The Tempest is distinguished as one of Shakespeare's most musical plays, featuring a greater number of songs and melodies than any of his other works. A significant portion of this music is presented through Ariel's songs, which are scattered throughout the play. Furthermore, music is integral to the betrothal masque that Prospero orchestrates to honor the love between Miranda and Ferdinand. In Shakespeare's time, music was frequently associated with celestial harmony, a concept influenced by Aristotle's writings and Medieval Christian interpretations of his work. This theory proposed that the planets, moon, sun, and stars revolved around the Earth in flawless crystalline spheres, producing a divine music that symbolized the sanctity of the heavens. This idea of celestial harmony is linked to the theme of reconciliation that runs through The Tempest. Although the play opens with characters in conflict, largely driven by Prospero's quest for vengeance over his stolen dukedom, the story progresses towards reconciliation in the next generation. The love shared by Miranda and Ferdinand helps to heal Prospero's rift with King Alonso, effectively resolving their political discord through the marriage of their children.

Music further emphasizes the theme of reconciliation during the betrothal masque of Ferdinand and Miranda. While Shakespeare's inclusion of this masque in Act IV, Scene i, acknowledges its popularity at the time The Tempest was penned, it also encapsulates several central themes of the play. In Shakespeare's era, the masque—a stylized production featuring song, dance, music, and mythology designed for courtly entertainment—was immensely popular. The masque in The Tempest includes mythological figures such as Iris, Juno, and Ceres. Ceres, the classical goddess of fertility, bestows a blessing on Miranda and Ferdinand. This scene also touches on Shakespeare's theme of life as an illusion and the transient nature of worldly matters. As the masque concludes, Prospero tells Ferdinand, "Yea, all ... shall dissolve / And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, / Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep."