Name______

Mrs. Curley- College English

William Shakespeare’s The Tempest

Please read the first act of the play found in your anthology on page 117-138. Provide typed responses to the following questions and direct quotations.*

Act One, Scene One

1. Describe the mood that is established in this opening scene.

Act One, Scene Two

---This scene is very important in order to understand Prospero's dynamics with almost every creature on the island. Whether Prospero is speaking to Miranda, Ariel, or Caliban, there is a certain quality of ownership that Prospero conveys with all of them…..Also, note the various plights of Ariel, Miranda, and the rather enigmatic Caliban….

2. How does Miranda respond to the idea of shipwreck? How does she regard the men on board?

3. What crimes does Antonio, Prospero’s brother, commit? What motivates him? For which crimes is he most responsible? How do you know?

4. In Prospero’s questioning of Ariel, we learn that the storm is part of Prospero’s design. What are his motivations?

5. Ariel was imprisoned by Sycorax. Why? How does the physical description of Sycorax compare to your impressions of Ariel?

6. What is your reaction to Prospero’s and Miranda’s treatment of Caliban? Does Caliban have a legitimate complaint against Prospero? Why does Prospero keep Caliban as his servant even when he despises him? Why do you think Caliban attempted to “violate the honor” of Miranda? Did he or is this the way his acts were interpreted by Prospero and Miranda?

7. Prospero is happy that when Miranda first sees Ferdinand she is immediately captivated by his appearance? Why? What is his plan?

8. What feelings develop between Ferdinand and Miranda? How is this revealed?

*How to Quote Shakespeare- Dr. Womack

Here is a quick guide on how to quote Shakespeare according to the standards set by the Modern Language Association (MLA). For more comprehensive information, consult theMLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition (2009).

  • Italicize the titles of plays.

Richard IIIorOthello.

  • Place a parenthetical reference after each quotation containing its act, scene, and line numbers separated by periods. Donotuse page numbers.

Cite line-number ranges under 100 like this: 34–37. Above 100, repeat only the last two digits of the second number: 211–12 (but of course, 397–405 and 96–102). Place an en dash [ – ], not a hyphen [ – ], between the range numbers.

Twelfth Night(1.5.268–76).

  • Use arabic numerals for all reference numbers. (Some older texts used roman numerals for act and scene references — like this: III.viii.7–34 — but modern scholars use Arabic numerals.)

You may refer to a scene in the text with the act and scene numbers — in Arabic numerals — separated by a period.

In 3.1, Hamlet delivers his most famous soliloquy.

Donotwrite: “In Act III, scene i, Hamlet delivers his most famous soliloquy.”

  • Periods and commasalwaysgo inside quotation marks:

“Periods and commas,” says Dr. Womack, “alwaysgo inside quotation marks.”

*Another example: (1.1.10-15). (Act, Scene #, line/s #/s)

1 refers to Act One of the play, 1 refers to the first scene of Act One, and 10-15 refers to the lines in this first scene of Act One.