William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. The Origin and Meaning of the Names in the Play

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: B, University of Hildesheim (Linguistics), course: Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, language: English, abstract: The following term paper deals with the analysis of the names of the characters' in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', which was probably written between 1610 and 1611. The play is set on an island, where Prospero, a magician and the former Duke of Milan, and his daughter Miranda, watch a ship wreck. The shipwrecked make it ashore, among whom are Antonio, Prospero´s brother, Alonso, King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, the King´s brother Sebastian, the steward Stephano, the jester Trinculo, lord Gonzalo and the minor lords Adrian and Francisco. I assume that Shakespeare chose all the names in the play on purpose, because the names fit characteristically the personality of the characters. In this paper I am first going to give a short biography of the writer, following with a plot overview of the play and the description of the characters. Then I am going to give an insight on the origin and the meaning of the names in the play and analyze the reasons, why Shakespeare chose exactly those names.

Intercultural Communications Specialist with a focus on Project Management and providing high quality language sercice. Qualified German, English, Russian and Spanish, reliable and talented translator. Quick learner with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Educated to Masters Degree in International Information Management - Linguistics and Inercultural Communication. At the age of 10 emigrated with family from Ukraine to Germany where Yevgeniya grew up, went to school and university. During her studies Yevgeniya spent a semester abroad - in Oviedo/Spain. After obtaining the Masters Degree in Jne 2014 Yevgeniya moved to London/UK. Since 2005 she works a self-employed translator, editor, subtitler and proofreader for several translation agencies all over the globe. Extensive experience in the telcommunications sector as an advisor and sales assistant. Furthermore, in her free time she professionally writes texts for various clients, mainly through textbroker, content and other websites, but also composes poetry, short stories and novels as a hobby.