Original: I must eat my dinner.
Modern: I need to eat my meal.

Original: This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Modern: This island belongs to me through my mother Sycorax,

Original: Which thou takest from me. When thou camest first,
Modern: Which you’re taking away from me. When you first arrived,

Original: Thou strokedst me and madest much of me, wouldst give me
Modern: You petted me and treated me kindly, you would give me

Original: Water with berries in’t, and teach me how
Modern: Water mixed with berries, and you taught me how

Original: To name the bigger light, and how the less,
Modern: To name the sun and moon,

Original: That burn by day and night: and then I loved thee
Modern: That shine during day and night: and back then I loved you

Original: And show’d thee all the qualities o’ the isle,
Modern: And I showed you all the features of the island,

Original: The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile:
Modern: The freshwater springs, salt pools, wasteland and rich soil:

Original: Cursed be I that did so! All the charms
Modern: I curse myself for doing that! May all the spells

Original: Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!
Modern: Of Sycorax, and toads, beetles, and bats fall upon you!

Original: For I am all the subjects that you have,
Modern: Because I am your only subject,

Original: Which first was mine own king: and here you sty me
Modern: Though I used to be my own ruler: and now you pen me up

Original: In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me
Modern: In this rocky cave, while you keep me away from

Original: The rest o’ the island.
Modern: The rest of the island.

Original: O ho, O ho! would’t had been done!
Modern: Oh yes, oh yes! I wish I had succeeded!

Original: Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else
Modern: You stopped me; otherwise I would have populated

Original: This isle with Calibans.
Modern: This island with my children.

Act I, Scene ii of The Tempest takes place on the island, inside or near the cell of Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan. The scene opens with Prospero reassuring his daughter Miranda, who is distressed over the shipwreck she has just witnessed, that no one aboard has been harmed. Prospero then removes his magic cloak and begins to reveal the truth of their past to Miranda, explaining that he is far more than he has appeared to be. He recounts how he was once the Duke of Milan, but his obsession with his studies caused him to neglect his duties, leaving his treacherous brother Antonio to seize power with the help of Alonso, the King of Naples. Antonio had Prospero and the young Miranda cast out to sea, where they eventually arrived on the island. Prospero then puts Miranda to sleep with his magic and summons his spirit servant Ariel, who reports on the successful execution of the tempest and the safe dispersal of the ship’s passengers to various parts of the island.

Ariel then requests the freedom that Prospero has promised, but Prospero reminds the spirit of his debt — how he rescued Ariel from imprisonment within a cloven pine tree, where the witch Sycorax had confined him. Prospero promises Ariel his freedom after two more days of service and sends him off on further tasks. Miranda awakens, and Prospero takes her to visit Caliban, the son of the now-dead Sycorax, who serves Prospero as a reluctant and resentful slave. Caliban curses Prospero and Miranda, who in turn rebukes him for his ingratitude, reminding him that they taught him language and treated him kindly until he attempted to violate Miranda. Caliban is sent off to labor, and the scene closes as Ariel, disguised as a sea nymph, leads the shipwrecked Ferdinand to Prospero and Miranda. Ferdinand and Miranda see each other for the first time and are immediately struck with mutual wonder and attraction. Prospero, though privately pleased, feigns suspicion of Ferdinand and uses his magic to immobilize him, intending to test the young man before allowing the relationship to proceed.

The Tempest opens with a violent storm at sea that shipwrecks a vessel carrying Alonso, King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, his brother Sebastian, Antonio (the usurping Duke of Milan), the counselor Gonzalo, and others. The tempest has been conjured by Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, who lives in exile on an island with his daughter Miranda. Twelve years earlier, Prospero was overthrown by his brother Antonio with the help of Alonso, and set adrift at sea with the infant Miranda. They survived and reached this island, where Prospero has spent years studying magic and commanding the spirit Ariel, whom he freed from imprisonment in a tree.

The shipwreck separates the survivors into different groups across the island. Ferdinand becomes separated from the others and encounters Miranda, with whom he immediately falls in love, though Prospero tests the young man by enslaving him temporarily. Meanwhile, Antonio and Sebastian plot to murder Alonso and Gonzalo while they sleep, but Ariel awakens Gonzalo just in time. Another group, including the drunken butler Stephano and jester Trinculo, meets Caliban, Prospero’s reluctant servant who is the island’s original inhabitant. Caliban persuades them to help him kill Prospero and take control of the island.

Prospero orchestrates a series of magical interventions: he presents a banquet to Alonso’s group that vanishes when they try to eat, and Ariel appears as a harpy to remind them of their crimes against Prospero. Ariel also disrupts Caliban’s murder plot by leading the conspirators into a stinking pond and then tormenting them with spirits disguised as hunting dogs. Ferdinand proves his love for Miranda by completing the tasks Prospero sets him, and Prospero gives his blessing to their betrothal, celebrating with a masque of spirits.

In the final act, Prospero reveals himself to all the castaways, forgives his enemies, and renounces his magic, breaking his staff and freeing Ariel. Alonso repents his past actions and restores Prospero to his dukedom. Ferdinand and Miranda’s engagement is celebrated, Caliban acknowledges Prospero’s authority and promises to be wise hereafter, and Prospero prepares to return to Milan. The play concludes with Prospero’s epilogue, in which he asks the audience to free him with their applause, as he has freed Ariel.