This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized

by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the

information in books and make it universally accessible.

https://books.google.com
32101 076040565
་
The Elizabetban Sbakspere

VOLUME II

THE TEMPEST
།

"

1.
 The Elizabethan Shakspere
་་་

THE TEMPEST

A NEW EDITION OF SHAKSPERE'S WORKS WITH CRITICAL

TEXT IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH AND BRIEF NOTES

ILLUSTRATIVE OF ELIZABETHAN Life

THOUGHT AND IDIOM

BY

MARK HARVEY LIDDell

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY
UCTUS QUAM FOLIA
PRINCETON:

NEW YORK

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO .

M CM III
 Copyright, 1903, by
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & Co.
 :

INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

The Tempest is a sort of vision, as Prospero himself hints, the day

counterpart to that other Dream of Midsommernight : for here, as there,

the poet's mind in a fine frenzy bodies forth the form ofthings unknown,
turns them to shapes strengthening from strange to stranger, and gives
to airy nothing a local habitation and a name. This trick ofthe imagi-

nation is insoluble by the line and level of reason, and Prospero's advice
not to infest our minds with beating on the strangeness of the business
we may take as implying Shakspere's own conception of a play whose

body is faint and shadowy with just sufficient reality in the loves of
Miranda and Ferdinand and in the forgiveness of Prospero to lend a
substantial dramatic interest to situations that are mainly spectacular.

It seems to have been primarily composed as the framework of a

masque. Its most effective scenes— the storm, the enchanting of Alonso

and his companions, of Stephano and Trinculo, their magic disillusion-

ment— have a spectacular interest that masque machinery lends itself

easily to. Prospero, the wonder-worker, is himself a kind of masque

thaumaturge; Caliban, the fish monster, and Ariel, the tricksy spirit,
are likewise essentially masque figures. The songs are fitting masque
lyrics.

The masque itselffits into the action so nicely that one can scarcely

imagine The Tempest without it. There is nothing to take its place, and
the masque absent, the play consists of but four short acts. Miranda's
love and Ferdinand's is already happened incident before Act IV begins ;
Alonso and the courtiers are punished ; and time goes upright with his
vii

5
2
9
3 9
8 10006
3 9 JAN 121904
4
1
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

carriage— there is nothing to cause him to stoop. Falsehood, suspicion,

or the like, to put off the happy consummation of the young lovers, would
be sadly out ofplace in the light of what precedes . Further revenge on

the part of Prospero would interfere with the whole spirit of the play.
Indeed, at the end of Act III Prospero's charms have already gathered
to a head- nothing remains but the forgiveness and the undoing of the

spell. We are therefore forced to conclude that The Tempest was

originally intended to be just what it is now, the framework and setting
for the masque in Act IV.

That it was a marriage occasion which, as in the case of the other

Dream, called forth The Tempest seems equally evidentfrom the character

of the masque itself, in which the promise of honour, riches, marriage-

blessing, and earth's increase and foyzon plenty are welded together in
happy union.

That the time was autumn seems likewise apparent from the in-
terests ofthe play, as well as from the direct autumnal references in the
Ceres masque proper; for an autumn spirit breathes through the whole

ofit. When the play opens Prospero's past is dim and shadowy. The
death of his beloved queen ; the treachery of his scheming brother; the

defection ofthe court; theplotted murder ofhimselfand his baby daughter,

only mitigated to exile through the friendship of Gonzalo ; the sad sea
sorrow ; the twelve long years of island hermitage ; the constant menace
from the savage Caliban ; -the bitterness of it all is now rather like a

dream than a reality which the remembrance warrants. Even the lust

of revenge has died to ashes when Prospero's enemies get into his
power, and all that is left is forgiveness . The mellowness ofan autumn
retrospect thus envelops the essential motives of the drama, and their

culmination begets the love of Miranda and Ferdinand, bringing to Pros-

pero a spring in the latter end of harvest — a spring of sweet and hopeful
promise to offset the past of wrong and suffering. The representative
interests ofthe play, therefore, fit the special theme of the masque with
a niceness that can hardly be accidental.

What, then, was this autumn festivity which Shakspere intended

viii
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

to celebrate ? There is no mention of The Tempest before 1613.¹ In

this year Lord Treasurer Stanhope paid out £93 6s. 8d. for fourteen

plays acted before ' the Prince's Highness and Lady Elizabeth and the
Prince Palatine Elector. " The wedding festivities of the Princess
Elizabeth and the Elector Palatine took place in February, 1613, from

the 11th to the 16thofthe month. Howes in his description ofthem gives
no specific account of the plays. Some of them may have been acted

before the marriage — in the autumn of the preceding year.

It has been maintained by Dr. Garnett, ³with much skill and ingenuity,

that The Tempest was written for the wedding itself, Prospero being a
veiled representation of King James, and Ferdinand representing the

Elector come to carry away his island bride . Dr. Garnett also finds
in the supposed drowning of Ferdinand a reference to the recent death

of Prince Henry. Objection has recently been made to this theory *

¹The entry in the Account of the Revels ciety. The warrant is dated 20 May, 1613:
atCourt (cp. Old Shakspere Society's Trans- the plays were presented ' within the time of
actions, 1842, p.210) to the effect that it was thisAccompte,' fromthefeast ofSt.Michael,
played before James I at Whitehall at Hal- 10th ofJames I (September 29, 1612), until
lowmas, November, 1611 , is a forgery. Many the feast of St. Michael, 11th James I (Sep-
of these forgeries were, however, evidently tember 29, 1613). Mr. Lee says (Life of
based upon memoranda collected by Malone, William Shakespeare, p. 254) that the plays
but now, unfortunately, lost or mislaid. were acted in May. But the Elector and his
Malone himself at first gave 1612 as the bride left London on April 10.
date of The Tempest, on the inference that As six ofthese were Shakspere's, if ' Sir
the title is a reference to the storm of 1612 John Falstaffe ' is another name for Henry
(cp. Stowe's Annales, ed. 1631, fol. b) ; then 10orThe Merry Wives ofWindsor, we have
later, in an essay entitled ' An Account of here very good evidence of the high repute
the incidents from which the title and part in which Shakspere's work was held at this
ofthe story of Shakespeare's Tempest were time. An account of the nuptial festivities
derived and its true date ascertained,' 1808, will be found in Howes's continuation of
he says he knows that "it [ i.e. the comedy] Stowe's Annales, 1615, p. 916 ; reprinted in
had a being and a name in the Autumn of Introduction to Furnivall's Harrison, p.38ff.
1611." It may be, therefore, that the for- 8Universal Review, April, 1889 (reiter-
gery was based upon authentic information. ated in Shakespeare Jahrbuch, vol. xxxvii,
2Cp. MS. Rawl, in the Bodleian, A 239, p. 214). The theory itself was first pro-
leaf 47. A transcript of the document is posed by Tieck in 1826.
to be found on p. 103 of Ingleby's Shake- 4See Sidney Lee's Life of William Shak-
speare's Centurie of Prayse, edited by Lucy spere, p. 255, and Dictionary of National
Toulmin Smith for the New Shakspere So- Biography, s.v. Shakespeare, p. 379.
ix
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

on the ground that James would hardly be likely to appreciate the com-
pliment of being represented as a magician, and would hardly relish a

plot which revolves about the forcible expulsion of a ruler and his
daughter's wooing by the son of the usurper's chief ally. But neither

ofthese objections is well taken. For James in 1613 is not the same
James who wrote the Demonologie in 1597. He consented to touch

for the king's evil in the later years of his reign, though he was much
exercised overthe superstitious practice when he first came to the throne . 1
Moreover, his greatest pride was in his reputation for wisdom, and
surely Prospero would be a sufficiently flattering portrait in this respect,
especially as his magic power is represented as being rather that of a

very learned scholar than of an ordinary enchanter, and is voluntarily

relinquished when the play is over. And the plot itself hardly makes
a sufficient impression of substance to offend any, even the most sen-
sitive sovereign: it would be a far-fetched exception, indeed, that could
be taken to The Tempest on this score.

A more weighty objection to Dr. Garnett's theory lies in the fact

that the formal interest of the masque is that of betrothal rather than
marriage, and the spirit of both masque and play is autumnal, while the

wedding festival of the Princess and the Elector took place in February.

But the actual betrothal of the Princess took place in the autumn of
1612. The marriage had been determined upon in May; in September
the Elector arrived in England, and the enthusiasm of his reception

was unbounded. The illness of Prince Henry in October, and his death

on November 6, postponed the betrothal ceremonies, which were finally

consummated quietly on November 25, and the marriage postponed
until February of the following year.

