MIRANDA:
If by your art, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.
Miranda gently questions her father. She suspects that the violent storm is his doing through magic (“art”) and pleads with him to calm it. Her tone is full of love and concern — she’s not accusing, just hoping he will ease the storm.
- Theme: Compassion, natural vs. supernatural
- Language device: “Wild waters” is alliteration, enhancing the chaos of the sea
- Shows Miranda’s kindness and emotional sensitivity.
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,
But that the sea, mounting to th’ welkin’s cheek,
Dashes the fire out.
Miranda uses vivid imagery to describe the storm. It’s so fierce that it seems the sky is raining black tar (“stinking pitch”), but the sea rises up so high it puts out the lightning — like slapping the sky in the face.
- Theme: Nature’s fury, chaos
- Language device: Personification – the sea “mounting to the welkin’s cheek” (welkin = sky) makes nature feel alive, almost battling itself.
- Shakespeare paints a powerful picture of the storm’s violence.
O, I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer! A brave vessel,
Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her,
Dashed all to pieces.
Miranda reveals how deeply the shipwreck has affected her. She says she felt the suffering of those on the ship as if it were her own. She imagines it as a “brave vessel,” possibly carrying noble people, and is heartbroken at the thought of it being destroyed.
- Theme: Empathy, innocence
- Language device: Exclamatory “O” and repetition of “suffer” heighten the emotion
- Miranda’s innocence shines — she doesn’t know the people but still mourns them.
O, the cry did knock
Against my very heart! Poor souls, they perished.
She remembers hearing the cries of the drowning passengers and says it struck her emotionally, deeply affecting her heart. She believes everyone on board has died.
- Language device: Metaphor – the cry “knocking” against her heart emphasizes how deeply she feels their pain.
- Her compassion makes her a symbol of innocence and purity in the play.
Had I been any god of power, I would
Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere
It should the good ship so have swallowed, and
The fraughting souls within her.
Miranda says that if she had the powers of a god, she would have made the sea disappear into the earth before it could swallow the ship and the people on it.
- Theme: Power and helplessness
- She wishes she could save them, showing her desire to protect life.
- The phrase “fraughting souls” refers to the souls (people) carried in the ship, emphasizing the emotional weight.
PROSPERO:
Be collected.
No more amazement. Tell your piteous heart
There’s no harm done.
Prospero gently tells Miranda to calm down and stop worrying. He reassures her that no one has actually been harmed.
- Theme: Protection, parental care
- Prospero is trying to ease her distress, showing his love for her, even though he caused the storm.
MIRANDA:
O, woe the day!
She’s still upset and says “What a terrible day!” even though she’s been reassured.
- Shows her emotional depth and how disturbed she still feels.
- Language device: Exclamation conveys strong feeling.
PROSPERO:
No harm.
I have done nothing but in care of thee,
Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter…
Prospero repeats “No harm” to calm her. He explains that everything he’s done — including the storm — was for her sake. He emphasizes her importance by repeating “thee.”
- Theme: Parental love, protection
- Language device: Repetition for emphasis — this shows his affection and the seriousness of his intent.
- This also hints that something important has been hidden from her.
…who
Art ignorant of what thou art, naught knowing
Of whence I am, nor that I am more better
Than Prospero, master of a full poor cell,
And thy no greater father.
Prospero says Miranda doesn’t know who she truly is, where she comes from, or who he really is. She thinks he’s just a poor man living in a hut (“poor cell”), and only knows him as her father — not as the powerful man he once was.
- Theme: Identity, secrets, power
- Language device: Irony – Miranda doesn’t yet know her noble past.
- This marks the beginning of a deeper revelation.
MIRANDA:
More to know
Did never meddle with my thoughts.
She responds that she never thought to question who they were or where they came from. She was content with what she knew.
- Theme: Innocence, ignorance is bliss
- Miranda has lived a sheltered life and accepts things without curiosity, which also shows her trust in her father.
PROSPERO:
’Tis time
I should inform thee farther. Lend thy hand
And pluck my magic garment from me.
Prospero says it’s finally time to tell her the truth. He asks for her help in removing his cloak, which symbolizes his magical power.
- Theme: Truth, transformation
- Language device: Symbolism – removing the cloak means he’s pausing his magical role and speaking as a father, not a sorcerer.
(Putting aside his cloak)
So,
Lie there, my art.—Wipe thou thine eyes. Have
comfort.
After laying aside his magical robe, Prospero comforts Miranda again, telling her to wipe her tears and take heart.
- He’s transitioning from the role of a magician to that of a loving father.
- Theme: Parental care, revelation
- Language device: “Art” is again a symbol for magic — he is now choosing human connection over magical power.
PROSPERO:
The direful spectacle of the wrack, which touched
The very virtue of compassion in thee…
Prospero refers to the terrifying sight of the shipwreck (“wrack”) that moved Miranda to feel deep compassion. He’s acknowledging how empathetic she was toward the victims of the storm.
- Theme: Empathy, illusion vs. reality
- Language device: “Direful spectacle” is vivid imagery, reinforcing how frightening it appeared. “Virtue of compassion” elevates Miranda’s empathy as a noble quality.
I have with such provision in mine art
So safely ordered that there is no soul—
No, not so much perdition as an hair—
Betid to any creature in the vessel
Which thou heard’st cry, which thou saw’st sink.
Prospero reassures her that using his magic (“art”) he carefully arranged everything so no one on the ship was harmed — not even a single hair was lost. Though she saw and heard people in distress, it was all controlled.
- Theme: Power and control, illusion
- Language device: Hyperbole (“not so much perdition as a hair”) emphasizes the precision and harmlessness of his magic.
- It reveals Prospero’s pride in his powers and his desire to comfort Miranda.
Sit down,
For thou must now know farther.
He tells her to sit down because it’s time to reveal the truth — the backstory she never knew.
- This marks a turning point in the scene: the mystery of their past is about to unfold.
MIRANDA:
You have often
Begun to tell me what I am, but stopped
And left me to a bootless inquisition,
Concluding “Stay. Not yet.”
Miranda says he’s tried to tell her about her identity before but always stopped. This left her with unanswered questions (“bootless inquisition” means a useless or futile search for answers), only to be told to wait.
- Theme: Secrets, identity
- Language device: “Bootless inquisition” is metaphorical — her curiosity has brought no results so far.
- She’s frustrated but still respectful.
PROSPERO:
The hour’s now come.
The very minute bids thee ope thine ear.
Obey, and be attentive.
Prospero says that the time has finally come for her to hear the truth. He urges her to listen closely and obey — almost like a formal command.
- Theme: Timing, revelation
- Language device: Personification – “the very minute bids thee” makes time itself seem urgent and alive.
- The mood is serious and almost ritualistic.
Canst thou remember
A time before we came unto this cell?
I do not think thou canst, for then thou wast not
Out three years old.
He asks if she remembers anything from before they lived in this small, simple hut (“cell”). But he doubts she can, because she was just under three years old when they arrived.
- Theme: Memory and childhood
- This begins the process of uncovering her lost history.
MIRANDA:
Certainly, sir, I can.
She surprises him by saying yes — she does remember something.
- Miranda shows that, even young, she retained fragments of her past.
PROSPERO:
By what? By any other house or person?
Of anything the image tell me that
Hath kept with thy remembrance.
He pushes further: what exactly does she remember? A house? A person? Can she recall any image that has stayed in her memory?
- Language device: Interrogative style – the repeated questions show both his urgency and curiosity.
- He’s trying to confirm what she really knows about her origins.
MIRANDA:
’Tis far off
And rather like a dream than an assurance
That my remembrance warrants. Had I not
Four or five women once that tended me?
She answers that her memory is faint and dreamlike — she can’t be fully sure it’s real. But she vaguely remembers being cared for by four or five women.
- Theme: Memory, faded past
- Language device: Simile – “like a dream” suggests how fragile and distant her memories are.
- This moment shows her gentle attempt to piece together her forgotten life.
PROSPERO:
Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how is it
That this lives in thy mind? What seest thou else
In the dark backward and abysm of time?
If thou rememb’rest aught ere thou cam’st here,
How thou cam’st here thou mayst.
Prospero confirms that she had attendants and even more than she recalls. He wonders how that memory survived. He calls her early years “the dark backward and abysm of time” — a poetic way of describing the deep, shadowy past. He says if she can remember anything from before they came to the island, then maybe she can also remember how they arrived.
- Theme: Time, memory, identity
- Language device: Metaphor – “abysm of time” describes the deep unknown of the past as a dark abyss.
- He’s inviting her (and the audience) into the mystery of their history.
MIRANDA:
But that I do not.
Miranda answers simply: she doesn’t remember how they got to the island.
- It leaves the door open for Prospero to finally explain everything.
PROSPERO:
Twelve year since, Miranda, twelve year since,
Thy father was the Duke of Milan and
A prince of power.
He begins by saying that twelve years ago, he (her father) was the Duke of Milan, a very powerful ruler.
- Theme: Power and legitimacy
- Repetition of “twelve year since” gives the moment a rhythmic, dramatic opening — emphasizing how long they’ve been away.
MIRANDA:
Sir, are not you my father?
She’s confused — if her father was the Duke, is he the man she’s speaking to?
- Theme: Identity
- A natural and innocent question that reveals how much she still doesn’t know.
PROSPERO:
Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and
She said thou wast my daughter. And thy father
Was Duke of Milan, and his only heir
And princess no worse issued.
He replies indirectly. He says her mother was virtuous and confirmed Miranda is indeed his daughter. Then he confirms again that he was the Duke and that she was his only heir — a princess of noble birth.
- Language device: Euphemism – “a piece of virtue” is a poetic and respectful way of describing her mother.
- Theme: Lineage, nobility, inheritance
MIRANDA:
O, the heavens!
What foul play had we that we came from thence?
Or blessèd was ’t we did?
She’s shocked and wonders: was it something bad (“foul play”) that drove them from Milan, or was it actually a blessing that they left?
- Theme: Fate and justice
- Language device: Juxtaposition of “foul play” vs. “blessèd” introduces the idea of duality — suffering may lead to hidden good.
PROSPERO:
Both, both, my girl.
By foul play, as thou sayst, were we heaved thence,
But blessedly holp hither.
He answers both are true. Yes, they were wrongfully driven out, but it was also a blessing because they ended up here — alive and safe.
- Theme: Adversity and divine providence
- Language device: Antithesis — “foul play” vs. “blessedly” emphasizes the contrast and complexity of their fate.
MIRANDA:
O, my heart bleeds
To think o’ th’ teen that I have turned you to,
Which is from my remembrance. Please you,
farther.
She feels guilty and heartbroken, thinking she may have caused her father pain, even though she doesn’t remember any of it. She politely asks him to continue.
- Theme: Innocence, empathy
- Language device: Metaphor — “my heart bleeds” expresses deep emotional pain
- “Teen” = sorrow or suffering (an old word).
- She’s tender and humble, feeling compassion even for pain she didn’t cause.
PROSPERO:
My brother and thy uncle, called Antonio—
I pray thee, mark me—that a brother should
Be so perfidious!
He introduces the villain of his story: his own brother Antonio. He urges Miranda to pay attention. He’s outraged that someone so close, a brother, could be so disloyal (“perfidious”).
- Theme: Betrayal, family
- Language device: Exclamatory sentence heightens drama and emotion.
- “Perfidious” = deceitful and untrustworthy, a strong condemnation.
—he whom next thyself
Of all the world I loved, and to him put
The manage of my state…
Prospero says he loved Antonio more than anyone else except Miranda, and he trusted him so deeply that he gave him control over the government.
- Theme: Trust and manipulation
- This shows the depth of betrayal — it wasn’t from a stranger, but someone deeply loved.
…as at that time
Through all the signories it was the first,
And Prospero the prime duke, being so reputed
In dignity, and for the liberal arts
Without a parallel.
He reminds Miranda that Milan was the most respected of all Italian city-states (“signories”), and he was admired as the top duke — known for his dignity and his unmatched knowledge in the arts and learning.
- Theme: Knowledge and rulership
- Language device: Alliteration (“prime duke…reputed in dignity”) enhances the grandeur of his position
- Historical context: Renaissance Italy prized learning (liberal arts) — Prospero represents the ideal of the learned ruler.
Those being all my study,
The government I cast upon my brother
And to my state grew stranger, being transported
And rapt in secret studies.
He admits that he became too absorbed in his books and magic (“secret studies”), so he handed over the running of the state to Antonio. In doing so, he grew distant from politics and let his brother gain more power.
- Theme: Obsession, abdication of duty
- Language device: “Rapt” suggests being carried away or enchanted — a hint at how seductive knowledge can be.
- “Stranger to my state” = became unfamiliar with his duties.
Thy false uncle—
Dost thou attend me?
He pauses to ask if Miranda is still listening, as he begins to describe Antonio’s betrayal more fully.
- Language device: Direct address and rhetorical question draw the audience into the unfolding story.
MIRANDA:
Sir, most heedfully.
She replies that she’s listening carefully, showing her continued respect and attention.
PROSPERO:
“Being once perfected how to grant suits,
How to deny them, who t’ advance, and who
To trash for overtopping,”
Prospero explains how Antonio, once given power, learned the art of politics—how to grant or deny favors, how to promote people, and how to get rid of those who threatened him (“trash for overtopping” = destroy those who outshone him).
- Theme: Corruption of power
- Language device: Political jargon gives a sense of courtly manipulation.
“New created
The creatures that were mine, I say, or changed ’em,
Or else new formed ’em,”
Antonio reshaped the court—the officials and people loyal to Prospero—either by replacing them or altering their loyalties.
- Theme: Betrayal, manipulation
- Language device: “Creatures” = followers, showing how subjects were viewed almost like pawns.
“Having both the key
Of officer and office, set all hearts i’ th’ state
To what tune pleased his ear,”
With full control of both authority and personnel, Antonio could influence everyone’s opinions and loyalties, bending them to his will like a musician tuning an instrument.
- Metaphor: “Set all hearts… to what tune pleased his ear” = he manipulated everyone’s feelings to serve himself.
“That now he was
The ivy which had hid my princely trunk
And sucked my verdure out on ’t.”
A vivid metaphor: Antonio is like ivy, growing over the “trunk” (Prospero, the rightful ruler), draining him of vitality (“verdure” = green life/energy), and hiding his true self.
- Literary device: Extended metaphor of ivy (parasitic plant) vs. trunk (strong, noble tree)
- Theme: Usurpation, decay of rightful power
*“Thou attend’st not.”
MIRANDA:
“O, good sir, I do.”
He interrupts himself, fearing Miranda isn’t paying attention. She reassures him she is.
PROSPERO:
“I pray thee, mark me.
I, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated
To closeness and the bettering of my mind”
He urges her to listen closely. He explains that he neglected worldly matters (like politics) because he was too focused on private studies and self-improvement.
- Theme: Isolation, intellectual pursuit
- “Closeness” = seclusion
“With that which, but by being so retired,
O’erprized all popular rate,”
His studies were valued precisely because they were rare and private—far above what ordinary people cared about.
- Theme: Knowledge vs. power
- He was dedicated to something noble but impractical.
“In my false brother
Awaked an evil nature, and my trust,
Like a good parent, did beget of him
A falsehood in its contrary as great
As my trust was,”
His excessive trust gave rise to deep betrayal. His brother’s treachery was equal in size—but opposite in nature—to the trust Prospero gave him.
- Simile: “Like a good parent” – Prospero likens himself to a parent who raised something noble, but it turned into its opposite.
- Theme: Betrayal, innocence vs. cunning
“Which had indeed no limit,
A confidence sans bound.”
His trust in Antonio had no limits. He never doubted his brother.
- Language device: Hyperbole (“sans bound”) emphasizes the depth of his naïveté.
“He being thus lorded,
Not only with what my revenue yielded
But what my power might else exact,”
Antonio enjoyed not just the income from the dukedom, but also all the power that came with the title.
- Theme: Usurpation, abuse of delegated authority
“Like one
Who, having into truth by telling of it,
Made such a sinner of his memory
To credit his own lie,”
Antonio repeated the lie so much—that he was Duke—that he eventually believed it himself.
- Language device: Paradox and irony — lying turned into false truth.
- Theme: Self-deception, illusion vs. reality
“He did believe
He was indeed the Duke, out o’ th’ substitution
And executing th’ outward face of royalty
With all prerogative.”
Acting like the Duke for so long convinced him that he was the Duke, with all rights and powers.
- Theme: Performance of power
- “Out o’ th’ substitution” = as a stand-in (substitute) for the real duke, he assumed the title as his own.
“Hence, his ambition growing—
Dost thou hear?”
MIRANDA:
“Your tale, sir, would cure deafness.”*
As his ambition increased, Prospero checks again if Miranda is listening. She affirms dramatically that it’s impossible not to listen—it’s that compelling.
- Language device: Hyperbole (“cure deafness”) adds intensity.
- A moment of emotional bonding between father and daughter.
PROSPERO:
“To have no screen between this part he played
And him he played it for, he needs will be—”
Antonio didn’t want any more pretense. He no longer wanted to play the role of duke on Prospero’s behalf—he wanted to be the duke in truth.
- Theme: Ambition, desire for complete power
- Language device: Theatre metaphor — “part he played” suggests ruling as a role in a performance.
PROSPERO:
“Absolute Milan. Me, poor man, my library
Was dukedom large enough.”
He had surrendered all rule to Antonio, becoming “absolute” in name only. Prospero, devoted to study, felt that his books were more than enough—a kingdom in themselves.
- Theme: The conflict between knowledge and power
- Tone: Regretful and self-blaming
- Irony: His love for knowledge allowed someone else to seize real power.
“Of temporal royalties
He thinks me now incapable;”
Antonio believed Prospero was unfit to rule worldly things (“temporal royalties”) because he was so absorbed in learning.
“Confederates,
So dry he was for sway, wi’ th’ King of Naples
To give him annual tribute, do him homage,”
Antonio was so thirsty for power (“dry… for sway”) that he made a deal with their enemy, the King of Naples, agreeing to pay tribute and acknowledge him as overlord.
- Theme: Political ambition, betrayal
- Language device: “Dry for sway” = strong metaphor for desperate ambition.
“Subject his coronet to his crown, and bend
The dukedom, yet unbowed—alas, poor Milan!—
To most ignoble stooping.”
Antonio lowered the dukedom of Milan, once proud and independent, under the rule of Naples. Prospero mourns for the dishonor brought to his city.
MIRANDA:
“O, the heavens!”
A shocked and emotional reaction — Miranda is feeling the injustice deeply.
PROSPERO:
“Mark his condition and th’ event. Then tell me
If this might be a brother.”
Prospero says: Look at his nature (condition) and what he did (event). Is this how a brother should behave?
MIRANDA:
“I should sin
To think but nobly of my grandmother.
Good wombs have borne bad sons.”
Miranda tries to reconcile how someone so evil could be part of her family. She declares it’s wrong to think poorly of her grandmother just because Antonio turned out wicked.
- Theme: The mystery of human nature
- Line note: A famous line — “Good wombs have borne bad sons” expresses how virtue and vice can spring from the same source.
PROSPERO:
“Now the condition.”
He transitions back to explaining the situation.
“This King of Naples, being an enemy
To me inveterate, hearkens my brother’s suit,”
The King of Naples, Prospero’s old enemy, listened to Antonio’s request.
“Which was that he, in lieu o’ th’ premises
Of homage and I know not how much tribute,
Should presently extirpate me and mine
Out of the dukedom,”
Antonio promised tribute in exchange for having Prospero and Miranda completely removed (“extirpate” = root out) from Milan.
- Theme: Ruthlessness, political convenience
“And confer fair Milan,
With all the honors, on my brother;”
Milan, the city Prospero ruled, would be handed to Antonio.
“Whereon,
A treacherous army levied, one midnight
Fated to th’ purpose did Antonio open
The gates of Milan,”
Antonio raised an army. One night, destined for betrayal, he opened the gates of Milan to them.
“And i’ th’ dead of darkness
The ministers for th’ purpose hurried thence
Me and thy crying self.”
In the darkest part of the night, they forced Prospero and the crying baby Miranda out of the city.
- Imagery: Darkness, secrecy, helplessness
MIRANDA:
“Alack, for pity!
I, not rememb’ring how I cried out then,
Will cry it o’er again. It is a hint
That wrings mine eyes to ’t.”
Even though she doesn’t remember the event, hearing about it moves her to tears.
- Theme: Empathy, memory, inherited trauma
- “Hint” = faint memory or emotional suggestion
PROSPERO:
“Hear a little further,
And then I’ll bring thee to the present business
Which now’s upon’s, without the which this story
Were most impertinent.”
He urges her to keep listening—he’s almost done. He’s telling this to lead into the current situation they face.
MIRANDA:
“Wherefore did they not
That hour destroy us?”
Why didn’t they just kill them then?
PROSPERO:
“Well demanded, wench.
My tale provokes that question.”
A warm moment—he calls her “wench” affectionately and admits it’s a smart question.
“Dear, they durst not,
So dear the love my people bore me,”
They dared not kill Prospero because the people of Milan loved him too much.
“Nor set
A mark so bloody on the business, but
With colors fairer painted their foul ends.”
They didn’t want a bloody crime—so they disguised their wickedness to look less evil.
- Theme: Appearance vs. reality, deceit
- Language device: “Painted their foul ends” = metaphor for hypocrisy
“In few, they hurried us aboard a bark,
Bore us some leagues to sea,”
In short, they put them on a boat and sent them far out to sea.
“Where they prepared
A rotten carcass of a butt, not rigged,
Nor tackle, sail, nor mast;”
They were set adrift in a broken-down old ship (a “butt” = cask or tub), without sails or navigation.
- Imagery: Total abandonment
- “Rotten carcass” — gives a sense of death
“The very rats
Instinctively have quit it.”
Even the rats had left the ship—it was that bad.
“There they hoist us
To cry to th’ sea that roared to us, to sigh
To th’ winds, whose pity, sighing back again,
Did us but loving wrong.”
They were left to beg mercy from nature. The sea and wind, though they seemed sympathetic, could offer no real help.
- Personification: Sea and wind responding emotionally
- “Loving wrong” = ironic — they didn’t mean harm, but still couldn’t help
MIRANDA:
“Alack, what trouble
Was I then to you!”
She regrets the burden she must have been.
PROSPERO:
“O, a cherubin
Thou wast that did preserve me.”
He says she was like an angel (“cherubin”) who kept him going.
“Thou didst smile,
Infusèd with a fortitude from heaven,”
As a baby, her smile—blessed by heavenly courage—gave him strength.
“When I have decked the sea with drops full salt,
Under my burden groaned,”
He cried into the sea and groaned under the weight of sorrow.
“Which raised in me
An undergoing stomach to bear up
Against what should ensue.”
Her presence gave him the strength (“stomach” = courage) to face the future.
MIRANDA:
“How came we ashore?”
She asks how they survived.
PROSPERO:
“By providence divine.”
They were saved by divine intervention—fate or God’s will.
“Some food we had, and some fresh water, that
A noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo,
Out of his charity…”
Gonzalo, a good man from Naples, secretly provided food and water.
“…who being then appointed
Master of this design, did give us, with
Rich garments, linens, stuffs, and necessaries,”
Although Gonzalo was in charge of the exile mission, he showed kindness by giving them clothing and supplies.
“Which since have steaded much.”
These gifts helped them survive on the island.
“So, of his gentleness,
Knowing I loved my books, he furnished me
From mine own library with volumes that
I prize above my dukedom.”
Gonzalo even brought some of Prospero’s books—knowing how much he cherished them. Prospero values those books more than his lost dukedom.
- Theme: Knowledge, kindness, hope
- Tone: Gratitude toward Gonzalo
MIRANDA
“Would I might / But ever see that man.”
Meaning: I wish I could see that man just once.
Explanation: Miranda is talking about someone she’s curious about—most likely referring to one of the people who were on the ship during the storm.
Theme: Curiosity, innocence.
Language Device: Desire/wish expressed poetically (“Would I might” is a formal way of wishing).
PROSPERO (standing)
“Now I arise.”
Meaning: I’m standing up now.
Explanation: This could be both literal and symbolic—he’s rising in power, taking charge of the situation.
Device: Stage direction—indicates a change in tone or action.
“Sit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow.”
Meaning: Stay seated, and listen to the final part of our story about the sea (our past hardships).
Theme: Suffering, storytelling.
Device: Metaphor—“sea-sorrow” symbolizes their difficult journey and emotional pain.
“Here in this island we arrived, and here / Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit / Than other princes can…”
Meaning: We arrived on this island, and here I’ve taught you more than other princes learn with all their free time.
Explanation: Prospero is proud of how much he’s educated Miranda.
Theme: Education, isolation.
Device: Metaphor—“made thee more profit” means Miranda has gained more knowledge than others.
“For vainer hours and tutors not so careful.”
Meaning: Other princes waste time and have less devoted teachers.
Tone: Slightly boastful; Prospero believes he’s a better teacher.
MIRANDA
“Heavens thank you for ’t. And now I pray you, sir— / For still ’tis beating in my mind—your reason / For raising this sea storm?”
Meaning: Thank you! But please tell me—why did you cause that storm? I keep thinking about it.
Theme: Truth-seeking, morality.
Device: Metaphor—“beating in my mind” shows how obsessed she is with this question.
PROSPERO
“Know thus far forth: / By accident most strange, bountiful Fortune, / Now my dear lady…”
Meaning: Know this: by a strange twist of fate—kind Lady Fortune has helped me.
Explanation: Prospero is saying that fate (personified as a lady) has brought his enemies to the island.
Theme: Fate vs. free will.
Device: *Personification—*Fortune is described as a generous woman.
“Hath mine enemies / Brought to this shore; and by my prescience / I find my zenith doth depend upon / A most auspicious star…”
Meaning: My enemies were brought here, and my success depends on a lucky star (good timing).
Explanation: He believes that everything is aligned for his success—if he acts now.
Theme: Revenge, destiny.
Device: Metaphor—“zenith” means peak moment in life. Astrological imagery—“auspicious star.”
“If now I court not, but omit, my fortunes / Will ever after droop.”
