The Tempest (play)

The Tempest is one of William Shakespeare's last plays. Its first known performance was on November 1, 1611 at Whitehall Palace in London. It would also have been performed at the Globe Theatre and the Blackfriars Theatre.

List of Characters

• Alonso, King of Naples
• Sebastian, his brother
• Prospero, the right Duke of Milan (the story's protagonist)
• Antonio, his brother, the usurping Duke of Milan
• Ferdinand, son to the King of Naples
• Gonzalo, an honest old councillor
• Adrian and Francisco, lords
• Caliban, a savage and deformed slave

:The name is suggestive of "Carib(be)an", and - given looser 17th century spelling - an anagram of "cannibal", both of which come from the same word. Both implications suggest he is representative of the natives of the New World, and a reference to one of Shakespeare's sources; Des Cannibales by Montaigne.

Related Topics:
New World - Des Cannibales - Montaigne

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• Trinculo, a jester

:The name is linked to the Italian verb "trincare" meaning, as can still be heard, "to drink"; appropriate as he is one of the two drunkards of the play.

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• Stephano, a drunken butler (sometimes Stefano)

:"Stephan" means "King" in Greek; appropriate as the play concerns itself with the notion of kingship, which this character is used to parody. Shakespeare also may have named him Stephano to suggest a popular rhyme - alluded to by Trinculo and sung in Othello - that begins "King Stephen was an a worthy peer/ His breeches cost him but a crown"; ironic as Stephano's ambition to rule the island is thwarted when he starts stealing clothes (his breeches cost him his "crown"); likewise Prospero lost his crown when he turned his attention to his Art, symbolized by a cloak.

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• Master of a ship
• Boatswain
• Mariners
• Miranda, daughter to Prospero, often called "a wonder".

:The name comes from the Latin root "mira-", to wonder. All other words in the play that come from the same root (admired, miracle, etc), can be understood to be referring to Miranda.

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• Ariel, an airy spirit

:The name is certainly suggestive of the "air" element, directly opposing the character to Caliban, who is called "thou earth" by Prospero. In Hebrew the name means "lion of God" - it is therefore interesting that Ariel's voice is once mistaken for the roar of lions.

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• Iris
• Ceres
• Juno
• Nymphs
• Reapers
• Spirits

(mentioned but never seen:)

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• Sycorax a witch, and mother of Caliban.

:The name includes the Latin for "raven", with which she is frequently linked in the play. The stresses individually sound like "sick" and "wracks"; sickness and "wracking" people being two of the more insiduous ways Prospero uses his own magic.

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• Claribel daughter to Alonso

:Her name comes from the French "clair et belle": "clear and beautiful" - words which can only describe musical notes, the weather, and bodies of water. She is thus the symbolic opposite to the titular tempest, which disrupts the weather, disturbs the sea and creates discordant sounds - and therefore has been absented from the play's action before it has begun.

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