Hamlet the storm of loss read. Read the book "The Tempest" online in full - William Shakespeare - MyBook. The real cause of the shipwreck
William Shakespeare
Characters
Alonzo, King of Naples.
Sebastian, his brother.
Prospero, legitimate Duke of Milan.
Antonio, his brother, who illegally seized power in the Duchy of Milan.
Ferdinand, son of the King of Naples.
Gonzalo, old honest adviser to the King of Naples.
Adrian, Francisco, courtiers.
Caliban, slave, ugly savage.
Trinculo, jester.
Stefano, butler, drunkard.
Captain ship.
Boatswain.
Sailors.
Miranda, daughter of Prospero.
Ariel, spirit of the air.
Iris, Ceres, Juno, Nymphs, Reapers - spirits.
Other spirits submissive to Prospero.1
The scene is a ship at sea, an island.
SCENE 1
Ship at sea. Storm. Thunder and lightning. Enter Captain ship and Boatswain.
Captain
Boatswain
I'm listening, Captain.
Captain
Call the team up! Get to work, or we'll run into the reefs. Hurry!.. Hurry!..
The captain leaves; appear sailors.
Boatswain
Hey, well done!.. Have fun, guys, have fun!.. Alive! Remove the topsail!.. Listen to the Captain's whistle!.. Well, now, wind, there is room for you - blow until you burst!
Enter Alonzo, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo And other.
Alonzo
Good Boatswain, we rely on you. Where's the Captain? Take heart, friends!
Boatswain
Come on, head downstairs.
Antonio
Boatswain, where is the Captain?
Boatswain
But you can’t hear him, or what? You are disturbing us! Head to the cabins! Do you see the storm breaking out? And then there’s you...
Gonzalo
Take it easy, my dear, calm down!
Boatswain
When the sea calms down!.. Get out! These roaring ramparts care nothing for kings! March to the cabins!.. Be silent!.. Don’t disturb!..
Gonzalo
Still, my dear, remember who is on board.
Boatswain
And I remember that there is no one whose skin would be more valuable to me than my own! Here you are, advisor. Maybe you can advise the elements to calm down? Then we won’t touch the gear. Come on, use your power! And if you don’t take it, then say thank you for living long in the world, get into the cabin and get ready: the hour is uneven, disaster will happen. - Hey guys, get moving! - Get out of the way, they tell you!
Everyone except Gonzalo leaves.
Gonzalo
However, this fellow consoled me: he is a notorious hanged man, and whoever is destined to be hanged will not drown. O Fortune, give him the opportunity to live to the gallows! Make the rope intended for him our anchor rope: after all, the ship’s rope is of little use now. If he is not destined to be hanged, we are lost.
Gonzalo leaves Boatswain returns.
Boatswain
Lower the topmast! Alive! Below! Below!.. Let's try to sail on one mainsail.
A scream is heard.
Plague crush these gorloder! They drown out both the storm and the Captain's whistle!
Are returning Sebastian, Antonio And Gonzalo.
Are you here again? What do you want? So, should I give up everything because of you and go to the bottom? Do you want to drown, or what?
Sebastian
An ulcer in your throat, you damned loudmouth! Unholy merciless dog - that's what you are!
Boatswain
Ah well? Well, then work on your own!
Antonio
Vile coward! We are less afraid of drowning than you, you dirty bastard, you insolent brute!
Gonzalo
It would never sink, even if our ship were no stronger than a nutshell, and the leak in it would be as difficult to plug as the throat of a talkative woman.
Boatswain
Keep your head towards the wind! Cooler! Set the mainsail and foresail! Head to the open sea! Away from the shore!
They run in wet sailors.
Sailors
We are dead! Pray! Dead!
(They leave.)
Boatswain
Do we really have to feed the fish?
Gonzalo
The king and prince offer prayers to God.
It is our duty to be there for them.
Sebastian
I'm furious.
Antonio
We were destroyed by this gang of drunkards!..
