Banished from his own lands by a usurping brother, Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been living on a deserted island for years, until fate brings the brother within the range of Prospero’s powers. Will he seek revenge, or reconcilement? (Summary by Karen Savage)

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The text of The Tempest is from Volume I of the nine volume 1863 Cambridge edition of Shakespeare. The Preface (e text 23041) and the other plays from this volume are each available as separate e texts.

General Notes are in their original location at the end of the play. Text critical notes are grouped at the end of each Scene. All line numbers are from the original text; line breaks in dialogue including prose passages are unchanged. Brackets are also unchanged; to avoid ambiguity, footnotes and linenotes are given without added brackets. In the notes, numerals printed as subscripts are shown inline as F1, F2, Q1….