Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex

The Tempest is the most lyrical, profound and 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", and prepares to return to the mainland.

The Tempest has often been regarded as Shakespeare's "farewell to the stage" before his retirement.