4 1

Act I, Scene I.
A tempestuous noise of
thunder and
lightning
^thunder


thunder
In
1611, when Shakespeare’s The Tempest was first
performed, theatres used a mechanism known as a thunder machine, which was
essentially a long wooden box balanced like a seesaw, containing a large cannon
ball that when rolled around produced a loud noise resembling thunder. To
create the effect of lightening, stage hands would prepare powdered resin which
would be thrown onto a flame. Lighting a firecracker attached to a wire
extending from the roof of the stage to the floor would create the illusion of
a lightening bolt (“Special Effects”).
– [LD]
. Enter a Ship-master and a
Boatswain

Master

1

Boatswain!
^boatswain


boatswain
Pronounced “bosun,” a boatswain is the person who
manages the crew of a ship and the ship’s equipment (OED n.1).
– [LD]

Boatswain

2Here, master: what cheer?

Master

3Good, speak to the mariners: fall to’t,
yarely
^yarely


yarely
Now archaic, yarely derives from the Old English and
means quick or nimble action (OED adv).
– [LD]
,

4or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir.

Exit
Enter Mariners

Boatswain

5Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts!

6yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to the

7master’s whistle. Blow,
till thou
burst thy wind
^burst


burst
Here, the boatswain is directly addressing the
tempest, challenging it to rage until it is out of wind, possibly in an
attempt to encourage the men on deck to remain strong.
– [LD]
,

8if room enough!

Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, and others

Alonso

9Good boatswain, have care. Where’s the master?

10

Play the men
^play


play
According to the OED (I.1), “play” in this sense was
used as an intransitive verb in the 1400s, meaning to engage something or
someone in activity. Here, Alonso commands the boatswain to
put his crew to work.
– [LD]
.

Boatswain

11I pray now, keep below.

Antonio

12Where is the master, boatswain?

Boatswain

13Do you not hear him? You mar our labour: keep your

14cabins: you do assist the storm.

Gonzalo

15Nay, good, be patient.

Boatswain

16When the sea is. Hence! What cares these roarers

17for the name of king? To cabin: silence! trouble us not.

Gonzalo

18Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard.

Boatswain

19None that I more love than myself. You are a

20counsellor; if you can command these elements to

21silence, and work the peace of the present, we will

22not hand a rope more; use your authority: if you

23cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make

24yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of

25the hour, if it so hap. Cheerly, good hearts! Out

26of our way, I say.

Exit

Gonzalo

27I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he

28hath no
drowning mark
^mark


mark
Gonzalo takes comfort
from his belief that the boatswain’s destiny in death is fated for the
gallows (death by hanging), which disqualifies him for a death caused by
drowning.
– [LD]
upon him; his complexion is

29perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his

30hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable,

31for our own doth little advantage. If he be not

32born to be hanged, our case is miserable.

Exeunt
Re-enter Boatswain

Boatswain

33Down with the topmast! yare! lower, lower! Bring

34her to try with main-course.

35A plague upon this howling! they are louder than

36the weather or our office.

37Yet again! what do you here? Shall we give o’er

38and drown? Have you a mind to sink?

Sebastian

39A pox o’ your throat, you bawling, blasphemous,

40incharitable dog!

Boatswain

41Work you then.

Antonio

42Hang, cur! hang, you whoreson, insolent noisemaker!

43We are less afraid to be drowned than thou art.

Gonzalo

44I’ll warrant him for drowning; though the ship were

45no stronger than a nutshell and as leaky as an

46

unstanched
wench
^unstanched


unstanched
Gonzalo is comparing the ship to “an / unstanched
wench.” According to Shakespeare Navigator, which draws on the OED
definition of “staunch,” calling the boat an “unstanched wench” may be
comparing the boat to a woman (a “wench”) on her menstrual cycle. However,
the verb “stanch” also suggests satisfying a desire (OED v3a), and it
derives from the Old French that also means to make a ship
watertight.
– [LD]
.

Boatswain

47Lay her a-hold, a-hold! set her
two courses
^courses


courses
The Boatswain calls for the ship to be directed “two
courses off to / sea.” According to the OED, “two courses” has a specific
nautical meaning, referring to the points on the compass where the ship is
directed (course, n. 12a-b).
– [MUStudStaff]
off to

48sea again; lay her off.

Enter Mariners wet

Mariners

49All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost!

Boatswain

50What, must our
mouths be
cold
^cold


cold
According
to the Arden Shakespeare edition of The Tempest, the
boatswain is wondering if, even if after all his efforts, the sailors must
drown, or have their mouths become cold from drowning.
– [LD]
?

Gonzalo

51The king and prince at prayers! let’s assist them,

52For our case is as theirs.

Sebastian

53I’m out of patience.

