SCENE I.--_Before PROSPERO'S Cell._
_Enter PROSPERO, FERDINAND, AND MIRANDA. PROSPERO speaks._
If I have too austerely punish'd you,
Your compensation makes amends; for I
Have given you here a thread of mine own life,
Or that for which I live; who once again
I tender to thy hand: all thy vexations
Were but my trials of thy love, and thou
Hast strangely stood the test: here, afore Heaven,
I ratify this my rich gift. O Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise
And make it halt behind her.
_Ferd._ I do believe it
Against an oracle.
_Pros._ Then, as my gift, and thine own acquisition
Worthily purchased, take my daughter, thou.
Sit, then, and talk with her; she is thine own.--
What, Ariel! my industrious servant, Ariel!
_Enter ARIEL._
_Ari._ What would my potent master? Here I am.
_Pros._ Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service
Did worthily perform; and I must use you
In such another trick. Go bring the rabble,
O'er whom I give thee power, here, to this place:
Incite them to quick motion; for I must
Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple
Some vanity[437-1] of mine art: it is my promise,
And they expect it from me.
_Ari._ Presently?
_Pros._ Ay, with a twink.[437-2]
_Ari._ Before you can say _Come_ and _Go_,
And breathe twice, and cry _So, so_.
Each one, tripping on his toe,
Will be here with mop[437-3] and mow.[437-4]
Do you love me, master?--no? [_Exit._
_Pros._ Now come, my Ariel! bring a corollary,[437-5]
Rather than want a spirit: appear, and pertly![437-6]
No tongue; all eyes; be silent.
[_Soft music._
_Enter IRIS._[437-7]
_Iris._ Ceres,[437-8] most bounteous lady, thy rich leas
Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats, and peas;
Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep,
And flat meads thatch'd with stover,[438-9] them to keep;
Thy banks with peonéd[438-10] and twillèd[438-11] brims,
Which spongy[438-12] April at thy best betrims,
To make cold nymphs chaste crowns;[438-13] and thy brown groves,
Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves,
Being lass-lorn;[438-14] thy pole-clipt vineyard;[438-15]
And thy sea-marge, steril, and rocky-hard,
Where thou thyself dost air;--the Queen o' the Sky,[438-16]
Whose watery arch[438-17] and messenger am I,
Bids thee leave these, and with her sovereign Grace,
Here on this grass-plot, in this very place,
To come and sport. Her peacocks[438-18] fly amain:
Approach, rich Ceres, her to entertain.
_Enter CERES._
_Cer._ Hail, many-color'd messenger, that ne'er
Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter;[438-19]
Who, with thy saffron wings, upon my flowers
Diffusest honey-drops, refreshing showers;
And with each end of thy blue bow dost crown
My bosky[440-20] acres and my unshrubb'd down,[440-21]
Rich scarf to my proud Earth;--why hath thy Queen
Summon'd me hither, to this short-grass'd green?
[Illustration: CERES ENTERS, AT IRIS' CALL]
_Iris._ A contract of true love to celebrate;
And some donation freely to estate
On the bless'd lovers.
_Cer._ Tell me, heavenly Bow,
If Venus[440-22] or her son, as thou dost know,
Do now attend the Queen? Since they did plot
The means that dusky Dis[440-23] my daughter got,[440-24]
Her and her blind boy's[440-25] scandal'd company
I have forsworn.
_Iris._ Of her society
Be not afraid: I met her deity
Cutting the clouds towards Paphos,[440-26] and her son
Dove-drawn with her.
_Cer._ Here, Queen of highest state,
Great Juno comes; I know her by her gait.[440-27]
_Enter JUNO._[440-28]
_Juno._ How does my bounteous sister? Go with me
To bless this twain, that they may prosperous be,
And honour'd in their issue.
SONG.
Juno. _Honour, riches, marriage-blessing,
Long continuance, and increasing,
Hourly joys be still upon you!
Juno sings her blessings on you._
Cer. _Earth's increase, and foison plenty,[441-29]
Barns and garners never empty;
Vines with clustering bunches growing;
Plants with goodly burden bowing;
Spring come to you at the farthest
In the very end of harvest![441-30]
Scarcity and want shall shun you;
Ceres' blessing so is on you._
_Ferd._ This is a most majestic vision, and
Harmonious charmingly. May I be bold
To think these spirits?[441-31]
_Pros._ Spirits, which by mine art
I have from their confines call'd to enact
My present fancies.
_Ferd._ Let me live here ever;
So rare a wonder'd[442-32] father and a wife
Make this place Paradise. [_JUNO and CERES whisper,
and send IRIS on employment._
_Pros._ Sweet, now, silence!
Juno and Ceres whisper seriously;
There's something else to do: hush, and be mute,
Or else our spell is marr'd.
_Iris._ You nymphs, call'd Naiads, of the winding brooks,
With your sedge crowns and ever-harmless looks,
Leave your crisp[442-33] channels, and on this green land
Answer our summons; Juno does command:
Come, temperate nymphs, and help to celebrate
A contract of true love; be not too late.--
_Enter certain_ Nymphs.
You sun-burn'd sicklemen,[442-34] of August weary,
Come hither from the furrow, and be merry:
Make holiday; your rye-straw hats put on,
And these fresh nymphs encounter every one
In country footing.
_Enter certain _Reapers,_ properly habited: they join with the _Nymphs_
in a graceful dance; towards the end whereof PROSPERO starts
suddenly, and speaks; after which, to a strange, hollow, and
confused noise, they heavily vanish._
_Pros._ [_Aside._] I had forgot that foul conspiracy
Of the beast Caliban and his confederates
Against my life: the minute of their plot
Is almost come.--[_To the_ Spirits.] Well done; avoid;[443-35] no more!
_Ferd._ This is most strange: your father's in some passion
That works him strongly.
_Mira._ Never till this day
Saw I him touch'd with anger so distemper'd.
_Pros._ You do, my son, look in a moved sort,
As if you were dismay'd: be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack[443-36] behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on,[443-37] and our little life
Is rounded[443-38] with a sleep. Sir, I am vex'd;
Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled:
Be not disturb'd with my infirmity:
If you be pleased, retire into my cell,
And there repose: a turn or two I'll walk,
To still my beating mind.
_Ferd._ }
_Mira._ } We wish you peace.
_Pros._ [_To ARIEL._] Come with a thought!--
I thank ye.[444-39] [_Exeunt FERD. and MIRA._]--Ariel, come!
_Re-enter ARIEL._
_Ari._ Thy thoughts I cleave to: what's thy pleasure?
_Pros._ Spirit,
We must prepare to meet with[444-40] Caliban.
_Ari._ Ay, my commander: when I presented Ceres,
I thought t' have told thee of it; but I fear'd
Lest I might anger thee.
_Pros._ Well, say again, where didst thou leave these varlets?
_Ari._ I told you, sir, they were red-hot with drinking;
So full of valour, that they smote the air
For breathing[444-41] in their faces; beat the ground
For kissing of their feet; yet always bending
Towards their project. Then I beat my tabor;
At which, like unback'd[444-42] colts, they prick'd their ears,
Advanced[444-43] their eyelids, lifted up their noses
As they smelt music: so I charm'd their ears,
That, calf-like, they my lowing follow'd through
Tooth'd briers, sharp furzes, pricking goss, and thorns,
Which enter'd their frail shins: at last I left them
I' the filthy-mantled[445-44] pool beyond your cell,
There dancing up to th' chins, that[445-45] the foul lake
O'erstunk their feet.
_Pros._ This was well done, my bird.
Thy shape invisible retain thou still:
The trumpery in my house, go bring it hither,
For stale[445-46] to catch these thieves.
_Ari._ I go, I go. [_Exit._
_Pros._ A devil, a born-devil,[445-47] on whose nature
Nurture can never stick;[445-48] on whom my pains,
Humanely taken, all are lost, quite lost;
And as with age his body uglier grows,
So his mind cankers.[445-49] I will plague them all,
Even to roaring.--
_Re-enter ARIEL loaden with glistering apparel, &c._
Come, hang them on this line.[445-50]
_PROSPERO and ARIEL remain invisible. Enter CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and
TRINCULO, all wet._
_Cal._ Pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may not
Hear a foot fall: we now are near his cell.
_Steph._ Monster, your fairy, which you say is a harmless fairy, has
done little better than play'd the Jack with us.[446-51]
_Trin._ Monster, I do smell all horse-stale; at which my nose is in
great indignation.
_Steph._ So is mine.--Do you hear, monster? If I should take a
displeasure against you, look you,--
_Trin._ Thou wert but a lost monster.
_Cal._ Nay, good my lord, give me thy favour still.
Be patient, for the prize I'll bring thee to
Shall hoodwink this mischance:[446-52] therefore speak softly;
All's hush'd as midnight yet.
_Trin._ Ay, but to lose our bottles in the pool,--
_Steph._ There is not only disgrace and dishonour in that, monster, but
an infinite loss.
_Trin._ That's more to me than my wetting: yet this is your harmless
fairy, monster.
_Steph._ I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o'er ears for my
labour.
_Cal._ Pr'ythee, my King, be quiet. See'st thou here?
This is the mouth o' the cell: no noise, and enter.
Do that good mischief which may make this island
Thine own for ever, and I, thy Caliban,
For aye thy foot-licker.
_Steph._ Give me thy hand. I do begin to have bloody thoughts.
_Trin._ O King Stephano! O peer![446-53] O worthy Stephano! look what a
wardrobe here is for thee!
_Cal._ Let it alone, thou fool; it is but trash.
_Trin._ O, ho, monster! we know what belongs to a frippery.[447-54]--O
King Stephano!
_Steph._ Put off that gown, Trinculo; by this hand, I'll have that gown.
_Trin._ Thy Grace shall have it.
_Cal._ The dropsy drown this fool!--what do you mean,
To dote thus on such luggage? Let's along,
And do the murder first: if he awake,
From toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches;
Make us strange stuff.
_Steph._ Be you quiet, monster.--Mistress line, is not this my jerkin?
Now is the jerkin under the line:[447-55] now, jerkin, you are like to
lose your hair, and prove a bald jerkin.
_Trin._ Do, do; we steal by line and level,[447-56] an't like your
Grace.
_Steph._ I thank thee for that jest; here's a garment for't: wit shall
not go unrewarded while I am king of this country. _Steal by line and
level_ is an excellent pass of pate;[448-57] there's another garment
for't.
_Trin._ Monster, come, put some lime[448-58] upon your fingers, and away
with the rest.
[Illustration: STEPHANO AND TRINCULO QUARREL]
_Cal._ I will have none on't: we shall lose our time,
And all be turn'd to barnacles,[448-59] or to apes
With foreheads villainous low.
_Steph._ Monster, lay-to your fingers: help to bear this away, where my
hogshead of wine is, or I'll turn you out of my kingdom: go to, carry
this.
_Trin._ And this.
_Steph._ Ay, and this.
_A noise of hunters heard. Enter divers _Spirits_ in shape of hounds,
and hunt them about; PROSPERO and ARIEL setting them on._
_Pros._ Hey, Mountain, hey!
_Ari._ Silver! there it goes, Silver!
_Pros._ Fury, Fury! there, Tyrant, there! hark! hark!--
[_CAL., STEPH. and TRIN. are driven out._
Go charge my goblins that they grind their joints
With dry convulsions; shorten up their sinews
With aged cramps; and more pinch-spotted make them
Than pard or cat-o'-mountain.[449-60]
_Ari._ Hark, they roar!
_Pros._ Let them be hunted soundly. At this hour
Lie at my mercy all mine enemies:
Shortly shall all my labours end, and thou
Shalt have the air at freedom: for a little
Follow, and do me service. [_Exeunt._
ACT V
SCENE I.--_Before the Cell of PROSPERO._
_Enter PROSPERO in his magic robes, and ARIEL. PROSPERO speaks:_
Now does my project gather to a head:
My charms crack not; my spirits obey; and Time
Goes upright with his carriage.[450-1] How's the day?
_Ari._ On the sixth hour; at which time, my lord,
You said our work should cease.
_Pros._ I did say so,
When first I raised the tempest. Say, my spirit,
How fares the King and's followers?
