Transcription
Table of ContentsCharactersAct 1Act 1, Scene 1Act 1, Scene 2Act 2Act 2, Scene 1Act 2, Scene 2Act 3Act 3, Scene 1Act 3, Scene 2Act 3, Scene 3Act 4Act 4, Scene 1Act 5Act 5, Scene 1Act 5, Epilogue1
The CharactersProsperoThe play’s protagonist and Miranda’s father. Twelve years before the events of the play, Prospero was theduke of Milan. His brother, Antonio, in concert with Alonso, king of Naples, usurped him, forcing him to flee ina boat with his daughter. The honest lord Gonzalo aided Prospero in his escape. Prospero has spent histwelve years on an island refining the magic that gives him the power he needs to punish and reconcile withhis enemies.MirandaProspero’s daughter, whom he brought with him to the island when she was still a small child. Miranda hasnever seen any men other than her father and Caliban, although she dimly remembers being cared for byfemale servants as an infant. Because she has been sealed off from the world for so long, Miranda’sperceptions of other people tend to be naïve and non-judgmental. She is compassionate, generous, and loyalto her father.ArielProspero’s spirit helper, a powerful supernatural being whom Prospero controls completely. Rescued byProspero from a long imprisonment (within a tree) at the hands of the witch Sycorax, Ariel is Prospero’sservant until Prospero decides to release him. He is mischievous and ubiquitous, able to traverse the lengthof the island in an instant and change shapes at will. Ariel carries out virtually every task Prospero needsaccomplished in the play.CalibanAnother of Prospero’s servants. Caliban, the son of the now-deceased witch Sycorax, acquainted Prosperowith the island when Prospero arrived. Caliban believes that the island rightfully belongs to him and thatProspero stole it. Caliban’s speech and behavior is sometimes coarse and brutal, sometimes eloquent andsensitive, as in his rebukes of Prospero in Act 1, scene 2, and in his description of the eerie beauty of theisland.FerdinandSon and heir of Alonso. Ferdinand seems in some ways to be as pure and naïve as Miranda. He falls in lovewith her upon first sight and happily submits to servitude in order to win Prospero’s approval.AlonsoKing of Naples and father of Ferdinand. Alonso aided Antonio in unseating Prospero as duke of Milan twelveyears before. Over the course of the play, Alonso comes to regret his past actions and desire a reconciliationwith Prospero.AntonioProspero’s thoroughly wicked brother who betrayed Prospero’s trust and stole his dukedom years before theplay begins. Once on the island, Antonio wastes no time demonstrating that he is still power-hungry andmurderous, persuading Sebastian to help him kill Alonso. Though Prospero forgives him at the end of theplay, Antonio never repents for his misdeeds.2
SebastianAlonso’s brother. Like Antonio, Sebastian is wicked and underhanded. Antonio easily persuades him to agreeto kill Alonso. Also like Antonio, Sebastian is unrepentant at the end of the play.GonzaloAn old, honest lord. The goodhearted Gonzalo helped Prospero and Miranda to escape and survive afterAntonio usurped Prospero’s title. During the play, Gonzalo does his best to cheer up the despondent Alonso,maintains an optimistic outlook on the island where they’re standed, and remains unfazed by the insultingtaunts of Antonio and Sebastian.Trinculo and StefanoTwo minor members of the shipwrecked party. Trinculo, a jester, and Stefano, a drunken butler, provide acomic foil to the other, more powerful pairs of Prospero and Alonso and Antonio and Sebastian. Theirdrunken boasting and petty greed reflect and deflate the quarrels and power struggles of Prospero and theother noblemen.BoatswainAppearing only in the first and last scenes, the Boatswain angers the noble characters with his foul-mouthedand rude remarks, but remains competent and resourceful in the shipwreck scene, demanding practical helprather than weeping and prayer.3
