The Tempest: Shakespeare's Final Play Reading Answers

May 21, 2025

The Tempest: Shakespeare's Final Play Reading Answers contains 14 questions, and it is a topic belonging to the assessment system of IELTS general reading test. The Tempest: Shakespeare's Final Play Reading Answers have to be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, there are questions like Do the following statements agree with the passage, Write no more than two words or numbers, and write the correct letter. Also, The Tempest: Shakespeare's Final Play Reading Answers contains all the information about Shakespeare's final play The Tempest. To practice reading papers like that, the candidates can refer to IELTS Reading Practice test.

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Topic:

The Tempest: Shakespeare's Final Play

The 23rd of April, 2016, marked the four hundredth anniversary of the death of the world-renowned English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, at the age of 52. Numerous festivals, exhibitions, theatrical performances and other events were held around the world to commemorate the special anniversary year and celebrate and honour the life and continuing legacy of a figure that many regard as being the world's greatest dramatist. In addition to the multitude of celebrations held in the author's home town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England, one of the more notable highlights across the Atlantic in the United States was the exhibition of Shakespeare's First Folio, featuring discussion panels and a display of First Folio editions and digital content, in addition to local performances. The exhibition tour, its full title being First Folio: The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare, travelled to all fifty American states, as well as the country's capital, Washington D.C., and the territory of Puerto Rico.

First published in 1623, seven years following Shakespeare's death, the book known as the First Folio is widely regarded by scholars as being the first authentic print collection of all the plays attributed to William Shakespeare. The content of the First Folio was prepared and compiled by Henry Condell and John Heminges, two friends and colleagues of the playwright. The Folio was published by the Stationers Company syndicate under the title Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Of the estimated 750 copies of the First Folio that were originally printed, fewer than 250 survive today, each worth millions of dollars. The largest collection of First Folios is held by the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., with a total of 82 copies. Among the 36 plays appearing in the pages of the First Folio are eighteen of Shakespeare's works that had never been previously published, including Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, The Taming of the Shrew, Comedy of Errors, Macbeth and The Tempest.

While there is not universal consensus, the overwhelming majority of contemporary Shakespeare critics consider The Tempest to have been the last of the plays penned by the bard. It is the first of Shakespeare's works to appear in the contents of the First Folio, among his collected comedies. Today, The Tempest is regarded as one of Shakespeare's greatest works. Perhaps due to the fact that it was the final play of his writing career as a playwright, more is known about the early performances of The Tempest than many of Shakespeare's other dramatic works. It was performed for the first time in Whitehall, London, on the 1st of November, 1611, for an audience that included King James I. Another performance of the play was given at the royal court two years later, forming part of the entertainment celebrating the marriage of the king's daughter, Elizabeth, to Prince Frederick of Bohemia.

As far as plot is concerned, The Tempest is set on a remote island where the deposed Duke of Milan, Prospero, and his daughter have been banished.

Possessed of magical powers, Prospero conjures up a storm, or tempest, that causes a boat carrying a group of people from the mainland, including his only brother - the treacherous Antonio - as well as King Alonso of Naples, to become shipwrecked on the island. The play then moves through a number of scenes in five separate acts, as the various characters interact. By the conclusion of the story, Prospero's daughter, Miranda, and the son of King Alonso, Prince Ferdinand, have met and fallen in love and are married in Act IV of the play. At the same time, Prospero is redeemed and his former title and position are restored by the king as a result of revelations of his brother's treachery. In the final scene, the epilogue of the play, Prospero, alone on the stage, addresses the audience in an extended monologue, renouncing his magical powers. With regard to this last scene, some early critics of Shakespeare's work viewed Prospero's final speech in The Tempest as representing the author's announcement to the audience of his own intention to retire from the playwright profession.

In terms of Shakespeare's sources of inspiration for the writing of The Tempest, scholars have pointed out that each of the playwright's dramatic works was very much influenced by popular topics and concerns of the day, and that the author would make use of existing written material, drawing on literature and other documents from a variety of sources for many of his ideas. The bard's final play is no exception in this respect. Of particular note is a pamphlet that was published in England in 1610 under the title A Discovery of the Bermudas, detailing the real-life account of the shipwreck of English colonists bound for Virginia in North America, which the playwright is known to have read. As well as funding the Virginia expedition, King James I had also written an essay on magic in 1603. The fact that the themes of colonialism and the supernatural both feature strongly in The Tempest reflects that these topics were broadly popular in Shakespeare's day when the play was written and performed. Experts have also pointed out that the author copied large parts of Prospero's soliloquy at the end of the play from a speech made by the character Medea in the epic poem Metamorphoses, written by the Roman poet, Ovid.

