Read this when
The Tempest
You finally have them right where you want them. Now what? 'The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.' 🌊
Who it's for
Prospero spends twelve years nursing a betrayal and then gets exactly what resentful people imagine: his enemies at his mercy.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Shakespeare's late play, probably written between 1610 and 1611, takes place on a remote island where Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, has lived with his daughter Miranda for twelve years since his brother Antonio usurped him with the help of Alonso, King of Naples. Using magic and the spirit Ariel, and holding Caliban in servitude, Prospero raises a storm that shipwrecks his enemies on the island.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US; free on Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks and the Folger Shakespeare website. In print and in libraries (Libby/Hoopla); several filmed versions and full-cast audio production.
Before you start
Heads up: A reported attempted rape.
Age: Ages 12+
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.Wilfred Owen, Poems, “Dulce et Decorum Est”
