Alonso's butler. Stephano is a comical character who spends the whole play drunk. When Caliban mistakes him for a god because he gives Caliban wine and gets him drunk, Stephano begins to fancy himself a king. Caliban's plot to murder Prospero is therefore very appealing to him, as are the showy garments Prospero and Ariel lay out to trap him.
Stephano Quotes in The Tempest
The The Tempest quotes below are all either spoken by Stephano or refer to Stephano. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Get the entire The Tempest LitChart as a printable PDF.
Stephano Character Timeline in The Tempest
The timeline below shows where the character Stephano appears in The Tempest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2, scene 2
Stephano, the Alonso's butler, enters, drinking and singing very badly. Whether because of Stephano's singing or...
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...owners of such a marvelous liquid must be gods. Kneeling in worship, Caliban declares himself Stephano's subject. Stephano enjoys the admiration of the "monster" (as Trinculo repeatedly calls Caliban) and relishes...
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Caliban volunteers to show them around the island and expresses a hope that Stephano might be able to deliver him from servitude to Prospero. Stephano, meanwhile, fantasizes about becoming...
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Act 3, scene 2
Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo continue to get drunk. Stephano who now calls himself "Lord of the Island,"...
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...enters just as Caliban begins to describe Prospero's ill treatment of him and to ask Stephano to avenge this wrong. Ariel calls out "Thou liest." But because he is invisible, the...
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...or cut his wezand with they knife" (3.2.80-83). But it is vital, he says, for Stephano to seize Prospero's books, which are the source of his power. He entices Stephano by...
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...in celebration but cannot recall the tune they want to sing. Ariel supplies it, throwing Stephano and Trinculo into a fright. Caliban reassures them, delivering a lyrical speech about the island's...
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Stephano exults that he will soon be the lord of such a wonderful island "where I...
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Act 4, scene 1
Suddenly, Prospero recalls Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo's conspiracy to kill him. He calls an abrupt end to the festivities and...
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Stephano and Trinculo complain about the smell and the loss of their wine in the swamp....
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Act 5, scene 1
...find the ship miraculously restored to perfect condition. Next, Prospero asks Ariel to release Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo from their spell and bring them forward in their stolen absurd clothes. Prospero...
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The courtiers and Prospero mock Stephano and Trinculo for their drunken state and foiled ambitions. Prospero orders Caliban to take the...
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