If we imagine Shakspere to have written The Tempest in the early

autumn of 1612, with a special view to its representation at the coming

betrothal ceremonies of the Princess and the Elector, already a foregone

conclusion in the popular mind by September, and, when Prince Henry's

untimely death put a stop to them, quietly to have laid aside the play
and later retouched it for the marriage in February, we have a clear and
X
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

easy explanation of its peculiar form and of the included masque. A

happy succession of autumn and spring is hinted at in The Tempest

that makes the play still appropriate, and the introduction of Juno into
the masque, with her marriage blessing linked to Ceres's autumn bene-

diction, aptly turns the point from Prospero's betrothal festivities to the
marriage festival of the Princess and the Elector.
Earlier than 1610 it can hardly be : for, as Malone pointed out,

the story of the tempest that wrecked Sir George Somers's ship in

1609, which Shakspere seems clearly to have had in mind (cp. foot-
note on p. xiii), was not known until late in that year. If it was William
Strachey's printed account of this expedition that Shakspere used, as
there is good ground for supposing, it must have been in or after 1612
that The Tempest was written. Its theme, forgiveness, the economy of

effort in its dramatic structure, the sharpness and deftness of its charac-

terization, the condensation of its style, and the lightness and ease of its
versification,¹ all corroborate this external evidence .

The nearest we can come to the date of The Tempest, therefore, is

to place it between the autumn of 1610 and the spring of 1613, the
1The verse tests place it at the end of upon all ' double endings,' and upon the pro-
Shakspere's stylistic development, alongside portion ofmid-stopped to end-stopped verses.
Pericles, The Winter's Tale, and Cymbe- Moreover, quite as essential an element in
line. But it would be rash to conclude the determining verse style is the reversal of
day and hour of composition from an accu- rhythm wave at the beginning of a strain ;
rate determination of its percentages of another is the comparative frequency of the
'double endings' and ' run on lines.' Such recurrence of waves determined by secon-
things are mere approximations at best. dary stresses. These things will all have
Half-verses ending in falling rhythm waves to be taken into consideration before we can
are quite as important for verse style as attach much importance to mathematical
'full lines with double endings,' and our percentages in determining the dates ofthe
present method of calculating percentages composition of Shakspere's plays. Then it
of double endings ignores these entirely. will have to be shown that these characteris-
Again, verses which run over the mid-pause tics are of steady rather than of spasmodic
are quite as significant as those which run growth, with no recurrences to earlier man-
over the end-pause in determining a poet's nerisms . In short, the whole question of
style, and all these calculations leave out the versification tests is exceedingly doubtful,
mid-pause entirely. A true mathematical and the Shakspere scholar should be very
basis of verse style in respect to these ele- careful how he sets aside external evidence
ments would therefore have to be founded in favour of these, or warps it to fit them.
xi
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

weight of evidence pointing to the autumn of 1612 as the time of its

composition, with perhaps a revision for its presentation in the spring

of 1613.¹
The groundwork of Shakspere's plot bears resemblances to the his-

tory of Witold, Prince of Lithuania, who resigned his government to

a cousin, Jagiello. Jagiello threw Witold into prison and gave his capi-
tal, Wilna, to Skirgiello .But Witold escaped into Prussia with his
daughter Sophia, and fought for his kingdom against the usurper. In

this effort to regain his throne he was assisted by the Earl of Derby,
afterward Henry IV of England. The incidents were thus brought

under English notice in 1390, and are recorded by Richard Kingston

and in the chronicles of Walsingham, Knighton, and Capgrave. The

resemblance between these incidents of 1390 and those of The Tempest

is not a close one ; but there is a German comedy by Jacob Ayrer which
gives the story in a much more elaborate dress and with details strik-

ingly like those of Shakspere's Tempest, and this play, ‘ Die schöne

Sidea, ' has obvious points of contact with Shakspere's.

Here Ludolff, the Witold of the earlier version, is a magician like

Prospero. He has a familiar spirit, Runcifal ( Ariel ) , an only daugh-

¹ Earlier dates are now generally given ofTheTempest. Elze, 'Jahrbuch,' VII, p.29,
up. Hunter, 'New Illustrations,' 1845, I. saw in Shakspere's borrowing from Mon-
123, thought The Tempest was written taigne, II. I , an occasion for Jonson's fling in
before 1596, because Ben Jonson, in the Pro- Volpone,' 1605, where he speaks of authors
logue to ' Every Man in his Humour,' 1596, borrowing from Montaigne. But Jonson
satirizes 'the creaking throne,' the introduc- expressly says, ' All our English authors
tion of thunder and lightning, and the mon- borrow from Montaigne,' and aims no par-
sters of contemporary plays. But this pro- ticularshaft at Shakspere. Moreover, Shak-
logue, even if it is a hit at Shakspere's Tem- spere had already shown himself familiar
pest, does not occur in the Quartos of 1601 , with Montaigne in Macbeth, and Macbeth
and first makes its appearance in the FO. may have been written in 1605: cp. note to
of 1616. Hunter also attempted to identify Macb. V.5.26.
The Tempest with the lost 'Love's Labours 2 See Caro, 'Die historische Elemente in
Won' mentioned by Meres in ' Palladis Ta- Shakspeare's Sturm,' ' Englische Studien,'
mia,' but with little success, as Ferdinand's II, pp. 141 ff., for a remarkably thorough
log-rolling scarcely plays enough part in The treatment of the subject.
Tempest to give such a title, and the win- 3See Cohn, 'Shakespeare in Germany,' p.
ning of Miranda is not the dominant theme lxviii.
xii
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

ter, the beautiful Sidea ( the wonderful Miranda ) . Leudegast (Alonso )

has a son, Engelbrecht ( Ferdinand), who falls into Ludolff's power.

The magician charms the young fellow's sword so that he cannot resist.

Sidea forces him to cut logs, but relents and falls in love with him. The
lovers are married and the rivals reconciled.

The first question which presents itself is, Did Shakspere get the
incidents for the structure of The Tempest from Ayrer or through some
Italian version now lost? The latter is hardly likely, for the play has no

Italian colouring save the names of some of the actors and places, and
Italian names and places were almost conventional in the Elizabethan
drama. The island where the scene is laid is one of the marvellous

regions ofthe New World which were the town talk of London in 1612,

an island alive with magic noises and tingling with enchantment. The
tempest which Prospero raises is palpably imitated from the one which

overtook Sir George Somers in the Bermudas in 1609.¹

1"It was called Bermuda, as Ovedo saith, laying speckled egges as big as hen's egges
ofJohn Bermudez... Ovedo writeth that on the sand, where they come and lay them
he was just by it, . . but by force of tempest daily, although men sit down amongst them.
was driven thence. It is also called the .. Other birds were so gentle that whistling
Iland of Devils, which they suppose inhabit to them they would come and gaze on you,
there, and the Inchanted Iland... Job Har- while with your sticke you might kill them
top relateth that in the height of Bermuda [bat-fowling]... Other eggs they had oftor-
they had sight of a sea monster which three toises... William Strachie in a large dis-
times shewed himself from the middle up- course .. hath described that tempest which
wards in shape like a man of the complexion brought them to this Iland." .... Their ship
of a Mulato or tawnie Indian [ a suggestion sprung a leak... "Every foure houres they
for Caliban] . But this name was given it bestowed an hundred tuns of water on the
not of such monsters, but of the monstrous cruell sea. From Tuesday noone till Friday
tempests which here they have often sus- noone they bailed; . . they then had sight of
tained." Sylvester Jourdan " reckoneth the the Bermudas. These, he saith, are an
commodities varietie of fishes, plentie of Archipelagus of broken Ilands; .. the great-
hogs [which may have suggested the pig- est, which lieth like an halfe moone [this is
nuts] , divers fruits, mulberies, silkwormes, the sort of a lee-shore the ship is off when
palmitos, cedars [the logs : Shakspere adds The Tempest opens, and suggests the deep
lime trees], pearles, ambergrise. But the nook of I.2.227] , is in 32.20. At theirfirst
most strange thing seemes the varietie of landing they killed with batts [bat-fowling
fowle, of which they tooke a thousand of again] seven hundred fowles like to gulls
one sort in two or three houres, being as big [scamels again] at one time. The islands seeme
as a pigeon [the ' scamels,' or godwits ] and rent with tempests of thunder, lightning and
xiii
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

