#34 in Drama & theatre
The Tempest
- 144
- Pages
- about 2.5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The Tempest” is a short, dreamlike play about magic, revenge and forgiveness, carried by its island atmosphere. Almost all of it happens on a remote shore where the magician Prospero commands spirits, and songs and a wedding masque add to the sense of enchantment. Some readers admire its ideas without ever warming to the play; those drawn to its strangeness find it emotional and philosophical at once.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a storm, the rest of the play is set on a remote island, where Prospero, a magician, lives with his daughter Miranda and his two servants: Caliban, a savage monster figure, and Ariel, an airy spirit. The play contains music and songs that evoke the spirit of enchantment on the island. It explores many themes, including magic, betrayal, revenge, forgiveness, and family. In Act IV, a wedding masque serves as a play-within-a-play and contributes spectacle, allegory, and elevated language.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.5 across 439 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 75% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Drama & theatre average of 7.6. That is how 7.6 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.9 | 60 | 14% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 379 | 86% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Tempest?
It has 144 pages — longer than 50% of the ranked books in Drama & theatre.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Drama & theatre — with scores between 7.5 and 7.6, closest to this book.
