The Tempest Video Summary

Visit us at to read the full video transcript and our study guide for this classic play, which includes a full list of characters, themes, and much more. The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare around 1611. As such, the play is one of Shakespeare’s final works, succeeded only by Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen. Thought to be based on a widely circulated letter written by shipwreck survivor William Strachey, The Tempest tells the story of Prospero, a magician-ruler who conjures a tempest in an attempt to shipwreck the Italian nobles that wronged him and reclaim his dukedom. Resisting strict definitions of tragedy or comedy, the play is one of Shakespeare’s most self-referential works, as Prospero’s magic often stands in for the magic of the theater. The play opens on a ship during a violent tempest at sea. Along with the mariners struggling to keep the vessel from wrecking, those aboard the ship include Alonso,