Lesson video

Welcome everybody, it's Mister Dyke here, and today we're going to be focusing on "The Tempest".

We're going to be looking at the story and themes of "The Tempest" in this lesson.

Before we begin, just make sure you've got a pen ready.

Also make sure you've got pen of a different colour that you can mark with.

Clear away any distractions that you might have now.

Once you're ready, just write down today's title, the story and themes of "The Tempest".

Make sure that's underlined and it's really neat and you're ready with your notes.

Okay, let's begin by recapping some of the different context and Shakespearian world learning that we did last lesson.

So we really focused on the knowledge we already have and some new knowledge about Shakespeare's world, as well as the specific context to do with "The Tempest".

So, here are three symbols and each of these symbols represents something I want you to have remembered about The Tempest's context specifically.

So you've got the image of the masks there, thinking about what does that represent? You've got a wand and you've got the ship.

So I'd like you just to write down now, spend two minutes writing down everything you can remember about the context of "The Tempest" specifically.

Off you go, pause now and have a go at that.

Well done, so here are three things, three key things I really want you to have remembered.

Now I know that you'll have written down other things and you'll have added further things in to do with Shakespeare's world and the Globe Theatre perhaps.

The three things I want you to really remember before we start to read the play itself, is that this is a Shakespearean comedy.

That's a really specific genre of play.

Okay, which remember, ends in marriage and is generally supposed to be lighthearted.

Doesn't involve any deaths like a tragedy would, and it's often a little bit more magical.

Serves you with the presence of magic often in Shakespeare's comedies.

Things that are tough to explain, often a little bit of a supernatural in there.

And often we see creatures and characters which are a little bit beyond the realms of the novel, okay? And beyond the realms of reality.

So we have things like fairies that appear.

And of course, this is set on the backdrop of exploration and colonialism where stronger nations we're actually spending a lot of time colonising various places in the world, which led to quite a lot of oppression.

And that is something which sneaks into the play that we can explore as we read as well.

So just make sure you've got these three things added to your notes.

And also, this is an opportunity to get your notes from last lesson prepared and ready 'cause they'll come in use, okay? So just do that now before we move on.

Okay, we're going to start by looking at the themes.

It's really important that before we read any literature text, that we start to explore the themes of it.

I mean, it's helpful to know them beforehand, because then as we read, we can see where those themes are presented and how they are explored.

And as you go to school and as you start to study GCSE English, literature, for example, a lot of your questions will be based around themes.

It's really important that whenever we read a literature text, we start to really think about the themes and the key issues within there.

So I'm going to give you a few now.

So I'd like you to make sure you've written key themes on your page as a subtitle.

And here are four key themes from this play.

I'm going to explain each one.

So what I'd like you to do is, I want you to write them down.

And as I explain each one, I want you to then re-explain it in your own words.

So you could transform the sentence or summarise the theme, or you could even write it into your own words, just so you're really aware of what it is.

So first theme, power from authority.

This play is full of power.

Okay, and that involves sometimes the treatment of others and also the mistreatment of others.

So how power is used and how those who are in charge behave, is a really important issue within this play.

And that's something you're going to see throughout, okay? So authority is to be in charge and powers those that have the element of being in charge of others and how they then use that power, okay? That's the reason that it's explored throughout.

We've got the theme of love.

This is a comedy, so there's got to be some form of love storyline, and it's going to end in a bit of a marriage.

So that will weave throughout the play as well, which will bring in some more lighthearted elements.

There's lots of betrayal revenge in this play, which sounds like it's going to be a bit dark.

It's not particularly dark, it's not like a tragedy, but there's going to be characters who will attempt to betray each other.

And that's something which might be resolved throughout with the comedy.

But obviously we've got this idea of justice, which kind of links to the power theme as well.

So justice is the idea of what is right and wrong and whether the way people are being treated is fair.

So that is going to be something which we'll explore throughout.

We'll see different characters with different statuses, different within the hierarchy, are being treated differently.

And we will decide whether the justice that they end up with at the end of the play is right, okay? Is it just? So just making sure that you've written down the three, the four key themes and you've written down any important information about each one, and the definition, and anything you know about that particular theme onto your page.

