Original: You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
Modern: You look upset, my boy,

Original: As if you were dismay’d: be cheerful, sir.
Modern: as if you’re disturbed or alarmed—cheer up.

Original: Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
Modern: Our celebration is now over. These actors,

Original: As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Modern: as I told you beforehand, were all spirits and

Original: Are melted into air, into thin air:
Modern: have vanished into the air, into nothingness:

Original: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
Modern: And, like the groundless foundation of this magical show,

Original: The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
Modern: the towers that reach up to the clouds, the magnificent palaces,

Original: The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Modern: the grand temples, the great world itself,

Original: Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve
Modern: yes, everything and everyone in it, will disappear

Original: And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Modern: And, like this unreal performance that just faded away,

Original: Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
Modern: will leave not even a trace of cloud behind. We are made of the same material

Original: As dreams are made on, and our little life
Modern: that dreams are made of, and our brief life

Original: Is rounded with a sleep. Sir, I am vex’d;
Modern: is bookended by sleep. Sir, I am troubled;

Original: Bear with my weakness; my, brain is troubled:
Modern: please be patient with my frailty; my mind is disturbed:

Original: Be not disturb’d with my infirmity:
Modern: Don’t be upset by my weakness:

Original: If you be pleased, retire into my cell
Modern: If you’d like, go back into my cave

Original: And there repose: a turn or two I’ll walk,
Modern: and rest there: I’ll take a walk or two,

Original: To still my beating mind.
Modern: to calm my agitated mind.

In Act IV, Scene 1, line 158 and the surrounding passage, Prospero abruptly interrupts the masque he has conjured for Ferdinand and Miranda when he suddenly remembers Caliban’s conspiracy against his life. The spirits performing the elaborate entertainment vanish at his command, leaving Ferdinand alarmed by Prospero’s disturbed state. Prospero reassures the young man with his famous speech beginning “Our revels now are ended,” explaining that the spirits were merely illusions and that all of existence, like the pageant they just witnessed, will eventually dissolve and leave not a trace behind.

After dismissing Ferdinand and Miranda to his cell, Prospero summons Ariel and discusses the plot hatched by Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo to murder him and seize the island. Ariel reports that he has led the three conspirators through bogs and marshes, leaving them filthy and bedraggled. Prospero instructs Ariel to hang glittering garments on a line as bait, and when the would-be assassins arrive, they become distracted by the fine clothing despite Caliban’s warnings to stay focused on their murderous task. At Prospero’s command, spirits in the shape of hounds chase the three men away, with Prospero and Ariel setting the dogs upon them.

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.