Antonio

54We are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards:

55This wide-chapp’d rascal–would thou mightst lie drowning

56The
washing of ten tides
^tide


tide
The washing of a tide is
the act of sea water flowing up the shore during a high tide (OED, wash,
III.12b). The Arden edition of The Tempest notes that pirates would be
condemned to hang at the shore for the length of three tides. Antonio here
is extending that length of time for the boatswain, whom he imagines would
“lie drowning / [for the] washing of ten tides.”
– [LD]
!

Gonzalo

57He’ll be hang’d yet,

58Though every drop of water swear against it

59And gape at widest to glut him.

A confused noise within: ‘Mercy on us!’– ‘
We split
^split


split
The ship is splitting
in half.
– [LD]
, we split!’–‘Farewell, my wife and children!’– ‘Farewell,
brother!’–‘We split, we split, we split!’

Antonio

60Let’s all sink with the king.

Sebastian

61Let’s take leave of him.

Exeunt Antonio and Sebastian

Gonzalo

62Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an

63acre of barren ground, long heath, brown furze, any

64thing. The wills above be done! but I would fain

65die a dry death.

Exeunt

Scene II. [The island. Before Prospero’s cell.]
Enter Prospero and Miranda

Miranda

1If
by your art, my dearest
father
^Dee


Dee






Source: Dee’s spirit mirror and other alchemical objects


It is often thought
that Prospero was modeled by Shakespeare on John Dee, a well-known polymath,
magus, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. According to the British Library, a magus someone who “understands the cosmos and
man’s place in it [sic]” through knowledge and experimentation in fields
such as chemistry (then alchemy), mathematics, astrology, and hermetic
studies of religion and culture. A “controversial figure” and force of both
good and evil, the magus sought to attain ultimate wisdom about the working
of the universe. The image included here, from the
British Library, shows (right to left) Dee’s spirit mirror
showstone, a crystal ball, mystically engraved wax discs, a wooden case, and
an engraved gold disc illustrating a vision of Dee’s colleague, Edward
Kelley. Dee’s “showstone‘ was a reflective piece of volcanic ash he would use to
conjure and converse with angels, recording his conversations into his
‘angelic diaries’. As an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, Dee advocated for imperial
expansion into the New World. To learn more about Dee’s advocacy of the
British Empire in the Atlantic, see Glyn Parry’s scholarly article, “John Dee and the
Elizabethan British Empire in Its European Context.”

– [MUStudStaff]
, you
have

2Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.

3The sky, it seems, would pour down
stinking pitch
^stinking


stinking
Miranda here imagines
the stormy sky raining “stinking pitch” instead of water. Pitch is a resin
commonly used for waterproofing boats.
– [LD]
,

4But that the sea, mounting to the
welkin’s cheek
^welkin


welkin
The welkin is a poetic and now archaic term referring
to the sky. Miranda uses figurative language to describe the the height of
the waves, which “[mount or rise] to the welkin’s cheek.”
– [LD]
,

5Dashes the
fire
^fire


fire
The
lightening.
– [LD]
out. O, I have suffered

6With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel,

7Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her,

8Dash’d all to pieces. O, the cry did knock

9Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish’d.

10Had I been any god of power, I would

11Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere

12It should the good ship so have swallow’d and

13The fraughting souls within her.

Prospero

Be collected:


14No more amazement: tell your piteous heart

15There’s no harm done.

Miranda

O, woe the day!

Prospero

No harm.


16I have done nothing but in care of thee,

17Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, who

18Art ignorant of what thou art, nought knowing

19Of whence I am, nor that I am more better

20Than Prospero, master of a full poor
cell
^cell


cell
A very small or humble dwelling.
– [LD]
,

21And thy no greater father.

Miranda

More to know


22Did never meddle with my thoughts.

Prospero

‘Tis time


23I should inform thee farther. Lend thy hand,

24And pluck my magic garment from me. So:

25

Lie there, my art.
^art


art
Prospero is
speaking to his robe, calling it his “art,” and suggesting to us that the
robe is lain down on some surface by Miranda.
– [LD]
. Wipe thou thine eyes;
have comfort.

26The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch’d

27The very virtue of compassion in thee,

28I have with such provision in mine art

29So safely ordered that there is no soul–

30No, not so much perdition as an hair

31

Betid
^betid


betid
Befell or happened to
(OED).
– [LD]
to any creature in the vessel

32Which thou heard’st cry, which thou saw’st sink. Sit down;

33For thou must now know farther.

Miranda

You have often


34Begun to tell me what I am, but stopp’d

35And left me to a
bootless
inquisition
^bootless


bootless
Ineffective questioning (OED).
– [LD]
,

36Concluding ‘stay: not yet.’

Prospero

The hour’s now come;


37The very minute bids thee ope thine ear;

38Obey and be attentive. Canst thou remember

39A time before we came unto this cell?

40I do not think thou canst, for then thou wast not

41Out three years old.

