A violent magical storm shipwrecks King Alonso's court on a mysterious island.

Prospero tells Miranda that his brother Antonio betrayed him and seized the throne of Milan.

Ariel reports that all passengers have safely reached shore and the undamaged ship is hidden.

Miranda and Ferdinand meet for the first time and are immediately and powerfully drawn to each other.

Prospero accuses Ferdinand of spying and uses magic to freeze and imprison him.

Antonio convinces Sebastian to kill the sleeping King Alonso and claim his throne.

Ariel wakes King Alonso just in time; Sebastian invents a false excuse for his drawn sword.

Caliban persuades Stephano to murder Prospero in exchange for ruling the island.

Ariel appears as a harpy and condemns Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio for their sins against Prospero.

Prospero frees Ferdinand and reveals the imprisonment was a deliberate test of his love for Miranda.

Prospero suddenly interrupts the wedding masque upon remembering Caliban's murder plot against him.

Spirits shaped like hunting dogs chase Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano away from Prospero's cell.

Prospero appears before the assembled court in his ducal robes and forgives his enemies.

Prospero reveals Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess, reuniting the prince with his grieving father.

Prospero invites the court to stay the night and all plan to sail home to Italy together.

Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, uses a magical storm to shipwreck his enemies and bring them under his power on the island. He manipulates Miranda and Ferdinand's romance to forge peace between Milan and Naples while imprisoning Ferdinand to deepen their longing for each other. He thwarts a plot against King Alonso and exposes the guilt of those who originally betrayed him. Ariel's appearance as a harpy breaks Alonso's spirit and makes the king receptive to Prospero's terms. Prospero then frees Ferdinand, stages a masque, and foils Caliban's murder conspiracy before confronting his enemies in person. He forgives them all, reclaims his dukedom, and leads everyone toward a return to Italy.

The key events of Prospero's plan to reclaim his throne.

The boatswain orders panicking royal passengers back below decks during the violent storm.

Prospero casts a sleeping spell on Miranda after finishing the story of their exile.

Prospero reminds Ariel that he rescued the sprite from imprisonment inside a tree by the witch Sycorax.

Caliban recalls how Prospero once showed him kindness before enslaving and tormenting him.

Ariel, disguised as a sea nymph, plays music that lures Ferdinand toward Prospero and Miranda.

Lord Francisco tells Alonso he witnessed Ferdinand swimming strongly toward shore after the wreck.

Gonzalo proposes creating a utopian paradise on the island to lift the despairing king's spirits.

Trinculo discovers Caliban lying flat on the ground and hides under his cloak to escape a storm.

Ferdinand hauls logs for Prospero while Miranda insists on sharing the burden of his labor.

Ariel uses enchanting music to lead the drunken trio into a foul, muddy pool.

Stephano and Trinculo are distracted from their murder plot by showy clothing hung as a trap.

Ariel tells Prospero that the confined courtiers are all penitent and weeping with guilty anguish.

King Alonso formally renounces his military backing of Antonio's usurpation of Prospero's throne.

Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano appear before the assembled court wearing their stolen finery.

Prospero promises Ariel his freedom in exchange for ensuring fair winds for the voyage home.

While Prospero's grand scheme unfolds, a rich web of secondary events fills in the texture of life on the island and reveals how each character responds to crisis and displacement. The boatswain's dismissal of royalty during the opening storm and Gonzalo's idle utopian daydreams show the range of reactions among the shipwrecked courtiers. Caliban's account of how his relationship with Prospero soured, and the comic meeting of Trinculo and Caliban beneath a cloak, establish the farcical subplot and its commentary on power. Ferdinand's willing labor hauling logs and the drunken trio's enchantment by hanging clothes show that Prospero controls nearly everyone through cunning rather than brute force. The story closes with formal acts of restoration as Alonso publicly renounces Antonio's usurpation and the shamefaced conspirators are exposed before the whole court. Prospero's final gift of freedom to Ariel, promised in exchange for fair winds home, brings this layer of the story to a satisfying conclusion.

The supporting moments that shape life on the island.

Miranda begs her father to stop the storm, unaware that he himself created it.

Prospero reveals that Gonzalo secretly provisioned their exile boat with food, clothing, and books.

Prospero promises Ariel that his freedom will come within two days if he carries out his duties well.

Caliban angrily declares that the island belongs to him by right of inheritance from his mother Sycorax.

Sebastian berates Alonso for arranging Claribel's marriage to the king of Tunis, blaming him for the wreck.

Stephano stumbles upon Caliban and Trinculo huddled together and believes he has found a four-legged monster.

Caliban declares Stephano a god, begs to serve him, and sings a drunken song of newfound freedom.

Ferdinand and Miranda privately declare their love for each other and agree to marry.

Invisible Ariel whispers insults between the drunken trio, provoking Stephano to strike Trinculo.

Alonso loses hope of finding Ferdinand alive and becomes certain his son drowned in the sea.

Prospero sternly warns Ferdinand that breaking premarital chastity will bring a curse upon the marriage.

The goddesses Iris, Ceres, and Juno appear in the masque and sing blessings over Ferdinand and Miranda.

Ariel expresses sympathy for the imprisoned courtiers, moving Prospero to choose forgiveness over punishment.

Gonzalo blesses the match between Ferdinand and Miranda, declaring that providence arranged the entire voyage.

Prospero addresses the audience directly, asking them to release him from the island with their applause.

Beneath The Tempest's comedy lies a series of pivotal discoveries and emotional shifts that drive the characters toward change. Prospero's early revelations to Miranda and his tense negotiations with Ariel and Caliban establish the moral stakes of his scheme from the very start. Sebastian's attack on his own brother and Caliban's claim of island ownership expose the play's recurring theme of stolen power and rightful inheritance. The drunken antics of Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban comically mirror the more dangerous conspiracies unfolding elsewhere on the island. Ferdinand and Miranda's private vow of marriage seals the romantic heart of the story, while Prospero's warning about chastity and the goddesses' blessing elevate their bond to a sacred covenant. Ariel's unexpected compassion for the imprisoned courtiers moves Prospero toward forgiveness, and his final address to the audience closes the play on a note of humane redemption.