_Ari._ Confined together
In the same fashion as you gave in charge:
Just as you left them; all are prisoners, sir,
In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell;[450-2]
They cannot budge till your release.[450-3] The King,
His brother, and yours, abide all three distracted;
And the remainder mourning over them,
Brimful of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly
He that you term'd _The good old lord, Gonzalo_:
His tears run down his beard, like winter-drops
From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works 'em,
That, if you now beheld them, your affections
Would become tender.
_Pros._ Dost thou think so, spirit?
_Ari._ Mine would, sir, were I human.
_Pros._ And mine shall.
Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
Of their afflictions, and shall not myself,
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply
Passion as they,[451-4] be kindlier moved than thou art?
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to th' quick,
Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury
Do I take part: the rarer action is
In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent,
The sole drift of my purpose doth extend
Not a frown further. Go release them, Ariel:
My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore,
And they shall be themselves.
_Ari._ I'll fetch them, sir. [_Exit._
_Pros._ Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves;
And ye that on the sands with printless foot
Do chase the ebbing Neptune,[451-5] and do fly him
When he comes back; you demi-puppets that
By moonshine do the green-sour ringlets[451-6] make,
Whereof the ewe not bites; and you whose pastime
Is to make midnight mushrooms;[452-7] that rejoice
To hear the solemn curfew;[452-8] by whose aid--
Weak masters[452-9] though ye be--I have be-dimm'd
The noon-tide Sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds,
And twixt the green sea and the azure vault
Set roaring war: to the dread-rattling thunder
Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's[452-10] stout oak
With his own bolt: the strong-based promontory
Have I made shake, and by the spurs[452-11] pluck'd up
The pine and cedar: graves at my command
Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth
By my so potent art. But this rough magic
I here abjure; and, when I have required
Some heavenly music,--which even now I do,--
To work mine end upon their senses that
This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I'll drown my book. [_Solemn music._
_Re-enter ARIEL: after him, ALONSO, with a frantic gesture, attended
by GONZALO; SEBASTIAN and ANTONIO in like manner, attended by
ADRIAN and FRANCISCO: they all enter the circle which PROSPERO has
made, and there stand charmed; which PROSPERO observing, speaks._
A solemn air, as the best comforter
To an unsettled fancy, cure the brains,
Now useless, boil'd[453-12] within the skull!--There stand,
For you are spell-stopp'd.--
Holy Gonzalo, honourable man,
Mine eyes, even sociable to[453-13] the show of thine,
Fall fellowly drops.[453-14]--The charm dissolves apace;
And as the morning steals upon the night,
Melting the darkness, so their rising senses[453-15]
Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle[453-16]
Their clearer reason.--O thou good Gonzalo,
My true preserver, and a loyal sir
To him thou follow'st! I will pay thy graces
Home[453-17] both in word and deed.--Most cruelly
Didst thou, Alonso, use me and my daughter:
Thy brother was a furtherer in the act:--
Thou'rt pinch'd for't now, Sebastian.--Flesh and blood,
You, brother mine, that entertain'd ambition
Expell'd remorse[453-18] and nature;[453-19] who, with Sebastian,--
Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong,--
Would here have kill'd your King; I do forgive thee,
Unnatural though thou art,--Their understanding
Begins to swell; and the approaching tide
Will shortly fill the reasonable shore,[454-20]
That now lies foul and muddy. Not one of them
That yet looks on me, or would know me.--Ariel,
Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell:--
[_Exit ARIEL._
I will discase me,[454-21] and myself present
As I was sometime Milan:[454-22]--quickly, spirit;
Thou shalt ere long be free.
_ARIEL re-enters, singing, and helps to attire PROSPERO._
_Ari._ Where the bee sucks, there suck I:
In a cowslip's bell I lie,--
There I couch: when owls do cry,
On the bat's back I do fly
After Summer, merrily.[454-23]
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
_Pros._ Why, that's my dainty Ariel! I shall miss thee;
But yet thou shalt have freedom:--so, so, so.
To the King's ship, invisible as thou art:
There shalt thou find the mariners asleep
Under the hatches; the master and the boatswain
Being awaked, enforce them to this place,
And presently, I pr'ythee.
[Illustration: WHERE THE BEE SUCKS, THERE SUCK I]
_Ari._ I drink the air before me,[456-24] and return
Or e'er your pulse twice beat. [_Exit ARIEL._
_Gonza._ All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement
Inhabit here: some heavenly power guide us
Out of this fearful country!
_Pros._ Behold, sir King,
The wronged Duke of Milan, Prospero:
For more assurance that a living prince
Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body;
And to thee and thy company I bid
A hearty welcome.
_Alon._ Whêr[456-25] thou be'st he or no,
Or some enchanted trifle[456-26] to abuse me,
As late I have been, I not know: thy pulse
Beats, as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee,
Th' affliction of my mind amends, with which,
I fear, a madness held me: this must crave--
An if this be at all[456-27]--a most strange story.
Thy dukedom I resign and do entreat
Thou pardon me my wrongs.[456-28] But how should Prospero
Be living and be here?
_Pros._ First, noble friend,[456-29]
Let me embrace thine age, whose honour cannot
Be measured or confined.
_Gonza._ Whether this be
Or be not, I'll not swear.
_Pros._ You do yet taste
Some subtilties[457-30] o' the isle, that will not let you
Believe things certain.--Welcome, my friends all:--
[_Aside to SEBAS. and ANTO._] But you, my brace of lords, were I so
minded,
I here could pluck his Highness' frown upon you,
And justify you traitors:[457-31] at this time
I'll tell no tales.
_Sebas._ [_Aside to ANTO._] The Devil speaks in him.
_Pros._ Now,
For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother
Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive
Thy rankest fault; all of them; and require
My dukedom of thee, which perforce, I know,
Thou must restore.
_Alon._ If thou be'st Prospero,
Give us particulars of thy preservation;
How thou hast met us here, who three hours since
Were wreck'd upon this shore; where I have lost--
How sharp the point of this remembrance is!--
My dear son Ferdinand.
_Pros._ I'm woe[457-32] for't, sir.
_Alon._ Irreparable is the loss; and patience
Says it is past her cure.
_Pros._ I rather think
You have not sought her help; of whose soft grace,
For the like loss I have her sovereign aid,
And rest myself content.
_Alon._ You the like loss!
_Pros._ As great to me, as late;[458-33] and, portable
To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker
Than you may call to comfort you; for I
Have lost my daughter.
_Alon._ A daughter!
O Heavens, that they were living both in Naples,
The King and Queen there! that they were, I wish
Myself were mudded in that oozy bed
Where my son lies. When did you lose your daughter?
_Pros._ In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords
At this encounter do so much admire,[458-34]
That they devour their reason, and scarce think
Their eyes do offices of truth, these words
Are natural breath:[458-35] but, howsoe'er you have
Been justled from your senses, know for certain
That I am Prospero, and that very Duke
Which was thrust forth of Milan; who most strangely
Upon this shore, where you were wreck'd, was landed
To be the lord on't. No more yet[458-36] of this;
For 'tis a chronicle of day by day,[458-37]
Not a relation for a breakfast, nor
Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir;
This cell's my Court: here have I few attendants,
And subjects none abroad: pray you, look in.
My dukedom since you've given me again,
I will requite you with as good a thing;
At least bring forth a wonder to content ye
As much as me my dukedom.
_The entrance of the Cell opens, and discovers FERDINAND and MIRANDA
playing at chess._
_Mira._ Sweet lord, you play me false.[459-38]
_Ferd._ No, my dear'st love,
I would not for the world.
_Mira._ Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle,[459-39]
And I would call it fair play.
_Alon._ If this prove
A vision of the island, one dear son
Shall I twice lose.[459-40]
_Sebas._ A most high miracle!
_Ferd._ Though the seas threaten, they are merciful!
I've cursed them without cause. [_Kneels to ALON._
_Alon._ Now all the blessings
Of the glad father compass thee about!
Arise, and say how thou earnest here.
_Mira._ O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't!
_Pros._ 'Tis new to thee.
_Alon._ What is this maid with whom thou wast at play?
Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours:
Is she the goddess that hath sever'd us,
And brought us thus together?
_Ferd._ Sir, she's mortal;
But by immortal Providence she's mine:
I chose her when I could not ask my father
For his advice, nor thought I had one. She
Is daughter to this famous Duke of Milan,
Of whom so often I have heard renown,
But never saw before; of whom I have
Received a second life; and second father
This lady makes him to me.[460-41]
_Alon._ I am hers:
But, O, how oddly will it sound that I
Must ask my child forgiveness!
_Pros._ There, sir, stop:
Let us not burden our remembrance with
A heaviness that's gone.
_Gonza._ I've inly wept,
Or should have spoke ere this.--Look down, you gods,
And on this couple drop a blessed crown!
For it is you that have chalk'd forth the way
Which brought us hither.
_Alon._ I say, Amen, Gonzalo!
[Illustration: LOOK DOWN, YOU GODS, ON THIS COUPLE]
_Gonza._ Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue
Should become Kings of Naples! O, rejoice
Beyond a common joy! and set it down
With gold on lasting pillars: In one voyage
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis;
And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife
Where he himself was lost; Prospero, his dukedom,
In a poor isle; and all of us, ourselves,
When no man was his own.[462-42]
_Alon._ [_To FERD. and MIRA._] Give me your hands:
Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart
That doth not wish you joy!
_Gonza._ Be't so! Amen!--
_Re-enter ARIEL, with the _Master_ and _Boatswain_ amazedly
following._
O, look, sir, look, sir! here is more of us:
I prophesied, if a gallows were on land,
This fellow could not drown.[462-43]--Now, blasphemy,
That swear'st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore?[462-44]
Hast thou no mouth by land? What is the news?
_Boats._ The best news is, that we have safely found
Our King and company; the next, our ship--
Which, but three glasses since, we gave out split--
Is tight, and yare, and bravely rigg'd, as when
We first put out to sea.
_Ari._ [_Aside to PROS._] Sir, all this service
Have I done since I went.
_Pros._ [_Aside to ARIEL._] My tricksy[463-45] spirit!
_Alon._ These are not natural events; they strengthen
From strange to stranger.--Say, how came you hither?
_Boats._ If I did think, sir, I were well awake,
I'd strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep,
And--how we know not--all clapp'd under hatches;
Where, but even now, with strange and several noises
Of roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling chains,
And more diversity of sounds, all horrible,
We were awaked; straightway, at liberty:
When we, in all her trim, freshly beheld
Our royal, good, and gallant ship; our master
Capering to eye her:[463-46] on a trice, so please you,
Even in a dream, were we divided from them,
And were brought moping[463-47] hither.
_Ari._ [_Aside to PROS._] Was't well done?
_Pros._ [_Aside to ARI._] Bravely, my diligence.
Thou shalt be free.
_Alon._ This is as strange a maze as e'er men trod;
And there is in this business more than Nature
Was ever conduct of:[463-48] some oracle
Must rectify our knowledge.[463-49]
_Pros._ Sir, my liege,
Do not infest your mind with beating on[463-50]
The strangeness of this business; at pick'd leisure,[464-51]
Which shall be shortly, single I'll resolve[464-52] you--
Which to you shall seem probable--of every
These happen'd accidents:[464-53] till when, be cheerful,
And think of each thing well.--[_Aside to ARIEL._] Come hither, spirit:
Set Caliban and his companions free;
Untie the spell. [_Exit ARI._]--How fares my gracious sir?
There are yet missing of your company
Some few odd lads that you remember not.
_Re-enter ARIEL, driving in CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and TRINCULO, in
their stolen apparel._
_Steph._ Every man shift for all the rest,[464-54] and let no man take
care for himself; for all is but fortune.--Coragio,[464-55]
bully-monster, coragio!
_Trin._ If these be true spies which I wear in my head,[464-56] here's a
goodly sight.
_Cal._ O Setebos, these be brave spirits indeed!
How fine my master is! I am afraid
He will chastise me.
_Sebas._ Ha, ha!
What things are these, my Lord Antonio?
Will money buy 'em?
_Anto._ Very like; one of them
Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable.
_Pros._ Mark but the badges of these men, my lords,
Then say if they be true. This mis-shaped knave,--
His mother was a witch; and one so strong
That could control the Moon, make flows and ebbs,
And deal in her command without[465-57] her power.
These three have robb'd me; and this demi-devil--
For he's but half a one--had plotted with them
To take my life: two of these fellows you
Must know and own; this thing of darkness I
Acknowledge mine.
_Cal._ I shall be pinch'd to death.
_Alon._ Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?
_Sebas._ He is drunk now: where had he wine?
_Alon._ And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they
Find this grand liquor that hath gilded[465-58] 'em?--
How camest thou in this pickle?
_Trin._ I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last, that I fear
me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.[465-59]
_Sebas._ Why, how now, Stephano!
_Steph._ O, touch me not! I am not Stephano, but a cramp.
_Pros._ You'd be king o' the isle, sirrah?
_Steph._ I should have been a sore[465-60] one, then.
_Alon._ [_Pointing to CAL._] This is as strange a thing as e'er I look'd
on.
_Pros._ He is as disproportion'd in his manners
As in his shape.--Go, sirrah, to my cell;
Take with you your companions; as you look
To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.
_Cal._ Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter,
And seek for grace. What a thrice double ass
Was I, to take this drunkard for a god,
And worship this dull fool!
_Pros._ Go to; away!
_Alon._ Hence, and bestow your luggage where you found it.
_Sebas._ Or stole it, rather.
[_Exeunt CAL., STEPH., and TRIN._
_Pros._ Sir, I invite your Highness and your train
To my poor cell, where you shall take your rest
For this one night; which, part of it, I'll waste
With such discourse as, I not doubt, shall make it
Go quick away,--the story of my life,
And the particular accidents gone by,
Since I came to this isle: and in the morn
I'll bring you to your ship, and so to Naples,
Where I have hope to see the nuptial
Of these our dear-beloved solemnized;
And thence retire me[466-61] to my Milan, where
Every third thought shall be my grave.[466-62]
_Alon._ I long
To hear the story of your life, which must
Take the ear strangely.
_Pros._ I'll deliver all;
And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales,
And sail so expeditious, that shall catch
Your royal fleet far off.--[_Aside to ARI._] My Ariel, chick,
That is thy charge: then to the elements
Be free, and fare thou well!--Please you, draw near. [_Exeunt._
EPILOGUE[467-63]
SPOKEN BY PROSPERO
Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have's mine own,--[467-64]
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
I must be here confined by you,[467-65]
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got,
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands,
With the help of your good hands.[467-66]
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please: now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant;
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer;
Which pierces so, that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free.
FOOTNOTES:
[366-1] _Good_ was often used in Shakespeare's time as we use the word
_well_, to introduce a sentence.
[366-2] _Fall to't yarely_ means _get to work briskly_.
[366-3] Perhaps the line should read, "Blow till thou burst _thee_,
wind."
[366-4] If there is sea-room enough. The boatswain is not alarmed if he
can have room to handle his ship.
[366-5] We still say "play the man" when we wish to encourage any one to
be brave and manly.
[367-6] The word _time_ may be understood after _present_. The boatswain
infers that they cannot make peaceful weather of the present storm.
[367-7] _Hap_ means _happen_.
[367-8] The word _complexion_ here means _bent_ or _inclination_.
Gonzalo says the boatswain is born to be hung; he cannot be drowned.
[367-9] The boatswain finds he has not sea-room enough so he calls upon
the sailors to take down the topmast and to bring the ship as close into
the wind as possible and hold her there with the main sail.
[367-10] This sentence means _they are noisier than the tempest and the
commands of our officers_.
[368-11] Gonzalo still thinks the boatswain was born to be hanged, and
warrants that he will not be drowned.
[368-12] The boatswain is still trying to bring her to the wind, so she
may get out to sea. The _courses_ are the largest lower sails.
[368-13] _Merely_, here, means _entirely_ or _absolutely_.
[368-14] _Glut_ means _swallow_.
[369-15] These are all plants that grow in England, and were to
Shakespeare the familiar signs of barren ground.
[369-16] _The wills above be done_ means _the will of the Powers above
be done_. Gonzalo interests us from the start by his rather humorous
view of everything.
[369-1] _Welkin_ means _sky_.
[369-2] _Brave_ means _fine_.
[369-3] _Or e'er_ means _before_ or _sooner than_.
[370-4] _Fraughting_ means _freighting_. The human souls were the
freight of the ship.
[370-5] _Amazement_ means _anguish_ and _deep distress_ rather than
astonishment.
[370-6] In the time of Shakespeare it was not considered inelegant
English to use two forms of the comparative and superlative degrees.
_More better_, _most best_ are good examples.
[370-7] _Meddle_ means _mix_. Miranda says she never thought of knowing
more about herself or her father.
[370-8] Prospero means that with his garment he lays his magic arts
aside and becomes the loving, human father.
[370-9] Prospero does not complete his sentence, but expresses the same
thought in different form.
[372-10] _Bootless inquisition_ means _fruitless questioning_. The
father has before begun to tell Miranda who she is, but has interrupted
himself, and said, "Stay, not yet."
[372-11] _Out_ means _fully_.
[372-12] Prospero says, in these two lines, "If you can remember
anything that happened before we came here, you may remember _how_ we
came here."
[373-13] _Holp_ is an old form of _helped_.
[373-14] _Teen_ is an old word that means _trouble_ or _anxiety_.
[373-15] _Please you, further_, means _Please you, tell me further_.
[373-16] _Manage_ means _management_.
[373-17] _Signiories_ is a name for _principalities_.
[373-18] _Prime_ means _first_ or _leading_.
[374-19] _Who_ is used for _whom_, as it was not considered
ungrammatical in Shakespeare's day.
[374-20] _Trash_ means _check_ or _set back_.
[374-21] _Over-topping_ means _rising too high_. Prospero means that his
brother knew what persons to check when they tried to rise too high, to
gain too much power.
[374-22] The brother understood the _key_ that kept officer and office
in tune, and so set the minds of all Prospero's subjects thinking as the
usurper wished. That is, Antonio took Prospero's friends away from him.
[374-23] We would say _so that_ instead of merely _that_.
[374-24] _To closeness_ means _to privacy_, to studies in his own home.
[374-25] _But_ in this sense means _except_.
[374-26] This is a difficult clause to understand. What Prospero means
is probably that his studies would have exceeded all popular estimate in
value, but that they (if they had not) kept him so retired from public
life. Prospero sees the mistake he made, but cannot give up the idea
that his studies were valuable.
[375-27] _Sans_ is a French word that means _without_.
[375-28] _By falsing it_ means _by falsifying it_ or _forging it_.
[375-29] Shakespeare omits the word _as_ before _to_. Antonio made so
great a sinner of his memory unto truth as to credit his own lie.
[375-30] _Out of the substitution_ may be understood to mean _because of
his being my substitute_.
[375-31] Prospero's tale is not clearly told. He is evidently thinking
of other things, and his sentences are often imperfect. His mind wanders
to the things he intends doing, to the storm, the strangers on the
island and to his plans for the future. Miranda is not inattentive--she
is fascinated by the story--but her father attributes his own wandering
thoughts to her.
[375-32] Tired of ruling behind a screen, for that is what Prospero
really was. Antonio planned to remove his brother and become absolute
Duke of Milan.
[375-33] Shakespeare omits the word _for_ before _me_.
[376-34] _So dry he was for sway_, might now be written as _so thirsty
he was for power_.
[376-35] Prospero bewails the fate of his principality, Milan.
[376-36] The meaning of the last seven lines is that Antonio thought
Prospero incapable of ruling, offered to pay the King of Naples an
annual tribute, to do him homage and to make Milan subject to Naples.
[376-37] _In lieu_ now means _instead of_, but Shakespeare uses it in
the sense of _in return for_.
[376-38] _Presently_ means _immediately_.
[376-39] _Practice_ means _plot_ or _stratagem_.
[376-40] The six lines mean that one midnight, suited to such a plot, a
treacherous army having been levied, Antonio opened the gates of Milan,
and in the dead of darkness hurried away Prospero and the crying
Miranda.
[377-41] In this place _hint_ means _theme_ or _subject_.
[377-42] _Upon's_ is _upon us_.
[377-43] _Impertinent_ in this connection means _out of place_.
[377-44] _Wench_ means _girl_, and at the time of Shakespeare was a term
of affection, like _dear girl_.
[377-45] _In few_ may be read as _in a few words_, that is, _to make the
story brief_.
[377-46] _Hoist us_ means _hoisted us_, that is _left us_.
[378-47] _Degg'd_ means _sprinkled_.
[378-48] Shakespeare, as was the custom in those days, often used the
word _stomach_ for _courage_; an _undergoing stomach_ is a _lasting
courage_.
[378-49] _Steaded_ means _aided_. We might say, _which have since stood
us in good stead_.
[378-50] Readers of Shakespeare dispute about the meaning of this
sentence. We might imagine Prospero to say half to himself "Now _I
arise_;" that is, "My turn has come."
[378-51] _Made thee more profit_, that is, _have made you to profit
more_, have taught you to better advantage.
[379-52] The _zenith_ is the _highest point_.
[379-53] Prospero means that if he acts now his fortunes will rise to
their highest point, but that if he waits, he will lose his opportunity.
[379-54] Prospero, by his magic, throws his daughter into a deep sleep
so that he may carry on his plans without her knowledge.
[379-55] This line may be understood to read, _Ariel, and all spirits of
his kind_.
[379-56] _Performed to point_ means _performed in every respect_.
[379-57] The _beak_ of a ship is the _prow_, the projecting forward
part.
[380-58] The _waist_ of a ship is the middle portion.
[380-59] _Distinctly_ means here _separately_. Ariel caused light globes
of flame to appear for a second in different parts of the rigging, and
to move about and to join.
[380-60] _Momentary_ means _instantaneous_.
[380-61] _Coil_ means _tumult_ or _confusion_.
[380-62] This clause means _There was not a soul that did not feel such
a fever as madmen feel_.
[380-63] In this place _upstaring_ means _sticking up_.
[381-64] For _unstaining_ we would say _unstained_.
[381-65] _Odd angle_ probably means _out-of-the-way place_.
[381-66] Probably Ferdinand sat with his arms folded loosely, his head
hanging on his breast.
[381-67] This is a good example of the way Shakespeare sometimes changes
the natural order in which the parts of a sentence should be placed.
Naturally the sentence would read: "Say, how hast thou disposed of the
mariners of the King's ship, and all the rest of the fleet?"
[381-68] _Bermoothes_ is the old form of the word _Bermudas_. It was
supposed that witches haunted the Bermudas and filled the air with
tempests, which kept the waters always stormy. _Still-vexed_ means
_always stormy_. The present errands of the spirit Ariel are not the
first he has executed for Prospero. Dew from the Bermudas was probably
wanted for some of his magical rites.
[381-69] To enjoy _The Tempest_, we must lay aside our reason to the
extent of believing in charms and in magic, in witchcraft and in Ariel's
wonderful powers. Prospero's control of the magic art is part of what he
gained from his studies while Antonio was stealing his principality.
[382-70] _Flote_ is _flood_, therefore _wave_ or _sea_.
[382-71] This means that it was about two o'clock in the afternoon--past
the mid-season by about the time it would take the sand to run twice
through the hour-glass.
[382-72] _Remember_ here means _remind_.
[382-73] _Perform'd me_ means _performed for me_.
[382-74] _Say_ no more.
[382-75] "To release me a full year before my time is up," is what Ariel
says Prospero has promised.
[383-76] This speech shows how marvelous are some of the things Ariel
has already done for Prospero.
[383-77] Prospero is not speaking in earnest when he calls Ariel a
"malignant thing." He intends to release Ariel soon.
[383-78] To Shakespeare and other writers of his time, the word _envy_
meant _malice_.
[383-79] _Argier_ is an old name for Algiers.
[383-80] _Blue-eyed_ means that the witch had dark blue circles around
her eyes, not that she had real blue eyes.
[383-81] _For_ means _because_.
[384-82] _Hests_ means _behests_ or _commands_.
[384-83] The witch confined Ariel _in_ a cloven pine tree.
[384-84] This line means _save for the son that was born here_.
[384-85] _Correspondent_ means _obedient_.
[385-86] _Miss_ means _spare_.
[385-87] _When_ was often used as an exclamation of impatience.
[386-88] Old meanings for _quaint_ are _artful, ingenious_.
[386-89] _Wicked dew_ probably means _poisonous dew_.
[386-90] Caliban, in cursing his master, alludes to the common belief of
that time that a southwest wind was unwholesome.
[386-91] _Side stitches_ are _stitches_ or _pains_ in the side.