Meaning: If I miss this chance, I’ll never succeed.
Theme: Taking opportunity, consequences.
Device: Personification—“fortunes droop” like a flower wilting.
“Here cease more questions. / Thou art inclined to sleep. ’Tis a good dullness, / And give it way. I know thou canst not choose.”
Meaning: Stop asking questions. You’re sleepy—it’s a magical sleep, let it happen.
Explanation: Prospero magically puts Miranda to sleep so she doesn’t overhear the next part.
Theme: Control, manipulation.
Device: *Dramatic irony—*we know he’s using magic, she doesn’t.
(Miranda falls asleep. Prospero puts on his cloak.)
Symbolism: The cloak represents Prospero’s magical powers and authority.
PROSPERO
“Come away, servant, come. I am ready now. / Approach, my Ariel. Come.”
Meaning: Come here, my servant Ariel. I’m ready.
Theme: Master-servant dynamic.
Tone: Commanding.
Enter ARIEL.
Stage direction: Introduces the spirit Ariel—Prospero’s magical helper.
ARIEL
“All hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come / To answer thy best pleasure.”
Meaning: Greetings, noble master! I’m ready to do whatever you ask.
Tone: Respectful, eager.
Theme: Loyalty, servitude.
“Be ’t to fly, / To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride / On the curled clouds…”
Meaning: Whether you want me to fly, swim, enter fire, or ride clouds—I’ll obey.
Device: Hyperbole (exaggeration) and imagery—shows Ariel’s magical abilities and loyalty.
“To thy strong bidding task / Ariel and all his quality.”
Meaning: You can command me and my fellow spirits.
Theme: Power and control.
*Language: Elevated, poetic.
PROSPERO
“Hast thou, spirit, / Performed to point the tempest that I bade thee?”
Meaning: Did you carry out the storm exactly as I instructed?
Theme: Planning, execution.
Tone: Inquisitive but expecting excellence.
ARIEL
“To every article.”
Meaning: Yes, every single detail.
Tone: Confident, proud.
“I boarded the King’s ship; now on the beak, / Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin…”
Meaning: I moved all over the ship—from the front to the middle, the deck, and rooms.
Device: Visual imagery.
“I flamed amazement. Sometimes I’d divide / And burn in many places.”
Meaning: I created magical fire in different parts of the ship at once.
Theme: Supernatural power.
Device: Metaphor and sensory imagery—“flamed amazement.”
“On the topmast, / The yards, and bowsprit would I flame distinctly, / Then meet and join.”
Meaning: I appeared as fire on different ship parts, then came together again.
Device: Magical realism.
“Jove’s lightning… sight-outrunning were not.”
Meaning: Even Jupiter’s lightning wasn’t faster or more stunning than mine.
Device: Mythological allusion (Jove = Jupiter) and simile.
“The fire and cracks / Of sulfurous roaring the most mighty Neptune / Seem to besiege…”
Meaning: My magic storm made even the sea god Neptune seem under attack.
Device: Allusion and hyperbole.
PROSPERO
“My brave spirit! / Who was so firm… that this coil / Would not infect his reason?”
Meaning: Well done! Was there anyone who stayed calm during this chaos?
Theme: Madness and fear.
ARIEL
“Not a soul / But felt a fever of the mad…”
Meaning: Everyone went a bit mad with fear.
Device: Metaphor—“fever of the mad.”
“All but mariners / Plunged in the foaming brine…”
Meaning: Everyone except the sailors jumped into the sea (the “brine”).
Theme: Panic, chaos.
“The King’s son, Ferdinand, / With hair up-staring… cried ‘Hell is empty, / And all the devils are here.’”
Meaning: Prince Ferdinand, terrified, thought the world had gone mad and evil spirits had taken over.
Device: Dramatic metaphor—“Hell is empty…” is a famous Shakespearean quote showing total fear.
Theme: Supernatural horror.
PROSPERO
“Why, that’s my spirit! / But was not this nigh shore?”
Meaning: That’s my excellent Ariel! But were they close to the shore?
ARIEL
“Close by, my master.”
*Short and simple. Everything’s going as planned.
PROSPERO
“But are they, Ariel, safe?”
Meaning: Did anyone get hurt? Are they alive?
Theme: Compassion, control.
ARIEL
“Not a hair perished… / But fresher than before…”
Meaning: Not a single person is harmed. Their clothes are cleaner than before.
Device: Hyperbole for magical effect.
Theme: Benevolent magic.
“In troops I have dispersed them ’bout the isle…”
Meaning: I’ve separated them into small groups all around the island.
Purpose: Prospero wants to control how they interact and what they learn.
“The King’s son have I landed by himself… / His arms in this sad knot.”
Meaning: I left Ferdinand alone, sitting with his arms crossed sadly.
Device: Visual imagery, body language.
Theme: Isolation, sadness, setup for romance.
PROSPERO: Of the King’s ship,
The mariners say how thou hast disposed,
And all the rest o’ th’ fleet.
Meaning: Prospero is asking Ariel how he handled the king’s ship and the rest of the fleet. Theme: Control and Manipulation – Prospero wants every detail; he is a puppet master behind the scenes. Language device: Direct address and command – shows authority.
ARIEL: Safely in harbor
Is the King’s ship.
Meaning: Ariel reassures that the king’s ship is safe and docked. Theme: Illusion vs Reality – everyone thinks the ship is wrecked, but it’s actually safe. Language: Calm and reassuring tone; sets contrast to the earlier chaos.
In the deep nook, where once
Thou called’st me up at midnight to fetch dew
From the still-vexed Bermoothes, there she’s hid;
Meaning: The ship is hidden in the same secret spot where Prospero once sent Ariel on a late-night task. “Still-vexed Bermoothes”: Likely refers to Bermuda, a mysterious and stormy place. Language device: Imagery – “deep nook,” “midnight,” “still-vexed” create a mystical mood.
The mariners all under hatches stowed,
Who, with a charm joined to their suffered labor,
I have left asleep.
Meaning: The sailors are asleep below deck, magically charmed after their ordeal. Theme: Magic and Power – Ariel uses enchantments to control the situation.
And for the rest o’ th’ fleet,
Which I dispersed, they all have met again
And are upon the Mediterranean float,
Bound sadly home for Naples,
Meaning: The rest of the ships (that Ariel scattered) have reunited and are now heading home, thinking the king is lost. Tone: “Sadly” adds a sense of grief and loss, though it’s all based on illusion.
Supposing that they saw the King’s ship wracked
And his great person perish.
Meaning: They believe the king and his ship are gone, dead in the storm. Theme: Illusion vs Reality, Deception.
PROSPERO: Ariel, thy charge
Exactly is performed. But there’s more work.
What is the time o’ th’ day?
Meaning: Prospero is pleased with Ariel but immediately gives him more tasks. Theme: Servitude and Freedom – Ariel works hard but wants liberty. Tone: Prospero is firm and slightly dismissive.
ARIEL: Past the mid season.
Meaning: It’s past midday.
PROSPERO: At least two glasses. The time ’twixt six and now
Must by us both be spent most preciously.
Meaning: About two hours have passed. Prospero says they must use the remaining time wisely. Theme: Time and Fate – there’s a sense of urgency.
ARIEL: Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains,
Let me remember thee what thou hast promised,
Which is not yet performed me.
Meaning: Ariel is tired and reminds Prospero of his promise to grant him freedom. Theme: Servitude, Freedom and Reward. Language device: Euphemism – “toil” and “pains” soften the reality of Ariel’s suffering.
PROSPERO: How now? Moody?
What is ’t thou canst demand?
Meaning: Prospero is annoyed. He asks what Ariel wants. Tone: Sarcastic and a little mocking.
ARIEL: My liberty.
Meaning: Ariel wants his freedom—plain and simple. Theme: Slavery vs Autonomy – Ariel is magical, powerful, but still a servant.
PROSPERO: Before the time be out? No more.
Meaning: Prospero refuses—he says Ariel’s time isn’t up.
ARIEL: I prithee,
Remember I have done thee worthy service,
Told thee no lies, made no mistakings, served
Without or grudge or grumblings. Thou did promise
To bate me a full year.
Meaning: Ariel pleads. He’s done everything asked, never lied, and wants Prospero to reduce the time of his service. Language: Formal and respectful; yet honest and direct.
PROSPERO: Dost thou forget
From what a torment I did free thee?
Meaning: Prospero reminds Ariel of the horrible state he rescued him from. Theme: Debt and Gratitude, Power Dynamics – Prospero holds freedom as a reward over Ariel’s head.
ARIEL: No.
Meaning: Ariel still remembers.
PROSPERO: Thou dost, and think’st it much to tread the ooze
Of the salt deep,
To run upon the sharp wind of the North,
To do me business in the veins o’ th’ Earth
When it is baked with frost.