Miranda

Certainly, sir, I can.

Prospero

By what? by any other house or person?

42Of any thing the image tell me that

43Hath kept with thy remembrance.

Miranda

‘Tis far off


44And rather like a dream than an assurance

45That my remembrance warrants. Had I not

46Four or five women once that tended me?

Prospero

47Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how is it

48That this lives in thy mind? What seest thou else

49In the dark backward and
abysm
^abysm


abysm
An immense depth, a chasm which seems to have no end
(OED).
– [LD]
of time?

50If thou remember’st
aught
ere
^aught


aught
Aught is an archaic adverb which means “to any extent,
in any respect, at all” (OED C.1), and “ere” means before or formerly (OED
4.a).
– [LD]
thou camest here,

51How thou camest here thou mayst.

Miranda

But that I do not.

Prospero

52Twelve year since, Miranda, twelve year since,

53Thy father was the Duke of Milan and

54A prince of power.

Miranda

Sir, are not you my father?

Prospero

55Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and

56She said thou wast my daughter; and thy father

57Was Duke of Milan; and thou his only heir

58And princess no worse issued.

Miranda

O the heavens!


59What foul play had we, that we came from thence?

60Or blessed was’t we did?

Prospero

Both, both, my girl:


61By foul play, as thou say’st, were we heaved thence,

62But blessedly
holp
^holp


holp
This is the
past participle of the word “help,” spelled this way from the 14th to the
17th century (OED).
– [LD]
hither.

Miranda

O, my heart bleeds


63To think o’ the
teen
^teen


teen
Now rarely
used, teen is a noun that refers to suffering or pain (OED n. 2a).
– [LD]

that I have turn’d you to,

64Which is from my remembrance! Please you, farther.

Prospero

65My brother and thy uncle, call’d Antonio–

66I pray thee, mark me–that a brother should

67Be so perfidious!–he whom next thyself

68Of all the world I loved and to him put

69The manage of my state; as at that time

70Through all the
signories
^signories


signories
A historical term referring to governing bodies or
assemblies specifically of an Italian state (OED n, 5).
– [LD]
it was the
first

71And Prospero the prime duke, being so reputed

72In dignity, and for the liberal arts

73Without a parallel; those being all my study,

74The government I cast upon my brother

75And to my state grew stranger, being transported

76And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncle–

77Dost thou attend me?

Miranda

Sir, most heedfully.

Prospero

78Being once perfected how to grant suits,

79How to deny them, who to advance and who

80To trash for over-topping, new created

81The creatures that were mine, I say, or changed ’em,

82Or else new form’d ’em; having both the key

83Of officer and office, set all hearts i’ the state

84To what tune pleased his ear; that now he was

85The ivy which had hid my princely trunk,

86And suck’d my
verdure
^verdure


verdure
According to the OED, this refers to the freshness of
a flourishing green plant.
– [LD]
out on’t. Thou attend’st not.

Miranda

87O, good sir, I do.

Prospero

I pray thee, mark me.


88I, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated

89To closeness and the bettering of my mind

90With that which, but by being so retired,

91O’er-prized all popular rate, in my false brother

92Awaked an evil nature; and my trust,

93Like a good parent, did beget of him

94A falsehood in its contrary as great

95As my trust was; which had indeed no limit,

96A confidence sans bound. He being thus lorded,

97Not only with what my revenue yielded,

98But what my power might else exact, like one

99Who having into truth, by telling of it,

100Made such a sinner of his memory,

101To credit his own lie, he did believe

102He was indeed the duke; out o’ the substitution

103And executing the outward face of royalty,

104With all prerogative: hence his ambition growing–

105Dost thou hear?

Miranda

Your tale, sir, would cure deafness.

Prospero

106To have no screen between this part he play’d

107And him he play’d it for, he needs will be

108Absolute Milan. Me, poor man, my library

109Was dukedom large enough: of temporal royalties

110He thinks me now incapable; confederates–

111So dry he was for sway–wi’ the King of Naples


112To give him annual tribute, do him homage,

113Subject his coronet to his crown and bend

114The dukedom yet unbow’d–alas, poor Milan!–

115To most
ignoble
^ignoble


ignoble
According to the OED, ignoble is defined as being dishonorable in terms of
character or intent.
– [LD]
stooping.

Miranda

O the heavens!

Prospero

116Mark his condition and the event; then tell me

117If this might be a brother.

Miranda

I should sin


118To think but nobly of my grandmother:

119Good wombs have borne bad sons.

Prospero

Now the condition.


120The King of Naples, being an enemy

121To me
inveterate
^inveterate


inveterate
Entrenched, long-standing, persistent, with the
suggestion of disease (OED).
– [LD]
, hearkens my brother’s suit;

122Which was, that he, in lieu o’ the premises

123Of homage and I know not how much tribute,

124Should presently extirpate me and mine

125Out of the dukedom and confer fair Milan


126With all the honours on my brother: whereon,

127A treacherous army levied, one midnight

128Fated to the purpose did Antonio open

129The gates of Milan, and, i’ the dead of darkness,

130The ministers for the purpose hurried thence

131Me and thy crying self.

