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The Tempest (Folger Shakespeare Library)
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Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
Author: William Shakespeare
Publisher: Washington Square Press
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Our Price: $5.99
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
Author: William Shakespeare
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Average Customer Rating:
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The Tempest (Folger Shakespeare Library) Description
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 822.33
EAN: 9780743482837
ISBN: 0743482832
Label: Washington Square Press
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2004-06-22
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Studio: Washington Square Press
Dewey Decimal Number: 822.33
EAN: 9780743482837
ISBN: 0743482832
Label: Washington Square Press
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2004-06-22
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Studio: Washington Square Press
Editorial Review of The Tempest (Folger Shakespeare Library)
• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
• Scene-by-scene plot summaries
• A key to famous lines and phrases
• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
Essay by Barbara A. Mowat
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.
Customer Reviews of The Tempest (Folger Shakespeare Library)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: "Come, kiss the book!"
Review: As Shakespeare's final play, The Tempest is appropriately a culmination of his motifs and themes amassed beforehand in previous work. You have the jester, the underhanded political aspirants, the outcast, the young naive fools hopelessly in lust, and the omniscient schemer behind it all. What may have disappointed Elizabethan audiences may have actually been this mix, since it was such a combination that it felt more as if the plot was just regurgitating old plot devices but rest assured, the Bard works up a fine troupe of spirits under a firm lead to work our minds.
The story involves the shipwreck of Italian nobles that leaves them unscathed and in even better condition than on the ship save the fate of King Alonso's son Ferdinand. Meanwhile, the wizard Prospero calls upon his spiritual underling Ariel and receives confirmation that his revenge upon those who sentenced his exile has begun.
Like all Shakespearean characters, they're real to the point that you may be disgusted at them and later realize how close you are with their vices. With a seeming reunion of all his characters, this makes for a perverse tale. Prospero commands a wide array of spells to delight and fright but once his tale of woe is told, it's pitiful that his learned nature led him to exile and pettiness and by the story's end he's the same. Antonio and Sebastian are heartless fiends who've only a mind for power by any means and even knowing this, we laugh at their sniping witty wordplays with their fellow nobles, particularly the saintly Gonzalo. Caliban is a tragic figure demonstrating the evils of colonial enslavement and even then his misadventures with the drunken self-proclaimed celestial monarch Stephano and Trinculo, the smart fool, so to speak, make great comedy.
There's a great scene where Prospero realizes that Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo want to kill him, comic characters all against a wizard, and he takes it seriously. It's rightfully absurd but when his previous dictatorial behavior towards his deluded and imprisoned servants is recalled, it calls to mind Of Mice and Men, where Slim says, "Take a real smart guy and he ain't hardly ever a nice fella."
When Stephano says to Caliban, "Come, kiss the book!" with a booze bottle, we realize just how intoxicating the Bard was and are tempted to leave it at that. But when bookworms and literary professors are observed in the throes of their obsession, maybe it's not such a ludicrous comparison after all.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not the Bard's best
Review: I like Shakespeare, but the Bard was having an off day with this one.
It rambled, it didn't have the down-to-earth feel of his better stuff, it had the passion of a comedy and the humor of a romance; it was tepid. It felt contrived thoughout. It would probably be a splendid opera, with the potential for great costumes, set, and songs, while noone minds the limp plot and saccharine ending.
The thing I missed most was the stark exposure of human nature of his other works, the unadorned truth that shows up for better or worse. "The Tempest" showed a cranky old man miraculously transform into the joyful father of the bride despite the decades of solitude and grudge-bearing. I'm not following this, as mentioned it sounds operatic, not dramatic.
E.M. Van Court
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: "Come unto these yellow sands..."
Review: One of Shakespeare's most beloved works, The Tempest is a classic tale of adventure that combines revenge drama, romance, and comedy, all of it driven by magic and the supernatural. The play also uses manifold references to ancient myth to develop its sense of seabound peril, while drawing brilliant parallels to the colonial impulse that was then rapidly on the rise in Europe. Indeed, one of The Tempest's most singular triumphs is how it metaphorically addresses the complexities of colonialism in ways that somehow manage to speak to 20th and 21st century concerns. Of course, Shakespeare being the genius that he is, there's more to it than that- this is also a story of love, revenge, redemption, and political intrigue, full of well-drawn characters and unexpected plot turns. It doesn't rank with Shakespeare's best (in my opinion, anyway)- it doesn't have the stunning emotional impact of Hamlet or the labyrinthine psychological exploration of Macbeth. It's a gem, but a slightly minor one compared to his greatest masterpieces. But then again, what isn't?
