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1* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2** Some versions have ... additional [[IncestSubtext subtext]] on Prospero and Ariel's relationship.
3** Or Prospero and Miranda. A psychoanalytical (Freudian) reading would tell us that Prospero, Ariel and Caliban are in fact the same person and Prospero follows his inner desire (id, that is, Caliban) and goes to rape Miranda, stopping himself at the last moment. There's loads of "proof" of this throughout the play but as any English teacher will tell you there's loads of proof for whatever reading you choose, so ... your mileage may vary.
4** Ditto with Miranda and Caliban. Some versions imply that Caliban didn't rape Miranda, but just got caught having a torrid affair with her.
5** Caliban- nasty brute or NobleSavage? His appearance has been much debated with interpretations ranging from some kind of ape man to a {{fish pe|ople}}rson, to a normal, non-white human.
6** Prior to the events shown in the play, was Prospero a wise ruler who studied magic on the side, or was he just a deluded old man who cared more about magic than about his family and responsibilities? Is his antisocial personality the result of his righteous anger at everyone who wronged him, a byproduct of his years of isolation on the island, or has he been that way ever since he took up magic?
7** Antonio. Is he a self-serving bastard who only cares about power, or is he a pragmatic politician who understands the business of ruling far more than his AbsentMindedProfessor brother?
8** What, exactly, Ariel ''is'' varies from interpretation to interpretation. He's certainly not human, but his actual species is unclear.
9** Likewise, what is Prospero's relationship with Ariel and Caliban--is he fair (if harsh), or a cruel colonial overlord? Caliban and Ariel's reactions to being freed can also vary, with some adaptations presenting them as being NotUsedToFreedom, while a 1993 production with Simon Russell Beale as Ariel famously had him spit in Prospero's face.
10** Doing a GenderFlip on Prospero, as done in Julie Taymor's 2010 film, changes the character quite a bit. For one thing, when Prospera agrees to return to Milan for Miranda's sake, she's giving up a great deal more freedom than her male counterpart, making it a more poignant sacrifice.
11* EnsembleDarkhorse: Caliban has grown in popularity and sympathy with scholars over the centuries, partly because the character's apparent subtext (as a vengeful victim of colonization who wants to take back his homeland) [[ValuesResonance has only grown more timely]]. He's probably the second most coveted Shakespearean role among Black actors, next to Theatre/{{Othello}}.
12* EpilepticTrees: There are as many interpretations of the play as there are critics. Who and what Caliban represents takes up half the debates. Another favourite is Prospero's ending speech giving up his magic being Shakespeare himself giving up his writing (as this was his last play).
13* MagnificentBastard: Prospero is the exiled Duke of Milan and a skilled sorcerer who spots his usurping brother Antonio. [[WeatherManipulation Conjuring a storm]] to shipwreck them, Prospero uses his enslaved spirit Ariel to torment Antonio and his allies, thwarting schemes by the drunk Trinculo, Stefano and the wicked Caliban to take control of his island. Prospero also manipulates his daughter and the King of Naples' son into falling in love, all while ensuring Antonio succumbs to remorse before [[{{Forgiveness}} forgiving him]] and reassuming control of his own Dukedom.
14%% * SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome:
15%% Act 5, Scene 1.
16%% ** All of Prospero's speeches.
17* OlderThanTheyThink: This is the source of the phrases "nature versus nurture" and "thin air".
18* RecycledInSpace: Surprisingly, ''The Tempest'' is commonly remade in a science-fiction form. Both ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'' do this, among others.
19* ValuesDissonance:
20** In modern times, the play seems like an early example of fantasy fiction and stands in contrast to Shakespeare's famously realistic settings. As a matter of fact, in the Elizabethan era, it was hardly an issue for audiences to suspend their disbelief in order to accept a wizard as a protagonist because many people did indeed believe in magic. Even in Shakespeare's more "realistic" plays, the plot of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' turns on the presence of a ghost, the climax of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' involves Juliet drinking a faux-death potion, the opening scene of ''Theatre/KingLear'' draws on fairy-tale motifs... contemporary stage realism was never Shakespeare's aim.
21** The character of Caliban, who has been interpreted more sympathetically in Postcolonial analyses than he was in Shakespeare's day.
22*** Of course, increased support for victims of sexual assault has made sympathy for an attempted rapist an example of ValuesDissonance in itself.
23* ViewerGenderConfusion: Ariel. In the text, he's male, but he's also a fairy, and most modern English speakers think Ariel sounds like a girl's name. To add to the confusion, Ariel takes on several female forms, such as a sea nymph, a harpy, and the Goddess Ceres. He is most likely ''supposed'' to be androgynous, and is as often played female as male.

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