The fact that the 1623 First Folio publication of Shakespeare's works opens with The Tempest is both a reflection of the play's popularity at the time, as well as a significant factor in its subsequent critical history. Its position in first place certainly gave readers, academics and literary critics a strongly favourable impression of The Tempest in comparison with the author's other works. Many felt, for example, that the bard's final play represented the pinnacle of Shakespeare's career, the playwright working at the height of his powers. In addition, the order of the works published in the First Folio lent greater weight to the idea that the character of the magician Prospero had been written by Shakespeare as a semi-autobiographical figure, intended to represent the genuine feelings of the author, at least at some level.

Today, more than four centuries after The Tempest was written, it remains one of William Shakespeare's most popular and widely-recognised works.

As with his other plays, it has been translated into and published in dozens of languages. These dramatic works, with their well-drawn, complex characters and compelling storylines, have had a tremendous impact on the theatre, as well as the English language and culture. The bard's swan song, The Tempest, continues to be appreciated by modern audiences across the globe to this day in a variety of media formats, ranging from print publications of the original play and live theatrical performances to television and big screen adaptations.

Questions 27 - 32

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 27 - 32 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

27. William Shakespeare died in 1616.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "The 23rd of April, 2016, marked the four hundredth anniversary of the death..."

Keywords: Shakespeare, death, 400th anniversary, 2016

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Line 1

Explanation: 2016 minus 400 years confirms 1616 as the year of his death.

28. In The Tempest, King Alonso is Prospero's brother.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "...including his only brother - the treacherous Antonio - as well as King Alonso of Naples..."

Keywords: Prospero, brother, Antonio, King Alonso

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Line 3

Explanation: Prospero’s brother is Antonio, not King Alonso.

29. The Tempest was written in 1611.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The first performance date is given, not the writing date.

30. A Discovery of the Bermudas was based on true events.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "...detailing the real-life account of the shipwreck of English colonists..."

Keywords: A Discovery of the Bermudas, real-life, shipwreck

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Line 3

Explanation: It explicitly states the pamphlet was about a real-life shipwreck.

31. King James I funded the publication of the First Folio.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: No mention of King James I funding the First Folio publication.

Keywords: King James I, publication, First Folio

Keyword Location: Paragraph B

Explanation: The publishers were Henry Condell, John Heminges, and the Stationers Company, not the king.

32. The Tempest has been adapted for cinema.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "...appreciated by modern audiences... in a variety of media formats, ranging from print... to television and big screen adaptations."

Keywords: The Tempest, modern, big screen, adaptations

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Line 4

Explanation: "Big screen adaptations" indicates it has been made into films.

Questions 33 - 37

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER.

33. Many consider William Shakespeare to be the ……….. in the world.

Answer: greatest dramatist

Supporting statement: "...many regard as being the world's greatest dramatist."

Keywords: Shakespeare, greatest dramatist, world

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Line 2

Explanation: The phrase is a direct quote describing how Shakespeare is perceived.

34. A total of ....... plays were published for the first time in the First Folio.

Answer: eighteen

Supporting statement: "...eighteen of Shakespeare's works that had never been previously published..."

Keywords: eighteen, never previously published, First Folio

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Line 7

Explanation: Eighteen new plays were first seen in the First Folio.

35. A performance of The Tempest was given in the ............ in 1613.

Answer: royal court

Supporting statement: "...performance of the play was given at the royal court... celebrating the marriage..."

Keywords: The Tempest, performance, royal court, 1613

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, Line 5

Explanation: The play was performed at court as part of royal celebrations.

36. Some viewed Prospero's last monologue as an expression of Shakespeare's plan .......

Answer: to retire

Supporting statement: "...viewed Prospero's final speech... as representing the author's announcement... to retire..."

Keywords: Prospero, speech, Shakespeare, retire

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Line 7

Explanation: Prospero’s monologue was seen as Shakespeare’s farewell.

37. Colonial and .......... themes were prominent topics in The Tempest.

Answer: supernatural

Supporting statement: "...themes of colonialism and the supernatural both feature strongly in The Tempest..."

Keywords: colonialism, supernatural, themes, The Tempest

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Line 6

Explanation: These were popular themes and appear strongly in the play.

Questions 38-40

Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-G.

38. Names of individuals behind the publication of the First Folio.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "...compiled by Henry Condell and John Heminges..."

Keywords: Henry Condell, John Heminges, First Folio

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Line 3

Explanation: This paragraph introduces the people responsible for preparing and publishing the Folio.

39. Works that had a direct influence on The Tempest.

Answer: E

Supporting statement: "...drawing on literature... A Discovery of the Bermudas... Metamorphoses by Ovid..."

Keywords: influences, Discovery of the Bermudas, Metamorphoses, Ovid

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 2–6

Explanation: Specific works that inspired the play are mentioned here.

40. The structure of The Tempest.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "...moves through a number of scenes in five separate acts..."

Keywords: structure, five acts, The Tempest

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Line 4

Explanation: The structure (five acts) and plot outline are discussed here.

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