THE AUTHOR. Many times we have had occasion to say that an acquaintance with an author has much to do with our liking for his works, and as we read the great plays of our greatest poet, we wish we might know him more intimately. However, when we look for information concerning him, we quickly find that comparatively little is known of the man beyond what we can draw from his writings, and few authors have shown themselves less vividly. After doing our best, we can find only a great, shadowy Author who must have had a broad knowledge, a rare invention, a profound insight into human nature, a penetrating sympathy and a marvelous power of expression. As seen through his works, he appears more than human, but when we look into our histories, we wonder that so great a man could have lived and died, and left so light an impression on his times. In fact, some wise men have felt that the William Shakespeare we know could never have written the great plays that bear his name. That is a question, however, we need not discuss; it is better to leave the credit where it has rested for centuries, and believe that the plays are better evidence of Shakespeare’s greatness than his own life is evidence of his ability to write them.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon, April 23, 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was a respectable citizen, a wool-dealer and a glover, who at one time possessed considerable means, and was an alderman and a bailiff in the little town, but who later on lost most of his property and ceased to be prominent in the affairs of the village. William’s mother was Mary Arden, a gentle, tender woman of Norman descent, who exerted a powerful influence over the lives of her children.

Until William was about fourteen years old he attended the free school in Stratford, and though there are many legends concerning his boyhood pranks and his gift for learning, we know practically nothing for a certainty. In one of the desks at the school, they still show the initials he is supposed to have cut during some idle moment. Of his youth we know still less, except that at about eighteen he married Ann Hathaway, a farmer’s daughter who lived in the village of Shottery, a mile or two from Stratford. Ann was eight years older than William, but they seem to have lived happily and to have loved the children that were born to them.

The next thing we can be really certain of is, that about the time William was twenty-three he went to London and soon became connected with a company of actors. Here the genius of the poet began to make itself felt. He wrote some plays, he recast others, and by the time he had been five years in the city, he was prominent among the bright men of his time, and was recognized as a rising man. Unlike most actors and writers of that period, Shakespeare was not a dissipated man, but attended carefully to his duties, saved his money, and ten years after he left Stratford was able to return to his native town and buy a fine estate, to which he added from time to time. His money had not all come from his writings and his acting, however, for he owned a large part of the stock in the two leading theaters in London.

About 1604 he ceased to be an actor, although he continued to write for the stage, and in fact produced his greatest plays after that date. Seven years later he returned finally to Stratford, and there lived a quiet and delightful home life until 1616, when on the anniversary of his birth he died suddenly of a fever. He was buried in the little parish church at Stratford, where his remains rest beside those of his wife. On the flat stone that covers his body is inscribed this epitaph:

“Good frend for Iesus sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare:
Blesse be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And Cvrst be he yt moves my bones.”

Such are the principal facts that we know concerning the great man, and a simple biography it certainly is. We must not, however, think that he was not popular among his fellows, or that he was merely a successful business man. He counted among his friends the wisest and best men of his time, and some of them have written their impressions of him. Ben Jonson, a rough but sincere and honest man, says: “I loved the man, and do honor his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any. He was indeed honest, and of an open, free nature; had an excellent phantasy, brave notions and gentle expressions.”

THE PLAY. The Tempest was one of the last of the poet’s dramas, though not the last, as some writers have contended. It was not printed until 1623, after the poet’s death, but it was written, according to Hudson, between 1603 and 1613, and probably between 1610 and 1613.

The story seems to have been original with Shakespeare; at least no satisfactory evidence has been given to show that he borrowed it. This is rather unusual, for Shakespeare showed a fine contempt for originality, and borrowed the plots of his plays from a great variety of sources. His own version of each story, however, was so masterly that no one regrets that he availed himself of all the assistance he could get.

The scene of the play is laid on an island; what island we do not know. Probably it is as mythical as the events that happened on it.

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s most perfect plays. In form it is perfect, and follows, more closely than was customary with him, the strict laws of the old Greek dramas, the laws which critics still uphold as those governing the highest art. The three unities are here observed: The events all occur in a single day; they happen in a single place; from beginning to end there is one continuous line of thought. Only the last characteristic is still generally observed by dramatic writers.Beside perfection in form, The Tempest shows the greatest nicety in the way the natural and supernatural move along together without a single interference. It is difficult to think of the magic art of Prospero as more marvelous than the coarse plotting of Sebastian, or to consider the delicate Ariel and the mis-shapen Caliban less human than the manly Ferdinand, or the honest old Gonzalo. Only a great writer could accomplish this, and none but a genius could make of his work a piece so fine that we delight in every line of it. It would be unfair too not to mention the beautiful expressions that abound in it, the high sentiments that prevail, and the great renunciation that Prospero makes when he has in his hands every means for swift and terrible revenge.

