The Tempest

William Shakespeare

• Publisher: Read & Co. Classics
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781528705219
• eBook ISBN: 9781528785631
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Read & Co. Classics presents this new beautiful edition of William Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest". Featuring a specially commissioned new biography of William Shakespeare, it is a must for Shakespeare enthusiasts and newcomers alike. "The Tempest" is a story about Prospero, a wronged man, and his retribution. Left isolated on an island with his daughter, Miranda, he seeks to punish his enemies. Commanding the elements with magic, he conjures a storm, shipwrecking his suspected wrongdoers. As the castaways wash up onto his shores, they discover the island is far from normal. The supernatural overtones in the play have inspired some to consider that Shakespeare was writing about matters of the human soul. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is considered to be the greatest writer in the English language and is celebrated as the world's most famous dramatist.

ACT I.

SCENE I. On a Ship at Sea; a Tempestuous Noise of Thunder and Lightning Heard.

[Enter a SHIPMASTER and a BOATSWAIN]

MASTER.
Boatswain!

BOATSWAIN.
Here, master; what cheer?

MASTER.
Good! Speak to th' mariners; fall to't yarely, or
we run ourselves aground; bestir, bestir.

[Exit]

[Enter MARINERS]

BOATSWAIN.
Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to th' master's whistle. Blow till thou burst thy wind, if room enough.

[Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, FERDINANDGONZALO, and OTHERS]

ALONSO.
Good boatswain, have care. Where's the master?
Play the men.

BOATSWAIN.
I pray now, keep below.

ANTONIO.
Where is the master, boson?

BOATSWAIN.
Do you not hear him? You mar our labour;
keep your cabins; you do assist the storm.

GONZALO.
Nay, good, be patient.

BOATSWAIN.
When the sea is. Hence! What cares these
roarers for the name of king? To cabin! silence! Trouble
us not.

GONZALO.
Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard.

BOATSWAIN.
None that I more love than myself. You are
counsellor; if you can command these elements to
silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not
hand a rope more. Use your authority; if you cannot, give
thanks you have liv'd so long, and make yourself ready
in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so
hap.-Cheerly, good hearts!-Out of our way, I say.

[Exit]

GONZALO.
I have great comfort from this fellow. Methinks
he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is
perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging;
make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth
little advantage. If he be not born to be hang'd, our
case is miserable.

[Exeunt]

[Re-enter BOATSWAIN]

BOATSWAIN.
Down with the topmast. Yare, lower, lower!
Bring her to try wi' th' maincourse.

[A cry within]

A plague upon this howling!
They are louder than the weather or our office.

[Re-enter SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, and GONZALO]

Yet again! What do you here? Shall we give o'er, and
drown? Have you a mind to sink?

SEBASTIAN.
A pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous,
incharitable dog!

BOATSWAIN.
Work you, then.

ANTONIO.
Hang, cur; hang, you whoreson, insolent noisemaker;
we are less afraid to be drown'd than thou art.

GONZALO.
I'll warrant him for drowning, though the ship were no st...

Table of contents

• William Shakespeare
• DRAMATIS PERSONÆ
• ACT I.
• ACT II.
• ACT III.
• ACT IV.
• ACT V.
• EPILOGUE
• TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED THE AUTHOR, MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE