The Tempest Act 1 and 2 Summary

Act 1 Scene 1
Alonso, the king of Naples; Ferdinand, his son; Sebastian, his brother; Gonzalo, his counsellor;
Antonio, the Duke of Milan; and two lords, Adrian and Fancisco. These people were on a ship
returning from the king’s daughter’s wedding, when there was a terrible storm that made them
lose control of the ship.

Act 1 Scene 2
Miranda is upset to see the ship being destroyed, so she asks her father, Prospero, to calm the
storm if he can. Prospero then proceeds to tell the story of how they ended up trapped on the
island to Miranda. Prospero, Miranda and Ariel go visit Caliban, Caliban leaves and Ariel calls
Ferdinand to meet with Miranda. They fall in love at first sight and Prospero imprisons
Ferdinand.

Act 2 Scene 1
Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, Adrian and Francisco, are left together on the island after the
shipwreck. Ariel comes and puts everyone to sleep except for Antonio and Sebastian. Antonio
convinces Antonio to betray his brother just like he did to Prospero. They both raise their swords
to kill Alonso, when Ariel wakes everyone up. They both pretend their swords are drawn to
defend the others.

Act 2 Scene 2
Caliban is complaining, when Trinculo swims to shore from the shipwreck. Trinculo crawls under
the cloak Caliban is hiding in. Stephano enters, washed up with a barrel of wine. When he sees
both of them hiding under the cloak he thinks it is a monster with 4 legs. He pours wine into
Caliban's mouth and he becomes drunk. Caliban thinks Stephano is a god and asks him to be
his master. Trinculo thinks Caliban is a ridiculous monster.