Now, we're going to read through the plot of the play together.

And the reason why we're going to do that first, is so that you're really, really happy with what happens in the play.

Because as we know with Shakespeare, sometimes his plots are very complex, particularly the comedies.

They are almost meant to be a bit confusing and a bit strange.

And therefore, it's really, really important that we're happy with the plot before we start to do anything more with it So we're going to actually just read the story of "The Tempest" together first.

Then we can explore some of the different characters and the different themes and the specific scenes from the play.

So this lesson is going to be all about learning the plot.

So just create a new subtitle about the plot 'cause you're going to be doing something with it as you go along.

Okay, so I'm going to start by reading the plot to you in sections, okay? Now, obviously we're going to be reading lots of text on the screen.

So as we go, your job is to try and summarise each paragraph that we come across.

So, what do we learn from that particular paragraph? Try and summarise it in one sentence.

So you're really condensing the information, thinking about it hard.

If you need to do that and you need to do any rereading or checking, then feel free to pause the video and read the paragraph yourself, or you can listen to me read it too.

And I will also explain some different words as we go along, et cetera, okay? So just make sure you're ready with your pen now and ready to summarise as we go.

So let's begin.

A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso's daughter, Claribel, to the Prince of Tunis in Africa.

The royal party and the other mariners, those are kind of people at sea, with the exception of the unflappable Boatswain, begin to fear for their lives.

Lightning cracks, the mariners cry that ship has been hit.

Everyone prepares to sink.

Think about what's happened so far.

Try and summarise that in a sentence for me.

The next scene begins much more quietly.

Miranda and Prospero stand on the shore of their island, looking out to see at the recent shipwreck.

Miranda asks her father to do anything he can to help the poor souls in the ship.

Prospero assures her that everything is all right, and then informs her that it's time she learned more about herself and her past.

He reveals to her that he orchestrated the shipwreck.

That means he puts it together, he organised it and created it.

And tells her the lengthy story of her past, a story he has often started to tell her but never finished.

So you might want to pause that and think about what characters we've met so far.

We met quite a long list of characters on the boat who are coming from Italy.

Well, they're going to Italy from Africa, aren't they? But they're originally from Italy.

Then we've got some new characters here with Miranda and Prospero.

Then you could think about now making a list of the characters as you go along, and making things as to how they are related.

That's something we can do, as we summarise as well.

The story goes, that Prospero was the Duke of Milan, that is a place in Italy, until his brother Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, the King of Naples, again, place in Italy, usurped his position.

So to conspire is to come up with a plan, maybe behind someone's back or a plan which will go against someone in order to betray them or to exploit them.

And to usurp is to almost overthrow somebody, okay? So to try and get their power from them.

So just think about some of the different confusing names here.

So you've got Antonio, who is the brother of Prospero and we've got Alonso who is actually the king.

So we'd have Alonso as the most powerful person here, as the king.

The duke won't be as powerful as a king.

So Alonso is the person in power, really.

But Antonio is the one who's come up with a bit of a plan to usurp his brother.

Kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, Prospero and his daughter survive because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero's books, which are the source of his magic and power.

Prospero and his daughter arrived on the island where they remain now and have been for 12 years.

Only now Prospero says, has fortune at last sent his enemies his way, and he has raised the tempest in order to make things right with them once and for all.

So, pausing there really because we've got quite a complicated situation on our hands now.

So, what I'd like you to make sure you include in your summary for this slide is, what happened to Prospero? Who has caused some problems for Prospero? How long have they been on the island? How did they survive to get to the island? Okay, so making sure we're writing down all these different details in our summary 'cause they're key to the plot.

Thinking about how long they've been on the island as well.

And you can of course, add to your character list.

Okay, so now is an opportunity to consolidate some of those questions I've just asked of you.

So who have we met so far? How are they related? And you can also check your summaries now, and check you're happy with them.

So taking this moment now to pause and have a little go at that.

Spend one or two minutes making sure your notes are really good and then resume when you're ready.

So, let's continue.