Act One, Scene 1ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTA tempestuous noise of thunder and lightningLoud noises of a storm with thunder and lightning. Aheard Enter a MASTER and a BOATSWAINship’s MASTER and BOATSWAIN TSWAINHere, master. What cheer?I’m here, sir. How can I help you?MASTERMASTERGood, speak to th' mariners. Fall to ’t yarely, orMy good boy, give the other sailors a pep talk—andwe run ourselves aground. Bestir, bestir.do it fast, before we’re shipwrecked. Hurry, hurry!Exit MASTERThe MASTER exits.Enter MARINERSSAILORS enter.BOATSWAINBOATSWAINHeigh, my hearts! Cheerly, cheerly, my hearts!Come on, men! That’s the way to do it! Quickly!Quickly! Take in the upper sail. Listen to the master’s5 Yare! Yare!Take in the topsail.—Tend to th' master’s whistle.orders. —Blow your heart out, storm! So long as we—Blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough!have enough room to avoid running aground!Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO,ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, FERDINAND,FERDINAND, GONZALO, and othersGONZALO, and others enter.ALONSOALONSOGood Boatswain, have care. Where’s the Master?Be careful, good Boatswain! Where’s the Master?Play the men.Make these men work.BOATSWAINBOATSWAINI pray now, keep below.Please stay below deck, sir.ANTONIOANTONIOWhere is the Master, Boatswain?Where’s the Master, Boatswain?4
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTBOATSWAINBOATSWAIN10 Do you not hear him? You mar our labor. KeepHe’s busy, can’t you hear him giving orders? You’reyour cabins.getting in the way of our work. Stay in your cabins.You do assist the storm.You’re helping the storm, not us.GONZALOGONZALONay, good, be patient.Don’t get wound up, my good man.BOATSWAINBOATSWAINWhen the sea is. Hence! What cares theseI’m only wound up because the sea’s wound up. Nowroarers for the name of king? To cabin, silence!get out of here! Do you think these waves careTrouble us not.anything about kings and officials? Go to your cabinsand be quiet! Don’t bother us up here.GONZALOGONZALOGood, yet remember whom thou hast aboard.Just remember who you’ve got on board with you,good man.BOATSWAINBOATSWAIN15 None that I more love than myself. You are aNobody I care about more than myself. You’re acouncilor. If you can command these elements toking’s advisor. If you can order the storm to calmsilence and work the peace of the present, wedown, we can all put down our ropes and rest. Gowill not hand a rope more. Use your authority. Ifahead, use your authority. If you can’t do it, beyou cannot, give thanks you have lived so longgrateful you’ve lived this long and go wait to die inand make yourself ready in your cabin for theyour cabin, if it comes to that.—Harder, men!—Nowmischance of the hour, if it so hap.—Cheerly,get out of our way, I’m telling you.good hearts!—Out of our way, I say.Exit BOATSWAINThe BOATSWAIN exits.GONZALOGONZALOI have great comfort from this fellow. Methinks heI feel a lot better after talking to this guy. He doesn’thath no drowning mark upon him. His complexionlook like a person who would drown—he looks likeis perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to hishe was born to be hanged . I hope he lives longhanging. Make the rope of his destiny our cable,enough to be hanged. The rope that hangs him willfor our own doth little advantage. If he be notdo more good than all the ropes on this ship, sinceborn to be hanged, our case is miserable.it’ll guarantee he stays alive through this storm. But ifhe’s not destined to die by hanging, then ourchances don’t look too good.Exeunt GONZALO and courtiersGONZALO exits with the other men of court.5
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTEnter BOATSWAINThe BOATSWAIN enters.BOATSWAINBOATSWAINDown with the topmast! Yare, lower, lower! BringBring down that top sail! Fast! Lower, lower! Let theher to try wi' th' main course.ship sail close to the wind.A cry withinA shout offstage.A plague upon this howling! They are louder thanDamn those men shouting down there! They’rethe weather or our office.louder than the storm or us sailors.Enter SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, and GONZALOSEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, and GONZALO enter.Yet again? What do you here? Shall we give o'erOh, not you again. What do you want? Should we allgive up and drown? Do you want to sink?20 and drown?Have you a mind to sink?SEBASTIANSEBASTIANA pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous,Oh, go to hell, you loud-mouthed bastard!incharitable dog!BOATSWAINBOATSWAINWork you, then.Well, get to work, then.ANTONIOANTONIOHang, cur! Hang, you whoreson insolentJust die, you lowlife! Go ahead and die, you nasty,noisemaker! We are less afraid to be drownedrude bastard!You’re more scared of drowning thanthan thou art.we are.GONZALOGONZALOI’ll warrant him for drowning though the ship wereYes, I guarantee he won’t drown—even if this shipno stronger than a nutshell and as leaky as anwere as fragile as an eggshell and as leaky as aunstanched wench.menstruating woman.BOATSWAINBOATSWAIN25 Lay her a-hold, a-hold! Set her two courses off toTurn the ship to the wind! Set the sails and let her goout to sea again!sea again.Lay her off!Enter MARINERS, wetMore SAILORS enter, wet.MARINERSSAILORSAll lost! To prayers, to prayers, all lost!It’s no use! Pray for your lives! We’re done for!6