[386-92] _Urchins_ were troublesome _sprites_ or _fairies_.
[386-93] _Vast_ alludes to the middle hours of night when in the
stillness and vacancy evil spirits can do their work.
[386-94] Just what Caliban means here is uncertain.
[387-95] _Sty_ here means _confine_, as in a sty.
[387-96] This clause means _did'st not, savage, know the meaning of
thine own words_.
[387-97] _Rid_ means _destroy_.
[388-98] _Old_ here, as often in the writings of Shakespeare's time, is
used merely to make stronger the meaning of the word that follows it.
[388-99] _Kiss'd the wild waves whist_ means _soothed the wild waves
into peace_.
[389-100] Ferdinand was suffering, and Shakespeare used the word
_passion_ to express the idea as we use it in speaking of the Passion of
Christ.
[389-101] This line means _without suffering a change from the effects
of the sea_.
[389-102] _Owes_ here means _possesses_.
[389-103] Prospero speaking to Miranda says, "Lift up your eyelids and
tell me what you see yonder."
[389-104] In this connection _brave_ means _fine_ or _noble_.
[390-105] _Canker_ means _rust_ or _tarnish_. Prospero says,
"Except for the fact that he's somewhat stained with grief, which
tarnishes beauty, you might call him a goodly person."
[390-106] Miranda, it must be remembered, has never seen any other man
than her father.
[390-107] Prospero sees his plan going on well and gives Ariel credit
for it. Just what the plan is will soon become apparent.
[390-108] Ferdinand speaks somewhat aside when he sees the beautiful
Miranda, and then directly addresses her. He is embarrassed, calls her a
goddess, asks her how he shall behave, calls her a wonder, but above
all, wishes to know if she is mortal or not.
[390-109] The word _Miranda_ means _wonderful_
[390-110] "She speaks my language!"
[391-111] _A single thing_ means _a weak and companionless thing_.
[391-112] _Myself am Naples_ means _I am now the King of Naples_.
[391-113] Notice that this is the only mention of a son to Antonio, the
usurping Duke of Milan.
[391-114] _Control_ means here _confute_, that is, _tell you
differently_.
[391-115] Prospero notices the interest the two young people have taken
in each other, and as this furthers his plan he feels more grateful to
Ariel.
[391-116] What Prospero says is, "I fear that in claiming to be the King
of Naples you have done some wrong to your character."
[392-117] Prospero wishes to test the love he sees in Ferdinand, and
make him earn his prize. So he charges the young man with deceit and
threatens him.
[392-118] _Fearful_ here means _timid_.
[393-119] _Ward_ is his position of defense to ward off a blow.
[393-120] _Nerves_ is here used for _muscles_ and _sinews_.
[394-1] This word means a ship--the _merchantman_.
[395-2] A _visitor_ in this sense is one who visits the sick to comfort
them. Antonio and Sebastian are ridiculing Gonzalo for his efforts to
cheer and console them.
[395-3] _Tell_ means _keep tally_. Sebastian means that the clock of
Gonzalo's wit has struck one.
[395-4] _Dolour_ means _grief_ or _sadness_.
[395-5] Instead of _of he or Adrian_, we would say merely _he or
Adrian_. Antonio offers to bet a good sum on which will speak first,
Gonzalo or Adrian.
[395-6] Gonzalo.
[395-7] _A match_ means _I take the bet_.
[396-8] Sebastian has lost his bet, and he pays with a laugh.
[396-9] Adrian means _temperature_ when he says _temperance_.
[396-10] People often named their girls _Temperance_, _Prudence_,
_Faith, etc._ It is to this fact that Antonio jokingly alludes.
[396-11] _Lush_ means _juicy_.
[396-12] _Eye_ here means _tint_ or _shade_.
[397-13] We would now say _for_ instead of _to_.
[397-14] Tunis is near the supposed site of Carthage. The story of Dido
and Æneas is told in Virgil's _Æneid_.
[397-15] One of the stories of the god Mercury is that he gave to
Amphion, King of Thebes, a magic harp upon which the king played and so
charmed the stones that they sprang into place to make the walls of his
city.
[398-16] The meaning of _stomach_ in this line is _appetite_ or
_desire_. Alonso says they crowd their words into his ears when his
feelings do not relish such nonsense.
[398-17] _Rate_ means _estimation_.
[398-18] _His_ is used for _its_ and refers to _shore_.
[398-19] For _as_, read _as if_.
[399-20] _Who_ is used for _which_. This is but another illustration of
the changes that have taken place in the use of words since
Shakespeare's time.
[399-21] Sebastian tells the King that he alone is responsible for the
loss. Even his daughter weighed her wish to be obedient against her
loathing of the match.
[399-22] _Dearest_ here means the same as _heaviest_ or _worst_.
[399-23] _Chirurgeon_ is the old word for _surgeon_. Antonio says, "And
in the most surgeon-like manner."
[400-24] Gonzalo says, literally. "When you are sad, we all share your
sorrow."
[400-25] "Had I the colonizing" is what Gonzalo means. Antonio makes it
appear that Gonzalo was speaking of _planting_ the island.
[400-26] _Succession_ means _inheritance_, as a son _succeeds_ to his
father's property.
[400-27] _Bourn_ means _brook_, hence _boundary_, as of land.
[400-28] _Tilth_ means _tillage_ or _cultivation_, as of land.
[401-29] He probably means any _engine of war_.
[401-30] _Foison_ means _plenty_ of grain or fruits.
[401-31] The _Golden Age_ is that period of the world's history when
there was no sin, sorrow or suffering, and when all mankind was so good
that there was no need of government of any sort. The Greeks,
especially, but other peoples to some extent, have mythical tales of
such a time.
[401-32] _Sensible_ is here used for _sensitive_.
[401-33] Gonzalo admits that in witty talk he is nothing in comparison
to Antonio and Sebastian.
[401-34] A blow with the _flat_ of a sword is harmless: so is Gonzalo's
wit.
[402-35] We would say _should_ instead of _would_ in this case.
[402-36] When they used to hunt birds in the night, they called it
_bat-fowling_. Sometimes at night they took a light into the woods, and
while one of the hunters held a net in front of the light, the others
would beat the bushes round about. Some of the frightened birds would
fly directly at the light and become entangled in the net.
[402-37] _Adventure_ here means _put in peril_.
[402-38] Ariel is at work again, and in carrying out the plans of
Prospero, he causes some to fall asleep that the others may plot.
[402-39] _Omit_ here means _neglect_. Sebastian suggests that it will be
better for Alonso to go to sleep while he can. He has reasons for
wishing the King asleep.
[403-40] Alonso grows more sleepy under Ariel's influence, and in these
words alludes to what Sebastian has just said--"It is a wondrous heavy
offer of sleep."
[404-41] _They_ refers to the other men.
[404-42] Probably we must understand Antonio to mean, "What might you
be!" In this way Antonio begins to tempt Sebastian, whom he finds ready
to listen.
[404-43] _Speaks_ means _proclaims_.
[404-44] Antonio says in effect, "You close your eyes when you are
awake. You are blind to your opportunity."
[404-45] "If _you_ heed me."
[404-46] Antonio means, "Which if you do, you shall be three times as
great as you are now."
[405-47] By _I am standing water_, Sebastian means that he is like the
ocean standing between tides, ready to ebb or flow. That is, he is ready
to accept suggestions from Antonio.
[405-48] Antonio says in effect, "The more you ridicule the purpose I
suggest, the more you welcome it."
[405-49] _Ebbing men_, that is, _men whose fortunes are at a low ebb_.
[405-50] _Matter_ means _something of great importance_.
[405-51] "It is difficult or painful for you to say what you think."
While both have about the same idea in their minds, neither is quite
willing to speak of it openly. It is too cruel and murderous a thought.
[405-52] Francisco.
[405-53] That is, "this lord who remembers little of the favors done
him, and will be remembered no better."
[405-54] _Earth'd_ means _buried_.
[406-55] A _wink_ here means _the least distance_.
[406-56] It is difficult to say just what _But doubt discovery there_
means. Antonio says, "But out of your certainty that Ferdinand is
drowned, you have a great hope, a hope so high that ambition cannot see
anything greater."
[406-57] This means _ten leagues farther away than a man can travel in
his life_.
[406-58] _Can have no note_ means _can receive no word_.
[406-59] This clause means _unless the sun carried the mail_.
[406-60] _Though some were cast up again._
[406-61] This sentence means, _you and I can manage what is to come_.
[407-62] "_Measure us back_," etc., means the same as _Return to us_.
[407-63] The word _others_ may be understood after _there be_.
[407-64] A _chough_ is a bird of the jackdaw kind.
[407-65] This clause means, _I myself could breed a bird to talk as
sensibly_.
[407-66] This is difficult to understand. Perhaps it means. "And how
does your present contentment advance or care for your interest?"
[407-67] _Feater_ means _more fittingly_ or _more becomingly_.
[408-68] A _kibe_ is a sore on the heel.
[408-69] _Candied_ means here the same as crystallized.
[408-70] This means, _while you, doing the same thing, might put Gonzalo
to continuous sleep forever_.
[408-71] _Suggestion_ here means _temptation_.
[408-72] _They'll tell the clock to any business_, etc., means _they
will speak any words we tell them to_.
[408-73] _Draw together_ is _let us draw our swords together_.
[409-74] That is, _Why are your swords drawn_?
[409-75] This means, _Why do you look so ghastly_?
[410-1] _Inch-meal_ means _piece-meal_.
[410-2] _Urchin-shows_ are _fairy-shows_.
[410-3] _Fire-brand_ refers to will o' the wisp, or dancing balls of
light seen sometimes at night in swampy places. People used to think
these lights were tended by naughty sprites who lured men into trouble.
[410-4] We would now say _sometimes_.
[410-5] _Mow_ means _make mouths_ or _grin_.
[411-6] _Pricks_, here, means their _prickles_ or _sharp quills_.
[411-7] Caliban is a monster, part brute, part human, more fish-like
than man-like, probably. He works only when Prospero drives him to it,
and he hates his master bitterly in spite of all that the latter has
done for him. Now Caliban is under punishment for his wickedness.
[411-8] _To bear off_ means _to keep off_.
[411-9] A _bombard_ is a black jar or jug to hold liquor.
[411-10] _Poor-john_ is an old name for dried and salted _hake_, a kind
of fish.
[411-11] Trinculo means that any strange beast could be exhibited and
make a man's fortune.
[412-12] A _gaberdine_ was a coarse outer garment or frock.
[412-13] A _swabber_ is a man who scrubs the decks of a ship.
[412-14] _Tang_ means _sharp taste_; here it means that Kate spoke
sharply.
[413-15] _Inde_ may mean India as we understand it, or West India, that
is, America. Stephano probably alludes to the sham wonders from America
that were often exhibited by lying showmen.
[413-16] _Neat's-leather_ is _calfskin_.
[413-17] Stephano means that he will take all he can get.
[413-18] He alludes to an old saying, "Good liquor will make a cat
talk."
[414-19] This is probably the nearest to a prayer that Stephano can
remember in his fright.
[414-20] This alludes to an old proverb, "He that would eat with the
devil must use a long spoon."
[414-21] _Siege_ here means _seat_.
[414-22] A moon-calf was any shapeless monster; supposed to be made so
through the influence of the moon.
[415-23] The superstitious Trinculo is still a little afraid that
Stephano may be a ghost.
[415-24] _Constant_ here means _settled_, from his recent experiences in
the sea.
[415-25] The word _an_ may be omitted from before _if_ without altering
the meaning. Caliban fears the men may be evil spirits, but thinks
Stephano must be a god.
[415-26] _Sack_ is an old-fashioned intoxicating drink. A _butt_ is a
big cask holding about two hogsheads.
[416-27] All these things the fanciful used to think they could see in
the face of the moon.
[416-28] This probably means that Caliban had taken a long hearty
draught at the bottle.
[417-29] _Pig-nuts_ were probably _ground-nuts_, the small bulbous
growths on the roots of certain vines.
[417-30] A _staniel_ is a _kestril_, a beautiful hawk.
[418-1] Ferdinand says, "Some sports are painful, and the delight we
take in them offsets the labor."
[418-2] _Baseness_ here means _lowliness_, rather than anything base or
evil.
[418-3] Prospero has set Ferdinand to carrying logs, a hard task and a
lowly one, to test his love for Miranda, to find out how manly he really
is.
