When a tempest wrecks the ship of King Alonso of Naples and his entourage in the Mediterranean Sea, the men all find safety on a small, isolated island. The storm was conjured up by the magician Prospero, who lives on the island with his daughter Miranda, his faithful spirit Ariel, and his half-human, half-animal slave Caliban. Why has Prospero brought the king and the others to the island? What plans does he have for them? A mixture of tender romance and cruel revenge, The Tempest is considered one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. Although the play, Shakespeare’s last, is filled with the supernatural, its message is that real magic lies in the emotions of the human heart: love, loyalty, the desire to be free, remorse, and forgiveness. By the end of the story, the tempest—in its sense of severe storm and emotional upheaval—has enabled love to blossom, reunited old friends, freed the enslaved, washed away the sins of evildoers, and calmed the vengeance of a wronged man.less