Act One of William Shakespeare's The Tempest

Act One of William Shakespeare's The Tempest

The Tempest is written by William Shakespeare it is the last complete

play that he is believed to have written. The Tempest is unlike any

other play that he has written because it follows the unities. The

unites are the principles of drama established by ancient Greeks. The

play must be in the space of one day, all of the action must relate to

the main plot and all happen in the same place.

The Tempest means storm, which is a symbol for change. Because at the

beginning of a storm it is always dark and cloudy, however after the

storm has ended it is bright and the air is fresh.

The theme of the play is also change. At the end of the play when

everyone is going to leave the island Prospero puts down his magic

staff and garments. This relates to Shakespeare since it was his last

play it could symbolize Shakespeare put his pen down and giving up

writing.

Super natural powers are also another theme in the play. In

Shakespeare’s time people believed in witchcraft. Also sailors going

to other countries would bring back stories of strange civilizations

and creatures, which the audience would have heard of.

The first scene is very important because it introduces the characters

and the themes. The first scene starts with a storm with thunder and

lightning this would have immediately caught the audience’s attention.

The storm shows a disorder in the play. The boatswain demonstrates

this because he loses his temper with Gonzola who is trying to help

but is only getting in way. The audience would be surprised to see

this and would realise the severity. The audience at that time would

have talked to a royal councillor like that.

The opening scene poses a lot of questions for the audience like where

are they going? Who are they? Will they live? Where will they end up?

Shakespeare has only given names to some of the people on the boat the

other are called by their trades.