Adding, then, these incidents from English sources to Ayrer's plot,

we have substantially the fabric of The Tempest. The hint for Caliban
is contained in them ( cp. foot-note) ; a man-monster like a fish was not
new : early voyagers told ofsuch frequently. Lyly, who, in his ' Woman

in the Moone,' 1597, V. 1. 19, makes Pandora say of Gunophilus that

"His handes are like the finnes of some foule fish, " seems to have

had one of these monsters in mind. The source of the name for this

foul lump offlesh has not yet been found, but may easily be an inven-
tion of Shakspere's, like that of Sycorax ; they are neither of them

Italian forms. Setebos is clearly traceable to Eden's History of Tra-

vaile: cp. note 1.2.372 . Suggestions for Caliban's behaviour occur in
the same connection .'

raine, which threaten in time to devour them with a reference to Somers's Newes from
all... The North and Northwest windes the Bermudas. This account of Strachey's
cause winter in December, January, and was apparently extant in 1612. The orig-
February: yet not such but then yong birds inal is in the publications of the Hakluyt
[young scamels from the rock] to be seene. Society, No. 6, ' Historie of Travaile into
Without knowledge a boat of ten tuns can- Virginia Brittania,' by William Strachey,
not be brought in ; yet within is safe harbor edited from the original manuscript by R.
for the greatest ships [ this corresponds to H. Major. Sylvester Jourdan published 'A
the difficulty ofmaking the harbour and the Discovery of the Bermudas ,' London, 1610,
shipwreck, followed by "safely in harbour Vol. V of Hakluyt's Voyages, and Howes
is the king's ship"] ." Then follows more has a narrative of it in his continuation of
about the products of the islands, the pal- Stowe's Annales, 1615. All these accounts
mitos, the "blacke and round berries as big ofthis 1609 expedition of Sir George Somers
as a damson," the fish, the birds, especially agree in describing the dangerous approach
the shore birds that "breed in high ilands to the island and its safe inner harbour as in
in holes," and "the tortoise egges." "Even The Tempest, in speaking of the enchant-
heere, lest the iland should lose that former ments, the sudden storms of thunder and
name of divells, some entered into divellish lightning, in mentioning an abundance of
conspiracie three several times [cp. Sebas- birds like godwits or small gulls, in refer-
tian and Anthonio's plot against Alonso, ring to monsters, in extolling the pleasant
and Caliban's plot against Prospero] . Some climate and natural fruitfulness ofthe place.
were banished and after reconciled ; Henry They describe the storm, the leaking ship,
Paine was shot to death; some fled to the the weariness of the sailors, finally over-
woods ; but all reduced except Christopher powered by sleep. Jourdan especially men-
Carter and Robert Waters." Such is Pur- tions the terror caused by the St. Elmo's
chas's account condensed from William fire on the yards during the storm.
Strachey's narrative. He adds a statement ¹ Cp. Delius's transcript from this book,
of the healthfulness of the air, and closes in his Einleitung to The Tempest.
xiv
 INTRODUCTION TO THE tempest

Ariel is a spirit of the air and of the fire as well, whose province
and function are conceived in terms of current demonology : cp. Bur-

ton's Anatomy of Melancholy, I. 2. i. 2, and the extracts therefrom in

the notes passim . Magicians with spirits in their service are common-

places of the time . The hint for the sub-plots of Sebastian and Caliban

is found in the Strachey account ( cp. foot-note) , and elaborated through

the island influences making for madness . Prospero himself is such

a wholly Shaksperian creation that many critics have found in him

the artistic counterpart of Shakspere himself wonder- working through

a cycle ofplays and quietly laying aside his magic robe preparatory to
a well-earned retirement to Stratford. Miranda is a pure, sweet Eng-

lish girl, and belongs beside Perdita as a type of young womanhood.

In short, there is nothing in The Tempest which argues an Italian ver-
sion of the Witold story. Given the Ayrer plot and Shakspere's own
experience, the whole becomes clear.

Jacob Ayrer was a playwright of Nürnberg, well acquainted with the

English actors who travelled in Germany and rendered German as well

as English plays in the early seventeenth century, and was himself an

imitator of the English style in his dramatic compositions . As he died

in 1605, and his ' Die sch¨ne Sidea ' shows no internal evidence of fa-
miliarity with The Tempest, ¹ he can hardly have been the borrower.

English actors are known to have played in Nürnberg in 1604 and 1606 :
it is most probable that some of these, returning to London, should have

given Shakspere a sketch of the interesting plot of " Die schöne Sidea, '
and told him ofthe effectiveness of the log-cutting incident. A com-
parison ofThe Tempest with ' Die schöne Sidea ' shows just such a simi-

larity as would arise from a player's story ofa foreign comedy that he
had seen or taken part in. There is nothing in the former play that
speaks of borrowing from a written text. Shakspere, when he borrows

from written sources, shows little hesitancy in adopting phraseology

from his original.

A fellow-actor's description of " Die schöne Sidea ' ; a garrulous

¹ See Cohn's Shakespeare in Germany, p. lxviii. -

XV
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

seaman's yarn
about the shipwreck of Sir George Somers , amplified by

written narratives of the wonderful voyage ; the betrothal of the German

Elector to the Princess Elizabeth, and its demandfor an autumn masque :

these, put into the alembic of Shakspere's fancy and impregnated with
his magic lore, would easily yield the fine distillation of The Tempest,
coloured by the autumnal spirit of the poet's later life and the serenity
of an anticipated retirement to the quiet of New Place .

The Tempest has the place of honour in the Folio of 1623, and, as
far as we know, was not printed before its appearance there. Whether
the editors put it first because they regarded it as embodying the very
essence of Elizabethan comedy, a series of represented events ending

happily, or because they wished to open their volume with one of their

fellow-actor's most recent and most popular plays, or merely because

the manuscript of The Tempest was good, fair copy that came first to
hand: whatever their motive may have been, their choice was a happyone,

in so far as the work forms an auspicious introduction to the magic world

of creative art bound up between the covers ofthe First Folio.
When viewed in the light of its ethical significance, however, The

Tempest should follow upon the great tragedies, especially Macbeth.

For its chief interest turns upon the success of Prospero in ordering to

a happy issue his own life and the lives of those who for a few hours'
space come within the circle of his magic influence . Aided by a series

of fortunate coincidences he becomes the momentary providence of a

critical moment in these lives, a providence at once ' previsionary ' and
'provisionary.' His ends are the recovery of his lost dukedom and

the happy marriage of his daughter, forgiveness and reconciliation with

his enemies and the sweetening of their lives long embittered with evil.
As the various impediments that threaten to thwart his efforts to knit up

the long-ravelled sleave of destiny are one by one foreseen and over-
come, the interest of the plot is sustained through the conventional two-

hours ' period of stage representation . His final success is so complete

as almost to establish a faith in human wisdom and human effort to right

the wrongs of life.

xvi

1
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

It was Macbeth's fervent wish to net up the train of consequence

flowing from his act, and through this suspension of cause and effect
gain at one stroke success. It seems as if this poetic thought, this
intervention of the human will into the designs of God, had suggested

itself to Shakspere as the theme for a play in which ' the trammelling
up' would be to a nobler end. Unlike Macbeth, Prospero justifies

his usurpation. The Tempest is thus, though so brief and shadowy,

one of the most suggestive of Shakspere's plays ; and, being a comedy

in the Elizabethan sense of a tale ending happily, it belongs with the

great tragedies, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and Lear, making for them

a kind of complementing Epilogue in which the poet hints at the proper

interpretation of his greatest work. For in it is answered the question
which the tragedies put : Is life necessarily bound in shallows and in
miseries, all cheerless, dark, and deadly ? Will man, then, like the
base Indian, always throw his pearl away ? Is it a question of to be or
not to be, the latter alternative only prevented through respect of what

dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil? Is it a

tale of sound and fury signifying nothing ? Are we only such stuff as
dreams are made of, our little life rounded with a sleep —a sleep and a

forgetting?
On the surface, Shakspere seems only to mock the issue he raises .
Yes, unless men are endowed with some external and added control

over the events of life —a supernatural foresight to know the time and
hour when to act, and a supernatural power to guide their action . But

this is only the superficial answer ; for Prospero's magic, as Shakspere

represents it, is a mere mantle assumed and put off, a mere contribut-

ing agency to his wisdom. Without it he knows the true value of life,
though his vision is a sad one, and independently of it he can act right-

eously and sanely. Indeed, in the Epilogue¹ he himself meets the

issue squarely .