Meaning: Prospero accuses Ariel of forgetting and complains that Ariel thinks it’s hard to serve him, whether through water, wind, or icy earth. Language device: Imagery – “salt deep,” “sharp wind,” “baked with frost” show harsh conditions. Tone: Harsh, guilt-tripping.
ARIEL: I do not, sir.
Meaning: Ariel politely denies the accusation.
PROSPERO: Thou liest, malignant thing. Hast thou forgot
The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy
Was grown into a hoop? Hast thou forgot her?
Meaning: Prospero accuses Ariel of lying. He reminds him of Sycorax, the evil witch who imprisoned him. Language: “Malignant thing” is harsh, dehumanizing. Sycorax is described as ugly and evil.
ARIEL: No, sir.
Meaning: Ariel again denies forgetting.
PROSPERO: Thou hast. Where was she born? Speak. Tell me.
Meaning: Prospero tests Ariel’s memory.
ARIEL: Sir, in Argier.
Meaning: Ariel correctly names her birthplace—Algiers (spelled “Argier”).
PROSPERO: O, was she so? I must
Once in a month recount what thou hast been,
Which thou forget’st.
Meaning: Prospero says he has to keep reminding Ariel of his past, which Ariel “forgets.” Theme: Power and Reminders of Debt – Prospero uses Ariel’s past imprisonment as a way to maintain control.
This damned witch Sycorax,
For mischiefs manifold, and sorceries terrible
To enter human hearing, from Argier,
Thou know’st, was banished. For one thing she did
They would not take her life. Is not this true?
Meaning: Sycorax was banished for her terrible magic. One crime was so bad they couldn’t even speak of it—yet it wasn’t enough to execute her. Theme: Mystery and Fear of the Unknown, Justice and Punishment. Language: “Sorceries terrible to enter human hearing” – evokes fear and horror.
ARIEL: Ay, sir.
Meaning: Ariel agrees.
PROSPERO: This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child
And here was left by th’ sailors. Thou, my slave,
As thou report’st thyself, was then her servant,
Meaning: Sycorax came to the island pregnant and Ariel was her servant. Tone: “Hag,” “slave” – harsh, controlling language. Theme: Colonialism and Enslavement.
And for thou wast a spirit too delicate
To act her earthy and abhorred commands,
Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee,
By help of her more potent ministers
And in her most unmitigable rage,
Into—
Meaning: Because Ariel refused to follow Sycorax’s disgusting commands, she trapped him using her spirits in a terrible place. Language: “Delicate spirit” contrasts with Sycorax’s cruelty. Theme: Freedom vs Oppression, Morality – Ariel is shown as good for refusing evil.
“Into a cloven pine, within which rift / Imprisoned thou didst painfully remain / A dozen years;”
- Simple explanation: You were trapped inside a split pine tree and stayed there in pain for 12 years.
- Analysis: Prospero reminds Ariel of his suffering under the witch Sycorax.
- Language device: Imagery – “cloven pine” and “rift” create a vivid picture of being stuck in a tree.
- Theme: Imprisonment, power, freedom vs. captivity.
“within which space she died / And left thee there,”
- She (Sycorax) died during those 12 years and left you trapped inside.
- Theme: Abandonment, suffering.
“where thou didst vent thy groans / As fast as mill wheels strike.”
- You cried out in pain constantly, as fast as a mill wheel spins.
- Language device: Simile – compares groaning to the rapid motion of mill wheels.
- Theme: Emotional and physical pain.
“Then was this island / (Save for the son that she did litter here, / A freckled whelp, hag-born) not honored with / A human shape.”
- At that time, this island had no humans except for her son (Caliban), a wild, ugly boy born from a witch.
- Language: Derogatory language – “freckled whelp”, “hag-born” shows Prospero’s disdain.
- Themes: Colonialism, nature vs. civilization, dehumanization.
ARIEL: Yes, Caliban, her son.
- Ariel confirms: Yes, that was Caliban.
PROSPERO: Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban / Whom now I keep in service.
- Yes, that stupid creature Caliban—he’s now my servant.
- Themes: Slavery, colonial rule, superiority.
Thou best know’st / What torment I did find thee in.
- You remember how much pain you were in when I found you.
- Tone: Prospero speaks with authority, reminding Ariel of his power.
Thy groans / Did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breasts / Of ever-angry bears.
- Your cries were so painful that even wolves howled and bears were affected.
- Language device: Hyperbole – exaggerated to show the depth of Ariel’s suffering.
- Theme: Suffering, emotional expression.
It was a torment / To lay upon the damned, which Sycorax / Could not again undo.
- The pain you felt was as bad as what the damned in hell go through. Even Sycorax couldn’t free you.
- Language device: Allusion to hell/damnation – makes Ariel’s suffering seem eternal.
- Theme: Powerlessness, cruelty.
It was mine art, / When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape / The pine and let thee out.
- It was my magic that opened the tree and freed you.
- Language device: Personification – “made gape the pine” gives the tree a human action.
- Theme: Power of magic, gratitude, control.
ARIEL: I thank thee, master.
- Ariel thanks Prospero.
PROSPERO: If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak / And peg thee in his knotty entrails till / Thou hast howled away twelve winters.
- If you complain again, I’ll trap you in an oak tree’s twisted roots for another 12 years.
- Language: Threat, imagery – “rend,” “knotty entrails,” and “howled away” evoke violence.
- Theme: Authority, fear, obedience through threat.
ARIEL: Pardon, master. / I will be correspondent to command / And do my spriting gently.
- I’m sorry, master. I’ll follow your orders and do my magical work peacefully.
- Theme: Servitude, submission, obedience.
PROSPERO: Do so, and after two days / I will discharge thee.
- Do that, and I’ll set you free in two days.
- Theme: Hope for freedom, conditional liberty.
ARIEL: That’s my noble master. / What shall I do? Say, what? What shall I do?
- You’re a noble master! What do you want me to do? Tell me!
- Tone: Eager, excited, obedient.
- Language device: Repetition – shows Ariel’s energy and readiness.
- Theme: Loyalty, anticipation, servitude.
PROSPERO: Go make thyself like a nymph o’ th’ sea. Be subject / To no sight but thine and mine, invisible / To every eyeball else. Go, take this shape.
- Turn yourself into a sea spirit. Only you and I should be able to see you—be invisible to everyone else.
- Language device: Imagery, imperatives (commands).
- Theme: Illusion, performance, transformation.
“And hither come in ’t. Go, hence with diligence!”
Prospero is telling Ariel to come quickly and then leave just as fast to carry out his orders.
The tone is commanding, showing Prospero’s authority over Ariel.
This highlights the theme of power and control, especially the master-servant dynamic.
The use of imperative verbs (“come,” “go”) emphasizes Prospero’s dominance.
[Ariel exits.]
Ariel silently obeys and leaves. This short stage direction underscores Ariel’s obedience and magical swiftness.
It touches on the theme of servitude, and how magic is used to maintain order on the island.
“Awake, dear heart, awake. Thou hast slept well. Awake.”
Prospero gently wakes Miranda, calling her “dear heart,” which shows his affection.
The repetition of “awake” adds a soft, rhythmic tone and suggests urgency mixed with care.
This moment brings out the theme of parental love and protection.
MIRANDA: The strangeness of your story put / Heaviness in me.
Miranda says that her father’s story was so strange and heavy that it made her feel sleepy or overwhelmed.
Her reaction shows how magical and surreal the events are.
The word “heaviness” could mean both emotional weight and literal tiredness, showing a double meaning (pun).
The theme of illusion versus reality comes into play here, as she struggles to grasp the magical tale.
PROSPERO: Shake it off. Come on, / We’ll visit Caliban, my slave, who never / Yields us kind answer.
Prospero tells her to forget the feelings and move on—he wants to go check on Caliban, their servant, who’s always rude to them.
He casually refers to Caliban as “my slave,” emphasizing his authority and ownership, which highlights the colonial theme of domination.
“Never yields us kind answer” shows that Caliban resists authority, hinting at rebellion or resentment.
MIRANDA: ’Tis a villain, sir, / I do not love to look on.
Miranda agrees with her father and calls Caliban a villain. She says she doesn’t even like seeing him.
This line reflects how Caliban is dehumanized and looked down upon, even by Miranda.
It ties into the theme of otherness and prejudice.
PROSPERO: But, as ’tis, / We cannot miss him. He does make our fire, / Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices / That profit us.
Prospero acknowledges Caliban is unpleasant, but he’s useful. Caliban does chores for them—gathering wood and making fires.
This shows exploitation, as Caliban’s value is measured by the work he does.
The phrase “offices that profit us” uses formal language to describe servitude, suggesting a rationalization of control.
This strengthens the theme of colonialism and forced labor.
“—What ho, slave, Caliban! / Thou earth, thou, speak!”
Prospero calls out to Caliban, rudely calling him “slave” and comparing him to the “earth,” implying he’s base, dirty, and lowly.
