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    Act 1 Scene 1 & 2 Summary & Information

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    The Tempest begins with a ship caught in a storm created by Prospero. Prospero reveals to Miranda that he was once the Duke of Milan but was betrayed by his brother Antonio. Prospero and Miranda were set adrift at sea but survived, landing on the island where they now live. Ariel and Caliban also live on the island under Prospero's control, and Ariel has used magic to scatter the passengers from the ship around the island as part of Prospero's plan.

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    Act 1 Scene 1 & 2 Summary & Information

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    43 views2 pages
    The Tempest begins with a ship caught in a storm created by Prospero. Prospero reveals to Miranda that he was once the Duke of Milan but was betrayed by his brother Antonio. Prospero and Miranda were set adrift at sea but survived, landing on the island where they now live. Ariel and Caliban also live on the island under Prospero's control, and Ariel has used magic to scatter the passengers from the ship around the island as part of Prospero's plan.

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    The Tempest begins with a ship caught in a storm created by Prospero. Prospero reveals to Miranda that he was once the Duke of Milan but was betrayed by his brother Antonio. Prospero and Miranda were set adrift at sea but survived, landing on the island where they now live. Ariel and Caliban also live on the island under Prospero's control, and Ariel has used magic to scatter the passengers from the ship around the island as part of Prospero's plan.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    43 views2 pages

    Act 1 Scene 1 & 2 Summary & Information

    Uploaded by

    vq9y84xsq7
    The Tempest begins with a ship caught in a storm created by Prospero. Prospero reveals to Miranda that he was once the Duke of Milan but was betrayed by his brother Antonio. Prospero and Miranda were set adrift at sea but survived, landing on the island where they now live. Ariel and Caliban also live on the island under Prospero's control, and Ariel has used magic to scatter the passengers from the ship around the island as part of Prospero's plan.

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    3rd Form Literature

    Drama: The Tempest


    Act 1, Scenes 1 & 2
    The Tempest

    Summary – Act I, Scene I


    Sailors try to keep a ship from running aground on the rocks in a stormy sea. The
    passengers are Alonso, the King of Naples, Alonso's son Ferdinand, Alonso's
    brother Sebastian, Alonso's advisor Gonzalo, and Antonio. The boatswain says that
    even kings cannot "command these elements" of wind and water, and tells Antonio
    and Sebastian that they can either "keep below" or help the sailors. The noblemen
    take offense at being ordered around by a mere sailor, and both show a mean-
    tempered streak in this encounter. Suddenly, a panic seizes the sailors, and they
    declare "all lost," surrendering themselves, and their ship, to the vicious storm.
    Antonio and Sebastian also fear the worst, and go below to say goodbye to the
    king, Alonso.

    Dramatic Significance of the Opening Scene of the Play Beginning in the


    Midst of a Violent Storm / Tempest

    1. Draws the audience’s attention.


    2. Highlights power and social structure as a major theme.
    3. Characterizes main characters.
    4. Symbolizes the supernatural and magic as a major issue.
    5. Makes the telling of Prospero’s tale more plausible as we see the negative
    character traits of the other main characters being revealed.
    6. Allows for dramatic unity of time in that all characters will arrive in the
    same place to advance the story.
    Summary – Act I, Scene 2
    Prospero and his daughter Miranda are the focus of this scene, and from Miranda's
    first speech it becomes clear that the storm in the previous scene was somehow
    caused and controlled by Prospero. Miranda is concerned that good men were lost
    in the wreck, but Prospero assures her that it all went to plan, and no men were
    harmed. Prospero explains his motivations for causing the storm by telling her his
    history with the nobles aboard the ship; he reveals to Miranda that Antonio is his
    brother, and that he was once the rightful Duke of Milan, a position Antonio now
    holds. Antonio usurped Prospero's estate and wealth while Prospero became
    increasingly "rapt in secret studies" and oblivious to his brother's machinations;
    and in order to take Prospero's title as well, Antonio arranged to have his brother
    Prospero and Prospero's daughter Miranda killed secretly. But Prospero is widely
    known to be a good man, so those charged with his death decide not to kill him,
    Instead, Prospero and Miranda were set adrift on the open sea in a decayed vessel,
    and were able to survive off the supplies that the honest councilor Gonzalo
    arranged for them to have; thus, they landed on the island where they now live.

    After Prospero's tale, Ariel, a magical spirit, appears; it becomes clear that she is in
    Prospero's service, and caused the storm, at Prospero's bidding. King Alonso and
    company are now "dispersed Š'bout the isle," and Ariel has made the incident look
    like a shipwreck. Ariel also expresses her wish to be freed by Prospero, although
    he rescued her from the nasty witch Syncorax. Caliban, who was Syncorax's son,
    also makes an appearance; Miranda expresses her strong dislike for him, and he
    has been reduced to no more than Prospero's slave. Ferdinand, Alonso's son, meets
    Miranda, and falls immediately in love with her; this appears to be of Ariel's doing,
    and part of the carefully-laid plan that she must carry out to win her freedom from
    Prospero.

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