The Tempest contains sublime poetry and catchy songs, magic and low comedy, while it tackles important contemporary concerns: education, power politics, the effects of colonization, and technology. In this guide, Alden T. Vaughan and Virginia Mason Vaughan open up new ways into one of Shakespeare's most popular, malleable and controversial plays.

A collection of new essays offering students a range of current perspectives on The Tempest, providing both context and critical overviews.

List of Illustrations Series Introduction Notes on Contributors Timeline Introduction (Alden T. Vaughan, Columbia University, USA, Clark University, USA) 1 The Critical Backstory: 'What's Past is Prologue' (Virginia Mason Vaughan, Clark University, USA) 2 A Theatre of Attraction: Colonialism, Gender, and The Tempest's Performance History (Eckart Voigts, TU Braunschweig, Germany) 3 Recent Perspectives on The Tempest (Brinda Charry, Keene State College, USA) 4 New Directions: Sources and Creativity in The Tempest (Andrew Gurr, University of Reading, UK) 5 New Directions: Commedia dell'Arte, The Tempest, and Transnational Criticism (Helen M. Whall, College of the Holy Cross, USA) 6 New Directions: 'He needs will be Absolute Milan': The Political Thought of The Tempest (Jeffrey A. Rufo, Rutgers University, USA) 7 New Directions: Shakespeare's Revolution - The Tempest as Scientific Romance (Scott Maisano, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA) 8 'volumes that / I prize': Resources for Studying and Teaching The Tempest (Nathaniel Amos Rothschild, St Thomas Aquinas College, USA) Notes Select Bibliography Index