Loud dog! Oh, if only I drowned
You've been beaten by the sea ten times in a row!
Gonzalo
No, I guarantee that he will end up hanging,
At least all the seas and oceans
(inside the ship)
Save us!.. We are drowning! We're drowning!.. Goodbye, wife and children! Brother, goodbye!.. We're drowning! We're drowning! We're drowning!..
Antonio
Let's die next to the king!
Everyone except Gonzalo leaves.
Gonzalo
I would now exchange all the seas and oceans for one acre of barren land - the most worthless wasteland, overgrown with heather or gorse. May the will of the Lord be done! But still, I would prefer to die a dry death!
(Leaves.)
SCENE 2
Island. In front of Prospero's cave.
Enter Prospero And Miranda.
Miranda
Oh, if it's you, my dear father,
With their power they rebelled the sea,
Then I pray you to pacify him.
It seemed like burning tar
Streams flow from the sky;
But the waves that reached the sky
They knocked out the flames.
Oh, how I suffered
Sharing the suffering of those who perished!
A brave ship, where, of course, there were
And honest and righteous people,
Broken into pieces. In my heart
Their cry sounds. Alas, they died!
If I were an omnipotent deity,
I would plunge the sea into the bowels of the earth
I would give it to him sooner than to devour it
A ship with unhappy people.
Prospero
Let your good heart not groan:
No harm done.
Miranda
Terrible day!
Prospero
No harm done. I arranged everything
Taking care of you, my child, -
About my only, beloved daughter!
After all, you don’t know who we are and where we come from.
What do you know? What is your father
His name is Prospero and what does he need?
Belongs to a wretched cave.
Miranda
It didn’t occur to me to ask questions.
Prospero
The time has come to reveal everything to you.
But help me take off my magic cloak!2
(Takes off his coat.)
Lie down, my power.
(Miranda.)
Autry, Miranda, tears of compassion:
Such a disastrous shipwreck,
which you mourn,
I, by the power of my art
He arranged it so that everyone remained alive.
Yes, everyone who sailed on this ship is safe,
Who died in the waves, calling for help,
Not even a hair fell from their heads.
Sit down and listen: you will find out everything now.
Miranda
You were often going to open up to me,
Who are we; and interrupted their story
With the words: “No, wait, it’s not time yet...”
Prospero
But the hour has come - listen to my speeches.
When we settled in the cave,
You're barely three years old
And you probably can't remember
About what happened before.
Miranda
No, I remember.
Prospero
Do you remember? What? House or people?
Tell me about everything you saved
You are in my memory.
Miranda
So vaguely, vaguely
Looks more like a dream than reality,
Everything that my memory tells me.
It seems to me that as if behind me
Five or six maids were courting.
Prospero
And more. But how in your mind
Did it stick? What else
In the deep abyss of time do you see?
Perhaps remembering what happened
Before we arrived on the island,
Do you remember how we ended up here?
Miranda
No, I can't, father!
Prospero
Twelve years old!
Twelve years ago, child,
Your parent was the Duke of Milan,
A powerful prince.
