The Tempest

Characters:

• Prospero
• father of Miranda
• was duke of Milan 12 years ago
• position was usurped by Antonio
• spent 12 years refining his magical powers
• Miranda
• daughter of Prospero
• never seen any men other than her father and Caliban
• naive perceptions of other people
• Ariel
• Prospero's spirit helper
• rescued by Prospero from a long imprisonment at the hands of the witch Sycorax
• carries out every task Prospero needs 
• Caliban
• another of Prospero's servants
• son of the dead witch Sycorax
• believes the island rightfully belongs to him
• Ferdinand
• son and heir of Alonso
• falls in love with Miranda at first sight
• Alonso
• King of Naples
• father of Ferdinand
• aided Antonio in unseating Prospero as Duke of Milan
• Antonio
• Prospero's brother
• power-hungry and foolish
• Sebastian
• Alonso's brother
• both aggressive and cowardly
• Gonzalo
• old honest lord who helped Prospero and Miranda escape
• Trinculo & Stephano
• Trinculo is a jester and Stephano is a drunken butler
• Boatswain

Plot summary:

• A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano and Trinculo, who are on their way back to Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso's dauther, Claribel, to the prince of Tunis.
• Miranda and Prospero stand on the island looking at the shipwreck and Miranda asks her father to help the people in the ship. Prospero assures her that everything is all right and informs her it is time to learn about her past. He reveals to her that he orchestrated the shipwreck and that he was once the Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, usurped his position. Prospero and Miranda only survived because Gonzalo left them supplies and Prospero's magic books. Prospero has raised the tempest in order to set things straight with them. 
• Prospero then charms Miranda to sleep and calls forth Ariel. Ariel was the one who had set fire to the ship's mast. He made sure everyone arrived safely on the island separated into small groups. Ariel reminds his master that he had promised Ariel freedom a year early if he performed these tasks without complaint, but Prospero chastises Ariel for protesting and reminds him about how Prospero had rescued Ariel who was imprisoned in a tree by a witch named Sycorax. Prospero orders Ariel to take the shape of sea nymph and make himself invisible to everyone except him. 
• Miranda awakens and she and Prospero visit Caliban, Prospero's servant and the son of the dead Sycorax. Caliban curses Prospero but Prospero and Miranda berate him for being ungrateful. Prospero sends Caliban to fetch firewood. 
• Ariel, invisible, enters playing music and leading in Ferdinand. Miranda and Ferdinand immediately fall in love and Prospero, although happy to see the plans for his daughter's marriage working, decides that he must upset things temporarily in order to prevent their relationship from developing to quickly. He accuses Ferdinand of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples and threatens him with imprisonment. When Ferdinand draws his sword, Prospero charms him and leads him off to prison.
• On another part of the island, Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio and Gonzalo worry about Ferdinand. Alonso wishes he had never married his daughter off because then his son would still be alive. Gonzalo tries to keep spirits up by talking about the beauty of the island but he is undercut by Antonio and Sebastian's sarcastic comments. 
• Ariel enters invisible and plays music that puts everyone but Sebastian and Antonio to sleep. They begin to discuss the advantages of murdering their sleeping companions. Antonio persuades Sebastian that he will become ruler of Naples if he kills Alonso, but before Sebastian stabs Alonso, Ariel causes Gonzalo to wake with a shout. Everyone else wakes up and Antonio and Sebastian lie about drawing their swords to protect the king from lions. The party continue their search for Ferdinand.
• Caliban sees Trinculo while getting wood and thinks he is a spirit sent by Prospero to torment him. He hides under his cloak. Because a storm is brewing, Trinculo crawls under the cloak with him. Stephano comes along and sees the both of the huddled under the cloak. The three of them begin drinking and singing.
• Prospero makes Ferdinand haul wood but Ferdinand doesn't mind as it is for Miranda's sake. Miranda, thinking her father is asleep, tells Ferdinand to take a break and she proposes marriage. Prospero, unseen, is pleased with this development.
• Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban are made even more drunk and raucous by Ariel who provokes them to fight with one another by impersonating their voices and taunting them. Caliban boasts that he knows how to kill Prospero and tells Stephano that he knows where Prospero is sleeping. He proposes that they kill Prospero, take his daughter, and set Stephano up as king of the island. They set off to find Prospero but are distracted by the sound of Ariel's flute-music.
• Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian and Antonio pause to rest and Antonio and Sebastian decide to ill Alonso and Gonzalo in the evening. Prospero causes a banquet to be set out by strange spirits. As the men prepare to eat, Ariel appears and causes the banquet to vanish. he then accuses the men of supplanting Prospero and says that it was for this sin that Ferdinand was taken. 
• Prospero softens toward Ferdinand and welcomes him into the family. Prospero then asks Ariel to call forth spirits to perform a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda celebrating marriage rites. 
• Prospero interrupts when he remembers that he must still stop the plot against his life. He asks Ariel about Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban, and Ariel tells how he led the men through prickly grass and briars into a filthy pond near Prospero's cell. 
• Ariel and Prospero then set a trap by handing beautiful clothing in Prospero's cell. When the three men enter, they decide to steal the clothes, but are immediately attacked by spirits in the shape of dogs driven on by Prospero and Ariel.
• Prospero asks Ariel to bring Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian to him, along with the Boatswain and other mariners. Prospero confronts Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian but tells them he forgives them. Alonso tells him he recently lost his son, and Prospero tells him he recently lost his daughter, but he pulls apart a curtain to reveal Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess. 
• Ariel releases Caliban ,Trinculo and Stephano and Prospero and Alonso command them to return the clothes and clean up Prospero's cell. Prospero is restored to his dukedom and will retire to Milan. Prospero gives Ariel his final task of making the seas calm for the return voyage before setting him free. Prospero delivers an epilogue to the audience asking them to forgive his wrongdoing and set him free by applauding.