[419-4] The meaning of this line probably is that when he works the
least he is really most wearied because he does not have Miranda's
sympathetic words to cheer him, or the sweet thought that he is working
for her.
[420-5] _Put it to the foil_, means _put it on the defensive_. Foil was
a general name for swords.
[420-6] Ferdinand thinks his father has been drowned, but wishes it were
not so, even though he is thereby made King.
[422-7] The flesh-fly is the blow-fly, which lays its eggs in meat and
helps its decay.
[422-8] _Hollowly_ here means _falsely_.
[422-9] We would now say, "_Whatsoever_ else."
[422-10] Instead of _to want_, we would say _from wanting_.
[423-11] _Fellow_ here means _equal_.
[423-12] _Bondman_ may be read for _bondage_. He accepts her as
willingly as a slave ever accepted freedom.
[423-13] "A thousand thousand _farewells_."
[423-14] Prospero desires Ferdinand to love and marry Miranda and has
planned for it, but he is surprised at the suddenness and strength of
their love.
[423-1] As in a naval battle one ship runs alongside another, and the
sailors leap aboard.
[424-2] _Set_ means _fixed and staring_.
[424-3] _Standard_ may be read _standard-bearer_.
[424-4] Trinculo means that Caliban is too drunk to stand.
[424-5] Trinculo is always jesting, even at his own expense. He means he
is so drunk he would pick a quarrel with a constable.
[424-6] _Debosh'd_ means _debauched_.
[425-7] A _natural_ is a fool or a simpleton.
[425-8] Stephano means "You shall be hanged on the next tree."
[425-9] As Ariel is invisible, each thinks another has spoken.
[425-10] "_This thing_" is Caliban himself.
[426-11] The court fools or jesters of that day wore clothes of many
colors--were _pied_, that is, _dappled_.
[426-12] _Patch_ is another word referring to the parti-colored clothing
of the jester.
[426-13] The _quick freshes_ are the running springs of fresh water.
[426-14] _Stock-fish_ is a word used in the writings of that period to
mean some kind of a fixture, which men struck with their fists or with
cudgels in practicing boxing and fighting.
[427-15] Stephano speaks first to Caliban, then to Trinculo.
[427-16] The _weazand_ is the windpipe or throat.
[427-17] _Sot_ in this place means _fool_, not _drunkard_. Caliban
thinks Prospero's books are the source of his magic power over such
spirits as Ariel and those he commands.
[427-18] _Brave_ here means _beautiful_ or _showy_.
[428-19] This speech of Ariel's is made aside, that is, out of hearing
of the three conspirators.
[428-20] _Troll the catch_ means _sing the jolly song_.
[428-21] _While-ere_ means _awhile since_.
[428-22] "I will do anything reasonable," says Stephano.
[428-23] "What is this music I hear?"
[428-24] A common sign in those times was called the picture of Nobody.
It consisted of a head upon two legs, with arms.
[429-25] Stephano probably means, "Take a blow from my fist," and speaks
to the invisible spirit or devil that he now thinks to be near them,
because of Ariel's curious interruptions.
[429-26] _Sometime_ is again used for _sometimes_.
[430-1] _By our lady!_ was a common exclamation. A diminutive form of
this was _by our ladykin_ which was contracted into _by our lakin_.
[430-2] _Forth-rights_ are straight lines.
[430-3] _Meanders_ are crooked lines.
[430-4] _Attach'd with_ means _seized by_.
[430-5] _Frustrate_ means _defeated_ or _baffled_.
[430-6] _Throughly_ means the same as _through_. Sebastian means that
the next time he will carry his purpose through.
[431-7] A _drollery_ was an amusing show of the _Punch and Judy_ kind,
where the characters were puppets. In a _living_ drollery, the
characters would be alive instead of puppets.
[431-8] The _phoenix_ was a fabled bird of antiquity which lived a
hundred years and then died in flames, only to rise young and strong
again from its ashes. There was but one such bird in the world, and
somewhere in Arabia was a tree, different from any other in the world,
in which the phoenix built its nest.
[431-9] _Certes_ means _for a certainty_.
[432-10] _Muse_ here means _wonder at_.
[432-11] Probably Prospero alludes to an old saying which meant, "Do not
praise your banquet too soon; wait till it is over."
[432-12] Among the _strange shapes_ that danced about the banquet were
deformed men from whose throats the flesh hung down in huge pockets,
like goitres, and others whose heads grew from their breasts without
neck and shoulders.
[432-13] Sometimes in Shakespeare's days they practiced a curious kind
of insurance. If a man were going on a long journey, he _put out_ in the
hands of agents a sum of money, under the agreement that if he returned
he was to have a certain number of times the money he put out. If the
journey was perilous, the agreement might call for five times the sum;
if a safer journey, perhaps twice the amount. If the traveler did not
return, the agents kept the sum put out. Gonzalo uses the phrase "_Each
putter-out of one for five_," to mean each man who goes on a perilous
journey. He means that every traveler returning vouches for, or gives
good warrant for, the wonders he has seen.
[433-14] Instead of _That hath to instrument_, we might read _That has
control of_. The whole sentence means: "You are three sinful men whom
Destiny, that rules this lower world and what is in it, has caused the
never-surfeited sea to throw on shore; yes, and on this island which man
does not inhabit; you who are among men the most unfit to live."
[433-15] Water closes immediately over any cut made in it.
[434-16] _Dowle_ means _down_, and the comparison means, _as cut off a
single thread of down from my plumes_.
[434-17] _Requit_ means here _revenged_.
[434-18] _Whose_ refers to the word _powers_ six lines before. The
meaning of the remainder of Ariel's speech is as follows: "Nothing but
repentance and a clear life hereafter can guard you from the wrath that
otherwise will fall upon your heads in this desolate isle."
[435-19] The meaning of the preceding clause is: "Thus with the skill of
life and keen observance of the ways of men, my humbler servants have
done their work, each according to his nature or kind."
[435-20] _It_ refers to his sin against Prospero.
[435-21] That is: "It sang my misdeed in a terrible bass."
[435-22] This clause means: "My son sleeps in the ooze on the bottom of
the ocean."
[435-23] _Mudded_ means _buried in mud_. Alonso threatens to drown
himself.
[436-24] There are said to be poisons which will not work until a long
time after a person takes them.
[436-25] For _ecstasy_, read _fit of madness_.
[437-1] _Vanity_ probably means _fine display_.
[437-2] _With a twink_ means _in the twinkling of an eye_.
[437-3] _Mop_ means _chattering_.
[437-4] _Mow_ means _making faces_. _Mop and mow_ were words applied to
such chattering and grinning as a monkey makes.
[437-5] A _corollary_ here means _more than enough_.
[437-6] _Pertly_ means _alertly_.
[437-7] Iris was the fleet messenger of the Greek gods. She had
beautiful golden wings, and as she flew across the heavens, she left the
many-colored rainbow as her trail.
[437-8] Ceres was the Greek goddess of the earth, who especially watched
over the growth of grain and fruits. She it is who brings rich harvests,
or when her attention is called away, permits drought to kill the
vegetation.
[438-9] _Stover_ is fodder. A mead thatched with stover is a meadow
covered with rich grass and hay.
[438-10] The common marsh-marigold was called _peony_ in some
localities.
[438-11] Reeds were called _twills_ in some localities.
[438-12] The frequent rains of April make the ground like a water-soaked
sponge.
[438-13] This passage means: "Thy banks with edges bordered with
marsh-marigolds and reeds which rainy April trims to make cold crowns
for chaste nymphs."
[438-14] _Lass-lorn_ means _forsaken by his lass_.
[438-15] The poles in a vineyard are _clipt_ or _embraced_ by the vines.
[438-16] Juno was Queen of the sky and Iris was her special messenger.
[438-17] Rainbow.
[438-18] Peacocks were sacred to Juno and are represented as
accompanying her.
[438-19] Jupiter was the chief god of the ancient Greeks, and Juno was
his wife.
[440-20] _Bosky_ means _wooded_.
[440-21] _Unshrubbed downs_ are tracts of land on which no bushes grow.
[440-22] Venus was the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
[440-23] _Dis_ is another name for Pluto, who according to the Greek
mythology ruled in the dismal lower world.
[440-24] By the aid of Venus, Pluto stole Proserpina, the daughter of
Ceres and Jupiter, and carried her away to be his queen in Hades.
[440-25] Her _blind boy_ is Cupid, the mischievous little god of love.
[440-26] Paphos was a city in Cyprus, where Venus loved to live.
[440-27] Juno's walk was very stately and dignified.
[440-28] Juno was a large, noble, motherly-looking woman, who is
represented in art as attended by the nymphs and the hours, as well as
by Iris. The goose and the cuckoo were as much Juno's birds as the
peacock. She was the protectress of young married people and infants,
and so was worshipped especially by women.
[441-29] _Foison_ and _plenty_ mean about the same thing. The phrase
might be read, _overflowing plenty_, a great plenty.
[441-30] This means, may a new spring come as soon as you have gathered
the harvest of the old one. May there be no winter in your lives.
[441-31] Ferdinand is still amazed, and inquires if they are really
spirits that he sees.
[442-32] _So rare a wonder'd father_ means, _so rarely wonderful a
father_.
[442-33] _Crisp_ means _curled_, alluding to the wavelets that the
breezes make on the surface of the water.
[442-34] The _sicklemen_ are reapers called from the harvest fields to
make merry.
[443-35] _Avoid_ means _begone_.
[443-36] The thin fleecy clouds, highest in the sky, were called _rack_.
[443-37] _On_ is here used for _of_.
[443-38] We would say _rounded off_ or _finished_.
[444-39] _I thank ye_ is spoken to Ferdinand and Miranda, and is
Prospero's reply to their good wishes.
[444-40] _Meet with_ means _oppose_ or _counteract_.
[444-41] _For breathing_ means _because it breathed_. In the next line,
_for kissing_ means _because it kissed_.
[444-42] _Unback'd_ means _unridden_.
[444-43] _Advanced_ means _raised_.
[445-44] The pool was mantled, or covered over, with filth.
[445-45] For _that_ read _so that_ or _insomuch that_.
[445-46] _Stale_ means _bait_. It was a term used by hunters for a bait
that would lure birds.
[445-47] Caliban.
[445-48] _Nurture_ can never stick on his _nature_: that is, he can
never be improved by culture or education.
[445-49] _Cankers_ means _rusts_, or here, _eats into itself_.
[445-50] It is not known whether _line_ refers to a clothesline or to a
line tree. Only Shakespeare himself could tell us to a certainty.
[446-51] _Play'd the Jack with us._ "Led us astray as a Jack-o'-lantern
might."
[446-52] _To hoodwink this mischance_ means _to make it forgotten_ or
_overlooked_.
[446-53] In Hudson's Shakespeare this is explained as an allusion to the
old ballad entitled "Take thy old Cloak about thee." The following
stanza is quoted:
"_King Stephen_ was a worthy _peer_,
His breeches cost him but a crown:
He held them sixpence all too dear.
Therefore he called the tailor lown."
[447-54] A _frippery_ was a shop where old clothes were sold. Trinculo
has found the clothing Ariel hung upon the line.
[447-55] _Under the line._ We can imagine that Stephano has pulled the
leather jerkin or coat from the line. When he says _under the line_, he
thinks of that as an expression sailors use when they are near the
equinoctial line or equator, where the heat is intense, so strong as to
take the hair or fur off the coat and make it a _bald jerkin_.
[447-56] _By line and level_, that is, as architects build, by
plumb line and level. Trinculo picks up the word _line_ and makes a new
pun on it.
[448-57] A _pass_ is a _thrust_; _pate_ is _head_. _Pass of pate_ is a
_thrust_ or _sally of wit_.
[448-58] _Lime_ is a sticky substance used to catch birds.
[448-59] _Barnacles_ here means _barnacle-geese,_ a kind of geese
supposed by the superstitious to be produced when certain barnacles or
shell-fish fell into the sea water.
[449-60] _Pard_ is a contraction for _leopard_; _cat-o'-mountain_ may be
another name for wild-cat, though wild-cats are not spotted. Probably
the term is loosely used to mean any spotted animal of the cat tribes.
[450-1] _Goes upright with his carriage_ means, _goes erectly under his
burden_, that is, there is time enough to accomplish what Prospero
wishes to do.
