The tempest represents the political upheaval in the play. When the courtiers and their ship are tossed by the storm, nature and the sailors suddenly have more power than the courtiers. This state of disorder continues throughout the play until the injustice done to Prospero is righted at the end. After Prospero has regained his dukedom, he promises his guests "calm seas" and favorable winds for their journey home.
The Tempest Quotes in The Tempest
The The Tempest quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Tempest. 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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Act 1, scene 1
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What cares these roarers for the name of king?
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Act 1, scene 2
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O, I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer! A brave vessel,
Who had no doubt some noble creature in her,
Dashed all to pieces.
With those that I saw suffer! A brave vessel,
Who had no doubt some noble creature in her,
Dashed all to pieces.
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Full fathom five thy father lies
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.
Hark, now I hear them, ding dong bell.
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.
Hark, now I hear them, ding dong bell.
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Act 2, scene 1
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...She that from whom
We all were sea-swallowed, though some cast again
And by that destiny, to perform an act
Whereof what's past is prologue, what to come
In yours and my discharge.
We all were sea-swallowed, though some cast again
And by that destiny, to perform an act
Whereof what's past is prologue, what to come
In yours and my discharge.
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Act 2, scene 2
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Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.
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Act 5, scene 1
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...O rejoice
Beyond a common joy, and set it down
With gold on lasting pillars: in one voyage
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis,
And Ferdinand her brother found a wife
Where he himself was lost; Prospero, his dukedom
In a poor isle, and all of us ourselves,
When no man was his own.
Beyond a common joy, and set it down
With gold on lasting pillars: in one voyage
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis,
And Ferdinand her brother found a wife
Where he himself was lost; Prospero, his dukedom
In a poor isle, and all of us ourselves,
When no man was his own.
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Get the entire The Tempest LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Tempest Symbol Timeline in The Tempest
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Tempest appears in The Tempest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, scene 2
Miranda and Prospero watch the tempest from the shore of an island. Miranda pities the seafarers, saying "O, I have suffered...
(full context)