CHARACTERS. In reading the drama we become acquainted with the characters, and begin to be indifferent toward some, to have admiration for others and contempt for others. In real life we must not be governed by our first impressions of people. We must study their appearance, their speech, their actions, and make up our minds as to their characters before we decide to make them our friends. It is very unwise to trust every agreeable person we meet, and especially unwise to be suspicious of every person who at first impresses us unfavorably. The older we grow, the keener becomes our power to read character, and the less liable we are to be deceived if we try always to use our best judgment. One of the great benefits literature can offer us is the opportunity to study character, and Shakespeare had such a remarkable insight into human nature, and so great a power of drawing character that in his plays we can see before us almost every type of human being, and from a study of them we can gain a knowledge of humanity that will help us every day of our lives.

Accordingly, let us take up, one after another, the principal characters in The Tempest and study them in such a way that we shall be able to read other plays with greater ease and quickened intelligence.

1. Prospero. The hero of the drama is a man well advanced in years, grave, dignified and serene. As Duke of Milan he was a prince of power, “without a parallel in dignity and knowledge.” He was popular with his subjects, for so dear was the love his people bore him, that the conspirators did not dare to destroy him. Yet he was not inclined to rule his dukedom, for he grew a stranger to his estate, so transported and wrapt was he in secret studies. He confesses that his library was dukedom enough for him, and that he had volumes that he prized above his dukedom. This was his weakness, and upon this his false brother preyed, until one night in the dead of darkness the Duke and the crying Miranda were set adrift in the rotten carcass of a boat, which the very rats instinctively had quit.

On the island, with the books Gonzalo had preserved for him, he continued his studies and played the schoolmaster to his gentle child until she was better educated and more highly cultured than other princesses that spend more time in vain enjoyments and have less careful tutors. Prospero’s love for his daughter is the strong, central trait in his character. He has raised her judiciously, guarded her zealously, and now when he finds, brought to his very door, all the actors in the tragedy of his life, his one great care is to provide for Miranda’s happiness. All his plans lead to that end, and when he has achieved it, the labors of his life are over.

The supernatural powers that Prospero has acquired seem natural to the studious, dignified old gentleman, and amazing as they are, we can discredit none of them. He tells us he caused the storm, and Miranda begs him to save the passengers on the doomed ship with perfect confidence in his ability to do it. He causes sleep to fall on Miranda, and he summons the gentle Ariel, who enters as naturally as a human being, and admits the marvelous acts that he has seen Prospero perform. Caliban testifies to the power of Prospero so convincingly that we know the magician has control of the destinies of every human being on the island, and can wreak a terrible vengeance if he is determined to do it. When Ferdinand draws his sword, the magician by a word makes him powerless as he stands. We see the magic banquet appear and disappear, and Iris, Ceres, Juno, the nymphs and the reapers come and converse, as a proof positive of his more than mortal power. How has he used this power and how will he continue to use it? When first he came upon the island it was full of evil, and the powers of darkness ruled. He has imprisoned and punished the evil spirits; freed the gentle and the good, banished all discord, and filled the island “full of noises, sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.” That in the future he will use his vast power only for good, we feel assured. Only Caliban hates and abuses him, but the testimony of one so wicked rather proves the gentleness, wisdom and justice of the magician.

Prospero’s passionate love for his daughter makes him cunning and wise. Before he will trust his daughter to Ferdinand, he tests both the character and the love of the latter most severely. He even feigns anger and appears to be cruel and unjust. That he is feigning, neither suspect, but Miranda says: “Never till this day saw I him touch’d with anger so distemper’d,” and “My father’s a better nature, sir, than he appears by speech.” When he is assured of Ferdinand’s worthiness, of the sincerity of his love for Miranda and of her devotion to her young lover, he is delighted, and becomes so interested in the entertainment he is giving them, that he forgets the plot against his life, although the hour of his danger has arrived. It is true the father stoops to listening, but his purpose is so worthy, no one is inclined to cavil at his watchfulness, and, in any event, his exceeding care but justifies the feeling that his love for Miranda is the mainspring of his every act.

