THE TEMPEST – WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Words: bark, sans, o’ th’, i’ th’, if th’, butt, fathom, sack, ague, mooncalf, harpy, prologue, epilogue, exposition
People: Who is Alonso’s daughter and son? Where are they and why? What is the relationship between Sebastian, Alonso, Antonio, and Prospero? Who is Caliban’s mother and how does that relate to Ariel? What is the relationship between Prospero and both Ariel and Caliban and what does that suggest? What is the backstory on Caliban and why is he reviled by Prospero and Miranda? What does Ferdinand promise to Miranda and what are they doing when they are discovered by Prospero, Alonso, and the rest in Act Five. Who are Trinculo and Stephano and how does their plotline with Caliban affect the story? Who does Caliban think Stephano is when he first meets him? What does Stephano say that he is?
General: Why does Prospero bring the people from the ship to the island? What does Prospero call his magic and why? What happens during the shipwreck in the opening scene? What does Gonzalo wish for in that first scene? Know what iambic pentameter looks like, know what a couplet is, know what prose is, and know how to identify them within the script. What are the four genres of Shakespeare plays and what makes them different. Why is The Tempest considered “a romance.” Why does Miranda say “O brave new world that hath such people in it”? Who are Ceres, Iris, and Juno and why are they even in this play? How does the play end and what does it have in common with Henry V in how it ends? When Alonso and Gonzalo wake up, what do they discover? What animals do Sebastian and Antonio claim they heard? Why does Trinculo crawl under the gaberdine with Caliban and why does he say he’s doing it? What does Prospero say he will do with his staff and book at the end of the play? How does this relate to many scholars suggesting this was Shakespeare’s final play?