'There is no external ground for thinking gives the last words would not have been
that the Epilogue is from another hand than given by one who felt not the deep import
Shakspere's, and the turn which Shakspere of the play.
xvii
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

" Lacking spirits to enforce andart to enchant, my ending, " he says,

“ is despair ” — Hamlet's, Macbeth's, Lear's, Othello's — unless re-

lieved by submission, by acquiescence, which is so efficacious that it

assaults mercy itself and banishes imperfection. Faith and acquies-

cence -therein seems to lie the secret. Had Macbeth acquiesced in 1

the power that life gave him, there would have been no ' fever.' Had

Hamlet acquiesced in the normal limitations of human action, there

would have been no failure. Had Lear acquiesced in the human limi-
tations offilial affection, there would have been no madness . Had

Othello acquiesced in the human limitations of love, there would have

been no murder. These all try to force their own wills on life, dealing

in life's command without their power, and the end is disaster. Pros-
pero, however, does not attempt to pass the limitations of his art. He
is content with himself and his work, and his faith in men is as great

as his confidence in himself. Magicians whose deep learning had

gained them a limited mastery over the forces of nature, and a brief

command over the comings and goings of the multitudinous ' spirits who
haunted the heaven and the earth and the waters above or under the

earth '—of such there were a plenty in the popular stories, in the theo-
logical discussions, and in the formal literature of Shakspere's day.

But they are all rather like Faust than like Prospero ; their ends are
either of the earth earthy, or of the devil deadly ; selfish and uncon-

trolled, they are mere augmented human forces of evil. Prospero's

power springs from beneficent service, not from a bargain with the

powers of darkness . He uses it for beneficent ends, no selfish grati-

fication of ambition or lust. When his ends are accomplished he lays

it aside calmly and without regret.

Two literary characteristics of The Tempest are especially note-

worthy : its economy of effort and its representative potentiality . It

is one of the shortest of Shakspere's plays, and fifty-four verses of 1

it are not concerned with the dramatic action of its characters. Yet

each actor impresses the attention with a distinct and pertinent indi-

viduality. No one of them is like another. The princely dignity of

xviii
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

Prospero is quite different from Alonso's. The old courtier Gonzalo

stands out distinctly from Sebastian and Anthonio . Even Francisco

and Adrian, mere lay figures as it were, contrive to gain personality.

Anthonio's ambition is of a different fibre from Sebastian's. The en-

chantment affects Alonso, Sebastian, and Anthonio each in a different

way, producing despair, ambition, and malice according to their several

temperaments. Trinculo and Stephano, the comic figures of the play,

yield each a humour of distinct flavour. Miranda and Ferdinand are

quite unlike the other young men and maidens of Shakspere's garden.
Even the spirit Ariel has a winning human individuality, and Caliban's

evil genius wears its Cain brand with a difference ; Sycorax, too, the

shadowy mother of malignity, though she is referred to only thrice,

takes her peculiar place in the story with a pertinent assumption of

human interest on account of the one thing she did through which her
worthless life was saved.
The representative potentiality of The Tempest has led to all sorts

of allegorical interpretations of the play. The most interesting of these

is the identification ofProspero with the mature and ripened Shakspere.

Whether intentional or not, the resemblance is interesting. For the

sanity of temper which marks the magician of The Tempest must have
been conspicuous in Shakspere, who defeated the bitter jealousies of
his rivals by the commanding magic of his genius. Indeed, the very

name of Prospero in the Italian of the sixteenth century means ' the

sound one, ' ' the healthy one . ' And Prospero's farewell to his art might
easily have been Shakspere's own leave- taking as he retired to his

Milan to dwell no more on the bare island of the Elizabethan stage :

not a studied farewell, but a mere unconscious inclusion of himself in

the situation he imagined. That he did contemplate retirement from

active literary life about this time seems to be evidenced by his absorp-
tion in Stratford interests between 1613 and 1616, which has left
behind documentary evidence to attest it.¹

Prospero's farewell to his magic art is, extraneous addition to its action. For there
however, quite a part of the play and not is an essential aesthetic reason why he
xix
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

Next to Prospero, the most interesting representative figure of the

play is Caliban. He is a mere incident in the drama itself, a relieving
grotesque, but his peculiar character is sketched with such a fine re-

gard for essential details that the background may be filled in a dozen
different ways. If Prospero is mind, Caliban is matter; if Prospero is

the apotheosis of the intellectual life, Caliban is vulgarity; if Prospero

is wisdom, Caliban is bestiality ; if Prospero is the expression of be-

neficent aristocracy, Caliban is the essence of popular liberty. This
latter even Shakspere seems to hint at in his " Ban, Ban, Ca- Caliban,
has a new master, get a new man. Freedome! High-day! Freedome! "

-a hint which Renan has cleverly seized for his political allegory.

But such interpretations are not Shakspere, however capable of

them the representative interests of The Tempest may be, and however

interesting criticism may find it to infest its mind with beating on

strange businesses.

The earliest appearance of the text is in the Folio of 1623, ¹ where

it is comparatively well printed, probably because it was the first play in

Hemming and Condell's edition . Act and scene divisions are given,
and apparently correctly.²

While the typographical pedigrees of " buss " and " twilled ” might

should break his staff and cast his book into The discrepancies between the Quarto and
the sea , in that his magic art has now ac- Folio versions of the first two point to pecu-
complished for him his whole desire, and liar conditions of publishing; Pericles was
his resignation of it rounds out the theme's damned so deep by the public as to become
completeness. The fate of Miranda and proverbial for an unsuccessful play, and
Ferdinand is another story which will reach was excluded from the Folio ; Troilus and
its happy conclusion without his beneficent Cressida , like Pericles, was a product of
providence to guide it further. joint authorship, so that the rights to it were
¹The fact that it was one of Shakspere's probably not clear, and it would seem, from
later plays and a piece of property whose its peculiar pagination, that the editors of
admitted value would make Shakspere's the Folio were at first in doubt as to includ-
company protect it from piratical publish- ing it in their collection.
ers, sufficiently accounts for its not ap- 2It has already been shown that there is
pearing in Quarto form. After 1600 only little ground for assuming that The Tempest
Lear, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, and has been mutilated for purposes ofstage rep-
Pericles were published in separate editions. resentation. See p. vii, supra.
XX
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

be better assured, we may be reasonably certain that the text ofTheTem-

pest is a comparatively faithful reproduction of Shakspere's manuscript.

As in the case of Macbeth, once its language is clearly understood as
Elizabethan English, most of the so-called ' corrupt passages ' disap-

pear.

In order to carry out the original plan of making each volume of

the Elizabethan Shakspere, as far as possible, complete in itself,

considerable repetition has been necessary ; it is hoped that the conve-

nience of having always at hand sufficient material for an adequate in-

terpretation of the neighboring text will offset this disadvantage.

The editor takes pleasure in acknowledging his indebtedness to

Professor Napier of Oxford for photographs of Johnson's scoring of

' Full Fathom Five ' ; and to Professor Hollis of Harvard for help
in matters nautical. He must also thank Mr. W. H. Stevenson of

Exeter College, Oxford, for the copy ofthe entry in Forman's Diary
which was made use of in Macbeth. The credit for typographical ar-
rangement belongs to the editor's assistant and to the De Vinne Press.

But in no case have typographical or œsthetic considerations been

allowed materially to condition the subject-matter, which is, in the first

instance, prepared quite independently ofits ultimate typographicalform .

The abbreviations employed are those explained on pp. xxxi, xxxii,

and xxxiii of the Introduction to Macbeth. It might be added that the

phonetic transcriptions are in terms of the letters and diacritics of the

Oxford Dictionary.

The plan of the work outlined in the General Preface ( included in

the Macbeth volume) , and the principles of text construction and text

interpretation there laid down, have been rigidly followed. But it may
be worth while to add here a few words of additional explanation . The

evidence drawn from synonymous glosses in early New English dic-

tionaries depends largely for its validity upon the fact that sixteenth- and

seventeenth-century lexicographers were glossing into their own idiom

languages which they were fairly well acquainted with, and were quite
xxi
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

satisfied when they had denoted common and related connotations of

the lemma word by means of punctuation alone . The original punctua-

tion of their glosses and as much as possible of the related context is

given in the illustrative notes, the editor making himself responsible for
the assumption that the glosses for a group of the related senses of
the lemma are reasonably accurate — that, for instance, when “ nimble,
yare, " " ready " is used in its
ready, quick " stands as a gloss for "yare,
Elizabethan sense of ' lively, ' and is not an inaccuracy on the part of

the lexicographer. Likewise in the citations chosen from Elizabethan

writers, which are necessarily made as brief as possible, the editor as-
sumes that the coincidence of meaning between Shakspere's word and

that of the quotation cited points to their common connotation as being

legitimate and normal English usage. Indeed, these citations are chosen

in the first instance quite without regard to elucidating Shakspere difficul-

ties, but for the sole purpose of throwing light on Elizabethan idiom in

general.