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTExit MARINERSThe SAILORS exit.BOATSWAINBOATSWAINWhat, must our mouths be cold?What, we’re going to die?GONZALOGONZALOThe king and prince at prayers. Let’s assist them,The king and the prince are praying. Let’s go joinfor our case is as theirs.them, since whatever happens to them happens tous too.SEBASTIANSEBASTIAN30 I’m out of patience.I’m out of patience.ANTONIOANTONIOWe are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards.Yes, we’ve been cheated out of our lives by a bunchThis wide-chopped rascal—would thou mightstof drunken, incompetent sailors. This bigmouth jerklie drowning the washing of ten tides!here—(to BOATSWAIN) I hope you drown ten timesover!GONZALOGONZALOHe’ll be hanged yet, though every drop of waterHe’ll still die by hanging, not drowning, even if everyswear against it and gape at widest to glut him.drop of water in the sea tries to swallow him.A confused noise withinA confused noise offstage.VOICESVOICES(within) Mercy on us!—We split, we split!—God have mercy on us!—The ship’s breaking up!—Farewell, my wife and children!—Farewell,Goodbye, wife and kids!—Goodbye, brother!—We’rebrother!—We split, we split, we split!breaking up, we’re breaking up!ANTONIOANTONIOLet’s all sink wi' th' king.Let’s all sink with the king.SEBASTIANSEBASTIAN35 Let’s take leave of him.Exeunt ANTONIO and SEBASTIANLet’s say goodbye to him.ANTONIO and SEBASTIAN exit.7
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTGONZALOGONZALONow would I give a thousand furlongs of sea forRight now I’d give a thousand furlongs of sea for onean acre of barren ground: long heath, brown furze,little acre of dry ground: barren weed patch, anythinganything. The wills above be done, but I would fainat all. What’s destined to happen will happen, but I’ddie a dry death.give anything to be dry when I die.ExeuntThey exit.8
Act One, Scene 2ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTEnter PROSPERO and MIRANDA5PROSPERO and MIRANDA enter.MIRANDAMIRANDAIf by your art, my dearest father, you haveDear father, if you caused this terrible storm with yourPut the wild waters in this roar, allay them.magic powers, please put an end to it. The sky’s soThe sky, it seems, would pour down stinkingdark it looks like it would rain down boiling hot tar ifpitch,the sea weren’t swelling up to the sky to put its fireBut that the sea, mounting to th' welkin’s cheek,out. Oh, I suffered along with all the men I watchedDashes the fire out. Oh, I have sufferedsuffer! A fine ship, with some good people in it, I’mWith those that I saw suffer. A brave vesselsure, smashed to pieces. Their dying shouts brokeWho had, no doubt, some noble creature in hermy heart! The poor people died. If I’d been a god IDashed all to pieces. Oh, the cry did knockwould’ve let the sea sink inside the earth before it had10 Against my very heart! Poor souls, they perished.Had I been any god of power, I woulda chance to swallow up that ship and all the people itwas carrying.Have sunk the sea within the earth or ereIt should the good ship so have swallowed andThe fraughting souls within her.PROSPEROPROSPEROBe collected.Calm down. There’s nothing to get upset about. NoNo more amazement. Tell your piteous heartharm was done.15 There’s no harm done.MIRANDAMIRANDAOh, woe the day!Oh, what a horrible day!PROSPEROPROSPERONo harm.There was no harm, I’m telling you. Everything I’veI have done nothing but in care of thee,done has been for you, my dear daughter. You don’tOf thee, my dear one—thee my daughter, whoknow what you are, since you don’t know who I amArt ignorant of what thou art, naught knowingor where I come from, or that I’m better than merelyOf whence I am, nor that I am more betterProspero, your humble father who lives in a poor little20 Than Prospero, master of a full poor cellshack.And thy no greater father.MIRANDAMIRANDAMore to knowIt never occurred to me to imagine there wasDid never meddle with my thoughts.anything more to know.9