Friends, if you don’t have the opportunity (time, desire, energy) to read Alexander Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm,” watch this video and you will know as much about another love suicide as the person who read this play. Many moments from “The Thunderstorm” are not for modern understanding. They have no relevance. For a person from the 21st century, this play has little practical use. Probably 150 years ago the play was needed to rethink the morals of that time. Now... The girl cheated on her unloved husband. She admitted everything herself. The result is universal condemnation. What to do? I'll go jump off the cliff. Anyone who wants to know more about Katerina’s torment is welcome! Ostrovsky wrote “The Thunderstorm” in 1859. The events take place during the same period, in the summer in the fictional city of Kalinov on the banks of the Volga. The play consists of 5 acts. 10 days pass between the 3rd and 4th actions. I'll remind you later. So, imagine: a public garden on the banks of the Volga. A community garden is not a park, it is a garden located inside a small residential area where local residents walk. As a rule, everyone knows each other. Landowner Dikoy talks to his nephew Boris: - Why did you come - to suffer for bullshit? Parasite. Get busy. Boris is an educated guy. He came from Moscow, where he lived with his parents and sister. Parents died during the epidemic. Local boys Kuligin, Kudryash and Shapkin tell him: - Leave here. Why do you need to listen to your uncle's screams every day? Then Boris told them that this was necessary. There is a will from his grandmother, according to which he and his sister are entitled to a part of the inheritance. The conditions of the will are: adulthood and respectful attitude towards the uncle. The first condition is met. But you need to work hard on the second one. My sister remained in Moscow, although my uncle asked her to come too. Dikiy has his own children. That’s why he doesn’t want to share it with his nephews. It’s easier to pester Boris so much that he behaves disrespectfully. That's all. Dikoy shouted not only at Boris, but at everyone and always. Always dissatisfied. Local tradesman Kuligin told Boris that he wanted to find a perpetuum mobile, i.e. perpetual motion machine. And when he finds it, he will sell it to the British for a million. And he will give the money for the benefit of society. But he doesn’t have money for development. Boris has already fallen in love - with a married woman - Katerina. So far no reciprocity. He walks and sighs. Katerina was the wife of Tikhon Kabanov, the son of a rich merchant's wife. Tikhon is weak and weak-willed. He is still influenced by his mother. The mother-in-law constantly bullied her daughter-in-law and said hurtful words to her. Katya endured everything, her husband did not defend her during such conversations. Somehow a conversation began between Katerina and sister-in-law Varvara (her husband’s sister). Katya says that from somewhere she has a feeling that she will die soon. She also casually said that she did not love her brother, but loved another. Varya was not surprised by this confession. She understood perfectly well that there was nothing to love her brother for. Especially for a beautiful girl. Varya said that her brother would leave soon - then Katya would be able to see her beloved. Varya saw an approaching thunderstorm and told Katya about it. As soon as she heard it, she immediately got ready to go home. She had some cockroaches in her head about the thunderstorm. She was afraid of her. What if lightning strikes, and she finds herself unconfessed before God. And she wasn’t afraid to die. I was afraid to die with unabsolved sins. In Act 2, Varvara told Katerina that she knows who she is in love with - it’s clear from her - Boris, Dikiy’s nephew. - Oh, really. But this is bad. I won't love him. I will love my husband again... Before leaving, Kabanov (by the way, the emphasis is correct) ordered Katerina in his absence to do everything that her mother told him: to honor her mother-in-law, not to sit idle, not to look at young guys. Katya tells Tikhon not to leave. Or he took it with him. I understood that without control I would fall apart. - I can not. As mom said, so it will be. - Don't leave me - there will be trouble! Make me swear that I will not even talk to any man. - Yes, God be with you. No oaths required. Tikhon went to Moscow on business. Kabanova harasses Katya: “Somehow you’re not very sad that your husband left.” It's obvious how much you love him. Before night, Varya told Katya that they would sleep in the garden. There is a gate there. She took the key from her mother without her knowing. Varya promised to organize her meeting with Boris. Katya is shocked by this pimp. She told her not to do anything like that. But she kept the key. After all, nothing bad will happen if she just sees Boris, or just