Elizabethan English is in its external form so like modern Eng-

lish that where it varies from the idiom we are familiar with, we assume
that its unintelligibility or vagueness is due rather to the Elizabethan

writer's imperfect knowledge of English usage, or wilful divagation

from standard diction, than to our own ignorance of Elizabethan idiom .

But when we read Shakspere with this assumption in mind, we

shear his work of half its power and half its beauty. By annexing to

his words connotations which they did not have when he wrote them,

we often betray his thought to confusion ; by ignoring connotations

which they have since lost, we often break the thread offinely woven
associations ; by treating his syntax as if it were anomalous wherever

it is unfamiliar to our minds, we often miss his niceness of idiom ; by

imposing upon his words our modern stress-relations, we mar many a

fine harmony of rhythm, when we do not actually make his versifica-

tion grotesque .

Ourknowledge of Elizabethan English is growing broader anddeeper

with further research and more accurate scholarship . To add to this

xxii
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST

knowledge and not cavil at the application of it to Shakspere is the task

which the English scholarship of the future should set itself. English
literature may again reach the pitch of Shakspere as an interpretation

of the essential interests of human life ; but until we have some sub-

stitute to put in his place, the further away we get from an intimate
understanding of Shakspere's English, the further shall we be from

an adequate literary expression of the values of life. And if we never

equal his high pitch, as Greece never equalled Homer's, the best we
can do is to study his writing in its original purity, no matter at what

difficulty and inconvenience. The Greeks were wise enough not to

revamp their Homer, and we may well profit by their example.

xxiii
THE TEMPEST
 THE NAMES OF THE ACTORS

ALONSO, King of Naples.

SEBASTIAN, his brother.
PROSPERO, the right Duke of Millaine.
ANTHONIO, his brother, the usurping Duke of Millaine.
FERDINAND, son to the King of Naples.
GONZALO, an honest old councellor.
ADRIAN AND FRANCISCO, lords.
CALIBAN, a salvage and deformed slave.
TRINCULO, a jester.
STEPHANO, a drunken butler.
MASTER OF A SHIP .
BOATE SWAINE.
MARRINERS.
MIRANDA, daughter to Prospero.
ARIELL, an ayrie spirit.
IRIS,
CERES,
1
JUNO, spirits.
NYMPHES,
REAPERS ,
THE SCENE : AN UNINHABITED ISLAND.

This list of the dramatis personæ is appended

to the text of The Tempest in FO. I.

I
 THE TEMPEST

THE FIRST ACT

SCENE I : ON A SHIP AT SEA

A TEMPESTUOUS NOISE OF THUNDER AND LIGHTNING HEARD
ENTER A SHIP -MASTER AND A BOTESWAINE
I- 8

MASTER
OTESWAINE !
BOTESWAINE
Heere, master : what cheere ?
MASTER

Good, speake to th' mariners : fall too ' t, yarely,

or we run our selves a ground : bestirre , bestirre.
EXIT

B ENTER MARINERS
BOTESWAINE
I The scene takes place in
Heigh, my hearts ! cheerely, cheerely, my
the waist of the ship : the cap-
harts ! yare, yare ! Take in the toppe-sale. tain, having descried land
Tend to th' master's whistle. Blow till thou under his lee, rushes down
from the high quarterdeck,
burst thy winde, if roome enough !
calling to the boatswain as
he runs toward him , 'Come,
come, rouse your men ; get to work, lively ! or we'll be aground !' His EXIT indicates
his return to the quarterdeck. The ENTER MARINERS is probably in response to the
HEIGH , MY HEARTS ! ofthe boatswain. Elizabethan (EL.) stage entrances are frequently
slightly in advance of the action, cp. Macb. II . 1.9 ; modern editors usually change them,
but they have allowed this one to stand. 2 In the 17th century " ship-master," which
was often shortened to MASTER as here and in v.7, was applied to the chief officer of a
merchant vessel, " captain " to the commanding officer of a man-of-war or a pirate vessel ;
the latter term was not extended to the merchant service until the 18th century , see Oxford
Dictionary (N. E. D.) s.v. From Baret's gloss in his Alvearie ( 1580), " a ship-maister, the
pilot, pilot et nauclerius," it is evident that the master's duty was the direction of the course
3
 THE TEMPEST

of the vessel. The boatswain, often called the " sub-pilot " in Elizabethan English ( EL. E.) ,
seems to have directed the course of the ship as well as to have had the supervision of
the ropes, cables, sails, etc. The N. E. D. shows that a common form of the word in Shak-
spere's time, as in modern English ( MN. E.), was " boson," used in v. 12, though "bote-
swaine " was the literary spelling. We are pretty safe in assuming that Shakspere's ship-
master said "boson." 3 GOOD here and in vv. 16 and 20 seems to be a form of address
like MN . E.'come ' ; cp. " Good now, sit downe " Ham. I. I.70, also Wint.T. V.1.19, and Err.
IV.4.22 : the First Folio ( FO. I ), probably taking it as an answer to " what cheere?" prints
a colon after it. SPEAKE TO, ' exhort,' ' urge on ' ; cp. "The death of Fulvia with more
urgent touches [i.e. feelings] Do strongly speake to us " Ant.& Cl. 1.2.187. The phrase
still survives in colloquial idiom with this sense of ' admonish. ' The captain's words are
not literary, for " shipmen " and MARINERS are common, every-day terms for ' seamen ' in
EL. E.; the former is now obsolete, the latter has become literary. FALL TOO ' T, not ' get
ready to receive an order,' as Mulgrave read, but ' fall to,' ' get to work,' N. E. D. ' fall " 66d .
" Too " and "to" are not distinguished in EL. spelling, and " 't" is a frequent unstressed
form of the pronoun, cp. Macb. 1.6.24. The comma before YARELY points to it as sepa-
rate from "fall too " -Lively now ! ' cp. "Yare among seamen : nimble, ready [i.e. lively], 17
quick " Kersey's Dictionarium ( 1708) ; " Yare at sea signifies quick, ready, expeditious
Glossographia ( 1707) ; “ Yare (lively), agilis, vividus, vegetus " Coles's Latin Dictionary
( 1679) ; see also Ant.&Cl. II . 2.216, and ibid. V.2.286. 5 HEARTS and CHEERELY are
still terms of encouragement among sailors ; the latter now has the form ' cheerily ' ; cp.
"Cheerly, my mates, the day will be ours " Sturmy's Marriner's Mag. ( 1669 ) 1. 1. 20 (cited
in N.E.D.I b). 6 TAKE IN THE TOPPE-SALE ( ai before l, m, n, is sometimes repre-
sented by a in early- 17th-century spelling) : they are running upon a lee shore with a point
just ahead of them which they must clear in the teeth of the gale, and the topsail would hinder
them from lying close to the wind. 7 TEND TO TH ' MASTER'S WHISTLE : probably
an order given to one of the crew- ' see what he wants ' ; " tend " is the common EL. word
for service, cp. Macb. 1.5.38. This is one of those vivid touches of action through which
Shakspere crowds detail into an interesting situation. BLOW, etc. , may refer to the shriek-
ing of the captain's whistle -the boson will run the ship out himself, if he only has sea-
room enough, regardless of captain's orders : but it is more likely that the connection be- "
tween " whistle " and " blow" is merely accidental and that the boatswain is apostrophizing
the storm , cp. " Blow, windes, and crack your cheeks ! Rage, blow ! " Lear III. 2. 1. Their
chief danger is that the wind will slack off, causing them to lose headway and drift broad-
side on the rocks. The de-
scription ofthe storm in Peri-
ACT I SCENE I 9-12
cles has many striking points
of resemblance to this open-
ENTER ALONSO SEBASTIAN ANTHONIO
ing scene of The Tempest.
In Per. III. I. 44 the first sailor FERDINANDO GONZALO AND OTHERS
says, " Blow, and split thy- ALONSO
self!" and the second sailor
Good boteswaine, have care. Where's the
adds, " But sea- room , and the
brine and cloudy billow kisse master? Play the men.
the moon, I care not !"
BOTESWAINE

ANTHONIO in the stage di- I pray now, keepe below.

rection is spelled with the ANTHONIO
Latin th standing for t, still
preserved in 'Anthony ' and Where is the master, boson ?
developed into a th-sound in
'anthem ' and ' throne,' which should properly be ' antem ' and ' tron.' GONZALO is some-
times spelt " Gonzallo " and usually stressed " Gonzálo." 9 HAVE CARE : EL.E.
4
 THE TEMPEST