The language is harsh and degrading.
Metaphor: “Thou earth” dehumanizes Caliban, showing how Prospero views him as less than human.
This continues the theme of power imbalance and inhuman treatment.
CALIBAN (within): There’s wood enough within.
Caliban responds from offstage, annoyed. He says there’s already enough wood inside.
His tone is resentful, suggesting he’s tired of being ordered around.
This introduces his resistance, a key part of his character arc.
PROSPERO: Come forth, I say. There’s other business for thee. / Come, thou tortoise. When?”
Prospero orders Caliban to come out quickly, mocking him by calling him a “tortoise” — slow and lazy.
The insult “tortoise” is an animal metaphor, showing disdain and a sense of superiority.
The theme of dehumanization continues here, along with frustration with rebellion.
Enter Ariel like a water nymph.
Ariel re-enters, now disguised as a beautiful water spirit.
This shows Ariel’s magical shape-shifting ability and emphasizes the mystical elements of the play.
It supports the theme of illusion and transformation.
“Fine apparition! My quaint Ariel, / Hark in thine ear.”
Prospero admires Ariel’s appearance and leans in to whisper something secret.
Calling Ariel a “fine apparition” links to the theme of magic and performance.
The word “quaint” means clever or unusual—Prospero sees Ariel as a unique tool.
The whispering suggests another plan in motion, building suspense.
ARIEL: My lord, it shall be done.
Ariel reassures Prospero he will follow the instructions.
Once again, Ariel is obedient and loyal—perhaps unwillingly, given past dialogue in the play.
The line reflects the theme of servitude versus freedom.
PROSPERO (to Caliban): Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself / Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!”
Prospero insults Caliban harshly, saying he’s the child of the devil and an evil mother.
This line is full of venomous imagery — “poisonous,” “devil,” “wicked.”
It reflects how Prospero justifies his treatment of Caliban by demonizing him.
This ties into colonial themes, where the colonized are viewed as evil or uncivilized.
Enter Caliban.
Caliban finally appears onstage. His physical entrance signals a shift in the scene toward conflict.
CALIBAN: As wicked dew as e’er my mother brushed / With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen / Drop on you both. A southwest blow on you / And blister you all o’er.”
Caliban curses Prospero and Miranda. He hopes evil swamp-dew and harsh winds strike them with blisters.
This is a powerful curse filled with dark natural imagery—“raven’s feather,” “unwholesome fen,” “southwest blow.”
The language is poetic but vengeful, reflecting Caliban’s pain and anger.
These curses show how deeply he resents being enslaved.
It explores the theme of resistance against oppression and the rage of the colonized.
PROSPERO: For this, be sure, tonight thou shalt have cramps…
Prospero threatens Caliban with magical punishment—terrible cramps, shortness of breath, and painful pinching.
He’s furious and uses graphic imagery like “pinched as thick as honeycomb” to paint a picture of suffering.
This reflects the theme of control and domination, showing how Prospero uses magic as a weapon.
The comparison to bees stinging adds a simile that intensifies the cruelty.
CALIBAN: I must eat my dinner.
Caliban speaks bluntly, trying to ignore the threats. This dry response shows his defiance and how he’s used to this treatment.
This island’s mine by Sycorax, my mother, / Which thou tak’st from me.
Caliban claims rightful ownership of the island, inherited from his mother.
He’s expressing a deep sense of injustice—the theme of colonization is strong here.
Prospero is the colonizer who took the land by force.
When thou cam’st first, / Thou strok’st me and made much of me…
Caliban recalls how Prospero was kind at first—giving him food and teaching him about the sun and moon.
It’s a contrast between past kindness and current cruelty.
The memory feels almost like betrayal, feeding into the theme of manipulation.
And then I loved thee, / And showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle…
Caliban trusted Prospero and shared his home’s secrets—the good and bad parts of the island.
There’s a sense of regret in his voice.
His line “Cursed be I that did so!” shows how bitter and hurt he is now.
All the charms / Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you…
He calls for all his mother’s dark magic and creepy creatures to curse Prospero.
This reflects his emotional pain and the theme of revenge.
For I am all the subjects that you have, / Which first was mine own king…
Caliban points out the irony—he was once the ruler of the island, now he’s the only servant.
It shows how Prospero has completely reversed their power dynamic.
Another colonial metaphor, where the native becomes the slave.
PROSPERO: Thou most lying slave…
Prospero calls him a liar and says punishment, not kindness, is what moves him.
He insults Caliban’s very being—calling him “filth” and “hagseed.”
This is dehumanizing language, meant to justify how he treats him.
…till thou didst seek to violate / The honor of my child.
Prospero says the reason he turned against Caliban was because Caliban tried to rape Miranda.
This line is the justification for his hatred.
The theme of justice versus vengeance is explored here.
CALIBAN: O ho, O ho! Would ’t had been done! / Thou didst prevent me.
Caliban laughs bitterly and says he wishes he’d succeeded.
He says he would have filled the island with children like him.
This line is shocking, showing his rage and twisted defiance.
It also touches on themes of monstrosity and power through reproduction.
MIRANDA: Abhorrèd slave…
Miranda joins in and expresses her disgust.
She says he’s incapable of goodness, and that she pitied and educated him.
This reveals how she once tried to help him—theme of nature versus nurture.
When thou didst not, savage, / Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble…
She recalls how Caliban didn’t know how to speak and behaved like an animal.
Her efforts made him more human, but she believes he was born wicked.
This shows racial and cultural prejudice, and connects to the theme of language and power.
Therefore wast thou / Deservedly confined…
Miranda says he deserved his imprisonment for his actions and nature.
This line echoes colonial views that justify harsh treatment based on perceived inferiority.
CALIBAN: You taught me language, and my profit on ’t / Is I know how to curse.
This is one of Caliban’s most famous lines.
He sarcastically says that learning their language only helped him curse them.
It’s biting irony and reveals how knowledge, meant to civilize, became a tool of rebellion.
This connects with the theme of power through language, but also resistance.
The red plague rid you / For learning me your language!
Caliban wishes a deadly disease on them as thanks for their “gift” of speech.
The language here is harsh and angry—violent imagery, filled with hatred.
PROSPERO: Hagseed, hence! / Fetch us in fuel…
Prospero explodes again, calling him more names and ordering him to gather firewood.
“Hagseed” means the child of a witch, used as an insult.
The command is filled with contempt and threats.
He warns of even worse torture if Caliban doesn’t obey—“rack thee with old cramps” is torture imagery.
CALIBAN: No, pray thee. / Aside. I must obey.
Caliban begs him to stop and, aside to the audience, admits he has no choice but to obey.
He fears Prospero’s magic, which he says could even overpower his mother’s god, Setebos.
This line shows the theme of magical control and how Caliban’s fear forces submission.
There’s internal conflict here—he wants to rebel, but he can’t.
PROSPERO: So, slave, hence.
Prospero ends the argument with more insults and sends Caliban off.
[Caliban exits.]
The stage direction marks Caliban’s exit—defeated, angry, and enslaved.
ARIEL
Come unto these yellow sands,
And then take hands.
🔹 Meaning: Ariel, a magical spirit, invites listeners (likely spirits or even human characters) to come to the golden beach and hold hands.
🔹 Themes: Magic, Music, Nature
🔹 Literary Devices:
- Imagery – “yellow sands” creates a visual of a peaceful shoreline.
- Imperative verbs – “Come,” “take” – Ariel is giving commands.
Curtsied when you have, and kissed
The wild waves whist.
🔹 Meaning: Once you’ve greeted each other with a curtsy and a kiss, you’ll see that the noisy waves have calmed down (they’re “whist”—quiet).
🔹 Language Note: “Whist” means silent.
🔹 Themes: Nature’s harmony; Spirit world
🔹 Device: Alliteration – “wild waves whist” creates a soft, musical sound.
Foot it featly here and there,
And sweet sprites bear
The burden.
🔹 Meaning: Dance lightly (featly) across the beach, and let the sweet fairies (sprites) carry the melody or rhythm of the song (burden = musical part).
🔹 Device:
- Alliteration: “Foot it featly”
- Personification: “Sprites bear the burden” – spirits are portrayed like musical performers.
- Theme: Magic, Dance, Celebration
Hark, hark!
Burden dispersedly, within: Bow-wow.
The watchdogs bark.
🔹 Meaning: Listen closely! You can hear dogs barking (“Bow-wow”) in the background.
🔹 Device:
- Onomatopoeia: “Bow-wow” imitates the sound of dogs.
- Setting: Suggests they are near civilization or a place with guard dogs.
Burden dispersedly, within: Bow-wow.
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry cock-a-diddle-dow.
🔹 Meaning: Again, listen! Now the sound of a rooster (chanticleer) is heard crowing: “cock-a-diddle-dow.”
