My First Response to 'The Tempest'

I first read 'The Tempest' when I was ten, and naturally had a lesser understanding of the text at that point. As a child, I was more intrigued by the supernatural side to the story, the sprits and magic spells. But upon reading the play again, being a huge fan of Shakespeare’s tragedies, I now appreciate the more sinister plots of murder and betrayal.

Rereading the play now, with a larger understanding of Shakespeare, I found one element very intriguing. There is very little plot. There’s the love story between Miranda and Ferdinand, and then there’s Antonio and Sebastian’s plan to supplant their older brothers' titles and power, Antonio having already done this and convincing Sebastian to do the same. Finally, there is the story of Caliban, along with Setphano and Trinculo, and his plot to murder Prospero, to regain control of the island. But none of these plots are developed much or given much attention. Instead the play focuses on human nature and the division between happiness and tragedy.

'The Tempest' ends with the promise of a wedding in the future, but the play could have just as easily ended with tragedy, as there are numerous murder plots, betrayals and revenge. Most of Shakespeare’s comedies, such as ‘The Comedy of Errors’, are humorous throughout, with the plot being love triangles, misunderstanding and misidentify. Very few have the makings of a tragedy, but with a happy ending.

Prior to my rereading of ‘The Tempest’, I had different impressions of some of the characters, simply from what I remembered. I was under the impression that Miranda was a more pivotal character, when in reality she is a rather undeveloped and simple minded character, that doesn’t add much to the main plot of Prospero’s past and revenge. The only thing Miranda really adds to the play is the only truly comedy-style plot line: her love-at-first-sight relationship with Ferdinand.

The play also, in my opinion, ends rather anticlimactically. The antagonists of the play, Antonio, Sebastian and Caliban, aren’t punished for their plots; they are pardoned, forgiven or ignored, even after the build-up of their plans. Everyone returns to their rightful homes, Ariel and the rest of the sprits being freed and everyone else returning to Naples. The story lines seem to build, reach their peak and then simply fall through, without proper development and without being truly resolved.