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A later work of Shakespeare
Review: This play is a fantasy and romance. The story is of a wise old magician and his unworldly daughter. There is a gallant young prince and a cruel, scheming brother. It is very much like a fairy tale written in Shakespeare's wonderful prose. In it ancient wrongs are righted and true lovers live happily ever after. The play is also an allegory, and it holds so much of Shakespeare's mature reflections on life. It is enjoyable.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Good Seller
Review: The book was recieved in good shape and very fast. We ordered several bookes from different places and this was the first one we recieved.
Review Summary: "Come, kiss the book!"
Review: As Shakespeare's final play, The Tempest is appropriately a culmination of his motifs and themes amassed beforehand in previous work. You have the jester, the underhanded political aspirants, the outcast, the young naive fools hopelessly in lust, and the omniscient schemer behind it all. What may have disappointed Elizabethan audiences may have actually been this mix, since it was such a combination that it felt more as if the plot was just regurgitating old plot devices but rest assured, the Bard works up a fine troupe of spirits under a firm lead to work our minds.
The story involves the shipwreck of Italian nobles that leaves them unscathed and in even better condition than on the ship save the fate of King Alonso's son Ferdinand. Meanwhile, the wizard Prospero calls upon his spiritual underling Ariel and receives confirmation that his revenge upon those who sentenced his exile has begun.
Like all Shakespearean characters, they're real to the point that you may be disgusted at them and later realize how close you are with their vices. With a seeming reunion of all his characters, this makes for a perverse tale. Prospero commands a wide array of spells to delight and fright but once his tale of woe is told, it's pitiful that his learned nature led him to exile and pettiness and by the story's end he's the same. Antonio and Sebastian are heartless fiends who've only a mind for power by any means and even knowing this, we laugh at their sniping witty wordplays with their fellow nobles, particularly the saintly Gonzalo. Caliban is a tragic figure demonstrating the evils of colonial enslavement and even then his misadventures with the drunken self-proclaimed celestial monarch Stephano and Trinculo, the smart fool, so to speak, make great comedy.
There's a great scene where Prospero realizes that Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo want to kill him, comic characters all against a wizard, and he takes it seriously. It's rightfully absurd but when his previous dictatorial behavior towards his deluded and imprisoned servants is recalled, it calls to mind Of Mice and Men, where Slim says, "Take a real smart guy and he ain't hardly ever a nice fella."
When Stephano says to Caliban, "Come, kiss the book!" with a booze bottle, we realize just how intoxicating the Bard was and are tempted to leave it at that. But when bookworms and literary professors are observed in the throes of their obsession, maybe it's not such a ludicrous comparison after all.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not the Bard's best
Review: I like Shakespeare, but the Bard was having an off day with this one.
It rambled, it didn't have the down-to-earth feel of his better stuff, it had the passion of a comedy and the humor of a romance; it was tepid. It felt contrived thoughout. It would probably be a splendid opera, with the potential for great costumes, set, and songs, while noone minds the limp plot and saccharine ending.
The thing I missed most was the stark exposure of human nature of his other works, the unadorned truth that shows up for better or worse. "The Tempest" showed a cranky old man miraculously transform into the joyful father of the bride despite the decades of solitude and grudge-bearing. I'm not following this, as mentioned it sounds operatic, not dramatic.
E.M. Van Court
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: "Come unto these yellow sands..."
Review: One of Shakespeare's most beloved works, The Tempest is a classic tale of adventure that combines revenge drama, romance, and comedy, all of it driven by magic and the supernatural. The play also uses manifold references to ancient myth to develop its sense of seabound peril, while drawing brilliant parallels to the colonial impulse that was then rapidly on the rise in Europe. Indeed, one of The Tempest's most singular triumphs is how it metaphorically addresses the complexities of colonialism in ways that somehow manage to speak to 20th and 21st century concerns. Of course, Shakespeare being the genius that he is, there's more to it than that- this is also a story of love, revenge, redemption, and political intrigue, full of well-drawn characters and unexpected plot turns. It doesn't rank with Shakespeare's best (in my opinion, anyway)- it doesn't have the stunning emotional impact of Hamlet or the labyrinthine psychological exploration of Macbeth. It's a gem, but a slightly minor one compared to his greatest masterpieces. But then again, what isn't?
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A later work of Shakespeare
Review: This play is a fantasy and romance. The story is of a wise old magician and his unworldly daughter. There is a gallant young prince and a cruel, scheming brother. It is very much like a fairy tale written in Shakespeare's wonderful prose. In it ancient wrongs are righted and true lovers live happily ever after. The play is also an allegory, and it holds so much of Shakespeare's mature reflections on life. It is enjoyable.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Good Seller
Review: The book was recieved in good shape and very fast. We ordered several bookes from different places and this was the first one we recieved.