![Cover of the audiobook “Faust [part 1]. Translated Into English in the Original Metres”](/media/books/faust-part-1-translated-into-english-in-the-original-metres/cover.jpg)
The play opens with a violent storm off the coast of an enchanted island, conjured by the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero. Twelve years prior, Prospero was overthrown by his ambitious brother Antonio, aided by King Alonso of Naples, and set adrift with his infant daughter Miranda. Thanks to the loyal counselor Gonzalo, they survived and settled on the island, where Prospero mastered potent magic and enslaved the native savage Caliban, while commanding the airy spirit Ariel.
Prospero uses his art to shipwreck his usurping brother, the King of Naples, and their retinue on the island, scattering them safely across the shores. While the royal party wanders in bewilderment, Alonso mourns the presumed drowning of his son Ferdinand. Ariel leads Ferdinand directly to Prospero's cell, where he and Miranda fall instantly in love at first sight. To test the young prince's devotion, Prospero subjects him to menial labor carrying logs, though Miranda secretly offers to share his burden.
Meanwhile, across the island, a parallel comic plot unfolds. Caliban encounters two shipwrecked drunken servants from the royal crew, Stephano and Trinculo. Intoxicated by Stephano's wine, Caliban mistakes him for a celestial god and begs to serve him, plotting to murder Prospero and claim the island as their kingdom. Their amateur conspiracy is constantly monitored and disrupted by the invisible Ariel, who plays discordant music and leads them through briars into a filthy pond.
As the main plot reaches its climax, Prospero subjects the guilty nobles—Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian, who was concurrently plotting to assassinate Alonso—to a spectral banquet. Ariel appears as a harpy to accuse the three men of their past sins against Prospero and Miranda, driving them to madness and despair. Moved by Gonzalo's tears and his own awakening conscience, Prospero decides that the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.
The drama culminates before Prospero's cell, where he renounces his magic, breaks his staff, and restores the repentant nobles to their senses. Alonso is overjoyed to discover that Ferdinand is not dead at all, but alive and happily betrothed to Miranda. The royal ship is miraculously recovered, and the plotters are pardoned. Prospero prepares to return to Milan to reclaim his dukedom, leaving the island behind as the company prepares for the journey home.
![Cover of the audiobook “The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 1, Wild Tribes”](/media/books/the-native-races-of-the-pacific-states-volume-1-wild-tribes/cover.png)
