The Tempest – from Act 3 Scene 1, lines 42 to 73
In this extract, Ferdinand is talking to Miranda.
FERDINAND
For several virtues
Have I liked several women – never any
With so full soul, but some defect in her
Did quarrel with the noblest grace she owed, 45
And put it to the foil. But you – o you,
So perfect and so peerless – are created
Of every creature’s best!
MIRANDA
I do not know
One of my sex – no woman’s face remember,
Save, from my glass, mine own. Nor have I seen 50
More that I may call men than you, good friend,
And my dear father. How features are abroad,
I am skilless of – but, by my modesty,
The jewel in my dower, I would not wish
Any companion in the world but you – 55
Nor can imagination form a shape,
Besides yourself, to like of. But I prattle
Something too wildly, and my father’s precepts
I therein do forget.
FERDINAND
I am, in my condition,
A prince, Miranda: I do think, a King – 60
I would not so! – and would no more endure
This wooden slavery than to suffer
The flesh-fly blow my mouth. Hear my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you, did
My heart fly to your service – there resides, 65
To make me slave to it – and for your sake
Am I this patient log-man.
MIRANDA
Do you love me?
FERDINAND
O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound
And crown what I profess with kind event,
If I speak true! If hollowly, invert 70
What best is boded me to mischief! I,
Beyond all limit of what else i’the world,
Do love, prize, honour you.

In this extract, Ferdinand declares his love for Miranda.
Explain the importance of love elsewhere in the play.
In your answer, you must consider:
• the different types of love in the play
• how love is shown.
You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Love is a significant theme in William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest,” and it is portrayed in various forms throughout the play. The extract from Act 3, Scene 1, where Ferdinand expresses his love for Miranda, is just one example of the exploration of love in the play. Love is depicted in different ways, including romantic love, familial love, and selfless love, and it is often intertwined with other themes such as power, forgiveness, and redemption.

One of the primary types of love portrayed in “The Tempest” is romantic love. Ferdinand and Miranda’s relationship serves as a prime example of this. Ferdinand is instantly captivated by Miranda’s beauty and purity, declaring her to be “perfect and so peerless.” He is willing to serve her and become her “patient log-man,” demonstrating his deep affection for her.