For many, The Tempest constitutes Shakespeare's farewell to the stage. It seems to foreshadow a powerful movement of retreat, and it stands as one of the most evocative and moving explorations of human possibilities and limits. Though today the play is typically called a romance, Harold Bloom suggests that Shakespeare most likely viewed the work as a tragicomedy, deftly blending elements of each genre. In this new collection of critical essays, The Tempest is examined from a variety of schools of criticism. A chronology of Shakespeare's life, a bibliography of his works, an index for quick ref