On this small island Prospero is little less than a god, and controls affairs with almost supernatural justice and wisdom. Caliban, the ungrateful, terribly wicked monster, is punished unsparingly but with justice, for in the end with repentance he is forgiven, and the tortures cease. Ariel and the other obedient spirits, though reproved at times, are rewarded by freedom and placed beyond the reach of the evil powers of earth and air.The sufferings Prospero has endured, the intensity of his studies, and the fierceness of his struggles with the supernatural powers of evil, have given a tinge of sadness to his thought, and have led him to feel that the result of all his labors may amount to little. The world is to him but an insubstantial pageant that shall dissolve and fade, leaving not the trace of the thinnest cloud behind. And as for ourselves,

“We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.”

Yet no sooner does he give way to this feeling than he sees how unkind it is to trouble the young with such musings, and says pathetically to Ferdinand,

“Sir, I am vex’d;
Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled:
Be not disturbed with my infirmity.”

It is, however, at the end of the play, when all his plans have been carried out successfully, and enemies and friends are alike at his mercy, that the character of Prospero shines out most gloriously. Rejoicing at the fruition of his hopes, he asks from his enemies only a sincere repentance, and then nobly resigning the great arts which have rendered the plotters powerless, he forgives them one and all: his brother Antonio; the scheming Sebastian; Caliban, the evil spirit; and the two weak but wicked ones, Stephano and Trinculo. Then with generosity unparalleled he restores Ferdinand to his father, the King, who has joined with Antonio, and promises to all “calm seas, auspicious gales and sail so expeditious that shall catch your royal fleet far off.” Remembering to set Ariel free, he lays aside his magic gown, breaks his staff, buries it fathoms deep in the earth, and drowns his magic book deeper than did ever plummet sound. Thus he leaves us, only a man once more, but a loving father, a wise and gentle ruler.

2. Miranda. We have seen that the master feeling in Prospero’s soul is his love for his daughter. Is she worthy of so great an affection? Let us draw our answers from the drama.

(a) She is beautiful.

Ferdinand says:

“Most sure, the goddess
On whom these airs attend!”

And:

“O you wonder!
If you be maid or no?”

Caliban says:

“And that most deeply to consider is
The beauty of his daughter; he himself
Calls her a nonpareil: I ne’er saw woman
But only Sycorax my dam and she;
But she as far surpasseth Sycorax
As great’st does least.”

Alonzo says:

“Is she the goddess that hath sever’d us,
And brought us thus together?”

(b) She is educated, cultured and refined.

Prospero says:

“And here
Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit
Than other princesses can, that have more time
For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful.”(c) She is tender-hearted, sympathetic and compassionate.

She says:

“O, I have suffer’d
With those that I saw suffer!”

And:

“O, the cry did knock
Against my very heart!”

Prospero speaks of these traits:

“Wipe thou thine eyes; have comfort.
The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch’d
The very virtue of compassion in thee,——”

Speaking of the trials which Prospero puts upon Ferdinand, she says:

“Make not too rash a trial of him, for
He’s gentle and not fearful.”

When she learns of her helplessness at the time they were set adrift, she says:

“O, my heart bleeds
To think o’ the teen that I have turn’d you to.”

When Miranda hears how her father was treated by her false uncle, she exclaims:

“Alack, for pity!
I, not remembering how I cried on’t then,
Will cry it o’er again: it is a hint
That wrings mine eyes to’t.”

(d) She is brave.

Prospero says of her childhood:

“O, a cherubim
Thou wast that did preserve me! Thou didst smile,
Infused with a fortitude from Heaven.”(e) She is innocent and unacquainted with mankind and hates the sight of evil.

When she first sees Ferdinand, she asks:

“What is’t? A spirit?
Lord, how it looks about! Believe me, sir,
It carries a brave form. But ’tis a spirit.”

Again:

“I do not know
One of my sex; no woman’s face remember,
Save, from my glass, mine own; nor have I seen
More that I may call men, than you, good friend.”

And finally:

“How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t.”

She says of Caliban:

“’Tis a villain, sir,
I do not love to look on.”

(f) She is grateful.

When she is told of Gonzalo’s services to her and her father, she exclaims:

“Would I might
But ever see that man!”

(g) She is a loving, faithful woman:

While Ferdinand is at work she pleads:

“Alas, now, pray you,
Work not so hard,———
Pray, set it down, and rest you: when this burns,
’Twill weep for having wearied you.”

Again:

“If you’ll sit down,
I’ll bear your logs the while.”Later Ferdinand asks, “Wherefore weep you?” Miranda answers:

“At mine unworthiness,———
———Hence, bashful cunning!
And prompt me, plain and holy innocence!
I am your wife, if you will marry me;
If not, I’ll die your maid: to be your fellow
You may deny me; but I’ll be your servant,
Whether you will or no.”