speaks. Ah, if only the night would speed up... Dikoy met with his godfather - Kabanova. I wanted to shout at her too, but it didn’t work. Kabanova immediately put her godfather in her place. She invited me to her home to talk about business. Dikoy said that he is very annoyed when someone comes to him asking for money. Soon, Boris, in love, approached Kabanova’s house to find out if it was her uncle. But of course, his main goal was Katerina - what if he could see her. Because I saw her extremely rarely - once a week - in church or on the street when she was walking with someone. Boris met Kuligin and walked with him along the boulevard. We saw Kudryash and Varvara - they were kissing. Kudryash left, Varya went up to Boris. - Do you know the ravine behind the Boar Garden? Come there at night. They will be waiting for you. That's all. She didn't say anything else. Boris comes to the ravine at night. And there Kudryash plays the guitar. - Listen, Vanya, go somewhere else to play. - Eh, no. This is my spot. Get out of here yourself. Then Boris told Kudryash that he was supposed to have some kind of meeting here. And he also told me that he was in love with a married lady. “It sucks,” says Kudryash. - You need to quit. - Yes, I can’t - I love it. - Kabanov’s wife? - Yeah. - Look, don’t cause trouble. Varya came out, took Kudryash by the arm and they went for a walk to the Volga. A little later Katya came out. - Katerina Petrovna, if you knew how much I love you. - Oh, you damned one. Why did you come? Do you want my death? - Not really! I love you! - And I you! And she threw herself on his neck. At that moment, Katya didn’t care what people thought about her. She said that she fell in love with him at first sight. Dikoy and Kuligin are walking along the city streets. An engineer asks for money for his projects. Wild tells him to go to hell. - So I’m not for myself - I’m for society! - Yeah! Let's goodbye! 10 days have passed. For lovers, passion is in full swing, the brain is turned off. In the city, Varya meets Boris: - Katya’s husband has returned. Now your Katya is not herself. At least she didn't do anything bad. - Like what? - Yes, he can tell his husband everything. - Hmmm... It sucks... A thunderstorm was approaching. Locals they said that the thunderstorm would not be ordinary - something bad was going to happen. Katerina told her husband that she knows who the thunderstorm will kill - her! One lady walks around the city, prophesying destruction for everyone: “You will all burn in fire!” Katya hears this, stresses herself out and finally can’t stand it: “I’m a sinner before God and before you.” While you were away (he tells my husband) I walked with Boris all 10 nights. Who was pulling his tongue? Kabanova to his son: - Well? What did I tell you? Everyone in the city immediately found out about Katya’s betrayal. There was a topic for conversation. Shame on the whole family. Manners used to be like this. Kabanov meets Kuligina: - It sucks for me. I do not know what to do. Love her. I beat him a little because my mother ordered me to. Kuligin gives advice to forgive her and forget about the betrayal. He himself, they say, is also, I’m sure, not without sin. - Yes, I’m ready to forgive her, but mommy won’t allow it. “It’s time to live by your own mind and will,” says Kuligin. - I don’t have my own mind. Let my mother babysit me. How could anyone possibly marry this schmuck? Especially for such a beauty as Katya. Seducer Boris's uncle sends him to a merchant he knows for 3 years in Siberia. And Varya, tired of her mother’s dictatorship, runs away somewhere with Kudryash. The maid comes running and says that Katya has left in an unknown direction - they cannot find her. They were watching her all the time, but they didn’t keep track. “At least she wouldn’t commit suicide,” thought Tikhon. Because they hounded her from all sides. Katerina is going crazy. After all, I never saw my beloved again. He thinks: “At least I could say goodbye to him before he leaves.” Just before leaving, Boris came to the place where he and Katya had been together. Katya was there at the same time. Hugs, tears... - Take me with you! - I can not. I want but I can not! - When you go, give alms to every beggar and order them to pray for my sinful soul. Boris is not much better in character than her husband. If only I had balls, I would have taken her with me and told everyone to go to hell. And so he blew up his nose: “I am not being sent to Siberia of my own free will.” I can't take you. In general, he is the same spineless miracle as Tikhon. Katya was “lucky” with the men. Boris leaves. Katya goes to the cliff above the Volga. Katya's body was found at night. As expected, Kabanov blamed someone else for her death – her mother. His mother replied that she would talk to him at home. And in the words of Tikhon over the body of his wife: “Who did you leave me with?” the play ends.