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTPROSPEROPROSPERO'Tis timeIt’s time for you to know the whole story. Give me aI should inform thee farther. Lend thy handhand and help me off with this magic cloak.And pluck my magic garment from me.MIRANDA helps PROSPERO remove hisMIRANDA helps PROSPERO remove his cloak.mantleSo,25 Lie there, my art.—Wipe thou thine eyes. Have(to the cloak) So, lie there, my magic. (to MIRANDA)Wipe your eyes. Take comfort. I arranged the horriblecomfort.sight of this shipwreck, which moved you to such pity,The direful spectacle of the wrack, which touchedso carefully that not a single person was hurt—no, notThe very virtue of compassion in thee,so much as a hair on anyone’s head was destroyedI have with such provision in mine artin the ship that you saw sink. Sit down. It’s time for30 So safely ordered that there is no soul—you to know more. (they sit)No, not so much perdition as an hairBetid to any creature in the vessel—Which thou heard’st cry, which thou sawst sink.Sit down.For thou must now know farther.MIRANDAMIRANDAYou have oftenYou’ve often started to tell me who I am, but thenBegun to tell me what I am, but stoppedsuddenly stopped, leaving me asking questions that35 And left me to a bootless inquisition,never get answered, telling me, “Wait. Not yet.”Concluding, “Stay. Not yet.”PROSPEROPROSPEROThe hour’s now come.Well, the time has come. This is the moment for youThe very minute bids thee ope thine ear.to listen hard and pay close attention. Can youObey and be attentive. Canst thou rememberremember the time before you came to live in thisA time before we came unto this cell?shack? I doubt it, since you weren’t even three at the40 I do not think thou canst, for then thou wast nottime.Out three years old.MIRANDAMIRANDACertainly, sir, I can.Sure I can, father.PROSPEROPROSPEROBy what? By any other house or person?What do you remember? A house, a person? Tell meOf anything the image tell me thatanything you remember.Hath kept with thy remembrance.10
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTMIRANDAMIRANDA'Tis far off,My memory is hazy, more like a dream than a45 And rather like a dream than an assuranceThat my remembrance warrants. Had I notrecollection. Didn’t I use to have four or five womentaking care of me?Four or five women once that tended me?PROSPEROPROSPEROThou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how is itIndeed you did, and more besides, Miranda. But howThat this lives in thy mind? What seest thou elseis it possible that you still remember this, through all50 In the dark backward and abysm of time?the darkness of the past? If you remember your lifeIf thou rememberest aught ere thou camest here,before you came here, you may also remember howHow thou camest here thou mayst.you got here.MIRANDAMIRANDABut that I do not.No, that I don’t remember.PROSPEROPROSPEROTwelve year since, Miranda, twelve year since,Twelve years ago, Miranda, twelve years ago yourThy father was the Duke of Milan andfather was the Duke of Milan, a powerful prince.55 A prince of power.MIRANDAMIRANDASir, are not you my father?Aren’t you my father?PROSPEROPROSPEROThy mother was a piece of virtue andYour mother was extremely virtuous, and she saidShe said thou wast my daughter. And thy fatheryou were my daughter. And your father was Duke ofWas Duke of Milan, and thou his only heirMilan, and you were his heir, a princess.And princess no worse issued.MIRANDAMIRANDAOh, the heavens!Good lord! What evil things were done to us that we60 What foul play had we that we came fromthence?were driven here? Or was it a blessing that we camehere?Or blessè was ’t we did?PROSPEROPROSPEROBoth, both, my girl.Both, both, my girl. We were pushed out of power byBy foul play, as thou sayst, were we heavedevil deeds, as you call them. But we were blessed inthence,being helped toward this island.But blessedly holp hither.11
