Comedies • c. 1611
The Tempest: Modern English Translation & Study Guide
The exiled Duke and sorcerer Prospero uses magic to shipwreck his enemies on his mystical island.
Read The Tempest Side by Side
Every scene pairs the public-domain original with a line-matched, original modern-English paraphrase. Choose a scene below to begin reading.
- Act 1, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. On a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise
- Act 1, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The island. Before PROSPERO'S cell.
- Act 2, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Another part of the island.
- Act 2, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Another part of the island.
- Act 3, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Before PROSPERO'S Cell.
- Act 3, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Another part of the island.
- Act 3, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. Another part of the island.
- Act 4, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Before PROSPERO'S cell.
- Act 5, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Before PROSPERO'S cell.
The Tempest study pathways
Related across the Shake Up Network
Extend this play’s ideas through a connected subject lens.
- Classical sources, exile & restoration — Shake Up The Classics
Explore the ancient stories and political ideas Shakespeare reshapes in his final romance.
Original text source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, MIT HTML edition. MIT states that its HTML versions of the plays are placed in the public domain.