The Tempest

The Tempest by William Shakespeare (c. 1611)

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep." Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, uses magic to shipwreck his enemies on his enchanted island, where the spirit Ariel and the monster Caliban serve him.

Historical Significance:
Widely believed to be Shakespeare's last solo play (c. 1611), The Tempest reads as his farewell to the theater. Prospero's final speech — "Now my charms are all o'erthrown" — is often interpreted as Shakespeare himself laying down his pen. The play has been reinterpreted through every lens imaginable: as a colonialism allegory (Prospero as European colonizer, Caliban as indigenous victim), a meditation on art and power, and a father's love letter to his daughter. Aimé Césaire's Une Tempête (1969) reimagined it as an anti-colonial work. It remains Shakespeare's most debated and reinterpreted play.

This public domain classic was originally written c. 1611. Free to read and share.