Miranda

Alack, for pity!


132I, not remembering how I cried out then,

133Will cry it o’er again: it is a hint

134That wrings mine eyes to’t.

Prospero

Hear a little further

135And then I’ll bring thee to the present business

136Which now’s upon’s; without the which this story

137Were most impertinent.

Miranda

Wherefore did they not


138That hour destroy us?

Prospero

Well demanded, wench:


139My tale provokes that question. Dear, they
durst
^durst


durst
An archaic past tense of the verb “to dare”
(OED).
– [LD]
not,

140So dear the love my people bore me, nor set

141A mark so bloody on the business, but

142With colours fairer painted their foul ends.

143In few, they hurried us aboard a
bark
^bark


bark
A bark is a small boat.
– [LD]
,

144Bore us some leagues to sea; where they prepared

145A rotten carcass of a boat, not rigg’d,

146Nor tackle, sail, nor mast; the very rats

147Instinctively had quit it: there they hoist us,

148To cry to the sea that roar’d to us, to sigh

149To the winds whose pity, sighing back again,

150Did us but loving wrong.

Miranda

Alack, what trouble


151Was I then to you!

Prospero

O, a
cherubim
^cherubim


cherubim
A cherub is a biblical angel, with a related sense
common in the early 17th century that also means a beloved woman (OED n.
5b).
– [LD]




152Thou wast that did preserve me. Thou didst smile.

152Infused with a fortitude from heaven,

154When I have deck’d the sea with drops full salt,

155Under my
burthen
^burthen


burthen
An
alternative spelling of burden.
– [LD]
groan’d; which raised in me

156An undergoing stomach, to bear up

157Against what should ensue.

Miranda

How came we ashore?

Prospero

158By Providence divine.

159Some food we had and some fresh water that

160A noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo,

161Out of his charity, being then appointed

162Master of this design, did give us, with

163Rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries,

164Which since have steaded much; so, of his gentleness,

165Knowing I loved my books, he furnish’d me

166From mine own library with volumes that

167I prize above my dukedom.

Miranda

Would I might


168But ever see that man!

Prospero

168Now I arise:

169Sit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow.

170Here in this island we arrived; and here

171Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit

172Than other princesses can that have more time

173For vainer hours and tutors not so careful.

Miranda

174Heavens thank you for’t! And now, I pray you, sir,

175For still ’tis beating in my mind, your reason

176For raising this sea-storm?

Prospero

Know thus far forth.


177By accident most strange, bountiful Fortune,

178Now my dear lady, hath mine enemies

179Brought to this shore; and by my
prescience
^prescience


prescience
Prescience is both a
quality attributed to God and the characteristic of foresight that a human
might possess (OED).
– [LD]



180I find my
zenith
^zenith


zenith
A term
from astronomy, the zenith is the highest point the sun or moon reaches in
the sky (OED).
– [LD]
doth depend upon

181A most auspicious star, whose influence

182If now I court not but omit, my fortunes

183Will ever after droop. Here cease more questions:

184Thou art inclined to sleep; ’tis a good dulness,

185And
give it way
^give


give
The Arden
edition of The Tempest glosses this as “succumb to it.” Prospero is
commanding Miranda to fall asleep.
– [LD]
: I know thou canst not choose.

186Come away, servant, come. I am ready now.

187Approach, my Ariel, come.

Enter Ariel
^ariel


ariel






Source: Late 18th century engraving from the Metropolitan Museum of Art showing Miranda, Prospero, Caliban, and Ariel


After Miranda falls asleep, Prospero is
typically understood to put his magical robe back on as Ariel comes onto the
stage. The image here, an engraving after Henry Fusili, shows a late 18th
century rendition of Miranda, Prospero, Caliban, and the airy spirit Ariel
(Metropolitan Museum of Art).
– [LD]

Ariel

188All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come

189To answer thy best pleasure; be’t to fly,

190To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride

191On the curl’d clouds, to thy strong bidding task

192Ariel and all his quality.

Prospero

Hast thou, spirit,


193Perform’d to point the tempest that I bade thee?

Ariel

To every article.


194I boarded the king’s ship; now on the beak,

195Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,

196I flamed amazement: sometime I’ld divide,

197And burn in many places; on the topmast,

198The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly,

199Then meet and join.
Jove’s
lightnings
^Joves


Joves
Jove, more famously known as Jupiter, is the most
powerful Roman God and is known to overthrow his enemies using his bolt of
lightening. His Greek equivalent is Zeus.
– [LD]
, the precursors

200O’ the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary

201And sight-outrunning were not; the fire and cracks

202Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Neptune

203Seem to besiege and make his bold waves tremble,

204Yea, his dread trident shake.

Prospero

My brave spirit!


205Who was so firm, so constant, that this coil

206Would not infect his reason?

Ariel

Not a soul


207But felt a fever of the mad and play’d

208Some tricks of desperation. All but mariners

209Plunged in the foaming brine and quit the vessel,

210Then all afire with me: the king’s son, Ferdinand,

211With hair up-staring,–then like reeds, not hair,–

212Was the first man that leap’d; cried, ‘Hell is empty

213And all the devils are here.’

Prospero

Why that’s my spirit!


214But was not this
nigh
^nigh


nigh
An old
fashioned way of saying nearby or almost (OED).
– [LD]
shore?

Ariel

Close by, my master.

Prospero

215But are they, Ariel, safe?

Ariel

Not a hair perish’d;


216On their sustaining garments not a blemish,

217But fresher than before: and, as thou badest me,

218In troops I have dispersed them ’bout the isle.

219The king’s son have I landed by himself;

220Whom I left cooling of the air with sighs

221In an odd angle of the isle and sitting,

222His arms in this
sad knot
^sad


sad
Sleeping
crossed armed (The Arden Shakespeare edition of The
Tempest)
– [LD]
.

Prospero

Of the king’s ship


223The mariners say how thou hast disposed

224And all the rest o’ the fleet.

4

Ariel

Safely in harbour


225Is the king’s ship; in the deep nook, where once

226Thou call’dst me up at midnight to fetch dew

227From the still-vex’d

Bermoothes

^Bermoothes


Bermoothes





The Island of Bermuda was
devoid of any habitation by indigenous groups before it was discovered by
accident by the Spanish sailor Juan Bermúdez in 1503. A flotilla from
England, includng the Sea Venture, was shipwrecked here on their way to
restock the Jamestown Colony in Virginia (Virginia was named after Elizabeth
I, the “Virgin Queen,” and Jamestown, after King James I). The wreck of the
Sea Venture in 1609, is thought to be a contemporary inspiration for The Tempest. After almost a year, the crew was largely
able to leave the Island with ships they built during that time. The Island
wasn’t colonized until the seventeenth century, after the crew of the Sea
Venture returned to England with their tale. Enslaved people were first
brought to the Island in 1617. The image included here shows a 17th century
map of the Island of Bermuda by Willem Janszoon Blaeu, from the Norman
B. Leventhal Map Center. Content of annotation sourced from Barry Lawrence Ruderman.
– [MUStudStaff]
, there she’s hid:

228The mariners all under hatches stow’d;

229Who, with a charm join’d to their suffer’d labour,

230I have left asleep; and for the rest o’ the fleet

231Which I dispersed, they all have met again

232And are upon the Mediterranean flote,

234Supposing that they saw the king’s ship wreck’d

235And his great person perish.

Prospero

Ariel, thy charge


236Exactly is perform’d: but there’s more work.

237What is the time o’ the day?

Ariel

Past the mid season.

Prospero

238At least two
glasses
^glasses


glasses
Two hourglasses past midday would be 2 p.m. (The Arden
Shakespeare edition of The Tempest).
– [LD]
. The time

‘twixt six and now
^six


six
Whatever Prospero is
planning must happen between 2 and 6 p.m. (The Arden Shakespeare edition of
The Tempest). It is important to keep in mind that
in Elizabethan England, plays would have typically been performed in the
afternoon. The action of the play roughly corresponds to the duratioon of
the play being acted.
– [MUStudStaff]



239Must by us both be spent most preciously.

Ariel

240Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains,

241Let me remember thee what thou hast promised,

242Which is not yet perform’d me.

Prospero

How now? moody?


243What is’t thou canst demand?

Ariel

My liberty.

Prospero

244Before the time be out? no more!

Ariel

I prithee,


245Remember I have done thee worthy service;

246Told thee no lies, made thee no mistakings, served

247Without or grudge or grumblings: thou didst promise

248To bate me a full year.

Prospero

Dost thou forget


249From what a torment I did free thee?

Ariel

No.

Prospero

250Thou dost, and think’st it much to tread the ooze

251Of the salt deep,

252To run upon the sharp wind of the north,

253To do me business in the veins o’ the earth

254When it is baked with frost.

Ariel

I do not, sir.

Prospero

255Thou liest, malignant thing! Hast thou forgot

256The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy

257Was grown into a
hoop
^hoop


hoop
A hoop is a
circular band; here, the witch Sycorax has acquired a hunchback with
age (The Arden Shakespeare edition of The
Tempest).
– [LD]
? hast thou forgot her?

Ariel

258No, sir.

Prospero

Thou hast. Where was she born? speak; tell me.