[450-2] That is, "In the grove of line-trees which protects your cell
from the weather."
[450-3] _Till your release_ means _till you release them_.
[451-4] In this place _all_ has the sense of _quite_; _relish_ means
_feel_; _passion_ has the sense of _suffering_. The meaning of the
clause is, that feel suffering quite as sharply as they.
[451-5] _Neptune_, the name of the god of the seas, is used for _sea_ or
_ocean_.
[451-6] "Fairy rings" are green circles in the grass. They were supposed
to be caused by fairies dancing in a circle, but are now known to be
caused by mushrooms which grow in circles and which enrich the ground as
they decay. Because it contained some peculiar quality which Shakespeare
calls sourness, the sheep would not eat the grass of the rings.
[452-7] Because mushrooms and toadstools spring up so quickly in the
night, they were supposed to be the work of fairies.
[452-8] The curfew rings at night, and the fairies rejoice to hear it,
for it is the signal for them to begin their frolics.
[452-9] The fairies are weak masters, that is, they can accomplish
little if left to themselves, but under the direction of a human mind
like Prospero's they could work such wonders as he describes.
[452-10] The oak was sacred to Jove (Jupiter), and lightning and
thunder-bolts were his chief weapons.
[452-11] The spurs are the long _roots_ of the pines and cedars.
[453-12] _Boil'd_ is used for _boiling_ or _seething_.
[453-13] _Sociable to_ means _sympathizing with_.
[453-14] _Fall fellowly drops_ means _shed tears in sympathy_.
[453-15] _Rising senses_ means _clearing mental faculties_.
[453-16] _Ignorant fumes that mantle_ alludes to the confusion that the
charm has caused in their ideas. The whole passage means simply that
they are recovering their senses.
[453-17] This sentence means, _I will reward thee to the utmost_.
[453-18] _Remorse_ here means _pity_.
[453-19] _Nature_ here means _brotherly love_.
[454-20] _The reasonable shore_ means _the shore of reason_. As the tide
rises to the shore of the sea, so their clearing thoughts fill their
minds.
[454-21] _Discase me_ means _remove my disguise_.
[454-22] _As I was sometime Milan_ means _as I was once, the Duke of
Milan_.
[454-23] The meaning of the three lines preceding has been much
disputed. No one knows exactly what the poet meant. Perhaps Ariel sings
with this meaning: "When the owls cry and foretell the approach of
winter, I fly on the back of a bat in a merry search for summer."
[456-24] Ariel uses this fanciful way of saying that he will go as fast
as human thought.
[456-25] _Whêr_ is a contraction of _whether_.
[456-26] _Trifle_ here means _phantom_ or _spirit_.
[456-27] This clause means, _if this be at all true_.
[456-28] _My wrongs_ means _the wrongs I have done_.
[456-29] He speaks to Gonzalo.
[457-30] _Taste some subtilties_ means _feel some deceptions_.
[457-31] _Justify you traitors_ means _prove that you are traitors_.
[457-32] _Woe_ here means _sorry_.
[458-33] _As late_ means _as recent_.
[458-34] In this place _admire_ means _wonder_.
[458-35] _Are natural breath_ means _are the breath of a human being_.
The lords are still amazed; they cannot reason, they can scarcely
believe their eyes or that the words they hear come from a living human
being.
[458-36] In this connection _yet_ means _now_ or _for the present_.
[458-37] That is, it is a story to be told day after day.
[459-38] Miranda playfully accuses Ferdinand of cheating in the game.
[459-39] The exact meaning of _wrangle_ has not been determined, and
critics still disagree. However, what Miranda says is, "you might cheat
me for a score of kingdoms and yet I would call it fair play."
[459-40] Alonzo means that if this sight of Ferdinand is one of the
witcheries of the island, he will feel that he has lost his son a second
time.
[460-41] And this lady by becoming my wife makes him a second father to
me.
[462-42] That is, "all of us have found our senses, when no man was in
possession of his own."
[462-43] See Act I--Scene I.
[462-44] This sentence means, "Now you blasphemous man who swore so on
board the ship that we could be saved, have you not an oath to swear on
shore?"
[463-45] _Tricksy_ means _clever_.
[463-46] _Capering to eye her_ means _dancing with joy at seeing her_.
[463-47] _Moping_ here means _bewildered_.
[463-48] _Conduct of_ is used for _conductor_ or _leader of_.
[463-49] That is, "some wise man must make it clear to us."
[463-50] This sentence means "Do not trouble your mind by hammering away
at the strangeness of these happenings."
[464-51] _At pick'd leisure_ is _at a chosen time when we have the
opportunity_.
[464-52] _Single I'll resolve_ means _I will explain singly_.
[464-53] _Of every these happen'd accidents_ means _how every one of
these things happened_.
[464-54] Stephano is still a little drunk and his tongue uncertain in
its speech. He means, _Let us every man shift for himself_.
[464-55] _Coragio_ is used for _courage!_
[464-56] Trinculo means, "If my eyes do not deceive me."
[465-57] _Without_ here means _outside of_ or _beyond_.
[465-58] _Gilded_ is a word that was commonly applied to a man who was
drunk.
[465-59] Meat that is infested with maggots which have hatched from eggs
laid by flies is said to be fly-blown. These will not lay their eggs in
pickled meat. Trinculo says he has been so pickled, that is drunk, that
the flies will not blow him.
[465-60] Stephano is sore from his torments, but as the word _sore_ also
means _harsh_ and _severe_, he makes a good pun in his speech.
[466-61] _Retire me_ means _withdraw myself_.
[466-62] Prospero has accomplished his purpose; he has recovered his
dukedom, has found a suitable husband for his daughter, and now feels
that life has little in store for him. So every third thought will be in
preparation for his death.
[467-63] The Epilogue is a part spoken by one of the actors after the
play is over, and is addressed to the audience. Here _Prospero_ steps
forward and speaks.
[467-64] He has dismissed Ariel and laid aside all his magic arts.
[467-65] The audience may hold him on the island or send him to Naples,
for he is still under a spell.
[467-66] He asks the audience to applaud, to clap their hands, for noise
always breaks charms, and will release him from the enchantment so that
he may return to his dukedom.
STUDIES FOR "THE TEMPEST"
THE AUTHOR. Many times we have had occasion to say that an acquaintance
with an author has much to do with our liking for his works, and as we
read the great plays of our greatest poet, we wish we might know him
more intimately. However, when we look for information concerning him,
we quickly find that comparatively little is known of the man beyond
what we can draw from his writings, and few authors have shown
themselves less vividly. After doing our best, we can find only a great,
shadowy Author who must have had a broad knowledge, a rare invention, a
profound insight into human nature, a penetrating sympathy and a
marvelous power of expression. As seen through his works, he appears
more than human, but when we look into our histories, we wonder that so
great a man could have lived and died, and left so light an impression
on his times. In fact, some wise men have felt that the William
Shakespeare we know could never have written the great plays that bear
his name. That is a question, however, we need not discuss; it is better
to leave the credit where it has rested for centuries, and believe that
the plays are better evidence of Shakespeare's greatness than his own
life is evidence of his ability to write them.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon, April 23, 1564. His
father, John Shakespeare, was a respectable citizen, a wool-dealer and a
glover, who at one time possessed considerable means, and was an
alderman and a bailiff in the little town, but who later on lost most of
his property and ceased to be prominent in the affairs of the village.
William's mother was Mary Arden, a gentle, tender woman of Norman
descent, who exerted a powerful influence over the lives of her
children.
Until William was about fourteen years old he attended the free school
in Stratford, and though there are many legends concerning his boyhood
pranks and his gift for learning, we know practically nothing for a
certainty. In one of the desks at the school, they still show the
initials he is supposed to have cut during some idle moment. Of his
youth we know still less, except that at about eighteen he married Ann
Hathaway, a farmer's daughter who lived in the village of Shottery, a
mile or two from Stratford. Ann was eight years older than William, but
they seem to have lived happily and to have loved the children that were
born to them.
The next thing we can be really certain of is, that about the time
William was twenty-three he went to London and soon became connected
with a company of actors. Here the genius of the poet began to make
itself felt. He wrote some plays, he recast others, and by the time he
had been five years in the city, he was prominent among the bright men
of his time, and was recognized as a rising man. Unlike most actors and
writers of that period, Shakespeare was not a dissipated man, but
attended carefully to his duties, saved his money, and ten years after
he left Stratford was able to return to his native town and buy a fine
estate, to which he added from time to time. His money had not all come
from his writings and his acting, however, for he owned a large part of
the stock in the two leading theaters in London.
About 1604 he ceased to be an actor, although he continued to write for
the stage, and in fact produced his greatest plays after that date.
Seven years later he returned finally to Stratford, and there lived a
quiet and delightful home life until 1616, when on the anniversary of
his birth he died suddenly of a fever. He was buried in the little
parish church at Stratford, where his remains rest beside those of his
wife. On the flat stone that covers his body is inscribed this epitaph:
"Good frend for Iesus sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare:
Blesse be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And Cvrst be he yt moves my bones."
Such are the principal facts that we know concerning the great man, and
a simple biography it certainly is. We must not, however, think that he
was not popular among his fellows, or that he was merely a successful
business man. He counted among his friends the wisest and best men of
his time, and some of them have written their impressions of him. Ben
Jonson, a rough but sincere and honest man, says: "I loved the man, and
do honor his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any. He was
indeed honest, and of an open, free nature; had an excellent phantasy,
brave notions and gentle expressions."
THE PLAY. _The Tempest_ was one of the last of the poet's dramas, though
not the last, as some writers have contended. It was not printed until
1623, after the poet's death, but it was written, according to Hudson,
between 1603 and 1613, and probably between 1610 and 1613.
The story seems to have been original with Shakespeare; at least no
satisfactory evidence has been given to show that he borrowed it. This
is rather unusual, for Shakespeare showed a fine contempt for
originality, and borrowed the plots of his plays from a great variety of
sources. His own version of each story, however, was so masterly that no
one regrets that he availed himself of all the assistance he could get.
The scene of the play is laid on an island; what island we do not know.
Probably it is as mythical as the events that happened on it.
_The Tempest_ is one of Shakespeare's most perfect plays. In form it is
perfect, and follows, more closely than was customary with him, the
strict laws of the old Greek dramas, the laws which critics still uphold
as those governing the highest art. The three unities are here observed:
The events all occur in a single day; they happen in a single place;
from beginning to end there is one continuous line of thought. Only the
last characteristic is still generally observed by dramatic writers.
Beside perfection in form, _The Tempest_ shows the greatest nicety in
the way the natural and supernatural move along together without a
single interference. It is difficult to think of the magic art of
Prospero as more marvelous than the coarse plotting of Sebastian, or to
consider the delicate Ariel and the mis-shapen Caliban less human than
the manly Ferdinand, or the honest old Gonzalo. Only a great writer
could accomplish this, and none but a genius could make of his work a
piece so fine that we delight in every line of it. It would be unfair
too not to mention the beautiful expressions that abound in it, the high
sentiments that prevail, and the great renunciation that Prospero makes
when he has in his hands every means for swift and terrible revenge.
CHARACTERS. In reading the drama we become acquainted with the
characters, and begin to be indifferent toward some, to have admiration
for others and contempt for others. In real life we must not be governed
by our first impressions of people. We must study their appearance,
their speech, their actions, and make up our minds as to their
characters before we decide to make them our friends. It is very unwise
to trust every agreeable person we meet, and especially unwise to be
suspicious of every person who at first impresses us unfavorably. The
older we grow, the keener becomes our power to read character, and the
less liable we are to be deceived if we try always to use our best
judgment. One of the great benefits literature can offer us is the
opportunity to study character, and Shakespeare had such a remarkable
insight into human nature, and so great a power of drawing character
that in his plays we can see before us almost every type of human being,
and from a study of them we can gain a knowledge of humanity that will
help us every day of our lives.
Accordingly, let us take up, one after another, the principal characters
in _The Tempest_ and study them in such a way that we shall be able to
read other plays with greater ease and quickened intelligence.
1. _Prospero._ The hero of the drama is a man well advanced in years,
grave, dignified and serene. As Duke of Milan he was a prince of power,
"without a parallel in dignity and knowledge." He was popular with his
subjects, for so dear was the love his people bore him, that the
conspirators did not dare to destroy him. Yet he was not inclined to
rule his dukedom, for he grew a stranger to his estate, so transported
and wrapt was he in secret studies. He confesses that his library was
dukedom enough for him, and that he had volumes that he prized above his
dukedom. This was his weakness, and upon this his false brother preyed,
until one night in the dead of darkness the Duke and the crying Miranda
were set adrift in the rotten carcass of a boat, which the very rats
instinctively had quit.
On the island, with the books Gonzalo had preserved for him, he
continued his studies and played the schoolmaster to his gentle child
until she was better educated and more highly cultured than other
princesses that spend more time in vain enjoyments and have less careful
tutors. Prospero's love for his daughter is the strong, central trait
in his character. He has raised her judiciously, guarded her zealously,
and now when he finds, brought to his very door, all the actors in the
tragedy of his life, his one great care is to provide for Miranda's
happiness. All his plans lead to that end, and when he has achieved it,
the labors of his life are over.
The supernatural powers that Prospero has acquired seem natural to the
studious, dignified old gentleman, and amazing as they are, we can
discredit none of them. He tells us he caused the storm, and Miranda
begs him to save the passengers on the doomed ship with perfect
confidence in his ability to do it. He causes sleep to fall on Miranda,
and he summons the gentle Ariel, who enters as naturally as a human
being, and admits the marvelous acts that he has seen Prospero perform.
Caliban testifies to the power of Prospero so convincingly that we know
the magician has control of the destinies of every human being on the
island, and can wreak a terrible vengeance if he is determined to do it.
When Ferdinand draws his sword, the magician by a word makes him
powerless as he stands. We see the magic banquet appear and disappear,
and Iris, Ceres, Juno, the nymphs and the reapers come and converse, as
a proof positive of his more than mortal power. How has he used this
power and how will he continue to use it? When first he came upon the
island it was full of evil, and the powers of darkness ruled. He has
imprisoned and punished the evil spirits; freed the gentle and the good,
banished all discord, and filled the island "full of noises, sounds and
sweet airs that give delight and hurt not." That in the future he will
use his vast power only for good, we feel assured. Only Caliban hates
and abuses him, but the testimony of one so wicked rather proves the
gentleness, wisdom and justice of the magician.
Prospero's passionate love for his daughter makes him cunning and wise.
Before he will trust his daughter to Ferdinand, he tests both the
character and the love of the latter most severely. He even feigns anger
and appears to be cruel and unjust. That he is feigning, neither
suspect, but Miranda says: "Never till this day saw I him touch'd with
anger so distemper'd," and "My father's a better nature, sir, than he
appears by speech." When he is assured of Ferdinand's worthiness, of the
sincerity of his love for Miranda and of her devotion to her young
lover, he is delighted, and becomes so interested in the entertainment
he is giving them, that he forgets the plot against his life, although
the hour of his danger has arrived. It is true the father stoops to
listening, but his purpose is so worthy, no one is inclined to cavil at
his watchfulness, and, in any event, his exceeding care but justifies
the feeling that his love for Miranda is the mainspring of his every
act.
On this small island Prospero is little less than a god, and controls
affairs with almost supernatural justice and wisdom. Caliban, the
ungrateful, terribly wicked monster, is punished unsparingly but with
justice, for in the end with repentance he is forgiven, and the tortures
cease. Ariel and the other obedient spirits, though reproved at times,
are rewarded by freedom and placed beyond the reach of the evil powers
of earth and air.
The sufferings Prospero has endured, the intensity of his studies, and
the fierceness of his struggles with the supernatural powers of evil,
have given a tinge of sadness to his thought, and have led him to feel
that the result of all his labors may amount to little. The world is to
him but an insubstantial pageant that shall dissolve and fade, leaving
not the trace of the thinnest cloud behind. And as for ourselves,
"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."
Yet no sooner does he give way to this feeling than he sees how unkind
it is to trouble the young with such musings, and says pathetically to
Ferdinand,
"Sir, I am vex'd;
Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled:
Be not disturbed with my infirmity."
It is, however, at the end of the play, when all his plans have been
carried out successfully, and enemies and friends are alike at his
mercy, that the character of Prospero shines out most gloriously.
Rejoicing at the fruition of his hopes, he asks from his enemies only a
sincere repentance, and then nobly resigning the great arts which have
rendered the plotters powerless, he forgives them one and all: his
brother Antonio; the scheming Sebastian; Caliban, the evil spirit; and
the two weak but wicked ones, Stephano and Trinculo. Then with
generosity unparalleled he restores Ferdinand to his father, the King,
who has joined with Antonio, and promises to all "calm seas, auspicious
gales and sail so expeditious that shall catch your royal fleet far
off." Remembering to set Ariel free, he lays aside his magic gown,
breaks his staff, buries it fathoms deep in the earth, and drowns his
magic book deeper than did ever plummet sound. Thus he leaves us, only a
man once more, but a loving father, a wise and gentle ruler.
2. _Miranda._ We have seen that the master feeling in Prospero's soul is
his love for his daughter. Is she worthy of so great an affection? Let
us draw our answers from the drama.
(a) She is beautiful.
Ferdinand says:
"Most sure, the goddess
On whom these airs attend!"
And:
"O you wonder!
If you be maid or no?"
Caliban says:
"And that most deeply to consider is
The beauty of his daughter; he himself
Calls her a nonpareil: I ne'er saw woman
But only Sycorax my dam and she;
But she as far surpasseth Sycorax
As great'st does least."
Alonzo says:
"Is she the goddess that hath sever'd us,
And brought us thus together?"
(b) She is educated, cultured and refined.
Prospero says:
"And here
Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit
Than other princesses can, that have more time
For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful."
(c) She is tender-hearted, sympathetic and compassionate.
She says:
"O, I have suffer'd
With those that I saw suffer!"
And:
"O, the cry did knock
Against my very heart!"
Prospero speaks of these traits:
"Wipe thou thine eyes; have comfort.
The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch'd
The very virtue of compassion in thee,----"
Speaking of the trials which Prospero puts upon Ferdinand, she says:
"Make not too rash a trial of him, for
He's gentle and not fearful."
When she learns of her helplessness at the time they were set adrift,
she says:
"O, my heart bleeds
To think o' the teen that I have turn'd you to."
When Miranda hears how her father was treated by her false uncle, she
exclaims:
"Alack, for pity!
I, not remembering how I cried on't then,
Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint
That wrings mine eyes to't."
(d) She is brave.
Prospero says of her childhood:
"O, a cherubim
Thou wast that did preserve me! Thou didst smile,
Infused with a fortitude from Heaven."
(e) She is innocent and unacquainted with mankind and hates the sight of
evil.
When she first sees Ferdinand, she asks:
"What is't? A spirit?
Lord, how it looks about! Believe me, sir,
It carries a brave form. But 'tis a spirit."
Again:
"I do not know
One of my sex; no woman's face remember,
Save, from my glass, mine own; nor have I seen
More that I may call men, than you, good friend."
And finally:
"How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't."
She says of Caliban:
"'Tis a villain, sir,
I do not love to look on."
(f) She is grateful.
When she is told of Gonzalo's services to her and her father, she
exclaims:
"Would I might
But ever see that man!"
(g) She is a loving, faithful woman:
While Ferdinand is at work she pleads:
"Alas, now, pray you,
Work not so hard,----
Pray, set it down, and rest you: when this burns,
'Twill weep for having wearied you."
Again:
"If you'll sit down,
I'll bear your logs the while."
Later Ferdinand asks, "Wherefore weep you?" Miranda answers:
"At mine unworthiness,----
----Hence, bashful cunning!
And prompt me, plain and holy innocence!
I am your wife, if you will marry me;
If not, I'll die your maid: to be your fellow
You may deny me; but I'll be your servant,
Whether you will or no."
(h) Lover and father both bestow unqualified praise upon her. Ferdinand
says:
"Admired Miranda!
Indeed the top of admiration; worth
What's dearest to the world!----
----but you, O you,
So perfect and so peerless, are created
Of every creature's best!"
Her father says:
"O Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,
And make it halt behind her."
3. _Ferdinand._ The quotations we have made from the text seem to have
answered our question as to Miranda's worthiness. Upon what sort of a
man has she set her affections? Will she find in her husband the man she
thinks she is to marry? Answer these questions for yourselves by reading
the text and setting down the proofs as we did while studying Miranda.
4. _Ariel._ Prospero's agent Ariel is an interesting study, for the poet
has drawn him with lines so clear and exact that he seems a veritable
person. Will you not seek to know him, and in doing so follow these
suggestions?
(a) Ariel appears in the following scenes:
ACT I SCENE II (three times)
ACT II SCENE I (twice)
ACT III SCENE II (once)
SCENE III (once)
ACT IV SCENE I (once)
ACT V SCENE I (five times)
How many scenes are there in the play? In how many does Ariel appear? In
what scenes does he make no appearance? What characters appear more
times? What characters appear more prominently in the play?
(b) Ariel does many different things. Make a list of the things Ariel
does in this plays and a second list of the things that it appears Ariel
has done elsewhere.
(c) Ariel appears in different forms. What are these forms? Is Ariel
ever visible to any of the characters besides Prospero? Does Ariel ever
appear visibly to Prospero? If the play were to be acted on the stage,
would it be necessary at any time to have a person come upon the stage
to represent him?
(d) Ariel has human characteristics. What acts like those of a human
being does Ariel commit? What does Ariel say that shows him to have
human traits?
(e) Ariel is a spirit. What supernatural things does Ariel do? What does
Ariel say that makes him seem more than human?
(f) Ariel has a many-sided character. Find in the play where the
following questions are answered: Is he faithful? Does he do his duties
well? Does Ariel love music? Does he feel gratitude? Does he always
favor the right? Is Ariel merry? Does he love fun? Does he play
practical jokes? Does he love warmth and light, or cold and darkness? Is
he sympathetic? Does he lessen the grief of any one? Does he lead any
one to remorse for evil deeds? Does he assist love in the hearts of
Ferdinand and Miranda? Do you think Prospero always treats him fairly?
Does he seem so light and inconstant that he needs some discipline? What
will he do when he is released from Prospero's control? Finally, does
Ariel seem lovable to you, would you like him as a friend and companion
as well as a powerful servant?
5. _Caliban._ It is difficult to tell just what the slave of Prospero
looked like, and it is not at all unlikely that the poet intended we
should not see him very clearly. He is a hideous spectacle, scarcely
human, yet resembling a man in some respects. He is called in various
places villain, slave and tortoise; a moon-calf, that is, a shapeless
lump; a fish, with legs like a man and fins like arms; a puppy-headed
monster; a man monster; half a fish and half a monster; a plain fish; a
mis-shaped knave; "as strange a thing as e'er I looked upon;" and it is
said of him that his manners are as disproportioned as his shape.
Is the character of Caliban apparently in keeping with his appearance?
What does Prospero say of him? Do you place confidence in the opinion of
such a man as Prospero, and do you feel that he is not unnecessarily
severe? Does Caliban do anything to justify the bad character Prospero
gives him early in the play? Why do you suppose Shakespeare introduces
into the play such a character? Does such a character heighten the
effect of the others?
6. _Other Characters._ Classify the other characters as good or bad.
Where did you place Alonso? Is there any doubt at all as to where
Gonzalo should be placed? Are there any redeeming traits in Stephano? Do
you think Trinculo's jesting is really funny? Would you like the play
better if Stephano and Trinculo were left out of it? What can you find
in the boatswain's words to justify the opinion Gonzalo holds of him?
Which is the greater scoundrel, Sebastian or Antonio?
THE STORY or PLOT. A certain duke has been by treachery driven from his
principality with his infant daughter, and has found refuge on an
uninhabited island. After many years those who plotted against him are
thrown into his power, he recovers his dukedom and marries his daughter
to the son of his king. Such, in brief, is the plot of _The Tempest_,
but how wonderfully it is expanded, and how many characters have been
created, how many incidents created to give interest and truthfulness to
the narrative. Let us follow the play through, and by studying the
relation of the incidents, one to another, learn to appreciate more
fully the art of the great magician who wrote the play.
ACT I--SCENE I. _Purpose:_ To introduce the enemies of Prospero. Do we
know at the time of such a person as Prospero? Do we know why the
persons are on the ship, where they intended to go or where they are
now? When do we find out these things? What idea do you get of Gonzalo
in the first scene? Why is his conversation with the boatswain put into
the play?
