Product Description

This new edition of The Tempest is part of the established Cambridge School Shakespeare series and has been substantially updated with new and revised activities throughout. Remaining faithful to the series' active approach it treats the play as a script to be acted, explored and enjoyed. As well as the complete script of The Tempest, you will find a variety of classroom-tested activities, an eight-page colour section and an enlarged selection of notes including information on characters, performance, history and language.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71787 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 193 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of Shakespeare's most famous but also enigmatic plays, for many years the story of Prospero's exile from his native Milan, and life with his daughter Miranda on an unnamed island in the Mediterranean, was seen as an autobiographical dramatisation of Shakespeare's departure from the London stage. The Epilogue, spoken by Prospero, claims that "now my charms are all o'erthrown", appeared to reflect Shakespeare's own renunciation of his magical dramatic powers as he retired to Stratford. But The Tempest is far more than this, as recent commentators have pointed out. The dramatic action observes the classical unities of time, place and action, as Prospero uses his "rough magic" to lure his wicked usurping brother, Antonio, and King Alonso of Naples to his island retreat to torment them before engineering his return to Milan.

However, the play is full of extraordinary anomalies and fantastic interludes, including Gonzalo's fantasy of a utopian commonwealth, Prospero's magical servant Ariel, and the "poisonous slave" Caliban. The creation of Caliban has particularly fascinated critics, who have noticed in his creation a colonial dimension to the play. In this respect Caliban can be seen as an American Indian or African slave, who articulates a particularly powerful strain of anti-colonial sentiment, telling Prospero that "this island's mine, by Sycorax my mother,/ Which thou tak'st from me". This has led to an intense reassessment of the play from a post-colonial perspective, as critics and historians have debated the extent to which the play endorses or criticises early English colonial expansion. --Jerry Brotton

Lewis Ward, Exeter University
"The best notes of any edition I've used."

From the Back Cover
The Tempest is one of Shakespeare′s later plays and can be classified as a romance. While it is an enjoyable fairy tale of sorts, complete with good and bad, uncomplicated love and miraculous incidents, the play also incorporates many of the playwright′s common themes, such as the reconciliation of families that endure hardship.

The CliffsComplete The Tempest is a revised and expanded study edition. It contains Shakespeare′s original play, a glossary, and expert commentary in a unique, 2–column format. To enhance your learning, notes and definitions appear directly opposite the line in which they occur, and a review section follows the play. This edition also introduces you to the life, works, and times of William Shakespeare.

Customer Reviews

High-quality guide
I recently went to see Patrick Stewart in an RSC production of The Tempest and thought I would buy a copy of the play to look again at some of the speeches. Although I'm a little way past GCSE level I found this Cambridge School edition provided clear presentation of the text, with the play displayed down the right hand side and study notes opposite.

However, the book's real selling point is the inclusion of wonderful colour and black and white photographs of various productions of The Tempest. Several of these are from The Globe Theatre, London so provide a glimpse of what Elizabethan theatre (probably) looked like.

On the downside, some of the further study suggestions are a little simple-minded ("Draw a theatre poster advertising The Tempest featuring Ariel") but overall this is an attractively-presented guide which implicitly steers students towards the idea that Shakespeare's plays were meant to be seen and heard rather than read.

Arden Shakespeare
In some respects I think it'd be rather presumptuous of me to attempt to review Shakespeare. Someone so well known and influential wouldn't benefit from my opinions on their work, plus there are more scholarly and concise reviews out there. But I can comment on these Arden versions. Of all the Shakespeare I've read I've always found the Arden copies to be well laid out and to have excellent commentary and notes on the text. They really add to your understanding of Shakespeares outstanding plays and introduce you to the depth in his work. They have superb paper quality and are bound well, withstanding repeated readings and intensive study. For your collection of Shakespeare you can't do much better than Arden publications, some are quite hard to get hold of but it's worth the effort.

A thought-provoking yet magical creation
The Tempest is a wonderful play that caught my imagination from the minute I began to study it for A level. It is ideal for any escapist yet is also perfect for those who like to delve deeper into intriguing themes. Shakespeare provides not only an enthralling and hilarious plot but also delineates fascinating characters. The personas of Caliban and Prospero tear the reader apart in their feelings towards them which provokes the analysis of such themes as nature and nurture and power and control. Definitely one of Shakespeare's most entertaining and inspiring plays.