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTMIRANDAMIRANDAOh, my heart bleedsOh, it breaks my heart to think how painful it must beTo think o' th' teen that I have turned you to,for you to recall all this, things that I can’t remember.65 Which is from my remembrance! Please you,But please tell me more.farther.PROSPEROPROSPEROMy brother and thy uncle, called Antonio—My brother, your uncle Antonio—just listen to this (II pray thee, mark me (that a brother shouldstill can’t believe a brother could be so disloyal!)—MyBe so perfidious!)—he whom next thyselfbrother whom—aside from you—I loved more thanOf all the world I loved and to him putanyone else in the world, I trusted to run my state,70 The manage of my state, as at that timewhich at that time was the strongest in the land, andThrough all the signories it was the first,Prospero the number one duke, famous for myAnd Prospero the prime duke, being so reputeddignity and my education. Since I was so drawn toIn dignity, and for the liberal artsstudying things like logic, grammar, geometry, andWithout a parallel. Those being all my study,astronomy, I let my control of the government slide a75 The government I cast upon my brotherAnd to my state grew stranger, being transportedbit, being too wrapped up in my occult books. Yourdisloyal uncle—are you paying attention?And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncle—Dost thou attend me?MIRANDAMIRANDASir, most heedfully.I’m hanging on every word.PROSPEROPROSPEROBeing once perfected how to grant suits,Once Antonio got the knack of granting certain80 How to deny them, who t' advance and whorequests, denying others, promoting some officialsTo trash for overtopping, new createdand keeping down those who were getting tooThe creatures that were mine, I say—or changedambitious, he won over the people who used to be'em,mine, or changed them—remade them, you mightOr else new formed 'em—having both the keysay. Since he had control over the whole85 Of officer and office, set all hearts i' th' stategovernment and everyone in it, he soon madeTo what tune pleased his ear, that now he waseveryone sing his own song—whichever song heThe ivy which had hid my princely trunk,happened to like. He became like the ivy that sticksAnd sucked my verdure out on ’t. Thou attend’stto the side of the tree, and sucked my vitality out ofnot.me.—You’re not paying attention.MIRANDAMIRANDAO, good sir, I do.Oh, yes I am, father.12
9095ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTPROSPEROPROSPEROI pray thee, mark me.Please listen to me carefully. As I neglected practicalI, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicatedmatters, being totally dedicated to solitude and toTo closeness and the bettering of my mindimproving my mind with subjects more valuable thanWith that which, but by being so retired,most people imagine, I was so shut away from theO'erprized all popular rate, in my false brotherworld that I unwittingly stirred up evil wishes in myAwaked an evil nature. And my trust,disloyal brother. My deep trust in him made himLike a good parent, did beget of himdeeply untrustworthy, arousing in him a treachery asA falsehood in its contrary as greatbig as my trust was—my trust which had no limit, anAs my trust was, which had indeed no limit,infinite confidence. With Antonio possessing suchA confidence sans bound. He being thus lorded,powers and wealth, coming not only from my incomeNot only with what my revenue yieldedbut also from his ability to take whatever my authorityBut what my power might else exact, like oneallowed him to take, Antonio started to believe that100 Who having into truth, by telling of it,he was the duke, like some liar who begins toMade such a sinner of his memorybelieve in his own lie. He put on the face of royalty,To credit his own lie—he did believewith all the rights that go along with it. With hisHe was indeed the duke, out o' th' substitutionambition growing like this—do you hear what I’mAnd executing th' outward face of royalty,saying?105 With all prerogative. Hence his ambition growing—Dost thou hear?MIRANDAMIRANDAYour tale, sir, would cure deafness.What you’re saying could cure deafness, father. Ofcourse I hear it.PROSPEROPROSPEROTo have no screen between this part he playedTo make his political performance absolutely perfect,And him he played it for, he needs will behe simply had to become the Duke of Milan himself.Absolute Milan. Me, poor man, my libraryMy library was a large enough dukedom for me. So,110 Was dukedom large enough. Of temporalnow Antonio judges me incapable of carrying out myroyaltiesduties. He’s so power-hungry that he allies himselfHe thinks me now incapable, confederates—with the King of Naples, agreeing to pay him aSo dry he was for sway—wi' th' King of Naplesregular annual sum, swear subservience to him, andTo give him annual tribute, do him homage,put the dukedom of Milan—never subservient to115 Subject his coronet to his crown and bendThe dukedom yet unbowed—alas, poor Milan!—anyone before!—under the humiliating control ofNaples.To most ignoble stooping.MIRANDAMIRANDAOh, the heavens!Good heavens!13