ACT I--SCENE II. _Purpose:_ To bring before us all the leading
characters in the play, and to tell us enough about them to secure our
interest; also to give us the history necessary to an understanding of
the plot. When do we first learn that there are miracles and magic in
the play? How do we learn what has happened to Prospero before the time
of the storm? How do we learn Ariel's history? How are we made
acquainted with Caliban? How do we learn that Prospero raised the storm?
How were the mariners confused, and by whom were all saved? What did
Prospero whisper in the ear of Ariel when the latter came in after
Prospero has called Caliban? What incident followed as a result of this
command? How did Ariel lead Ferdinand? Are there other places in the
play where Ariel leads people in the same way? What do you call the
three most important incidents in this scene? What incidents could be
left out of this scene without interfering with the development of the
plot?
ACT II--SCENE I. _Purpose:_ To account for the presence of the plotters,
and to show the character of the men. Is it necessary to the development
of the main plot that Sebastian and Antonio should scheme to kill the
king? Do any of the incidents of this scene have any direct bearing on
the main plot? Could any of the incidents of this scene be omitted
without injury to the play?
ACT II--SCENE II. _Purpose:_ To create amusement, lighten the play and
by contrast make the fine parts more beautiful. Is any character in the
scene absolutely essential to the completion of the story? Would you
understand the story as well if the entire scene were omitted?
ACT III--SCENE I. _Purpose:_ To disclose Prospero's purpose more fully,
and to secure our interest in Ferdinand and Miranda.
ACT III--SCENE II. What is the purpose of this scene? What bearing do
the incidents of this scene have upon the main plot?
ACT III--SCENE III. What effect is the magic banquet to have on the
persons who saw it? What was Prospero's purpose in showing it? Did it
contribute in any way to the success of his general plan?
ACT IV--SCENE I. What incidents in this scene are necessary, and what
are introduced to give light and beauty to the play? What is the effect
of introducing Caliban and his companions right after Ariel and the
spirits have been entertaining Ferdinand and Miranda? What are Mountain,
Silver, Fury and Tyrant, mentioned in this scene?
ACT V--SCENE I. What is the purpose of this scene? Is the plot brought
to a satisfactory conclusion? Are there any characters left unaccounted
for? Does every character in the play appear in this scene? Are they all
on the stage when the curtain falls?
Make a list of the incidents which to you seem unnecessary, which could
be left out without injury to the real story. Make another list of
incidents that could not be omitted without spoiling the story. Find two
little plots that make complete stories in themselves, but that help
only in a moderate degree to make the main story clearer.
POETRY AND PROSE. Do any of the characters speak always in prose? Do any
speak always in poetry? Do some speak partly in prose and partly in
poetry? Can you see any connection between each character and his method
of speech? How many songs are sung in the play? Who sings them? Do you
like any of the songs? What effect do the songs have upon the play? Can
you find rhyming lines anywhere excepting in the songs? Does any
character speak in rhyme?
CONCLUSION. If we study a play too long or continue to read it after our
interest ceases for a time, we are liable to be prejudiced against it,
and to feel that it is not worth the labor we have put upon it. If,
however, a person will stop studying when he begins to lose interest and
work seems a drudgery, he will come back a little later with renewed
interest. Again, when we study a play minutely as we have been doing,
and view it from many sides, we may lose sight for a time of the unity
and beauty of the whole composition. This is peculiarly unfortunate, for
the poet intends us to view his work as a whole, and to produce his
effect with the whole. It is _The Tempest_ that we will remember as a
work of art, and, if our studies are fruitful, that will draw us back to
it at intervals for many years to come. Before we leave it, we must take
it and read it through in a leisurely manner, pausing merely to enjoy
its beauty, to smile at its playfulness and to feel our hearts expand
under the benign influence of the grand old man Prospero. Now Miranda,
Ferdinand and Ariel have passed the line of mere acquaintances, and have
become to us fast friends, who, though they may be forever silent, have
yet given us a fragment of their lives to cheer us on our way.
OTHER PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE. Shakespeare wrote a great many plays, and
all are not equally good; a few seem so inferior that many who study
them think they were not written by the same hand that penned _The
Tempest_. Some of the plays are more difficult than others, and some
cannot be comprehended until the reader has had some experience in life.
There are several, on the other hand, that may be read with great
interest and profit by almost any one, while those who have read _The
Tempest_ as we have recommended, should find some measure of enjoyment
in all. _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ is a charming fairy story; _The
Merchant of Venice_ is a good story, contains fine characters and shows
some of Shakespeare's most beautiful thoughts, although some people are
inclined to believe he has dealt too severely with the Jew. _Much Ado
About Nothing_ is a jolly comedy to match with _The Comedy of Errors_.
_Julius Cæsar_, _Richard III_ and _Coriolanus_ are interesting
historical plays, and _Hamlet_, _Macbeth_ and _Romeo and Juliet_ are
among the best of his tragedies. If a person would read just the plays
mentioned in the thoughtful way we have indicated here, he would gain a
benefit whose great value never can be estimated, and thereafter all
reading would seem easier and more delightful.
PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES
NOTE.--The pronunciation of difficult words is indicated by respelling
them phonetically. _N_ is used to indicate the French nasal sound; _K_
sound of _ch_ in German; _ü_ the sound of the German _ü_ and French _u_;
_ö_ the sound of _ö_ in foreign languages.
ABOUKIR, _ah boo keer´_
ACHILLES, _a kil´ leez_
ACIS, _ay´ sis_
AIX, _ayx_
AJAX TELAMON, _ay´ jacks tel´ a mon_
ALAMO, _al´ a mo_
ALAMEDA, _ah la may´ dah_
ALAVA, _ah´ la vah_
ALGIERS, _al jeerz´_
ALGONQUIN, _al gon´ kwin_
ALLOUEZ, _al loo ay´_
ALONSO, _a lon´ zo_
ALPUXARRAS, _ahl´´ poo hahr´ ras_
ALVARADO, _ahl vah rah´ do_
ANTIGUA, _an tee´ gwa_
APHRODITE, _af ro di´ tee_
ARDENNES, _ahr den´_
ARGONAUTA, _ahr go naw´ tah_
ARIEL, _ay´ ry el_
AYACANORA, _i a kahn o´ rah_
BOABDIL, _bo ahb deel´_
CADIZ, _kay´ diz_
CANOVA, _kah no´ vah_
CASABIANCA, _kas´´ a bee an´ kah_
CHARLEVOIX, _shahr´´ lev wah´_
CHARYBDIS, _ka rib´ dis_
COLIGNI, _ko´´ leen´´ yee´_, or _ko leen´ yee_
COMMUNIPAW, _kom mun´ y paw_
CORIOLANUS, _kor y o lay´ nus_
COROMANTEES, _ko ro mahn´ teez_
CUNDINAMARCA, _koon´´ dee nam ahr´ kah_
DAMFREVILLE, _doN freh veel´_
D'AUMALE, _do mahl´_
DEMARATUS, _de mar´ a tus_
DENT BLANCHE, _doN bloN´ sh_
DIAZ, _dee´ ahs_, or _dee´ ath_
DIOGENES, _di oj´ ee neez_
DISCOBOLUS, _dis kob´ o lus_
ELIA, _ee´ ly a_
EPHIALTES, _ef y al´ teez_
EURYALUS, _u ri´ a lus_
FERROL, _fer role´_
FINISTERRE, _fin´´ is tayr´_
FLIEDNER, _fleet´ ner_
FRONTENAC, _fron´ te nak_
GALATEA, _gal a tee´ a_
GHENT, _gent_
GONZALES, _gon zah´ leez_
GONZALO, _gon zah´ lo_
GRANADA, _gran ah´ dah_
GRÈVE, _grayv´_
HERNANDO CORTES, _her nahn´ do kor tays´_
HERVÉ RIEL, _her vay´´ ree el´_
IVRY, _eev ree´_
JOLIET, _zho lee yay´_
KIKABEAUX, _kee ka bo´_
KORAN, _ko´ ran_, or _ko rahn´_
LA CHINE, _lah sheen´_
LEIGH, AMYAS, _lee, a mi´ as_
LEONIDAS, _lee on´ y das_
LETHE, _lee´ thee_
LOCHIEL, _lo keel´_
LOUVRE, _loo´ vr´_
MAELSTROM, _mayl´ strum_
MALOUINS, _mah loo aN´_
MARCO BOZZARIS, _mahr´ ko bo tsa´ rees_, popularly _bo zar´ is_
MAYENNE, _mi en´_
MEGISTIAS, _me gis´ ty as_
MIAMIS, _mi ah´ miz_
MICHILLIMACKINAC, _mee´´ shil y mack´ in ak_
MIGUEL, _mee gayl´_
MILAN, _mil´ an_, or _mil an´_
MYCENAE, _mi see´ nee_
NACOGDOCHES, _nak o do´ chez_
NAVARRE, _nah vahr´_
NOMBRE DE DIOS, _nom´ bray day de os´_
NYACK, _ni´ ak_
OETA, _ee´ ta_
OLMEDO, _ol may´ do_
ORCHOMENUS, _or kom´ ee nus_
ORDAZ, _or dath´_
PEDRILLO, _pay dreel´ yo_
PELOPONNESUS, _pel´´ o pon nee´ sus_
PERE MARQUETTE, _payr mar ket´_
PHOENICIANS, _fee nish´ anz_
PICARDY, _pik´ ar dy_
PIZARRO, _pee zahr´ ro_
PLATÆA, _pla tee´ a_
PLUTARCH, _plu´ tark_
PROSPERO, _pros´ pe ro_
PUEBLO NUEVA, _pweb´ lah nuay´ va_
ROCHEFORT, _rosh for´_
ST. GÉNÉVIÈVE, _saN zhen´´ vy ayv´_
SALTO DE ALVARADO, _sahl´´ to day ahl vah rah´ do_
SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR, _day bay hahr´_
SANDOVAL, _sahn do vahl´_
SAN JACINTO, _san ja sin´ to_
SANTA FÉ, _san´´ ta fay´_
SAULT SAINTE MARIE, _soo saint may´ ry_
SCYLLA, _sil´ la_
SEGUIN, _se geen´_
STUYVESANT, _sti´ ves sant_
TALADEGA, _tah lah day´ ga_
TEGEA, _tee´ gee a_
TEMERAIRE, _tem e rayr´_
THERMOPYLAE, _thur mop´ y lee_
TLASCALANS, _tlahs kah´ lahns_
TOURVILLE, _toor veel´_
TRAFALGAR, _traf al gahr´_ or _tra fal´ gar_
TYROLESE, _tir ol ees´_
VIGO, _vee´ go_
VILLENEUVE, _veel neuv´_
WILHELMUS KIEFT, _vil hel´ mus keeft´_
XENIL, _hay´ neel_
XERXES, _zurks´ eez_
Transcriber's Note
Corrections
Page Error
36 bring them to me? changed to bring them to me?'
310 dreadful ery changed to dreadful cry
336 Footnote 6 was skipped in numbering the footnotes in this section.
379 his fortune changed to his fortunes
391 The marker for footnote 391-115 was missing in the original book.
It was inserted based on context.
424 _CALIBAN drinks._ changed to [_CALIBAN drinks._
430 _Aside_ to changed to _Aside to_
430 SEBAS. [_Aside_ changed to _Sebas._ [_Aside_
431 The _phoenix_ was changed to The _phoenix_ was
478 cherubim changed to cherubim
490 Demartus changed to Demaratus
491 Plataea was changed to Platæa
Other comments
180 Footnote for 180-3 was printed on 181
340 Footnotes 340-14 and 340-15 were printed on 341
413 Footnote 413-18 was originally printed on 414
440 Footnote 440-28 was originally printed on 441
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation:
bowsprit / bow-sprit
Cæsars / Caesars
Cortés / Cortes
Fe / Fé
Hardkoppig / Hard-Koppig
hillside / hill-side
lifelong / life-long
misshapen / mis-shapen
Moskoestrom / Moskoe-strom
negroes / Negroes
Père / Pere
Schermerhorns / Schermerhornes
southwest / south-west
spiérs / spiers
Thermopylæ / Thermopylae
thunderbolt / thunder-bolt
thunderbolts / thunderbolts
topmast / top-mast
upstaring / up-staring
waterside / water-side