After telling this story, Prospero charms Miranda to sleep and then calls forth his familiar spirit Ariel, his chief magical agent.

So as you can see now, Prospero is starting to call upon some of his different powers.

We're aware that he has a knowledge of magic and ability of magic through the books that he escaped with.

So he's also now got a spirit in his charge.

And a spirit, again, one of those comedic elements of a Shakespearean play, something which is tough to explain, and the audience would have found quite maybe, amusing, and interesting, and fascinating that there is a creature in the play, which isn't like a normal human.

Prospero and Ariel's discussion reveals that Ariel brought the tempest upon the ship and set fire to the mast.

So Ariel is the one who created the storm.

Remember a tempest is just a windy, violent storm.

He then made sure that everyone got safely to the island, though they are now separated from each other into small groups.

That's really important that they're in different groups 'cause they're going to be in different places in the island as the storm goes on.

Ariel, who is a captive servant to Prospero, reminds his master that he has promised Arial freedom a year early if he performs tasks such as these without complaint.

So I'm thinking about what Ariel's situation there.

Think about how Ariel is described a captive servant.

So we're making a note of who Ariel is and what Arial's situation is.

Prospero chastises Ariel for protesting and reminds him of the horrible fate from which he was rescued.

So that word chastises, it's almost to tell off, okay? Kind of, it's like a small punishment telling off.

Before Prospero came to the island, a witch named Sycorax imprisoned Ariel in a tree.

Sycorax died, leaving Ariel trapped until Prospero arrived and freed him.

After Ariel assures Prospero that he knows his place and Prospero orders Ariel to take the shape of a sea nymph and make himself invisible to all but Prospero.

So we've got a little bit about Ariel's past there.

What have we learned about Ariel's past? This character called Sycorax, who is a witch and that's an important character to know about because it will relate to another character as well.

And thinking about this relationship between Prospero and Ariel, what that is like.

Miranda awakens from her sleep and she and Prospero go to visit Caliban, Prospero's servant and the son of the dead Sycorax.

So I told you there will be another character who's related.

Caliban curses Prospero, and Prospero and Miranda berate him for being ungrateful for what they have given him and taught him.

So to berate is to kind of, again, kind of tell off a little bit and be quite angry towards and be unpleasant towards someone.

Prospero sends Caliban to fetch firewood.

Ariel, invisible, enters playing music and leading in the awed Ferdinand.

So Ferdinand is a character who is obviously washed upon in the shipwreck and Ariel is going to try and lure him to a certain direction.

Miranda and Ferdinand are immediately smitten with each other.

He is the only man Miranda has ever seen, besides Caliban and her father.

So we've got a love situation that will emerge now between Miranda and Ferdinand.

So again, just making a note here, things to think about here is, how is Caliban treated and what do you notice about Caliban's relationship with Prospero? And also, making sure we're making a note about Ferdinand and Miranda falling in love with each other.

So, here's a chance now to really answer those two questions.

It says, Ariel and Caliban, how does Prospero treat the two characters? They're both described as servants, but they are treated slightly differently and they have different roles.

So making a note of that, please.

How did they come across and how they're presented? Also a chance to add to your character notes at this point.

Okay, let's continue.

Prospero is happy to see that his plan for his daughter's future marriage is working, but decides that he must upset things temporarily in order to prevent their relationship from developing too quickly.

So Prospero is quite happy that his daughter Miranda has started to fall in love with Ferdinand.

However, he didn't want them to, he needs to self control it a little bit.

So he's very much in power here and he's got the other plan.

So he knows that he needs to let things develop for a bit longer.

Now, you might be a bit surprised for those of you who haven't worked out that Miranda won't be very old.

Miranda will only be around 12 years old, maybe 13 years old because she came to the island as a baby with Prospero, right? And that they've been on the island for 12 years.

So do remember that in Shakespeare's time and this Elizabethan era at this point, it wouldn't be unusual for a young girl to be married off by her parents at age 12.

So those of you who know the story of Romeo and Juliet, that's a really big point in that play as well.

So don't be surprised that you've got someone trying to marry and marry between a 12 year old, you know, another young man.

That would be quite common and that marriage would be typically set up and controlled by her father or her family.

