The Tempest · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Tempest by William Shakespeare.
Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.
Chapter 1
Act I
The Tempest — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.
Chapter 2
Scene I
A violent storm rages at sea, causing a ship carrying Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, and others to be in grave danger. The Boatswain struggles to keep the vessel afloat while the nobles interfere, leading to tense exchanges. Amid the chaos, the ship appears to be breaking apart, and the passengers prepare for the worst.
Chapter 3
Scene II
Prospero reveals to Miranda that he caused the shipwreck through his magic, but assures her no harm was done. He recounts their past: how his brother Antonio usurped his dukedom with the help of the King of Naples, and how they were set adrift but saved by Gonzalo. Prospero then summons Ariel, who reports on the shipwreck and is reminded of his rescue from Sycorax's imprisonment. Prospero also calls Caliban, who curses him and claims the island as his own by inheritance from Sycorax.
Chapter 4
Act II
The Tempest — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.
Chapter 5
Scene I
Alonso mourns his lost son Ferdinand while Gonzalo tries to comfort him. Sebastian and Antonio mock Gonzalo and discuss the marriage of Claribel to the King of Tunis. Antonio persuades Sebastian to kill Alonso and seize the throne of Naples, drawing parallels to his own usurpation of Prospero. Ariel, sent by Prospero, wakes Gonzalo just in time to thwart the assassination plot.
Free preview
10 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.
10 more companions → free preview