just the title alone invokes the image of my favorite painting in my head, the eruption of mount fuji by Katsushika Hokusai. -Anthony


After reading Act 1 Scene 2, I have gotten the sense that Prospero is an extremely powerful wizard. He was able to cast a storm in the ocean with the help of a pixie he freed. He also froze Ferdinand in an instant. My question is: if Prospero is such a powerful wizard, why does he not use his magic powers to build a boat or raft, calm the sea to travel back peacefully, and raise an army of pixies or whatever to retake his throne? It seems easy enough for a wizard.
To be honest, this play makes little sense to me. I understand what’s going on, but I don’t see the point. In fact it’s quite comical how certain things just happen in an instant. For example, Caliban just pops out of his cave and gets into an argument with Prospero, who threatens Caliban with cramps. I’m pretty sure Prospero could do better that. I’ll admit, I am enjoying this play, mainly because it has random moments of humor. - Sam

The Tempest: Links to full text

http://www.enotes.com/tempest-text
This version has a "translation" next to the original


http://shakespeare.mit.edu/tempest/full.html