Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews June 7, 2023 May 31, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The tempest that begins the play, and which puts
all of Prospero’s enemies at his disposal, symbolizes the suffering
Prospero endured, and which he wants to inflict on others. All of
those shipwrecked are put at the mercy of the sea, just as Prospero
and his infant daughter were twelve years ago, when some loyal friends
helped them out to sea in a ragged little boat (see I.ii.
The object of chess is to capture the king. That, at the
simplest level, is the symbolic significance of Prospero revealing
Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess in the final scene. Prospero
has caught the king—Alonso—and reprimanded him for his treachery.
In doing so, Prospero has married Alonso’s son to his own daughter
without the king’s knowledge, a deft political maneuver that assures
Alonso’s support because Alonso will have no interest in upsetting
a dukedom to which his own son is heir. This is the final
move in Prospero’s plot, which began with the tempest. He has maneuvered the
different passengers of Alonso’s ship around the island with the
skill of a great chess player.
Caught up in their game, Miranda and Ferdinand also symbolize something
ominous about Prospero’s power. They do not even notice the others
staring at them for a few lines. “Sweet lord, you play me false,”
Miranda says, and Ferdinand assures her that he “would not for the
world” do so (V.i.
Like the tempest, Prospero’s books are a symbol
of his power. “Remember / First to possess his books,” Caliban says
to Stephano and Trinculo, “for without them / He’s but a sot” (III.ii.
Take the Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Quick Quiz
Please wait while we process your payment