So don't be surprised by that.

And Ferdinand will have asked Miranda to marry him quite 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.

So he uses his magic and leads him off to prison, ignoring Miranda's cries for mercy.

He then sends Ariel on another mysterious mission.

So, maybe thinking there in your summary about how Prospero is controlling and treating Ferdinand, even though it's his daughter's, you know, his daughter really likes Ferdinand.

On another part of the island, Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and other miscellaneous lords give thanks for their safety but worry about the fate of Ferdinand.

So Ferdinand is the son of King Alonso.

So you've got to remember that relationship.

Alonso says that he wishes he had never married his daughter to the Prince of Tunis because if he had not made this journey, his son would still be alive.

Gonzalo tries to maintain high spirits by discussing the beauty of the island, but his remarks are undercut by the sarcastic sourness of Antonio and Sebastian.

So very much introduced to the other characters here.

Ariel appears, invisible, and plays music that puts all but Sebastian and Antonio to sleep.

These two then begin to discuss the possible advantages of killing their sleeping companions.

Antonio persuades Sebastian that the latter will become ruler of Naples if they kill Alonso.

Claribel, who would be the next heir if Ferdinand were indeed dead, is too far away to be able to claim her right.

Sebastian is convinced, and the two are about to stab the sleeping men when Ariel causes Gonzalo to wake with a shout.

So here's the element of betrayal coming in with that theme that we looked at earlier.

So this idea of betrayal from Antonio and Sebastian.

So they're not coming across particularly well, are they? Coming up with a plot to kill the king.

Remember this is a comedy, so that's why it's really important that Ariel prevents that death from happening.

There wouldn't be any tragedies like that.

There wouldn't be any killing of kings in a play like this.

Everyone wakes up and Antonio and Sebastian concoct a ridiculous story about having their swords to protect the king from lions.

Ariel goes back to Prospero while Alonso and his party continued to search for Ferdinand.

Caliban, meanwhile, is hauling wood for Prospero when he sees Trinculo.

So again, we've got a new character coming in here, and thinks he is a spirit sent by Prospero to torment him.

He lies down and hides under his cloak.

The storm is brewing and Trinculo, curious about but undeterred by Caliban's strange appearance and smell, crawls into the clock with him.

Stephano, drunk and singing, comes along and stumbles upon the bizarre spectacle of Caliban and Trinculo huddled under the cloak.

So this isn't supposed to be a scene of comedy in which Caliban meets these two characters.

Trinculo and Stephano will very much be seen as the justice of the plan.

They were kind of seen as low status characters who will create some comedy, but they're not particularly good characters.

They're not good people.

Caliban, hearing the singing, cries out that he will work faster so long as the spirits leave him alone.

So he thinks that these two people are spirits sent by Prospero or to kind of annoy him and make him work harder.

Stephano decides that his monster requires liquor and attempts to get Caliban to drink.

Trinculo recognises his friend Stephano and calls out to him.

Soon the three are sitting up together and drinking.

Caliban quickly becomes an enthusiastic drinker and begins to sing.

So they're trying to take control over Caliban and influencing, are they? Okay, pausing now then.

How do Trinculo and Stephano treat Caliban? So you might think about how Caliban has been treated by Prospero as well.

How did these two guys treat Caliban? Supposing now making a note, but also just updating your character list and making sure your summaries are accurate.

Let's continue.

Prospero puts Ferdinand to work hauling wood.

Ferdinand finds his labour pleasant because it is for Miranda's sake.

Miranda thinking that her father is asleep, tells Ferdinand to take a break.

The two flirt with one another.

Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand accepts.

Prospero has been on stage most of the time, unseen, and he is pleased with this development.

So it's quite nice that Prospero is actually very much for Ferdinand marrying his daughter.

Stephano and Trinculo, and Caliban are now drunk and raucous and are all made all the more so by Ariel, who comes to them invisibly and provokes them to fight with one another by impersonating their voices and taunting them.

Caliban grows more and more fervent in his boasts that he knows how to kill Prospero.

He even tells Stephano that he can bring him to where Prospero sleeping.

