The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1 Best Summary and Analysis | topperbhai.com

The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1 - Summary Notes

Here is the detailed summary of  The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1. In this summary, we have described everything that happened in the Scene in a very easy-to-understand language.

 

 

 Yellow highlighted words in the paragraphs indicate important part or text of the summary so, emphasize them while learning or reading the summary.

 

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Tempest Act 1 Scene 1 Summary - Starts Here

 

The location of this scene is a ship facing a severe sea storm and is in danger of getting shipwrecked. The ship onboard important parsonages including Alonso, the king of Naples, Antonio, and Sebastian. There are noisy thunderbolts and lightning in the dark sky.

 

 

 

The crew has started the rescue operation and the captain of the ship asks the boatswain to fight the storm boldly. As they were guiding and instructing the sailors, the royal passengers in the ship start to grow panicky and rush towards the deck. 

 

 

 

Alonso, the king of Naples, talks to the boatswain, but he is hardly respectful towards the king in such a troubling situation. He asks the meddlesome passengers to go back to their cabin and let the sailors do their duty.

 

 

Sebastian and Antonio, the two courtiers, curse the sailors for trying to save the ship. Although Gonzalo, the old courtier is fearful of sinking, he makes light of the situation by saying that the boatswain is not likely to be drowned because he is destined to be hanged.

 

 

 Since he is not to be drowned, and with him aboard, the ship cannot sink. But this remark does not appeal to anyone. To save themselves, the passengers begin to desert the ship for open waves of the sea. 

 

 

 

Gonzalo's words at the end of the scene were, "The wills above be done, I would fain die a dry death"(He prays to God that his will should prevail but he would like to die on dry land if he is fated to die.) reflect little hope for their survival. Gonzalo's speech at the end of the scene shows that the ship will sink and all the passengers on board will die.

 

 

Commentary or Analysis of The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1:

The opening scene of the play  The Tempest  is dramatically significant because all the events that follow are connected with the furious storm that is described at the beginning of the scene. 

 

 

 

The opening scene of the play is very short as it consists of about 65 lines only. But the scene is dramatically very significant it narrates the central action of the play. A ship carrying royal passengers is caught in a furious storm and is tossing upon the waves. 

 

 

 

 

The passengers who include Alonso, the king of Naples his son Ferdinand, and several others passengers feel terrified because they think that the ship would be wrecked and they would all die in the sea.

 

 

It is this furious storm that provides to the play its very title The Tempest. All the events that follow in the play are connected with the storm. 

 

 

 

Since there is little hope of survival, king Alonso and his son Ferdinand begin to pray to God for safety. The entire scene is full of suspense because of the uncertainty about the fate of the passengers on the ship.

 

 

 

The scene creates an atmosphere of danger, distress, and tension. But the light-hearted remark by Gonzalo, the old courtier, somewhat relieves the tension. Gonzalo, the old courtier, relieves the tension that grips the passengers by his wit "I would fain die a dry death."(I would like to die on land.)

 

 

 

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