Ariel

259Sir, in
Argier
^Argier


Argier





Sycorax seems to have been born in Argier or Algiers, the capital and
chief sea port of Algeria in North Africa, on the Mediterranean coast.
Invaded throughout its history, Algiers rose to prominence under the Berber
dynasties in the 10th century. Algiers became became home to many Muslim and
Jewish refugees escaping Spain in the begining of the 16th century. At the
time The Tempest was written, Algiers was under
Ottoman rule, and it became associated with piracy (Britannica).
The image included here, from the Library of
Congress’ first volume of Civitates Orbis Terrarum
(1588), shows the white buildings of the fort–and which gave it
its French name, “Alger la Blanche” (El-Bahdja in Arabic).
– [LD]
.

Prospero

O, was she so? I must


260Once in a month recount what thou hast been,

261Which thou forget’st. This damn’d witch Sycorax,

262For mischiefs manifold and sorceries terrible

263To enter human hearing, from Argier,

264Thou know’st, was banish’d: for one thing she did

265They would not take her life. Is not this true?

Ariel

266Ay, sir.

Prospero

267This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child

268And here was left by the sailors. Thou, my slave,

269As thou report’st thyself, wast then her servant;

270And, for thou wast a spirit too delicate

271To act her earthy and abhorr’d commands,

272Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee,

273By help of her more potent ministers

274And in her most unmitigable rage,

275Into a cloven pine; within which rift

276Imprison’d thou didst painfully remain

277A dozen years; within which space she died

278And left thee there; where thou didst vent thy groans

279As fast as
mill-wheels
strike
^strike


strike
Denoting how frequently a millwheel blade would strike
the water (The Arden Shakespeare edition of The
Tempest).
– [LD]
. Then was this island–

280Save for the son that she did litter here,

281A freckled whelp hag-born–not honour’d with

282A human shape.

Ariel

Yes, Caliban her son.

Prospero

283Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban

284Whom now I keep in service. Thou best know’st

285What torment I did find thee in; thy groans

286Did make wolves howl and penetrate the breasts

287Of ever angry bears: it was a torment

288To lay upon the damn’d, which Sycorax

289Could not again undo: it was mine art,

290When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape

291The pine and let thee out.

Ariel

I thank thee, master.

Prospero

292If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak

293And peg thee in his knotty entrails till

294Thou hast howl’d away twelve winters.

Ariel

Pardon, master;


295I will be correspondent to command

296And do my spiriting gently.

Prospero

Do so, and after two days


297I will discharge thee.

Ariel

That’s my noble master!


298What shall I do? say what; what shall I do?

Prospero

299Go make thyself like a nymph o’ the sea: be subject

300To no sight but thine and mine,
invisible
^invisible


invisible
Here, Prospero hands
Ariel a robe that represents a sea-nymph. Whenever the audience later sees
Ariel in this robe, they are to assume that he is invisible to every other
character on stage save Prospero (The Arden Shakespeare edition of The Tempest).
– [LD]



301To every eyeball else. Go take this shape

302And hither come in’t: go, hence with diligence!

303

Awake
^Awake


Awake
Ariel exits the stage. He
now speaks to Miranda.
– [LD]
, dear heart, awake! thou hast slept well;

304Awake!

Miranda

The strangeness of your story put


305

Heaviness
^Heaviness


Heaviness
Miranda is unaware that her father put her to sleep.
– [LD]
in me.

Prospero

Shake it off. Come on;


306We’ll visit
Caliban
^Caliban


Caliban





Caliban is a complex character. He is described as a misshapen creature,
described as a “monster” “not honored with a human shape.” He is treated as
an inferior by the humans in the play. The image here, sourced from Wikimedia Commons, is an 18th century etching of Caliban by John
Hamilton Mortimer (MET, 62.602.163).
– [LD]
my slave, who never

307Yields us kind answer.

Miranda

‘Tis a villain, sir,


308I do not love to look on.

Prospero

But, as ’tis,


309We cannot miss him: he does make our fire,

310Fetch in our wood and serves in offices

311That profit us. What, ho! slave! Caliban!

312Thou earth, thou! speak.

Caliban

Within There’s wood enough within.

Prospero

313Come forth, I say! there’s other business for thee:

314Come, thou tortoise! when?

315Fine apparition! My quaint Ariel,

316Hark in thine ear.

Ariel

My lord it shall be done.

Exit

Prospero

317Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself

318Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!

Enter Caliban

Caliban

319As wicked dew as e’er my mother brush’d

320With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen

321Drop on you both! A
blow
^blow


blow
Warm damp
air carrying airborne diseases, according to the Arden Shakespeare edition
of The Tempest.
– [LD]
on ye

322And blister you all o’er!

Prospero

323For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps,

324Side-stitches that shall
pen thy
breath up
^pen


pen
Stop your breath (OED v).
– [LD]
; urchins

325Shall, for that vast of night that they may work,

326All exercise on thee; thou shalt be pinch’d

327As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging

328Than bees that made ’em.