So here, we have the second betrayal in the play where Caliban comes up with a bit of a plan and says to to Stephano and Trinculo that, "We can steal his magic, and that without his magic, he doesn't really have much power." So Caliban is coming up with a bit of a plan to betray Prospero and take his magic away.

Caliban proposes that they kill Prospero, take his daughter and get Stephano, and set Stephano up as a king of the island.

Stephano thinks this is a good plan and the three prepare to set off, to find Prospero.

They are distracted, however, by the sound of music that Ariel plays on his flute and tabor-drum, and they decided to follow this music before executing that plot.

So what you'll notice that this is the second plot in the play to kill somebody.

And it's being failed again because Ariel is always there and always listening.

So that's the magical element, that's the comedy element in which nothing terrible like that will happen in a play like this.

Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio grow weary from travelling and pause to rest.

Antonio and Sebastian secretly plot to take advantage of Alonso and Gonzalo's exhaustion, deciding to kill them in the evening.

Prospero, probably on the balcony of the stage and invisible to the men, causes a banquet to be set out by strangely shaped spirits.

As the men prepared to eat, Ariel appears like a harpy and causes the banquet to vanish.

He then accuses the men of supplanting Prospero and says that it was for this sin, that Alonso's son, Ferdinand, has been taken.

He vanishes, leaving Alonso feeling vexed and guilty.

So thinking about what Prospero is doing here, Prospero is now using his power to create this guilt with the people who betrayed him in the past.

And Prospero is also making out through Ariel that Ferdinand is not alive.

So then Alonso will assume.

It's quite a mean thing to do, but they're trying to teach him a lesson.

Prospero now softens towards Ferdinand and welcomes him into his family as the soon to be husband of Miranda.

Prospero then asks Ariel to call forth some spirits to perform a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda.

The spirits assume the shapes of Ceres, Juno, and Iris and perform a short masque celebrating the rites of marriage and the bounty of the earth.

So essentially they're having have a marriage celebration.

A dance of reapers and nymphs follows, but it's interrupted when Prospero suddenly remembers that he still must stop the plot against his life.

Prospero sends the spirits away and asks Ariel about Trinculo and Stephano, and Caliban.

Ariel tells his master the three men's drunken plans.

He also tells how he led the men with his music through prickly grass and briars, and finally into a filthy pond near Prospero cell.

Ariel and Prospero then set a trap by hanging beautiful clothing in Prospero's cell.

Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban enter looking for Prospero and finding the beautiful clothing, decided to steal it.

They are immediately set upon by a pack of spirits in the shape of dogs and hounds driven on by Prospero and Ariel.

So they're teaching Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban a bit of a lesson for being greedy for power.

Prospero uses Ariel to bring Alonso and the others before him.

He then sends Ariel to bring the boats and the mariners from where they sleep on the wrecked ship.

Prospero confronts Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian with their treachery, but tells them that he forgives them.

Alonso tells him of having lost Ferdinand in the tempest and Prospero says that he recently lost his own daughter.

What does he mean by that? Clarifying his meaning, Prospero draws aside a curtain to reveal Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess.

Alonso and his companions are amazed by the miracle of Ferdinand's survival.

And Miranda is stunned by the sight of people unlike any she has seen before.

Because remember, Miranda's never actually been off the island.

Ferdinand tells his father about his marriage.

Ariel returns with the Boatswain and the mariners.

The Boatswain tells the story of having been awakened from a sleep that had apparently lasted since the tempest.

At Prospero's bidding, Ariel releases Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano, who then enter wearing their stolen clothing.

Prospero and Alonso commands them to return it and to clean up Prospero's cell.

Prospero invites Alonso and the others to stay for the night so that he can tell them the tale of his life in the past 12 years.

After this, the group plans to return to Italy.

Prospero, restored to his dictum, will retire to Milan.

Prospero gives Ariel one final task to make sure all the seas are calm for their return voyage before setting him free.

Finally, Prospero delivers an epilogue to the audience, asking them to forgive him for his wrongdoing and set him free by applauding.

Okay, now this is a chance to pause now.