"have" in this idiom has been supplanted by MN. E. ' take,' cp. "The captaine and the
maister .. besought Sir Richard to have care of them " Raleigh's Last Fight of the Re-
venge, 1591 , ed. Arber, p. 22. 10 PLAY THE MEN is a common EL. phrase for ' do
your duty,' now found only in the singular ' play the man ' ; Steevens cited Chapman's Iliad
II, " thou shalt know what souldiers play the men, And what the cowards " ; Malone
cited II Samuel X. 12 , " let us play the men for our people " ; see, too, Macb. IV. 3.230, " I
could play the woman with mine eyes." 12 The inference that Anthonio's use of BOSON
here suits his character for ' coarseness and flippancy ' (Knight, White, etc.) is based upon
the incorrect assumption that " boson " is a coarse and flippant form of the word. The
loss of the w in unstressed syllables is quite normal in English, cp. modern " Grenich "
for Greenwich; " groundsel " for ' groundswell ' ; " ekal," " uppard," " forrard," correspond-
ing to MN. E. ' equal,' ' upward,' ' forward,' are common forms of the 16th and 17th cen-
turies, and the last mentioned
is still a sailors' word. MN.E.
ACT I SCENE I 13-29 ' answer' still preserves one
of these lost w's in its written
BOTESWAINE form .
Do you not heare him? you marre our la-
13 DO YOU NOT HEARE
bour : keepe your cabines : you do assist the HIM ? i.e. 'don't you hear his
storme. whistle?' MARRE, ' interfere
GONZALO with,' 'hinder ' ; cp. " be mute
Or else our spell is mar'd "
Nay, good, be patient. IV. I. 127. 14 CABINES has
BOTESWAINE given way to the more elegant
state-rooms.' ASSIST, ' aid
When the sea is. Hence ! What cares these the work of,' as in Macb. I.
2.52 : in Per. III . I. 19 occurs
roarers for the name of king ? to cabine : si-
lence ! trouble us not. similar phrasing, " doe not as-
sist the storme" (Steevens).
GONZALO 16 GOOD, BE PATIENT,
cp.note tov.3. 17 CARES,
Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboord .
the usual EL. singular verb
BOTESWAINE with plural subject found in
almost every EL. writer. Mod-
None that I more love then my selfe . You ern editors allow it to stand
are a counsellor ; if you can command these here, seemingly because it is
elements to silence , and worke the peace of the supposed to suit the language
of an ignorant sailor, but in
present, wee will not hand a rope more ; use IV. I. 264, where Prospero
your authoritie :if you cannot, give thankes uses the idiom, the singular is
changed to the plural. 18
you have liv'd so long, and make your selfe ROARERS, ' rioters,' for the
readie in your cabine for the mischance ofthe boatswain's use of the word
in this connection implies the
houre, if it so hap. Cheerely, good hearts !
EL. meaning ' riotous person,'
Out of our way, I say . cp. " to roare, to murmur,
EXIT to show themselves discon-
tented" Alvearie ; ' roarer' is
also a regular term for ' blustering fellow,' ' bully.' 20 YET, ' at least,' cp. " The duke
yet would have darke deeds darkelie answered " Meas. III.2 . 187. ABOORD is an EL.
spelling of ' aboard,' retaining a Middle English ( M. E.) lengthening of the o before rd that
has not been preserved in standard MN. E. ¶21 MORE LOVE : the EL. adverb had not
5
 THE TEMPEST

gained that fixity of position which it has in MN.E. THEN, a M. E. doublet form of ' than,'
still retained in Shakspere's time. 22 COUNSELLOR, a member of the king's council :
the ' -sel ' and ' -cil ' spellings were not sharply distinguished in EL. E. 23 WORKE THE
PEACE , council-chamber phraseology, ' bring about a state of tranquillity ' ; in EL. E. the
verb " work " was used of producing almost any effect : we still say 'work mischief.' ¶24
PRESENT is sometimes used in EL. E. in the sense of ' matter under discussion,' ' affair in
hand,' cp. " And that you not delay the present " Cor. 1.6.60, also ibid. III . 3.42 , and " this
is from the present [ i.e. not to the question ] " Ant. &Cl. 11.6.30. Brae, reading the phrase
as MN. E., proposed ' tempest ' as an emendation for " present," remarking that ' saver for
m and n for t [a saving clause of much virtue] , it is an anagram of the title of the play.'
The boatswain's rough logic, translating the situation into the technical terms of statecraft,
has the same force as Mac-
beth's jest to the physician in
Macb. V. 3. 50. EXIT : the ACT I SCENE I 30-39
boatswain is off to his duties
in another part of the ship. GONZALO

30 HAVE : another idiom I have great comfort from this fellow : me-
in which the verb has been thinks he hath no drowning marke upon him ;
supplanted by ' take.' ME-
his complexion is perfect gallowes. Stand
THINKS, not ' I think,' but ' it
seemsto me.' 31 DROWN- fast, good Fate , to his hanging: make the rope
ING MARKE : Gonzalo's jest of his destiny our cable, for our owne doth
is an allusion to the popular little advantage. If he be not borne to bee
belief in fortune-telling by
physiognomy, see Brand's hang'd , our case is miserable .
Popular Antiquities, III . 355 : EXIT
'peril by water ' often figures ENTER BOTESWAINE
in this sort of divination. BOTESWAINE
32 COMPLEXION often
means 'general appearance' Downe with the top-mast ! yare ! lower, lower !
in EL. E., and here seems to be Bring her to try with th' maine-course. A
a reference to the face of the
boatswain and his hangdog plague -
look. PERFECT, ' unmixed,' A CRY WITHIN
'unalloyed,' as often in EL. E.
GALLOWES in EL. E. is an adjective meaning ' villainous ' as well as a noun, cp. N. E. D. I.
Gonzalo is sure that the boson, with his villainous face, is fated to be hanged, and “ he that
is born to be hanged will never be drowned " (the proverb is given in Cotgrave's French
Dictionary, 1650, s.v. noyer). " To have the gallows in one's face " is an e.N. E. phrase
given in N. E. D. 2 b, cp. especially its citation from Bush ( 1767) , " a fellow with a gallows
mark upon his face." 34 DOTH Little advaNTAGE, ' is of little use ' : in EL. E.
"advantage " is a verb meaning ' to be of use,' cp. " to leave them money without skill to
use it, would little advantage " citation dated 1668 in N. E. D. s.v. 4. 36 MISERABLE ,
' pitiable,' a meaning common in EL. E.; ' miserable ' and ' pitiable ' now convey slightly
different notions. The EXIT of FO. I was changed by Theobald to the ' Exeunt' followed by
modern editors. But it is likely that the other courtiers rushed off to the captain in v. 25, the
aged Gonzalo lingering to remonstrate with the boatswain for his uncivil answer. ENTER
BOTESWAINE : in EL. stage directions no distinction is made between the entry and reëntry
ofan actor. The boson has not been below, but in another part of the ship, probably on the
quarterdeck getting orders from the captain. 37 DOWNE WITH THE TOP-MAST :
ships of Shakspere's time had a short topmast, cp. the illustration from Saxton's Maps,
reproduced in the fore part of Vicary's Anatomie, ed. Furnivall, Early English Text Society
6
 THE TEMPEST

