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appears followed by the ship’s Master and Boatswain, who announces that all are safe and the ship is ready to sail. Alonso is convinced that all these events are unnatural. Prospero endeavors to set his mind at rest. He praises Ariel and asks him finally to bring Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo to him.
    Lines 290–339: They appear still in their finery. Caliban recognizes that Prospero too is in his finery and fears that he will be punished. Prospero identifies Caliban to the other nobles and tells them about the plot to murder him. They must know who the other two are, but Caliban he finally acknowledges as belonging to him, “this thing of darkness I / Acknowledge mine” (ll. 311–312). He tells Caliban to go to his cell with his companions and prepare it for the company. Caliban now realizes his folly in worshipping the pair and promises to “seek for grace” (l. 333) in the future.
    Lines 340–380: Prospero invites the whole company to his cell to rest for one night during which he will relate the events of his life and how he came to the island. He will then accompany them all to Naples for the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda. Afterward hewill retire to Milan to contemplate old age and death. He promises them a good voyage and finally releases Ariel.
    As the other characters leave the stage, Prospero delivers the Epilogue in which he tells the audience that he has no more magic, only his own strength. He must therefore be confined to the island unless they release him by the power of their breath and hands, and begs indulgence for his sins as the audience too would wish to be pardoned. This metatheatrical conclusion seems to round off the play on a positive note, but a brief reflection reveals that the most complex problems have been left unresolved and the future for many of the characters is far from clear. The departing spectator is left wondering if Antonio is really reconciled to his brother’s return, exactly what Prospero means when he has said that “Every third thought” will be his “grave,” where Ariel will go now that he is free, and what will happen to Caliban—is he to remain on the island, its lonely king once more, or will he accompany Prospero to Milan?

THE TEMPEST IN
PERFORMANCE:
THE RSC AND BEYOND
    The best way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or ideally to participate in it. By examining a range of productions, we may gain a sense of the extraordinary variety of approaches and interpretations that are possible—a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made “our contemporary” four centuries after his death.
    We begin with a brief overview of the play’s theatrical and cinematic life, offering historical perspectives on how it has been performed. We then analyze in more detail a series of productions staged over the last half century by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The sense of dialogue between productions that can only occur when a company is dedicated to the revival and investigation of the Shakespeare canon over a long period, together with the uniquely comprehensive archival resource of promptbooks, program notes, reviews, and interviews held on behalf of the RSC at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, allows an “RSC stage history” to become a crucible in which the chemistry of the play can be explored.
    Finally, we go to the horse’s mouth. Modern theater is dominated by the figure of the director. He, or sometimes she (like musical conducting, theater directing remains a male-dominated profession), must hold together the whole play, whereas the actor must concentrate on his or her part. The director’s viewpoint is therefore especially valuable. Shakespeare’s plasticity is wonderfully revealed when we hear directors of highly successful productions answering the same questions in very different ways.
FOUR CENTURIES OF
THE TEMPEST:
AN OVERVIEW
    The Tempest
’s first recorded performance was at the