With the help of the spirit Ariel, Prospero summons a tempest to shipwreck King Alonso's ship and exact revenge on those members of royalty who usurped his position as Duke of Milan: Alonso (the King of Naples) and Antonio (Prospero's brother and current Duke of Milan).
Prospero tells Miranda,
This King of Naples, being an enemy...Should presently extirpate me and mineOut of the dukedom and confer fair MilanWith all the honours on my brother: where onA treacherous army levied, one midnight...Bore us some leagues to the sea...Here in this island we arrived
The other members of royalty who now find themselves stranded are Ferdinand (the king's son) and Sebastian (the king's brother).
Other than shipwrecking them, it is unclear how Prospero plans to get his revenge. He doesn't seem to want them dead, because in act 1, scene 2, he asks,
But are they, Ariel, safe?
Ariel has dispersed them throughout the island. Ferdinand, who Ariel says was the first to jump ship, finds himself alone in what Ariel calls
an odd angle of the island.
Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian are together but seemingly farther away from Prospero. Ferdinand arrives at Prospero's camp as early as act 1, scene 2. The others don't arrive until the end of the play.
The play opens with a violent sea storm—the tempest of the title. A ship carrying several noble personages is being battered and buffeted by the crashing waves and howling wind. This terrifying storm has been generated by none other than Prospero, who's using his magical powers to wreak revenge upon the men responsible for his island exile.
On board ship is Antonio, Prospero's brother. Antonio shamelessly usurped Prospero as Duke of Milan and banished him from the kingdom. Then there's Alonso. He's the King of Naples. Although he helped Antonio to overthrow Prospero, he comes to regret the part he played in the whole unseemly business. Generally speaking, Alonso is a noble character, which is more than you can say for Sebastian, his brother. He shows about as much loyalty to his brother as Antonio did to his. Then finally, we have Ferdinand, Alonso's son and heir, a thoroughly decent chap, whose innocence in the ways of the world makes him the ideal companion for Miranda.
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