The book is Prospero’s tome of magic spells and charms. He refers to this book when performing magic, and he promises, when his plans are achieved, to throw the book in the sea and forswear magic forever.

The mysterious island of Prospero exists somewhere out in the ocean beyond Europe. It’s an exotic locale filled with magical beings whom Prospero commands to manipulate his seafaring guests. The place symbolizes the mystery, isolation, and untamable strangeness of the New World in the eyes of Europeans.

A stash of liquor hidden near the coast by wine butler Stephano powers his crazed drunkenness and that of his companions Trinculo and Caliban. It fuels their ineptitude and the comic relief of their farcical slapstick.