( E. E. T.S.), 1887. Sir Henry Manwaring, who wrote a Seaman's Dictionary, 1644, says that
" it is not agreedamongst all seamen whether it is better for a ship to hull [i.e. ride out a storm]
with her topmast up or down," and asserts that " it is never good to strike the topmast if you
have sea-room " ; but there is no sea-room here. YARE, ' lively now !' LOWER, hardly
'lower away,' because the word is repeated : rather impatience at the half-hearted way in which
the sailors are doing their work. 38 BRING HER TO TRY is an EL. nautical term which
Kersey defines thus : " a ship is said to try when, having no more sail abroad but her mainsail
or missen sail, she is let alone to lye in the sea." Steevens cites Smith's Sea Grammar ( 1647) ,
reprinted by Arber, which gives as a direction for handling a ship in a storm : "Let us lie
at trie with our maine course : that is to hale the tacke aboord [i.e. " to bring the weather
clues down to the chess tree " as Smyth defines it (see Century Dictionary s.v.)] , the
sheat close aft, the boling [i.e. bowline] set up and the helme tied close aboord [i.e. ( ?) in
line with the keel]." The object of this manœuvre was to keep the ship's head in the wind
and make the great mainsail steady her from rolling. Kersey says a ship is " holsom in
the sea" when she will " hull, try, and ride well without rolling or labouring " ; so Glosso-
graphia : " hulling " was evidently lying in the wind with no sails set, cp. " to hull or lie
a hull is said of a ship when . . in a storm .. she takes all her sails in " Glossographia ; cp.
also " what a develish sea there runs ; she'll neither try nor hull " Motteux, Rabelais ( 1708),
IV. xxi. 92. MAINE-COURSE, ' mainsail,' N. E. D. s.v. ' course ' 32. The definite article,
TH' , is not in FO.I : it was
probably omitted by accident,
ACT I SCENE I 40-49
or perhaps was represented
by an apostrophe in the MS.,
ENTER SEBASTIAN ANTHONIO AND GONZALO as sometimes happens in
upon this howling ! they are lowder then EL. E., cp. v. 66. 39 There
is a long dash after PLAGUE
the weather, or our office. Yet againe ! What in FO. I ; but this is probably
do you heere ? Shal we give ore and drowne ? only an indication ofthe break
have you a minde to sinke? caused by the stage direction,
inserted a little in advance
SEBASTIAN
of the action, as usual. The
A poxe o' your throat, you bawling, blasphe- word " plague " comes near
the edge of the column mea-
mous, incharitable dog! sure, so that there was no
BOTESWAINE room to put the stage direc-
Worke you then. tion in its proper place in the
right margin. CRY in EL. E.
ANTHONIO means ' clamour,' ' outcries,'
Hang, cur ! Hang, you whoreson, insolent see note to Macb. v.5.7.
noyse-maker ! We are lesse afraid to be
¶41 WEATHER in Old Eng-
drownde then thou art. lish (O.E.) meant ' storm,'
'tempest,' and this connota-
tion still clung to it in early New English (e.N. E.), see Cent. Dict. I. OFFICE in EL.E.
is the regular word for ' occupation,' ' business,' cp. "It is my office " 2Hen.6 II.4. 102 .
$ 42 GIVE ORE, ' give up,' ' cease working ' N. E. D. 63 b. 43 SINKE in M. E. often
means ' perish,' ' be lost,' and this meaning was retained in e.N. E., cp. " A Grecian's life
hath sunke " Tr.& Cr. IV. 1.70. 44 BLASPHEMOUS : " to blaspheme " is ' to slander ' in
EL. E., cp. Macb. IV. 3. 108. 45 INCHARITABLE, ' inhuman, ' depending upon the M. E.
meaning of ' charitable.' 48 NOYSE-MAKER, ' chatterer,' ' talker.' TO BE, ' of being,'
the frequent e. N. E. infinitive idiom corresponding to a MN. E. participial phrase. It is
interesting to note how in this introductory scene the essential character of the actors in
it is uncovered : Gonzalo's patience, Alonso's dignity, Sebastian's violence, Anthonio's
7
 THE TEMPEST

viciousness. Ariel's later enchantments will pass by Gonzalo, but will make Alonso
insanely melancholy, Sebastian inordinately ambitious, Anthonio madly murderous.

$ 50 FOR in EL. E. means ' against,' N. E. D. 23 d. 53 They are now head to the wind
and in danger of drifting on the rocks ; the boatswain gives the order, " Lay her ahold,
ahold ! " because he sees that the ship is rapidly drifting inshore ; the repetition denotes
urgency. Admiral Smyth is cited in N. E. D. as explaining that "" ahold " is a term of our
early navigators for bringing a ship close to the wind so as to hold or keep to it.' And this
may well be, for " at " is in frequent (Northern) M. E. use for the infinitive "to " : "lie at
try" seems to be the same sort of an idiom, for "try" is an infinitive, and " ado " (i.e. ‘ at
do,' ' to do ' ) still survives in MN.E. Such an order is natural after "bring her to try,"
especially if the yards have been backed. The subsequent order gives the course two
points off the wind toward the open sea, and this is followed by the word for the immediate
execution of the order, " Lay her off ! " (see following note) . In the ' Sea Voyage,' palpa-
bly modelled on The Tempest, the captain's first order is "lay her aloof [ i.e. with her head
to the wind, ' luff her '] , the sea grows dangerous " ; this is followed by "lay her at hull," i.e.
take in the sails and let her ride out the storm. The first order corresponds to Shak-
spere's "bring her to try," but
the second is just the oppo-
ACT I SCENE I 50-54
site of that of Shakspere's
captain. In Beaumont and
Fletcher they try to ride out GONZALO
the storm ; Shakspere's boat- I'le warrant him for drowning, though the
swain tries to run out to sea
ship were no stronger then a nutt-shell and as
under the main-course in the
teeth of the gale, and, direct- leaky as an unstanched wench.
ing the steersman to pay her
head off a little till she fills, BOTESWAINE
tries to clear on the port tack Lay her a hold, a hold ! Set her two courses
(the shore being on the left,
and the sea-way precluding off to sea againe ; lay her off !
the starboard tack) : but the
ship has not enough way on, and threatens to drift upon the point-"We split, we split ! "
COURSES means ' points on the compass-card ' in EL. E., see N.E.D. 12 b, which cites
(in 12 a) Smith's Grammar, "the course is that point of the compass on which the ship
sails." Not appreciating this sense, the Cambridge Text alters the text of FO. I to ' set her
two courses : off to sea again,' taking " course " in its sense of ' large sail,' as in maine-
course " above, and making the boatswain put up two of these in the emergency besides the
main-course already up, to say nothing of the flat, landlubberly language " offto sea againe."
OFF goes with SET and means ' off the wind,' and not ' away from the shore ' : to get her
off shore is too obvious a necessity and too general an order to suit the context. ¶54
AGAINE because they have come in from the sea. LAY HER OFF is usually taken to mean
'lay her off shore.' This is the only instance in N. E. D. where the word is cited with this
meaning ; in the one coupled with it " lay" is intransitive. But Coles gives " to fall off (as
a ship) declinare venti.' If "lay her ahold " is the opposite of "lay her aloof," which is
the EL. order for the steersman to luff a ship, there must immediately follow an order giving
the new course in terms of compass points. But the ship has no headway and responds
to the helm slowly, hence the boatswain's impatient " lay her off ! " The corresponding
MN. E. term for getting a ship's head away fromthe wind is ' Pay her off,' ' off' meaning ' out
of the direction in which the wind is blowing.' " Lay " in the EL. expression is probably used
as in " lay her ahold " and " lay her aloof. " The manœuvre is not successful and they give
themselves up for lost : then either Ariel's suddenly exerted tempest as suddenly subsides,
or the wind shifts, -Shakspere leaves the solution to the imagination, —and they are saved.
8
 THE TEMPEST

The question naturally arises, Where did Shakspere get the knowledge of seamanship
which he displays here ? Some have assumed that he must have travelled in foreign lands-
see, for instance, Jahrbuch der Shakespeare Gesellschaft VIII . 46 - and that a storm in the
Mediterranean on a voyage to Italy gave him a first-hand knowledge of seamanship. But
passengers do not learn how to handle ships from going through storms. Shakspere
would have had as good an opportunity to acquire his knowledge ashore, had he asked
some of his nautical friends about the matter, as on shipboard. Mr. Kipling's assumption
of a seaman from the Somers' expedition, tongue-loosened by unlimited sack, is quite suf-
ficient to account for it. And,
indeed, his knowledge is not
ACT I SCENE I 55*-61 very extensive. It involves
only the taking in of the top-
ENTER MARINERS WET
sail and the lowering of the
MARINERS top-mast in a sudden storm,
and the simple manoeuvre of
All lost ! to prayers, to prayers ! all lost !
BOTESWAINE getting off a lee shore by run-
ning into the wind and heav-
What must our mouths be cold? ing to, preparatory to tacking
out.
GONZALO

The king and prince at prayers , let's assist 55 FO. I does not begin to
them , print the text as poetry until
For our case is as theirs. v.61 , " Hee'l be hang'd yet,"
but it is quite probable that
SEBASTIAN blank verse was intended
from ENTER MARINERS to
I'm out of patience.
the speech of Gonzalo which
ANTHONIO closes the scene. As Shak-
We are meerly cheated of our lives by drunk- spere's prose is often rhyth-
ards : mical, wanting only a clear
coincidence of phrase and
This wide-chopt- rascall- would thou mightst verse end to make it blank
verse, and The Tempest is
lye drowning
a play in which very light
The washing of ten tides ! pauses mark the successive
* Standard numeration begins here. verses, it is very difficult to
decide in this instance which
is intended. But the printer's intention to set as poetry a part of the passage is evident,
and, this part having more sharply marked verse divisions than the rest, it is likely that
Shakspere introduced blank verse here, though blank verse gives the passage extremely
awkward stresses. 56 WHAT in EL. E. is often an interrogative particle scarcely trans-
latable in MN. E. There is no punctuation after the word in FO. I ; modern editors insert
a comma, making the boatswain express surprise. MOUTHS BE COLD is a euphemism
for death, cp. " cold in the mouth " Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lady II.2 (cited by
Furness), "I would thy toung were coold to make thy tales more cold " Heywood, Proverbs
II., Sp. Soc., p. 70, and " thorough cold in the mouth " L'Estrange (cited in N. E. D. I c. ).
In the Sea Voyage 1. I , the captain accuses a sailor of discouraging his friends with
"cold orisons," but the coincidence is probably accidental. 57 THE KING AND
PRINCE AT PRAYERS seems to be an absolute clause, and therefore pointed by a comma
in FO.I. The Cambridge Text reads it as an exclamation. " Prayers " is often dissyl-
labic in EL. E., so the verse is not unrhythmic ; cp. Macb. II.2.25. 58 I'M is " I'am"
in FO. I , but this is a common way of printing the contraction in EL. E. $ 59 MEERLY,
'wholly,' ' quite,' cp. "Meerely awry" Cor. III . 1. 305 , and "the horse were meerly lost "
9
 THE TEMPEST

