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  • The part where the King and his courtiers come upon a table of food and are about to dig in.... when Ariel appears out of nowhere, makes the table disappear, uses magic to knock their swords out of their hands, basically informs them that nothing they can possibly do is enough to combat his extreme awesomeness, gives them a brief "The Reason You Suck" Speech, and vanishes again. Most productions make this scene fairly epic.
  • Prospero's speech at the beginning of Act V, saying farewell to his powers as a wizard. Arguably one of Shakespeare's best soliloquies in a writing career filled with them.
    But this rough magic
    I here abjure, and, when I have required
    Some heavenly music, which even now I do,
    To work mine end upon their senses that
    This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,
    Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
    And deeper than did ever plummet sound
    I'll drown my book.
  • Caliban's defiant rage against Prospero ever teaching him anything, because all the slave had ever truly gotten from it was knowing a language he could use to curse his master. Made significantly less awesome when you know that his tutor - and the receiving end of this speech - was originally Miranda rather than her father, but early editors gave her whole speech about having taught Caliban and now hating him to Prospero.
  • Miranda standing up to her powerful father to defend an innocent man. Sure, it's just a Secret Test of Character, but she passes with flying colors.

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