Caliban

I must eat my dinner.


329This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,

330Which thou takest from me. When thou camest first,

331Thou strokedst me and madest much of me, wouldst give me

332Water with berries in’t, and teach me how

333To name the bigger light, and how the less,

334That burn by day and night: and then I loved thee

335And show’d thee all the qualities o’ the isle,

336The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile:

337Cursed be I that did so! All the charms

338Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!

339For I am all the subjects that you have,

340Which first was mine own king: and here you
sty
^sty


sty
To confine.
– [LD]
me

341In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me

342The rest o’ the island.

5

Prospero

Thou most lying slave,


343Whom stripes may move, not kindness! I have used thee,

344Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee

345In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate

346The
honour
^honour


honour
When
used to describe men, “honour” or “honor” refers to the virtues of nobility
of spirit, distinction. However, when applied to women–like Miranda–the word
most typically refers to sexual chastity or virginity (OED 7.a)
– [TH]
of my
child.

Caliban

O ho, O ho! would’t had been done!


347Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else

348This isle with Calibans.

Prospero

Abhorred slave,


349Which
any print of goodness wilt
not take
^print


print
Prospero is here using the word “print” as in “impression,” but
with connotations deriving from the new invention of printing.
– [TH]
,

350Being capable of all ill! I pitied thee,

351Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour

352One thing or other: when thou didst not, savage,

353Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like

354A thing most brutish, I endow’d thy purposes

355With words that made them known. But thy vile race,

356Though thou didst learn, had that in’t which good natures

357Could not abide to be with; therefore wast thou

358Deservedly confined into this rock,

359Who hadst deserved more than a prison.

Caliban

360You taught me language; and my profit on’t

361Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you

362For learning me your language!

Prospero

Hag-seed, hence!


363Fetch us in fuel; and be quick,
thou’rt best
^best


best
“You are advised to” (The Arden Shakespeare edition of
The Tempest).
– [LD]
,

364To answer other business. Shrug’st thou, malice?

365If thou neglect’st or dost unwillingly

366What I command, I’ll rack thee with old cramps,

367Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar

368That beasts shall tremble at thy din.

Caliban

No, pray thee.


369I must obey: his art is of such power,

370It would control my dam’s god, Setebos,

371and make a vassal of him.

Prospero

So, slave; hence!

Exit Caliban
Re-enter Ariel, invisible, playing and singing; Ferdinand following Ariel’s
song.

[Ariel]

372Come unto these yellow sands,

373And then take hands:

374Courtsied when you have and kiss’d

375The wild waves whist,

376Foot it featly here and there;

377And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear.

378Hark, hark!

379Bow-wow

380The watch-dogs bark!

381Bow-wow

382Hark, hark! I hear

383The strain of strutting
chanticleer
^chanticleer


chanticleer
A dominating
rooster in a courtyard.
– [LD]



384Cry, Cock-a-diddle-dow.

Ferdinand

385Where should this music be? i’ the air or the earth?

386It sounds no more: and sure, it waits upon

387Some god o’ the island. Sitting on a bank,

388Weeping again the king my father’s wreck,

389This music crept by me upon the waters,

390Allaying both their fury and my passion

391With its sweet air: thence I have follow’d it,

392Or it hath drawn me rather. But ’tis gone.

393No, it begins again.

Ariel sings

[Ariel]

394Full fathom five thy father lies;

395Of his bones are coral made;

396Those are pearls that were his eyes:

397Nothing of him that doth fade

398But doth suffer a sea-change

399Into something rich and strange.

400Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell

401Hark! now I hear them,–Ding-dong, bell.

Ferdinand

402The ditty does remember my drown’d father.

403This is no mortal business, nor no sound

404That the earth owes. I hear it now above me.

Prospero

405The fringed curtains of thine eye advance

406And say what thou seest yond.

Miranda

What is’t? a spirit?


407Lord, how it looks about! Believe me, sir,

408It carries a brave form. But ’tis a spirit.

Prospero

409No, wench; it eats and sleeps and hath such senses

410As we have, such. This gallant which thou seest

411Was in the wreck; and, but he’s something stain’d

412With grief that’s beauty’s
canker
^canker


canker
A disease that consumes vegetation (OED).
– [LD]
, thou
mightst call him

413A goodly person: he hath lost his fellows

414And strays about to find ’em.

Miranda

I might call him


415A thing divine, for nothing natural

416I ever saw so noble.

Prospero

It goes on, I see,


417As my soul prompts it. Spirit, fine spirit! I’ll free thee

418Within two days for this.

Ferdinand

Most sure, the goddess


419On whom these airs attend!
Vouchsafe
^Vouchsafe


Vouchsafe
To grant or bestow.
– [LD]
my prayer

420May know if you remain upon this island;

421And that you will some good instruction give

422How I may bear me here: my prime request,

423Which I do last pronounce, is, O you wonder!

