The Tempest
by William Shakespeare

The Tempest: Style 1 key example

New! Understand every line of The Tempest.
Read our modern English translation.
Act 1, scene 2
Explanation and Analysis:

The Tempest conforms to many traditional aspects of the Shakespearean style. Most of the play appears in iambic pentameter (with a few variations). Low-status or comic characters often speak in prose, whereas higher-status ones mostly speak in verse. More sophisticated, beautiful language signifies higher status. This play subverted some conventions, however, as Caliban flouts this rule in order to demonstrate his humanity. He speaks some of the most beautiful lines in the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, he describes the way Prospero treated him before he tried to rape Miranda:  

And then I loved thee,
And showed thee all the qualities o' th' isle,
The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and fertile.