THE TEMPEST VIDEOS

Below are videos of the play. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93OgyoBsN-c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czFoUWwd6mI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOxYMKH_URI


*****copy and paste the above in the address bar.*****

THE TEMPEST ACT1 SCENE2

Study Questions
1. Why does Miranda ask her father to calm the storm at sea?

2. How does Prospero comfort Miranda’s fears about the suffering people on the ship?

3. Does Miranda remember anything about her life before she came to the island?

4. How old was Miranda when they arrived on the island?

5. In what way did Antonio dispose of Prospero and Miranda after he had usurped his dukedom?

6. Why did Antonio spare the lives of Prospero and Miranda?

7. Why did Antonio put Prospero and Miranda on an old boat without a sail?

8. Where did Prospero and Miranda get their supplies for the island?

9. Why did Prospero raise the storm at sea with his magic?

10. How long had Prospero and Miranda lived on the island?

LINES 189-320

Study Questions
1. What three elements of nature does Ariel represent in this scene?

2. How does Ariel “burn in many places” during the tempest?

3. What did the passengers of the ship do when they were afraid of dying?

4. What did Ariel do with the passengers?

5. What did Ariel do with the mariners?

6. Where did he leave the ship? Was it damaged from the storm?

7. What does Ariel expect to get for all of his labors?

8. Why is Prospero angry at Ariel for requesting his freedom?

9. Where did the “foul witch Sycorax” imprison Ariel?

10. Why was Ariel left imprisoned for 12 years?

LINES 321-374

Study Questions
1. Who were the parents of Caliban?

2. What did Prospero do for Caliban when he first came to the island?

3. How did Caliban respond to Prospero’s treatment of him?

4. Why does Caliban feel that he owns the island?

5. What happened when Prospero took Caliban into his own lodging?

6. What does Prospero do to punish Caliban for his behavior?

7. How has Caliban benefited from learning a language?

8. How is Caliban described in the “Names of the Actors”?

9. What does Prospero threaten to do to Caliban if he does not obey him?

10. Why does Caliban finally decide to obey Prospero?

LINES 375-504

Study Questions
1. Who sings the two songs in this part of the play?

2. Who helps Ariel with the dance in “Come Unto These Yellow Sands”?

3. From where does Ferdinand think the music is coming from?

4. According to the song, what has happened to Ferdinand’s father?

5. What is Miranda’s first impression of Ferdinand?

6. What is Ferdinand’s first impression of Miranda?

7. What is Prospero’s false accusation of Ferdinand?

8. Why does Prospero accuse Ferdinand falsely?

9. What is Alonso’s sea-change?

10. Name one way in which music assists the dramatic action of the play?

THE TEMPEST ACT 1 SCENE 1

A violent storm rages around a small ship at sea. The master of the ship calls for his boatswain to rouse the mariners to action and prevent the ship from being run aground by the tempest. Chaos ensues. Some mariners enter, followed by a group of nobles comprised of Alonso, King of Naples, Sebastian, his brother, Antonio, Gonzalo, and others. We do not learn these men’s names in this scene, nor do we learn (as we finally do in Act II, scene i) that they have just come from Tunis, in Africa, where Alonso’s daughter, Claribel, has been married to the prince. As the Boatswain and his crew take in the topsail and the topmast, Alonso and his party are merely underfoot, and the Boatswain tells them to get below-decks. Gonzalo reminds the Boatswain that one of the passengers is of some importance, but the Boatswain is unmoved. He will do what he has to in order to save the ship, regardless of who is aboard.

The lords go below decks, and then, adding to the chaos of the scene, three of them—Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo—enter again only four lines later. Sebastian and Antonio curse the Boatswain in his labors, masking their fear with profanity. Some mariners enter wet and crying, and only at this point does the audience learn the identity of the passengers on-board. Gonzalo orders the mariners to pray for the king and the prince. There is a strange noise—perhaps the sound of thunder, splitting wood, or roaring water—and the cry of mariners. Antonio, Sebastian, and Gonzalo, preparing to sink to a watery grave, go in search of the king.

QUESTIONS

1. Who was in charge of the ship during the storm at sea?

2. Why did Alonso, the king, interfere with the Boatswain’s work in securing the ship during the storm?

3. Where did the Boatswain tell the king and his courtiers to go?

4. Who were the first to go to their cabins below the top deck?

5. What joke does Gonzalo tell concerning the Boatswain?

6. How does this joke affect the rest of the passengers and crew?

7. How do Sebastian and Antonio react to the Boatswain?

8. How does the Boatswain respond to Sebastian’s and Antonio’s insulting remarks?

9. How does Antonio decide to die in the storm at sea?

10. How loyal is Sebastian to his brother, the king?