The reader has the right to ask the question: what is the need for a new translation, for what reason was it undertaken? In any case, there was neither a theatrical order nor an ambitious desire to surpass all other translations. Probably, I just wanted to “feel like Shakespeare” one day, to be inside his text, to feel how its powerful current carries you - at the same speed with which it carried the author himself. This is well said by Pasternak, who translated all of Shakespeare's main plays. He intended to get to the “Storm”, but it didn’t happen. But even without Pasternak, I had powerful predecessors; it is enough to name M. Kuzmin and M. Donskoy. Fortunately, my translation is completely devoid of any competitive motive; the desire to outrun anyone did not spur me on.
Another question: why, of all Shakespeare’s plays, did I choose “The Tempest”? The first, although not the only answer: for the love of symmetry. Ten years ago I translated Shakespeare’s wonderful poem “Venus and Adonis,” which he himself called the firstborn of his fantasy. “The Tempest” is considered by many to be Shakespeare’s farewell play, his theatrical testament. So I wanted to add omega to the alpha, to add the last play to the first poem.
The Tempest has always seemed to me perhaps Shakespeare's most mysterious play. The attention to her never waned. It has become common in modern Shakespeare studies to interpret the Prospero-Caliban relationship as a model of colonial policy European countries. But from this angle we can only consider what lies behind the text, losing sight of the play itself. What is its lyrical essence, what is the secret of its constant charm for the viewer? The play is almost without intrigue. Well, the castaways wander around the island, gradually approaching the home of the wizard, who must determine their future fate. The viewer has nothing to worry about: all the strings are in Prospero’s hands from the very beginning, he pulls them at will, the rest of the puppet characters just dance. Where is the “struggle of fate with the inspired dust” that Keats wrote about?.. It’s as if it’s not a play at all, but a court mask - a performance with musical numbers and buffoonish interludes.
But the court mask always has some main idea. Let's say the triumph of love or virtue. And here - what is the general idea in everything, what is the philosophy? Or maybe an allegory, but what? Isn't it alchemy? Ariel is air, Caliban is earth, Prospero is fire. And who is the water - Miranda? Maybe the other characters in the play are sulfur, mercury, lead and other elements?
Perhaps the playwright’s main goal was to awaken compassion for everyone, to call for mercy and forgiveness? This is the essence of many of Shakespeare's plays. Or here's another one. Omnipotence, which throws off the cloak of omnipotence - is this not the idea that God, who created the world, no longer controls
...William Shakespeare
Characters
Alonzo, King of Naples.
Sebastian, his brother.
Prospero, legitimate Duke of Milan.
Antonio, his brother, who illegally seized power in the Duchy of Milan.
Ferdinand, son of the King of Naples.
Gonzalo, old honest adviser to the King of Naples.
Adrian, Francisco, courtiers.
Caliban, slave, ugly savage.
Trinculo, jester.
Stefano, butler, drunkard.
Captain ship.
Boatswain.
Sailors.
Miranda, daughter of Prospero.
Ariel, spirit of the air.
Iris, Ceres, Juno, Nymphs, Reapers - spirits.
Other spirits submissive to Prospero.1
The scene is a ship at sea, an island.
SCENE 1
Ship at sea. Storm. Thunder and lightning. Enter Captain ship and Boatswain.
Captain
Boatswain
I'm listening, Captain.
Captain
Call the team up! Get to work, or we'll run into the reefs. Hurry!.. Hurry!..
The captain leaves; appear sailors.
Boatswain
Hey, well done!.. Have fun, guys, have fun!.. Alive! Remove the topsail!.. Listen to the Captain's whistle!.. Well, now, wind, there is room for you - blow until you burst!
Enter Alonzo, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo And other.
Alonzo
Good Boatswain, we rely on you. Where's the Captain? Take heart, friends!
Boatswain
Come on, head downstairs.
Antonio
Boatswain, where is the Captain?
Boatswain
But you can’t hear him, or what? You are disturbing us! Head to the cabins! Do you see the storm breaking out? And then there’s you...
Gonzalo
Take it easy, my dear, calm down!
