I wanted to make some book covers to celebrate the complexity of Shakespeare's The Tempest. The premise of The Tempest is that a man named Prospero and his daughter are stranded on the island. Eventually, the people who exhiled them and took his title pass by the island. Prospero imprisons them there with the help of his water spirit. Prospero moved everyone like pawns to regain everything he's lost. In the end, everyone is set free and returns home.

 

This first one is made from playground sand, shells, and twigs. The twig and rock letters that make up the title loosely form a heart. I wanted to represent the strong themes of familial and romantic love in the play without being too over the top. The sand, shells and leaves add a nice texture to this typographic cover.

 

I decided on a modern, minimalist book cover for this one. This cover represents the duality of the island and the two shipwrecks that happen and are discussed in the play. The island is both a prison for Prospero and his daughter and the key to their freedom. Prospero manipulates the men who land on the island to regain his title and remove himself from the island.

 

This book cover is a representation of Caliban, one of the main antagonists in the play. I made him into an island because the character maintains that the island belongs to him. He's portrayed as being without morals and reasoning, yet he has some of the most eloquent lines in the play. He frequently tried to betray Prospero, the ruler of the island and his daughter Miranda.

 

I used sandpaper for his skin, and twigs and leaves to represent trees and other vegetation. The background is a wool rug to add texture and color to the cover.