(h) Lover and father both bestow unqualified praise upon her. Ferdinand says:

“Admired Miranda!
Indeed the top of admiration; worth
What’s dearest to the world!———
———but you, O you,
So perfect and so peerless, are created
Of every creature’s best!”

Her father says:

“O Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,
And make it halt behind her.”

3. Ferdinand. The quotations we have made from the text seem to have answered our question as to Miranda’s worthiness. Upon what sort of a man has she set her affections? Will she find in her husband the man she thinks she is to marry? Answer these questions for yourselves by reading the text and setting down the proofs as we did while studying Miranda.

4. Ariel. Prospero’s agent Ariel is an interesting study, for the poet has drawn him with lines so clear and exact that he seems a veritable person. Will you not seek to know him, and in doing so follow these suggestions?(a) Ariel appears in the following scenes:

How many scenes are there in the play? In how many does Ariel appear? In what scenes does he make no appearance? What characters appear more times? What characters appear more prominently in the play?

(b) Ariel does many different things. Make a list of the things Ariel does in this plays and a second list of the things that it appears Ariel has done elsewhere.

(c) Ariel appears in different forms. What are these forms? Is Ariel ever visible to any of the characters besides Prospero? Does Ariel ever appear visibly to Prospero? If the play were to be acted on the stage, would it be necessary at any time to have a person come upon the stage to represent him?

(d) Ariel has human characteristics. What acts like those of a human being does Ariel commit? What does Ariel say that shows him to have human traits?

(e) Ariel is a spirit. What supernatural things does Ariel do? What does Ariel say that makes him seem more than human?

(f) Ariel has a many-sided character. Find in the play where the following questions are answered: Is he faithful? Does he do his duties well? Does Ariel love music? Does he feel gratitude? Does he always favor the right? Is Ariel merry? Does he love fun? Does he play practical jokes? Does he love warmth and light, or cold and darkness? Is he sympathetic? Does he lessen the grief of any one? Does he lead any one to remorse for evil deeds? Does he assist love in the hearts of Ferdinand and Miranda? Do you think Prospero always treats him fairly? Does he seem so light and inconstant that he needs some discipline? What will he do when he is released from Prospero’s control? Finally, does Ariel seem lovable to you, would you like him as a friend and companion as well as a powerful servant?

5. Caliban. It is difficult to tell just what the slave of Prospero looked like, and it is not at all unlikely that the poet intended we should not see him very clearly. He is a hideous spectacle, scarcely human, yet resembling a man in some respects. He is called in various places villain, slave and tortoise; a moon-calf, that is, a shapeless lump; a fish, with legs like a man and fins like arms; a puppy-headed monster; a man monster; half a fish and half a monster; a plain fish; a mis-shaped knave; “as strange a thing as e’er I looked upon;” and it is said of him that his manners are as disproportioned as his shape.

Is the character of Caliban apparently in keeping with his appearance? What does Prospero say of him? Do you place confidence in the opinion of such a man as Prospero, and do you feel that he is not unnecessarily severe? Does Caliban do anything to justify the bad character Prospero gives him early in the play? Why do you suppose Shakespeare introduces into the play such a character? Does such a character heighten the effect of the others?

6. Other Characters. Classify the other characters as good or bad. Where did you place Alonso? Is there any doubt at all as to where Gonzalo should be placed? Are there any redeeming traits in Stephano? Do you think Trinculo’s jesting is really funny? Would you like the play better if Stephano and Trinculo were left out of it? What can you find in the boatswain’s words to justify the opinion Gonzalo holds of him? Which is the greater scoundrel, Sebastian or Antonio?

THE STORY or PLOT. A certain duke has been by treachery driven from his principality with his infant daughter, and has found refuge on an uninhabited island. After many years those who plotted against him are thrown into his power, he recovers his dukedom and marries his daughter to the son of his king. Such, in brief, is the plot of The Tempest, but how wonderfully it is expanded, and how many characters have been created, how many incidents created to give interest and truthfulness to the narrative. Let us follow the play through, and by studying the relation of the incidents, one to another, learn to appreciate more fully the art of the great magician who wrote the play.

Act I—Scene I. Purpose: To introduce the enemies of Prospero. Do we know at the time of such a person as Prospero? Do we know why the persons are on the ship, where they intended to go or where they are now? When do we find out these things? What idea do you get of Gonzalo in the first scene? Why is his conversation with the boatswain put into the play?