Boatswain
When the sea calms down!.. Get out! These roaring ramparts care nothing for kings! March to the cabins!.. Be silent!.. Don’t disturb!..
Gonzalo
Still, my dear, remember who is on board.
Boatswain
And I remember that there is no one whose skin would be more valuable to me than my own! Here you are, advisor. Maybe you can advise the elements to calm down? Then we won’t touch the gear. Come on, use your power! And if you don’t take it, then say thank you for living long in the world, get into the cabin and get ready: the hour is uneven, disaster will happen. - Hey guys, get moving! - Get out of the way, they tell you!
Everyone except Gonzalo leaves.
Gonzalo
However, this fellow consoled me: he is a notorious hanged man, and whoever is destined to be hanged will not drown. O Fortune, give him the opportunity to live to the gallows! Make the rope intended for him our anchor rope: after all, the ship’s rope is of little use now. If he is not destined to be hanged, we are lost.
Gonzalo leaves Boatswain returns.
Boatswain
Lower the topmast! Alive! Below! Below!.. Let's try to sail on one mainsail.
A scream is heard.
Plague crush these gorloder! They drown out both the storm and the Captain's whistle!
Are returning Sebastian, Antonio And Gonzalo.
Are you here again? What do you want? So, should I give up everything because of you and go to the bottom? Do you want to drown, or what?
Sebastian
An ulcer in your throat, you damned loudmouth! Unholy merciless dog - that's what you are!
Boatswain
Ah well? Well, then work on your own!
Antonio
Vile coward! We are less afraid of drowning than you, you dirty bastard, you insolent brute!
Gonzalo
It would never sink, even if our ship were no stronger than a nutshell, and the leak in it would be as difficult to plug as the throat of a talkative woman.
Boatswain
Keep your head towards the wind! Cooler! Set the mainsail and foresail! Head to the open sea! Away from the shore!
They run in wet sailors.
Sailors
We are dead! Pray! Dead!
(They leave.)
Boatswain
Do we really have to feed the fish?
Gonzalo
The king and prince offer prayers to God.
It is our duty to be there for them.
Sebastian
I'm furious.
Antonio
We were destroyed by this gang of drunkards!..
Loud dog! Oh, if only I drowned
You've been beaten by the sea ten times in a row!
Gonzalo
No, I guarantee that he will end up hanging,
At least all the seas and oceans
(inside the ship)
Save us!.. We are drowning! We're drowning!.. Goodbye, wife and children! Brother, goodbye!.. We're drowning! We're drowning! We're drowning!..
Antonio
Let's die next to the king!
Everyone except Gonzalo leaves.
Gonzalo
I would now exchange all the seas and oceans for one acre of barren land - the most worthless wasteland, overgrown with heather or gorse. May the will of the Lord be done! But still, I would prefer to die a dry death!
(Leaves.)
SCENE 2
Island. In front of Prospero's cave.
Enter Prospero And Miranda.
Miranda
Oh, if it's you, my dear father,
With their power they rebelled the sea,
Then I pray you to pacify him.
It seemed like burning tar
Streams flow from the sky;
But the waves that reached the sky
They knocked out the flames.
Oh, how I suffered
Sharing the suffering of those who perished!
A brave ship, where, of course, there were
And honest and righteous people,
Broken into pieces. In my heart
Their cry sounds. Alas, they died!
If I were an omnipotent deity,
I would plunge the sea into the bowels of the earth
I would give it to him sooner than to devour it
A ship with unhappy people.
Prospero
Let your good heart not groan:
No harm done.
Miranda
Terrible day!
The play "The Tempest" is Shakespeare's last work and his best fairy tale play, written in the last period of his creativity. At the end of his life, Shakespeare moved away from tragedies and comedies and wrote fairy tales: “Cymbeline”, “The Winter's Tale” and others. An aging playwright is looking for a miracle that will make all people happy and finds it in fairy tales. "The Tempest" is a play in which Shakespeare sums up his life and work.