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTPROSPEROPROSPEROMark his condition and the event. Then tell meThink about that, and about what followed afterward.If this might be a brother.Then tell me if Antonio can be called a brother.MIRANDAMIRANDAI should sinIt would be wrong for me to think poorly of myTo think but nobly of my grandmother.grandmother. Good women sometimes give birth to120 Good wombs have borne bad sons.bad sons.PROSPEROPROSPERONow the condition.Now listen to the agreement they made. The king ofThe King of Naples, being an enemyNaples, my arch-enemy, listens to my brother’sTo me inveterate, hearkens my brother’s suit,request, which was that the king, in exchange for theWhich was that he, in lieu o' th' premisesrespect and money paid to him, would get rid of meOf homage and I know not how much tribute,and make my brother Duke of Milan instead. A125 Should presently extirpate me and minetreacherous army was gathered, and one fatefulOut of the dukedom, and confer fair Milannight at midnight, Antonio opened the gates of Milan,With all the honors on my brother. Whereon,and in the pitch black had his officers rush out meA treacherous army levied, one midnightand you, my dear daughter. You were crying.Fated to th' purpose did Antonio open130 The gates of Milan, and, i' th' dead of darkness,The ministers for th' purpose hurried thenceMe and thy crying self.MIRANDAMIRANDAAlack, for pity!How awful! I can’t remember how I cried then, but I’llI, not remembering how I cried out then,cry all over again. This story breaks my heart.Will cry it o'er again. It is a hint135 That wrings mine eyes to ’t.PROSPEROPROSPEROHear a little furtherJust listen a little more, and I’ll bring you up to dateAnd then I’ll bring thee to the present businessabout the present situation, which is the wholeWhich now ’s upon ’s, without the which thisreason I’m telling you this story in the first place.storyWere most impertinent.MIRANDAMIRANDAWherefore did they notWhy didn’t they just kill us that night?That hour destroy us?14
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTPROSPEROPROSPEROWell demanded, wench.Good question, my girl. My story does raise that140 My tale provokes that question. Dear, they durstquestion. The answer, my dear, is that they didn’tnot,dare, because the people of Milan loved me tooSo dear the love my people bore me, nor setmuch. The had to disguise their bloody intentions.A mark so bloody on the business, butSo, to make a long story short, they hurried us ontoWith colors fairer painted their foul ends.a ship and carried us a number of miles out to sea,145 In few, they hurried us aboard a bark,where they prepared a rotten carcass of a boat, withBore us some leagues to sea, where theyno sails or masts or ropes, which even the rats hadpreparedabandoned. They tossed us in the water to cry to theA rotten carcass of a butt, not rigged,sea that roared back at us, to sigh into the windsNor tackle, sail, nor mast. The very ratsthat sighed right back at us in pity.150 Instinctively had quit it. There they hoist usTo cry to th' sea that roared to us, to sighTo th' winds whose pity, sighing back again,Did us but loving wrong.MIRANDAMIRANDAAlack, what troubleGod, what a burden on you I must have been!Was I then to you!PROSPEROPROSPEROOh, a cherubimNo, my dear, you were a little angel who kept meThou wast that did preserve me. Thou didstgoing. You smiled with a strength you must havesmilegotten from heaven, while I cried salty tears into the155 Infusèd with a fortitude from heaven,salty sea, and groaned at our situation. Your smileWhen I have decked the sea with drops full salt,sustained my spirits against whatever would comeUnder my burthen groaned; which raised in meour way.An undergoing stomach to bear upAgainst what should ensue.MIRANDAMIRANDAHow came we ashore?How did we manage to get ashore?15