Act I—Scene II. Purpose: To bring before us all the leading characters in the play, and to tell us enough about them to secure our interest; also to give us the history necessary to an understanding of the plot. When do we first learn that there are miracles and magic in the play? How do we learn what has happened to Prospero before the time of the storm? How do we learn Ariel’s history? How are we made acquainted with Caliban? How do we learn that Prospero raised the storm? How were the mariners confused, and by whom were all saved? What did Prospero whisper in the ear of Ariel when the latter came in after Prospero has called Caliban? What incident followed as a result of this command? How did Ariel lead Ferdinand? Are there other places in the play where Ariel leads people in the same way? What do you call the three most important incidents in this scene? What incidents could be left out of this scene without interfering with the development of the plot?

Act II—Scene I. Purpose: To account for the presence of the plotters, and to show the character of the men. Is it necessary to the development of the main plot that Sebastian and Antonio should scheme to kill the king? Do any of the incidents of this scene have any direct bearing on the main plot? Could any of the incidents of this scene be omitted without injury to the play?

Act II—Scene II. Purpose: To create amusement, lighten the play and by contrast make the fine parts more beautiful. Is any character in the scene absolutely essential to the completion of the story? Would you understand the story as well if the entire scene were omitted?

Act III—Scene I. Purpose: To disclose Prospero’s purpose more fully, and to secure our interest in Ferdinand and Miranda.

Act III—Scene II. What is the purpose of this scene? What bearing do the incidents of this scene have upon the main plot?

Act III—Scene III. What effect is the magic banquet to have on the persons who saw it? What was Prospero’s purpose in showing it? Did it contribute in any way to the success of his general plan?

Act IV—Scene I. What incidents in this scene are necessary, and what are introduced to give light and beauty to the play? What is the effect of introducing Caliban and his companions right after Ariel and the spirits have been entertaining Ferdinand and Miranda? What are Mountain, Silver, Fury and Tyrant, mentioned in this scene?

Act V—Scene I. What is the purpose of this scene? Is the plot brought to a satisfactory conclusion? Are there any characters left unaccounted for? Does every character in the play appear in this scene? Are they all on the stage when the curtain falls?

Make a list of the incidents which to you seem unnecessary, which could be left out without injury to the real story. Make another list of incidents that could not be omitted without spoiling the story. Find two little plots that make complete stories in themselves, but that help only in a moderate degree to make the main story clearer.

POETRY and PROSE. Do any of the characters speak always in prose? Do any speak always in poetry? Do some speak partly in prose and partly in poetry? Can you see any connection between each character and his method of speech? How many songs are sung in the play? Who sings them? Do you like any of the songs? What effect do the songs have upon the play? Can you find rhyming lines anywhere excepting in the songs? Does any character speak in rhyme?

CONCLUSION. If we study a play too long or continue to read it after our interest ceases for a time, we are liable to be prejudiced against it, and to feel that it is not worth the labor we have put upon it. If, however, a person will stop studying when he begins to lose interest and work seems a drudgery, he will come back a little later with renewed interest. Again, when we study a play minutely as we have been doing, and view it from many sides, we may lose sight for a time of the unity and beauty of the whole composition. This is peculiarly unfortunate, for the poet intends us to view his work as a whole, and to produce his effect with the whole. It is The Tempest that we will remember as a work of art, and, if our studies are fruitful, that will draw us back to it at intervals for many years to come. Before we leave it, we must take it and read it through in a leisurely manner, pausing merely to enjoy its beauty, to smile at its playfulness and to feel our hearts expand under the benign influence of the grand old man Prospero. Now Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel have passed the line of mere acquaintances, and have become to us fast friends, who, though they may be forever silent, have yet given us a fragment of their lives to cheer us on our way.

OTHER Plays of Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote a great many plays, and all are not equally good; a few seem so inferior that many who study them think they were not written by the same hand that penned The Tempest. Some of the plays are more difficult than others, and some cannot be comprehended until the reader has had some experience in life. There are several, on the other hand, that may be read with great interest and profit by almost any one, while those who have read The Tempest as we have recommended, should find some measure of enjoyment in all. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a charming fairy story; The Merchant of Venice is a good story, contains fine characters and shows some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful thoughts, although some people are inclined to believe he has dealt too severely with the Jew. Much Ado About Nothing is a jolly comedy to match with The Comedy of Errors. Julius CÆsar, Richard III and Coriolanus are interesting historical plays, and Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet are among the best of his tragedies. If a person would read just the plays mentioned in the thoughtful way we have indicated here, he would gain a benefit whose great value never can be estimated, and thereafter all reading would seem easier and more delightful.