Shakespeare's The Tempest is a play of magic, love, revenge, and forgiveness, and it is these themes that were taught through a simple group of prisoners. The biggest thing I learned while studying William Shakespeare's The Tempest was the idea that Shakespeare has the power to transform the hearts and souls of anyone, including prisoners (who committed horrendous crimes) and seniors living in homes. Shakespeare Behind Bars takes viewers into a prison theater troupe and their months long rehearsals with the play and their reflections with the characters and themselves.

This play matters as it serves as one of Shakespeare's final goodbyes to the world of theater, greatly highlighted in the character of Prospero. Additionally, the play encourages audiences to reflect on any feelings of revenge or hate that they may have and turn them into actions of forgiveness.

When evaluating my performance as a learner, I found that the annotations of speeches and the documentary Shakespeare Behind Bars helped me to further understand the themes of the play. Also, the construction of my Documentary Response paper served as a opportunity to evaluate the play and the prisoners who performed it.