424If you be maid or no?

Miranda

No wonder, sir;


425But certainly a maid.

Ferdinand

My language! heavens!


426I am the best of them that speak this speech,

427Were I but where ’tis spoken.

Prospero

How? the best?


428What wert thou, if the King of Naples heard thee?

Ferdinand

429A single thing, as I am now, that wonders

430To hear thee speak of Naples. He does hear me;

431And that he does I weep: myself am Naples,

432Who with mine eyes, never since at
ebb
^ebb


ebb
At low tide.
– [LD]
, beheld

433The king my father wreck’d.

Miranda

Alack, for mercy!

Ferdinand

434Yes, faith, and all his lords; the Duke of Milan


435And his brave son being twain.

Prospero

435The Duke of Milan

436And his more braver daughter could control thee,

437If now ’twere fit to do’t. At the first sight

438They have changed eyes. Delicate Ariel,

439I’ll set thee free for this.

A word, good sir;


440I fear you have done yourself some wrong: a word.

Miranda

441Why speaks my father so ungently? This

442Is the third man that e’er I saw, the first

443That e’er I sigh’d for: pity move my father

444To be inclined my way!

Ferdinand

O, if a virgin,


445And your affection not gone forth, I’ll make you

446The queen of Naples.

Prospero

Soft
^Soft


Soft
To kindly ask for
silence (OED adv.).
– [LD]
, sir! one word more.


447They are both in either’s powers; but this swift business

448I must uneasy make, lest too light winning

449Make the prize light.

449
One word more; I charge thee


450That thou attend me: thou dost here usurp

451

The name thou owest not
^name


name
Prospero
accuses Ferdinand of “usurping” his father’s position as king by claiming
that he will make Miranda “queen of Naples“.
– [LD]
; and hast put
thyself

452Upon this island as a spy, to win it

453From me, the lord on’t.

Ferdinand

453
No, as I am a man.

Miranda

454There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple:

455If the ill spirit have so fair a house,

456Good things will strive to dwell with’t.

Prospero

Follow me.


457Speak not you for him; he’s a traitor. Come;

458I’ll manacle thy neck and feet together:

459Sea-water shalt thou drink; thy food shall be

460The fresh-brook muscles, wither’d roots and husks

461Wherein the acorn cradled. Follow.

Ferdinand

No;


462I will resist such entertainment till

463Mine enemy has more power.

Draws, and is charmed from moving
^Draws


Draws
Ferdinand
draws his sword. Prospero casts a spell to transfix Ferdinand while neither he
nor Miranda are aware of this.
– [LD]

Miranda

O dear father,


464Make not too rash a trial of him, for

465He’s gentle and not fearful.

Prospero

What? I say,


466My foot my tutor? Put thy sword up, traitor;

467Who makest a show but darest not strike, thy conscience

468Is so possess’d with guilt: come from thy ward,

469For I can here disarm thee with this stick

470And make thy weapon drop.

Miranda

Beseech you, father.

Prospero

471Hence! hang not on my garments.

Miranda

Sir, have pity;


472I’ll be his
surety
^surety


surety
According to the OED, a surety in this sense is “a person who is liable for
the default or misconduct of another, or for ensuring the performance of
some act on another’s part, such as payment of a debt or appearance in
court” (surety n. 2a).
– [LD]
.

Prospero

Silence! one word more


473Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What!

474An advocate for an imposter! hush!

475Thou think’st there is no more such shapes as he,

476Having seen but him and Caliban: foolish wench!

477To the most of men this is a Caliban

478And they to him are angels.

Miranda

My affections


479Are then most humble; I have no ambition

480To see a goodlier man.

Prospero

Come on; obey:


481Thy nerves are in their infancy again

482And have no vigour in them.

Ferdinand

So they are;


483My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.

484My father’s loss, the weakness which I feel,

485The wreck of all my friends, nor this man’s threats,

486To whom I am subdued, are but light to me,

487Might I but through my prison once a day

488Behold this maid: all corners else o’ the earth

489Let liberty make use of; space enough

490Have I in such a prison.

Prospero

It works.


Come on.


491Thou hast done well, fine Ariel! [To Ferdinand] Follow
me.

492

Hark
^hark


hark
Calling to attention, to
listen, to harken to (OED).
– [LD]
what thou else shalt do me.

Miranda

Be of comfort;


493My father’s of a better nature, sir,

494Than he appears by speech: this is
unwonted
^unwonted


unwonted
Unusual
– [LD]



495Which now came from him.

Prospero

Thou shalt be free


496As mountain winds: but then exactly do

497All points of my command.

Ariel

To the syllable.

Prospero

498Come, follow.

Speak not for him.

Exeunt