🔹 Device:
- Alliteration: “Strain of strutting”
- Onomatopoeia: “cock-a-diddle-dow” – imitates a rooster’s call
- Symbolism: The rooster symbolizes a new beginning, perhaps foreshadowing love or transformation.
- Theme: Nature, Time, Awakening
🎭 FERDINAND
Where should this music be? I’ th’ air, or th’ earth?
🔹 Meaning: Where is this music coming from? Is it floating in the air or coming from the ground?
🔹 Themes: Mystery, Magic
🔹 Tone: Awe and confusion
It sounds no more; and sure it waits upon
Some god o’ th’ island.
🔹 Meaning: The music has stopped, and he believes it serves some god or magical being who lives on the island.
🔹 Theme: Supernatural
🔹 Device: Mythological Allusion – gods of nature or spirits
Sitting on a bank,
Weeping again the King my father’s wrack,
🔹 Meaning: I was sitting on a riverbank, crying again over the shipwreck that killed my father, the King.
🔹 Theme: Grief, Loss
🔹 Language: “Wrack” = wreck
This music crept by me upon the waters,
Allaying both their fury and my passion
With its sweet air.
🔹 Meaning: The music floated to me over the sea, calming the storm and soothing my emotions.
🔹 Devices:
- Personification – “music crept,” “waters’ fury”
- Imagery – peaceful, magical
- Theme: Healing through nature and magic
Thence I have followed it,
Or it hath drawn me rather. But ’tis gone.
No, it begins again.
🔹 Meaning: I followed the music—or maybe it drew me in. Now it’s stopped… no, it’s starting again!
🔹 Theme: Fate, Magic pulling people toward destiny
🔹 Note: Shows Ferdinand is being unknowingly guided to Miranda by Prospero’s plan.
🎶 Song by Ariel (Part 2)
Full fathom five thy father lies.
Of his bones are coral made.
🔹 Meaning: Your father lies five fathoms (30 feet) under the sea. His bones have turned into coral.
🔹 Theme: Death, Transformation
🔹 Device:
- Metaphor – bones to coral
- Euphemism – speaks of death in a beautiful, poetic way
- Alliteration – “Full fathom five”
Those are pearls that were his eyes.
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea change
Into something rich and strange.
🔹 Meaning: His eyes are now pearls. Everything about him that fades is transformed by the sea into something beautiful and mysterious.
🔹 Devices:
- “Sea change” – Coined by Shakespeare, means a deep transformation.
- Oxymoron – “rich and strange”
- Theme: Nature’s power to renew, mystical transformation
Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell.
Burden, within: Ding dong.
Hark, now I hear them: ding dong bell.
🔹 Meaning: Sea spirits ring his death bell every hour. Listen! You can hear it now: ding dong bell.
🔹 Theme: Mourning, Supernatural
🔹 Device:
- Onomatopoeia – “ding dong” mimics funeral bells
- Personification – sea nymphs acting as mourners
👑 FERDINAND
The ditty does remember my drowned father.
🔹 Meaning: This song makes me think of my drowned father.
🔹 Theme: Grief, Memory
This is no mortal business, nor no sound
That the Earth owes. I hear it now above me.
🔹 Meaning: This music isn’t from any normal source—it must be from the heavens or magic.
🔹 Theme: Supernatural, Destiny
🌟 PROSPERO and MIRANDA
PROSPERO
The fringèd curtains of thine eye advance
And say what thou seest yond.
🔹 Meaning: Open your eyelids (poetically called curtains) and tell me what you see over there.
🔹 Device: Metaphor – eyelids as “curtains”
MIRANDA
What is ’t? A spirit?
Lord, how it looks about! Believe me, sir,
It carries a brave form. But ’tis a spirit.
🔹 Meaning: What is that? A spirit? It looks around with such beauty—it must be a spirit!
🔹 Theme: First love, Wonder
🔹 Language: “Brave” here means handsome.
🔹 Note: She’s amazed by Ferdinand’s appearance.
PROSPERO
No, wench, it eats and sleeps and hath such senses
As we have, such.
🔹 Meaning: No, sweetheart, he’s human—he eats, sleeps, and senses like us.
🔹 Tone: Fatherly, a bit amused.
🔹 Theme: Humanity, Romance
This gallant which thou seest
Was in the wrack; and, but he’s something stained
With grief—that’s beauty’s canker—thou might’st call him
A goodly person.
🔹 Meaning: This fine young man was in the shipwreck. Except for being a little sad (grief spoils beauty), he is a very handsome person.
🔹 Device:
- Metaphor – “beauty’s canker” (canker = sore)
- Theme: Loss, Attraction
He hath lost his fellows
And strays about to find ’em.
🔹 Meaning: He lost his friends and is wandering around to find them.
💘 Young Love Begins
MIRANDA
I might call him
A thing divine, for nothing natural
I ever saw so noble.
🔹 Meaning: I might call him a god—he’s so noble and beautiful, nothing I’ve seen compares.
🔹 Theme: Innocence, Idealized Love
🔹 Device: Hyperbole – expressing awe
🔹 Note: Miranda, having lived isolated, has never seen a man other than her father.
PROSPERO (aside)
It goes on, I see,
As my soul prompts it. To Ariel. Spirit, fine spirit,
I’ll free thee
Within two days for this.
🔹 Meaning: (To himself) Just as I planned—it’s working. (To Ariel) Great job, spirit—I’ll set you free in two days for this success.
🔹 Theme: Control, Manipulation, Freedom
🔹 Note: Prospero orchestrated this meeting as part of his plan.
🤝 FERDINAND & MIRANDA
FERDINAND
Most sure, the goddess
On whom these airs attend!—Vouchsafe my prayer
May know if you remain upon this island…
🔹 Meaning: Surely, you must be a goddess whom this music serves! Please tell me if you live here…
🔹 Device:
- Flattery/Hyperbole – calling her a goddess
- Theme: Love at first sight, Respect
And that you will some good instruction give
How I may bear me here.
🔹 Meaning: And will you guide me—tell me how to behave or survive here?
My prime request,
Which I do last pronounce, is—O you wonder!—
If you be maid or no.
🔹 Meaning: The most important thing I want to know (though I say it last) is—Oh, you amazing creature—are you a virgin (unmarried girl) or not?
🔹 Note: In Shakespeare’s time, asking if someone was a “maid” was asking about purity and marriage potential.
MIRANDA
No wonder, sir,
But certainly a maid.
🔹 Meaning: I’m not a wonder or a goddess—just a young, unmarried woman.
🔹 Theme: Honesty, Simplicity
🔹 Note: Shows Miranda’s modesty and clarity.
FERDINAND:
“I am the best of them that speak this speech, / Were I but where ’tis spoken.”
Ferdinand declares that he is the most eloquent speaker of his language, although he is far from home.
- Language note: This self-assured statement reflects his noble status and education.
- Theme: Identity and exile. Ferdinand longs for his homeland.
PROSPERO:
“How? The best? / What wert thou if the King of Naples heard thee?”
Prospero challenges Ferdinand’s claim, questioning what Ferdinand would be if the King of Naples were alive to hear him.
- Language note: The rhetorical question serves to undermine Ferdinand’s confidence.
- Theme: Authority and deception. Prospero is testing Ferdinand’s honesty.
FERDINAND:
“A single thing, as I am now, that wonders / To hear thee speak of Naples.”
Ferdinand replies that he would merely be a man, astonished to hear someone mention Naples.
- Theme: Loss and displacement. He is isolated and grieving.
“He does hear me, / And that he does I weep.”
He states that his father hears him in spirit, and that thought moves him to tears.
- Language note: The emotional weight here is personal and profound, emphasizing grief.
“Myself am Naples, / Who with mine eyes, never since at ebb, beheld / The King my father wracked.”
Ferdinand identifies himself as the Prince of Naples, explaining that he saw his father die in the shipwreck, and his tears have not ceased since.
- Language note: The metaphor “never since at ebb” likens his weeping to a constant tide, showing emotional depth.
- Theme: Inheritance, loss, and emotional vulnerability.
MIRANDA:
“Alack, for mercy!”
Miranda responds with sympathy, expressing shock and sadness at Ferdinand’s story.
- Theme: Compassion. Her emotional sensitivity is highlighted here.
FERDINAND:
“Yes, faith, and all his lords, the Duke of Milan / And his brave son being twain.”
He confirms that everyone, including the Duke of Milan and his son, was lost in the shipwreck.
- Dramatic Irony: The audience knows that Prospero is the Duke of Milan, and he has no son. Ferdinand unknowingly refers to Prospero himself.
PROSPERO (aside):
“The Duke of Milan / And his more braver daughter could control thee, / If now ’twere fit to do ’t.”
Prospero, speaking privately to the audience, reflects that he and Miranda could reveal their identity and put Ferdinand in his place, but it is not yet time.
- Theme: Hidden identity and control. Prospero remains the orchestrator.