So, do you have all the key events of the play written down? Do you have all the characters in the play written down with their relationships really clear on your page? What you could also do at this point, is go back to your themes and I'd like you to just try and colour code, or you could label the different events in the play to the different themes that I introduced you to.

So for example, where do you see power and the use of power in the play? Where do you see love in the play, et cetera.

So those are several three jobs for you to do.

Check your key events, check your characters, and make sure you've labelled where you see the key themes.

Spend around five minutes at least doing that, making sure your notes are excellent because it's something you will want to refer back to 'cause it's a complicated storyline.

Pause now, and just spend five minutes doing that.

Okay, so again, a moment to think about these four key themes.

Which one do you think is the most prominent in the play? I would argue that the power from authority, you can see that in lots of different places.

So hopefully when you do that task I just asked you to do, you saw powerful authority for example, and the way Prospero treats Ariel and Caliban, and his servants.

And how he uses that power of being in charge of the island with his magic.

Obviously the love storyline, there's only really one of those.

You have Ferdinand and Miranda.

And that obviously brings all the characters together at the end, although you do have the love between father and son with Alonso and Ferdinand looking for one another.

Betrayal and revenge, I've talked about the two, betrayal and revenge plots that are in the play.

So you have the two betrayal plots for murder with Antonio and Sebastian, and also Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban.

But also you could say that Prospero's whole purpose is to get revenge.

Then you've got justice.

Do you think everyone in the end is given their rights? So is Prospero right to forgive everybody? Prospero is obviously given the status and power to come back to Italy as a duke.

Ariel is given his freedom.

Caliban is actually left on the island because it's his island and that's what he wants.

So, checking whether you mentioned some of the different things I've mentioned there in terms of your themes.

Okay, so that's to try and explain this further.

So what I'd like you to do is make sure you've written a really key answer to where you see power.

So my answer would be, Prospero demonstrates authority throughout his commanding manner towards Ariel and Caliban, treating them like his assistants.

So that's something you must have written down.

That you see power from authority through Caliban and the way he treats his assistants, and then his servants.

Caliban, he doesn't always treat as well, so sometimes Prospero abuses his power.

So I'd like you to make sure you've added that detail into your notes.

Whether you've answered, this is a question in full sentences, or whether you've just written it into your plan and your notes.

Okay, so really check on that.

Now you know the detail I want from you.

I want you to have a little go at love.

So where do you see love in the play? Try and explain that in a few sentences for me, then do the same for betrayal and revenge and also justice.

So pause now and just make sure that you've written full answers as to how these different key themes are presented in the play.

Off you go.

Okay, again, a moment to check your power answer, if you wanted another moment with that one.

Making sure you've really add in the detail about Caliban not being treated well, and maybe Prospero abusing his power there, but Ariel being treated quite fairly.

What about love then? So here's my answer.

The love of Ferdinand and Miranda is lighthearted and positive element to the play, which for the audience would be a storyline to invest in and hopeful alongside all of the other plots and the betrayals.

So it's really important we see love as this thread which runs through the play and positivity, and it leads to bringing all those characters together with that good ending.

Betrayal and revenge, Prospero is on the island because of his brother's betrayal in Naples.

Throughout the play, there are many plots and plans which are ultimately thwarted.

So actually, one thing you could have made a note on, is that any attempt to get revenge and betrayal, they kind of stopped anything violent, is stopped in the play, isn't it? For example, Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano plan to acquire and take Prospero's power.

These characters are often presented as weak and comedic, and we don't expect them to succeed.

So all of the plots and plans, the evilness in the play is actually presented in quite comedic, silly fashion, in a way which no one expects them to win.

Justice, so Prospero decides not to punish further those who've done him wrong in the past, deciding that their justice is to be brought to the island and experience the same loss as him.

So often you might say that Alonso's punishment was to experience what it was like to loose a child.

And because Alonso thinks that he lost his son forever and that's his punishment and that's justice.

Okay, before you finished the lesson, just make sure there's a really, really key point that you've got all the key events, you've got all the characters written down and that you've also written down some comments on each of the key themes.

Thank you for your brilliant focus this lesson, and I look forward to our next one.