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTPROSPEROPROSPEROBy providence divine.With God’s help. We had a little food and fresh water160 Some food we had and some fresh water thatthat a nobleman from Naples, Gonzalo, had given usA noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo,out of the kindness of his heart. He had beenOut of his charity, who being then appointedchosen to carry out the plan of putting us to sea. HeMaster of this design, did give us, withalso gave us clothes, linen, and other necessitiesRich garments, linens, stuffs, and necessaries,that have been of great help. Knowing how much I165 Which since have steaded much. So, of hisgentleness,loved my books, he gave me some books from mylibrary that I value more than my dukedom.Knowing I loved my books, he furnished meFrom mine own library with volumes thatI prize above my dukedom.MIRANDAMIRANDAWould I mightI wish I could see that man someday!But ever see that man!PROSPEROPROSPERONow I arise.Now I’ll stand up. (he stands and puts on his magic170 (stands and puts on his mantle)cloak) Sit still and listen to the last of our sad seaSit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow.adventures. We arrived here on this island, where I,Here in this island we arrived, and hereacting as your teacher, have given you a betterHave I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profiteducation than most princesses get, princesses whoThan other princesses can that have more timehave less careful tutors, who spend their time175 For vainer hours and tutors not so careful.instead on empty fun.MIRANDAMIRANDAHeavens thank you for ’t! And now, I pray you,May God thank you for it. But please, father—thesir—question is still nagging at me—why did you conjureFor still ’tis beating in my mind—your reasonup this storm?For raising this sea storm?PROSPEROPROSPEROKnow thus far forth:You should know this: much luck is on my side, andBy accident most strange, bountiful Fortunemy enemies have happened to wreck their ship on180 (Now my dear lady) hath mine enemiesthis island. As I see it, my fate hangs on this luckyBrought to this shore. And by my prescienceevent, and if I handle it wrong, I’ll suffer for the restI find my zenith doth depend uponof my life. Now, no more questions.A most auspicious star, whose influenceIf now I court not but omit, my fortunes185 Will ever after droop. Here cease morequestions.16
ORIGINAL TEXTMODERN TEXTThou art inclined to sleep. 'Tis a good dullness,You look sleepy. It’s a nice hazy feeling, so give inAnd give it way. I know thou canst not choose.to it. I know you have no choice.MIRANDA sleepsMIRANDA falls asleep.Come away, servant, come. I am ready now.Come on, servant, come. I’m ready now. ComeApproach, my Ariel, come.here, Ariel.Enter ARIELARIEL190 All hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I comeARIEL enters.ARIELHumble greetings, great master! Worthy sir,To answer thy best pleasure, be ’t to fly,greetings! Your wish is my command, whatever youTo swim, to dive into the fire, to ridewant. If you want me to fly, to swim, to jump into fire,On the curled clouds. To thy strong bidding, taskto ride the clouds in the sky, Ariel will get right to theAriel and all his quality.task.PROSPEROPROSPEROHast thou, spirit,Spirit, did you carry out the storm just as I ordered?195 Performed to point the tempest that I bade thee?ARIELARIELTo every article.Down to the last detail. I boarded the king’s ship,I boarded the king’s ship. Now on the beak,and in every corner of it, from the deck to theNow in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,cabins, I made everyone astonished and terrified.I flamed amazement. Sometime I’d divide,Sometimes I appeared in many places at once. On200 And burn in many places. On the topmast,the top sail and main mast I flamed in differentThe yards, and bowsprit would I flame distinctly,spots, then I came together into a single flame. IThen meet and join. Jove’s lightning, theflashed about faster than lightning. The fire andprecursorsdeafening cracks seemed to overwhelm even theO' th' dreadful thunderclaps, more momentarygod of the sea himself, making him tremble205 And sight-outrunning were not. The fire andunderwater.cracksOf sulfurous roaring the most mighty NeptuneSeem to besiege and make
than thou art. ANTONIO Just die, you lowlife! Go ahead and die, you nasty, rude bastard!You’re more scared of drowning than we are. GONZALO I’ll warrant him for drowning though the ship were no stronger than a nutshell and as leaky as an unstanched wench.
