Edited introduced & annotated by Cedric Watts Research Professor of English University of Sussex The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare's Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal The Tempest is the most lyrical profound & fascinating of Shakespeare's late comedies Prospero long exiled from Italy with his daughter Miranda seeks to use his magical powers to defeat his former enemies Eventually having proved merciful he divests himself of that magic his art' & prepares to return to the mainland The Tempest has often been regarded as Shakespeare's farewell to the stage' before his retirement In the past critics emphasised the romantically beautiful features of The Tempest seeing it as an imaginative fantasia In recent decades however The Tempest has also been treated as a potently political drama which offers controversial insights into colonialism & racism Frequently staged & diversely filmed the play has influenced numerous poets & novelists