The Tempest, like many of Shakespeare's plays, has continued to elicit a broad range of scholarly interpretations and has eluded any conclusive judgments as to its dominant themes or the nature of its characters. The work is, however, generally regarded as a complex combination of romance, comedy, and tragedy that highlights many of Shakespeare's characteristic concerns with the nature of dramatic art, Christian themes of reconciliation and forgiveness, and the perils of human interaction in society. The Tempest is also seen by many as the culmination of the dramatist's later work, and has been compared in terms of its intricacy and depth with Shakespeare's comedy The Winter's Tale and his tragedy King Lear.

(See also Shakespearean Criticism, Vols. 8, 15, and 29)