Portrait of Shakespeare Miranda sleeps Facing Title Facing page 10 18 24 Prospero and Miranda at Caliban's Cave The First Meeting of Ferdinand and Miranda King and Gonzalo Miranda offers to bear Logs for Ferdinand Caliban's Delight at the beating of Trinculo Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban chased by Dogs Ferdinand and Miranda at Chess Gonzalo blessing the Couple 36 48 54 74 80 82 NOTE The portrait is from the etching by Flameng of what is known as the Chandos portrait, so called because it once formed a part of the Chandos collection; it is said to have been painted from life by a John Taylor, and there is a somewhat doubtful story that it was left by him as a legacy to Sir William Davenant, from whose possession it passed to that of Betterton, the actor. It can be traced from its present place in the Bridgewater collection up through the Chandos collection and the hands of a Mr. Nicol, Mr. Robert Keck, and Mrs. Barry, the actress, to Betterton. Léopold Flameng, one of the greatest etchers of the nineteenth century, was born in Brussels of French parents in 1831. After many vicissitudes he laid the foundations of his fame as an etcher by his copies of Rembrandt's works, which are highly prized by collectors. The illustrations are adapted from outline drawings by F. A. M. Retzsch, a famous German artist (b. 1779; d. 1857). His drawings for Shakespeare's plays and for Goethe's Faust, and his masterpiece in oils, "The Chess Players,” have given him great and lasting celebrity. T INTRODUCTION HE object of this edition is to cultivate a love for readers in such shape that they may be found readable and attractive. Notes and comments are frequently a hindrance and stumbling-block to the beginner. The very thought of having to make a study of a piece of literature is enough to make it seem repellent at the outset. It is therefore suggested that beginners in Shakespeare be encouraged to attempt a cursory reading of the selected plays without reference to notes or explanations. In classes, teachers may ask their pupils to procure a copy of the play a week before the study of it is to begin and to read it through once, or have it read to them by their elders, as any other story would be read, just for the pleasure of it. It is a noteworthy fact that many seeming difficulties may be passed over in this way and something like an understanding or general picture of the play as a whole placed before the mind. The footnotes, which are for the most part in the form of synonyms, have been placed upon the page rather unwillingly; they are intended for the children's use, to help them to the understanding of words and phrases which are likely to stand in the way of their getting at the sense of the passage. They are purposely brief, so as to distract the attention as little as possible from the interest of the tale. The following remarks on the play and the Notes at the end will suggest to teachers points for special comment in class. It is taken for granted that any teacher will have at hand a trustworthy, well-annotated edition of Shakespeare for reference in such cases as cannot be covered in an elementary book. The Tempest, written about the year 1612, is a production of Shakespeare's mature genius. The fact that it contains much fine poetry and brilliant declamation is accounted for by the theory that it was not intended as a regular stage play for professional actors, but was a masque written to celebrate a royal wedding, the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of James I., to Frederick, the young Elector Palatine, afterwards King of Bohemia. It is probable that it was performed, as the masque generally was, by amateurs, the nobles of the court, in the royal palace, with rich costuming and costly and elaborate machinery or stage-setting. In the construction of the plot of The Tempest, Shakespeare has drawn but little from other sources; in descriptions of the island and in the characterization of Caliban, he quite possibly had recourse to travelers' tales, and probably to a translation of Montaigne's Essay on Cannibals. His inventive faculty, however, must be given credit for the portrayal of a beautiful and romantic picture. The play abounds in fine passages of imaginative and descriptive poetry, which have rendered it a favorite with the best scholars of Europe and America and have enriched our literature with many exquisite and quotable lines. 66 The story is as follows: Prospero, Duke of Milan, was dethroned by his brother Antonio, the usurper, who directed that the duke be left on the open sea with his three-year old daughter, Miranda, in a rotten carcass of a boat." In this they were carried by the winds to an enchanted island, uninhabited except by a deformed and hideous creature, Caliban, the son of a witch, who for her crimes had been left on the island by men of Algiers. Prospero was a powerful enchanter, and soon had not only Caliban, but all the spirits of the region under his control, and, especially through Ariel, chief of the spirits of the air, was able to work wonders of all sorts. When Miranda had reached womanhood, a fortunate circumstance brought her false uncle into the neighborhood of the island in company with his friend Alonso, the King of Naples, who had helped him to usurp the duke's throne. With them, also, are Sebastian, the king's brother, and Ferdinand, the son of Alonso, besides other lords and courtiers. Prospero raises a |