Now I will believe that there are unicorns: The Improbable History of Shakespeare in Yemen by Katherine Hennessey Arab Stages, Volume 1, Number 1 (Fall 2014) ©2014 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications
The central display of Prospero’s supernatural powers in Shakespeare’s The Tempest[1] occurs in Act III, Scene 3: as Alonso, Antonio and the other shipwreck survivors wander exhausted and hungry through Prospero’s island, the magician orders his “spirits, in several strange Shapes” to set a rich banquet before them.[2] To an accompaniment of unearthly music, the spirits dance around the table, gesturing invitations to the famished men that they should partake of the feast.
The response of each of the four main characters to this vision is of a piece with their respective personalities. Alonso, the King of Naples, invokes divine protection (“Give us kind keepers, heavens!,” 20), while his benevolent counselor Gonzalo praises the spirits’ hospitable nature:
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