“At the first sight / They have changed eyes.”
He observes that Ferdinand and Miranda have fallen in love at first sight.
- Language note: The phrase suggests mutual attraction.
- Theme: Love as a sudden and transformative force.
“Delicate Ariel, / I’ll set thee free for this.”
Prospero acknowledges Ariel’s role in bringing Ferdinand and Miranda together and promises to free him as a reward.
- Theme: Servitude and freedom.
To Ferdinand:
“A word, good sir. / I fear you have done yourself some wrong. A word.”
Prospero turns to Ferdinand, expressing concern and summoning him for a private conversation.
- Language note: This shift in tone introduces a more direct confrontation.
MIRANDA:
“Why speaks my father so ungently? This / Is the third man that e’er I saw, the first / That e’er I sighed for.”
Miranda wonders why her father is being harsh. She explains that Ferdinand is only the third man she has ever seen and the first she has fallen in love with.
- Theme: Innocence and first love. Her emotions are sincere and unguarded.
“Pity move my father / To be inclined my way.”
She hopes her father will show compassion and accept her affection for Ferdinand.
FERDINAND:
“O, if a virgin, / And your affection not gone forth, I’ll make you / The Queen of Naples.”
Ferdinand offers to marry Miranda, making her Queen of Naples, if she is indeed unmarried and returns his affection.
- Theme: Courtship and alliance. This is both a romantic and political gesture.
PROSPERO:
“Soft, sir, one word more.”
He interrupts, seeking to slow the conversation and assert control.
(Aside) They are both in either’s powers. But this swift business / I must uneasy make, lest too light winning / Make the prize light.”
Prospero observes that Ferdinand and Miranda are equally captivated by each other. He decides to make Ferdinand’s pursuit of Miranda more difficult, fearing that something easily won will not be valued.
- Theme: Testing love. Prospero aims to ensure the relationship is genuine and worthy.
To Ferdinand:
“One word more. I charge thee / That thou attend me. Thou dost here usurp / The name thou ow’st not, and hast put thyself / Upon this island as a spy, to win it / From me, the lord on ’t.”
He accuses Ferdinand of pretending to be someone he is not and of coming to the island as a spy to take it from him.
- Theme: Suspicion, power, and authority. Prospero asserts dominance and tests Ferdinand’s integrity.
FERDINAND:
“No, as I am a man!”
Ferdinand protests his innocence and reaffirms his honor.
MIRANDA:
“There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple. / If the ill spirit have so fair a house, / Good things will strive to dwell with ’t.”
Miranda defends Ferdinand, saying that someone who looks so noble cannot be evil. If something wicked were within, good would try to take its place.
- Language note: She uses metaphor, comparing Ferdinand’s body to a “temple.”
- Theme: Inner virtue reflected in outer appearance.
PROSPERO (to Ferdinand):
“Follow me. / Speak not you for him. He’s a traitor.”
He tells Miranda to stay silent and orders Ferdinand to follow him, accusing him of treachery.
“I’ll manacle thy neck and feet together. / Sea water shalt thou drink. Thy food shall be / The fresh-brook mussels, withered roots, and husks / Wherein the acorn cradled. Follow.”
Prospero threatens harsh punishment: chaining Ferdinand, feeding him roots and shells, and giving him seawater to drink.
- Theme: Control and domination. Prospero imposes physical consequences to test resolve.
FERDINAND:
“No, / I will resist such entertainment till / Mine enemy has more power.”
Ferdinand refuses to comply unless overpowered. He is determined not to submit easily.
(He draws, and is charmed from moving.)
He tries to fight back with his sword, but Prospero magically renders him immobile.
MIRANDA:
“O dear father, / Make not too rash a trial of him, for / He’s gentle and not fearful.”
She pleads with Prospero not to judge Ferdinand too harshly, emphasizing his kind and courageous nature.
PROSPERO:
“What, I say, / My foot my tutor?”
He is shocked that Miranda dares to oppose him, likening her to his foot trying to become his teacher.
“Put thy sword up, traitor, / Who mak’st a show, but dar’st not strike…”
He scorns Ferdinand’s resistance as empty bravado, stating he can disarm him with a mere stick.
MIRANDA:
“Beseech you, father—”
She continues to plead on Ferdinand’s behalf.
PROSPERO:
“Hence! Hang not on my garments.”
He orders Miranda to step away, rejecting her emotional appeal.
MIRANDA:
“Sir, have pity. / I’ll be his surety.”
She begs for mercy and offers to take responsibility for Ferdinand.
PROSPERO:
“Silence! One word more / Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee.”
He commands her to be quiet, warning that further speech will provoke his anger or worse.
PROSPERO:
“An advocate for an impostor? Hush. / Thou think’st there is no more such shapes as he, / Having seen but him and Caliban. Foolish wench, / To th’ most of men this is a Caliban, / And they to him are angels.”
Prospero chastises Miranda for defending Ferdinand, suggesting that she lacks a broader perspective. He compares Ferdinand, in his eyes, to Caliban, a creature viewed as less than human by Prospero and others. Prospero argues that, to the majority of men, Ferdinand is no better than Caliban, who is perceived as an “angel” in comparison to them.
- Language note: The rhetorical device here is an exaggerated comparison, underscoring Prospero’s view of Ferdinand as someone beneath Miranda’s affection.
- Theme: Power and perception. Prospero’s contempt for Ferdinand is evident, and it reflects how people’s worth can be judged based on their status.
MIRANDA:
“My affections / Are then most humble. I have no ambition / To see a goodlier man.”
Miranda humbly defends her affection for Ferdinand, insisting she has no desire for anyone else, even someone more handsome.
- Theme: Innocence and genuine love. She expresses sincere feelings, untouched by vanity or societal expectations.
PROSPERO (to Ferdinand):
“Come on, obey. / Thy nerves are in their infancy again / And have no vigor in them.”
Prospero commands Ferdinand to follow him, subtly mocking his physical and emotional state. He compares Ferdinand’s current condition to an infant’s weakness.
- Language note: “Nerves in their infancy” emphasizes Ferdinand’s lack of strength or resistance, particularly in the face of Prospero’s authority.
- Theme: Control and testing strength. Prospero constantly seeks to test Ferdinand’s resilience and loyalty.
FERDINAND:
“So they are. / My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up. / My father’s loss, the weakness which I feel, / The wrack of all my friends, nor this man’s threats / To whom I am subdued, are but light to me, / Might I but through my prison once a day / Behold this maid. All corners else o’ th’ Earth / Let liberty make use of. Space enough / Have I in such a prison.”
Ferdinand responds with a melancholic admission of his grief and emotional turmoil. He compares his physical confinement to his desire for Miranda, suggesting that seeing her even once a day would be enough to ease his suffering. His current imprisonment seems less oppressive than his emotional state.
- Language note: The metaphor of being “bound up” highlights his internal struggle. His mention of his “prison” shows how deeply intertwined his physical confinement is with his emotional attachment to Miranda.
- Theme: Love and suffering. Ferdinand is willing to endure hardship for the chance to see Miranda, a testament to the depth of his affection.
PROSPERO (aside):
“It works.—Come on.— / Thou hast done well, fine Ariel.—Follow me. / To Ariel. Hark what thou else shalt do me.”
Prospero, aside, acknowledges that his manipulation of Ferdinand is working, and he praises Ariel for assisting in this scheme. He then gives Ariel further instructions.
- Theme: Manipulation and control. Prospero continues to orchestrate events around him, using his power to control Ferdinand and others.
MIRANDA (to Ferdinand):
“Be of comfort. / My father’s of a better nature, sir, / Than he appears by speech. This is unwonted / Which now came from him.”
Miranda reassures Ferdinand, explaining that her father is generally kinder than he seems. She justifies her father’s harshness as unusual behavior.
- Theme: Parental authority and love. Miranda is caught between her loyalty to her father and her affection for Ferdinand. She tries to soften the impact of Prospero’s actions, even as she tries to protect Ferdinand.
PROSPERO (to Ariel):
“Thou shalt be as free / As mountain winds; but then exactly do / All points of my command.”
Prospero promises Ariel freedom in exchange for complete obedience to his commands.
- Theme: Freedom and servitude. Prospero’s power is on full display, as he manipulates Ariel’s desires for freedom while continuing to demand complete loyalty.
ARIEL:
“To th’ syllable.”
Ariel agrees to carry out Prospero’s instructions exactly as commanded.
- Theme: Obedience and control. Ariel’s commitment to serving Prospero shows the depth of their relationship, with Ariel bound to Prospero’s will.
PROSPERO (to Ferdinand):
“Come follow. To Miranda. Speak not for him.”
Prospero commands Ferdinand to follow him and orders Miranda to remain silent, asserting his authority in the situation.
Exit
The characters leave the stage, with Ferdinand under Prospero’s control and Miranda still caught between her loyalty to her father and her affection for Ferdinand.
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