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Summary: the most useful series by far
Review: I own a great ragtag collection of Shakespeare's play, from a one-volume monster through the hardcover "Arden" editions to a variety of paperbacks. The New Folger Library paperbacks are by far the best. The introductions are intelligent and well-written, as is the concluding essay that follows every play and the notes (which take up the lefthand page, while the text is on the right) are useful and not intrusive. I've settled on the New Folger Library paperbacks as the books I read before I go to a play. They're cheap and well-done.
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Summary: One of Shakespheare's Best
Review: I thought "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare was inspiring and thought provoking. I believe it was thought provoking in the fact that Prospero protrayed a god like figure. Ariel was his helper or angel as if she praised the Christian God. It was also inspiring with the satire and romaniticm. When Fernado and Miranda fell in love, so did I. Again and again I'm reminded of what an awesome author Shakespeare was and is in today's society. His plays are very timely.
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Summary: The stuff dreams are made of
Review: I took this play with me out on my morning walks this week, and I feel that at the same time I was excercising my body I was also giving my mind and my imagination a pretty good workout. Like any form of excercise, reading Shakespeare isn't always easy, especially when you're just getting started. But if you stick with it, you're apt to find that it gets easier and the benefits become more apparent. Shakespeare's metaphorical language forces your mind to stay nimble and alert and his rich imagery gives you no other choice than to reconnect your soul to the world around you. "The Tempest" is a lot of fun to read and it's not as weighty or ponderous as some of Shakespeare's dramas. It's a good choice to start with if you haven't read Shaksepeare before, or if you haven't read him since high school. The story involves Prospero, a duke who has been banished to a deserted island, along with his young daughter, Miranda. Propsero uses his magic to shipwreck a party of ex-compatriates who were originally responsible for his ousting. The ensuing drama deals with issues of loyalty, treachery, forgiveness, freedom, and the mind and body dichotomy. But the best part of it all is the vivid imagery. In the play's best moments, the words glow on the page.
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Summary: huh?
Review: i watched the bbc television production of this play and my only reaction was, huh? it seemed to be over before it began, and yet, nothing seemed to happen. there's a silly love story, with some pretty lines. and a revenge story, with some angry lines. and some fairies, and some magic. but??? oh, there's some old guy named prospero who settles some old scores and marries off his only daughter. i guess this was the point of the play: how a guy fades in to the twilight of life. i better read the play to see if i missed anything.
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Summary: Shakespeare is Shakespeare, but buy this version
Review: I'm not going to tell you about the Tempest, I'm going to dwell on the features of the book. This book contains numerous aids to guide you in your studies or pleasure reading. Along with an assortment of detailed footnotes to aid you in awkawrdly stated prose, their is a list of common words that Shakespeare uses and what they stand for in the context of the play. Contains a short biography that explains the life and times of William Shakespeare as well as an introduction to the play which helps you to understand the complexities of the play or the general meaning behind it. The introduction even breaks down a few blocks of tought prose to explain better their meaning. THere are also textual notes, commentary and suggested references. Even a good line finds it's way into the actual play as Stephano remarks "He that dies pays all debts.". Enjoy.
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Summary: What to say about The Tempest
Review: In every Shakespeare play I've read, i always have been depressed...partially because I've read most of the tragedies, but let's not get into that. The Tempest is called a romance...as if. The romance part belongs to Ferdinand and Miranda, who have maybe, MAYBE twenty lines at most. That's the only romance in this play. No, this is a comedy, and a fairly funny comedy. The group of men who are stranded on Prosperos island are hilarious. While Gonzalo can be that boring old worrywart, Adrian, Sebastian, Alonso are makinf fun of everyone, and it's funny. Trinculo and Stephano are funny because of how drunk they are, and poor Caliban, even though he tried to rape Miranda...he thought he got himself out of being a servant for Prosepero, and landed a job with a bunch of drunks. Ariel is the character I liked the most because he...or maybe a she, I never could tell...is the sanest of the lot. he does what he is told, and he enjoys it, and he never complains about it. He speaks with intelligence, and he's not as ditzy or mystical, as his three other faries, Juno, Ceres, and Iris. The Tempest is a great Shakespeare play (Macbeth still ranks number one on my list) but it gets four stars for how long some of the scenes are. Act four is one scene, if that tells you anything. After a while, you need some funniness from Adrian and Sebastian to save you from prosepero, or maybe you need Devotion and Loyalty from Ferdinand, Miranda, and Ariel.
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Summary: IT Blew My Brain!
Review: Initially when I read this book I found it a little confusing; luckily for me, I decided to read it again! The colonial and dominance issues are really thought provoking, however, Shakespeare, as always relieves the pressure with the outstanding comedy that Stephano and Trinculo provide. Not my favourite Shakespeare, but well up there. You should not fail to be moved.
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Summary: Good Book; Flawed Reviews
Review: Not to take away from the rest of Andrew Katz's review, but he is wrong in claiming that the Tempest was Shakespeare's last work. He wrote thrice (Henry VII, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Cardenio) after the Tempest, and before his death.
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Summary: ew
Review: ok, whats with shakespeare? the story is impossible to understand! CLIFF NOTES ARE MY SAVIOR!
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Summary: .
Review: One of the best works by Shakespeare and also his final full play (most likely), The Tempest draws on many elements that Shakespeare used in his earlier works and adds a comic twist. Shakespeare doesn't spend much time on character development in the Tempest, other than Prospero and possibly Caliban (e.g. Miranda is the ideal chaste woman, Trinculo & Stephano are lowly schemers). However, Prospero is extremely well developed and the simple aspects of the other characters do not detract from the story at all. There are many different levels of meaning at work in the play...some see it as a pro-colonialist diatribe, others see it as Shakespeare's own swan song, where Prospero himself is based on the Bard, and Prospero's surrendering of his magical powers is representative of Shakespeare giving up his craft. I read it as both, and a million other things, and that is one of the great things about the play...it can be read in so many different ways. The structure of the play seems almost chaotic at first, with so many things going on at once. However, if you read the play over again, or read some of the essays contained in the Signet Edition, it becomes much more clear, although still open-ended. The Signet Edition is excellent, and Signets in general are. Buy this over the Folger Library editions...the footnotes here are much easier to work with and make the reading much smoother overall.
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