The fairy-tale play “The Tempest” has a rather fascinating plot. On desert island The old wizard Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda. Once upon a time, Prospero was the Duke of Milan, but his younger brother Antonio, with the help of King Alonzo of Naples, took the ducal throne from Prospero. The former duke was put together with his baby daughter on an old leaky ship and sent to his death on the open sea. But Prospero studied magic all his life, he became a powerful wizard and was able to direct the ship to distant island In the open sea. On this island there once lived the evil sorceress Sycorax, who controlled the spirits, but now Sycorax has died and only her son, the terrible and ugly Caliban, lives on the island. Prospero subjugates Caliban and becomes master of the island. All the spirits of the island, feeling the power of his magic, recognize the new wizard as their master. 12 years have passed, Miranda has grown up, Prospero has aged. One day, the wizard learns that a ship is about to pass near the island, on which his enemies, the treacherous brother Antonio and the Neapolitan king Alonzo and his son Ferdinand, are sailing. Prospero uses magic to summon a terrible storm, during which all the ship's passengers are washed out to sea and thrown onto his island. All of Prospero's enemies are in his power. But the old magician does not want them to die; he wants his enemies to realize their spiritual meanness and repent of their crimes. The wizard creates situations for them in which the most disgusting character traits of Alonzo and Antonio are turned against them. Prospero's enemies must themselves realize the evil they have committed and renounce it. Prince Ferdinand and Prospero's daughter Miranda fall in love. Parallel to the fairy tale, Shakespeare shows their love story. There is also a lot of humor in the play “The Tempest”. The servants Antonio and Alonzo, the drunken butler Stefano and the jester Trinculo, meet Caliban and together with him they have fun adventures on the island.
The play “The Tempest” is one of the few works of late Shakespeare that ends happily. Alonzo and Antonio realize their crimes and repent of them, Prospero again becomes Duke of Milan, Ferdinand and Miranda marry, Prospero's servant spirit Ariel is released. It seems that everyone is happy, but after the play there remains some kind of sad feeling. Readers and spectators of the play understand that Shakespeare showed himself in the image of the wizard Prospero, who creates a magical fairy tale. At the end of the play, Prospero throws his magic books, magic staff and cloak into the sea, says goodbye to the audience and readers: he tells them that he is retiring and renouncing magic. Prospero's farewell evokes a painful, bitter feeling. We understand that it is Shakespeare himself who is saying goodbye to us, that the great old playwright is leaving us his “magic wand” of creativity and is preparing for death.
“The Tempest” is one of Shakespeare’s main plays and an educated person should know it. Children may not yet understand the full depth of its content, but they will like it. After all, this is a fairy tale in which there is a lot of magic: a powerful wizard, spirits of nature, a monster, half-man, half-demon Caliban, who is not very scary, but even funny. In addition, the play has a touching love story and a lot of humor. I think that it is best to begin introducing children to the work of the great English playwright with fairy tale plays. And the best of them, undoubtedly, is the play “The Tempest”.
William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" was published by the Meshcheryakov Publishing House in the series "W.S." - The Complete Illustrated Works of William Shakespeare. Translation into Russian by Tatiana Lvovna Shchepkina-Kupernik. The book has a hard cover in a soft purple color with a pattern and three-dimensional embossing; thick, high-quality offset paper with a pink tint; clear medium sized font. Illustrations in the book of the great English artist Arthur Rackham. Rackham is one of the leading representatives of Victorian fairy tale painting. He often liked to draw fairy-tale characters such as gnomes, elves and fairies. In Rackham's illustrations for the play The Tempest, his love of the magical found its fullest manifestation. Here, nature spirits, sea nymphs and other fairy-tale creatures look at us from every drawing. And the cheerful spirit Ariel and the monstrous Caliban amaze the imagination with their fantastic appearance. Rackham is one of the best English artists of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries; you can look at his illustrations for a long time and admire their skill.
Dmitry Matsyuk