Ant. & Cl . III.7.9. DRUNKARDS is followed in FO. I by a comma, but the capital t in THIS
shows it to be a misprint. 60 WIDE-CHOPT-RASCALL (" chop " is a variant of ' chap '
in EL. E. and is used of persons as well as of animals, cp. Macb. 1.2.22) : Anthonio calls
him 'wide-mouthed ' because of his insolent answers, cp. "insolent noyse- maker " above,
"a large mouth indeede " John II . I. 457, and " stretch-mouth'd rascall " Wint. T. IV. 4. 196,
and not because ' men with wide chaps are weak and doltish.' LYE DROWNING , cp .
"Pirats and robbers by sea are condemned in the court of admiraltie and hang'd on the
shore at lowe watermarke,
where they are left till three SCENE I 61-70
ACT I
tides have overwashed them "
Harrison's England, ed. Fur-
GONZALO
nivall, p. 229 (cited by Elze
in his Notes on Elizabethan Hee 'l be hang'd yet,
Dramatists, First Series, p.
Though every drop of water sweare against it
33, and further illustrated by
Hales in The Academy of And gape at widst to glut him.
September 1 , 1877, p. 220). A CONFUSED NOYSE WITHIN :
The anacoluthon is not
marked in FO. I , a comma 'Mercy on us !
standing in its place. 'We split, we split ! '-' Farewell, my wife and
children ! '-
461 " Hee'l bé" seems to
be the stress. 63 AT ' Farewell , brother ! '-'We split , we split, we
WIDST : in EL. E. the definite
article is often omitted with split ! '
ANTHONIO
superlatives : one of these, ' at
best,' is retained in MN . E.; Let's all sinke with ' king.
cp. note to Macb. I. 4. 17. SEBASTIAN
The e. N. E. superlative was
Let's take leave of him.
often syncopated as here.
GLUT, ' swallow down,' cp. EXEUNT ANTHONIO AND SEBASTIAN
"I pray thee stirre my jaws
GONZALO
that I may glut it " Lane's
Tom Teltroth, 1600 ( N. E.D. Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea
v. 2). NOYSE in EL. E. is 1
frequently applied to clam- for an acre of barren ground : long heath ,
ouring and shrieking, see note browne firrs, any thing. The wills above be
to Macb. V.5.7. The outcries
done ! but I would faine dye a dry death.
that follow are printed in FO. EXIT
I as if they were part of Gon-
zalo's speech. 64 SPLIT
is the ordinary word in EL. E. for the wrecking of a ship, cp. "for fear she should .. split
upon a quicksand " Comenius's Janua Linguarum ( 1643) 466. 66 WITH KING , see
note to v. 38. EXEUNT, etc., is " Exit " in FO. I. 67 A FURLONG is a square measure
in EL. E. Baret glosses it by jugerum ; Minsheu (Ductor in Linguas, 1617 ) says it is a
quantity of land containing "twentie lugs or poles in length." It is otherwise the eighth
part of an acre, and he adds that " in the latter signification the Romanes call it jugerum."
Cowel (Law Dictionary, 1684) repeats Minsheu's distinction ; Thomas ( Latin Dictionary,
1620) says likewise that jugerum " may be used for our acre, which neverthelesse contain-
eth more, etc., a furlong," and glosses "furlong " by jugerum ; Holyoke's Dictionary, 1676,
glosses a furlong of land by jugerum. The N. E. D. thinks that Minsheu is in error, but
it seems quite likely from all these definitions that in Shakspere's time the word was a
rough equivalent for ' acre.' In Wint. T. 1.2.95 the word is used for a square measure.
10

1
 THE TEMPEST

$ 68 LONG HEATH, BROWNE FIRRS : there has been much controversy over Han-
mer's alteration of this passage to ' ling, heath, broom, furze ' which the Cambridge Text
incorporates. But, in the first place, ' ling' and ' heath ' in Shakspere's time are names of
the same plant, cp. Turner's Names of Herbes, s.v. myrica, "the scholemasters of Eng-
land have of longe tyme called myrica heath or lyng " ; also, erice is named in England
"heth, hather, or ling." Coles glosses erice " heath or ling," Minsheu defines “ ling, heath
or hather," Lyte's Herbal also gives ling and heath as synonymous words. The fact that
in Harrison's England, p. 91 , we have " Brome, heth, firze, brakes, whinnes, ling " hardly
justifies us, therefore, in altering " long " to ' ling,' especially as there were two kinds of
heath distinguished in Shakspere's time, -" long heath " and " smal heath " : cp. Lyte's
Herbal, V. xvi. 677, " There is in this countrie two kindes of heath, one . . is called long
heath [erica vulgaris ] , the other smal heath [tetralix] ." Norden says that " heathy
grounds be commonly in the highest degree of barrainesse " Harrison's England III . , p.
195. "Browne " seems in MN. E. to be an unusual epithet for furze, which is an evergreen
shrub, but in EL. E. ' brown ' can mean ' dark,' ' dusky ' : violets are brown in Maundeville,
and Milton speaks of " brown evening," see N. E. D. I. The word, therefore, makes apt
sense, and it is better not to try to improve the text even though " browne " could be mis-
printed for ' broom ' in EL. E. by the setting of an n for an m, two letters liable to confusion
(cp. " cyme " for " ceny " in Macb. V.3.55), since ' broom ' in EL. E. has a doublet form
with a diphthong, ow, that is very common, viz. "browme," see N.E. D. " Broume," the
same form, is a frequent spelling in Turner's Herbal. " Firrs " is an EL. spelling (and
more correct) of MN. E. ' furze ' : the s was probably still voiceless in Shakspere's time.
69 WILL in e. N. E. means ' pleasure ' rather than ' intention.'

INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO SCENE II

The location of Prospero's island has been sought in both hemispheres : Hunter fixed on
Lampedusa, a small island in the Mediterranean, near the course from Tunis to Naples ;
Elze was for Pantalaria, with its town Seiaxghihir to suggest the name of Sycorax, and
Calibia, on the African coast opposite, that of Caliban. There can be little doubt that the
enchanted, monster-breeding, tempest-haunted island described in popular accounts of
Somers's wreck upon the " still vexed Bermoothes " (cp. Introduction) suggested the local
colour of The Tempest fantasia : there can be as little doubt that Shakspere thought of the
island itself as lying not many leagues out of the course between Tunis and Naples : further
than this we cannot go without ignoring Shakspere's own warning-"there is in this busi-
nesse more then nature was ever conduct of : some oracle must rectifie our knowledge. To
infest our minds with beating on the strangeness of it were to waste time." Prospero tells his
story after the shipwreck as Eneas does his , and thus the unity and interest of the action
are maintained. His tale involves not only his own history as the groundwork of the plot,
but the unfolding of the plot's machinery. He tells of his acquisition of magical power,
now at its zenith ; of his binding of Ariel to his service and of Ariel's nature and story ;
of the binding of Caliban to his service and of Caliban's nature and history. The action
resumes its course with v. 375. The charming of Ferdinand proceeds to the beautifully
idyllic scene of the first love between Ferdinand and Miranda, the one part of the
enchantment that is to abide when the baseless fabric of the vision will be dissolved.
Prospero (the fortunate one) and Miranda (the adorable, cp. note to III . I.37) were prob-
ably names which caught Shakspere's fancy on account of their significations ; the con-
notation of the former, especially prophetic as it is of the happy issue of the play, is
not likely to have escaped notice. A Prospero occurs in Every Man in his Humour
(Ben Jonson).
II
 THE TEMPEST

SCENE II : THE ISLAND : BEFORE PROSPERO'S CEll

ENTER PROSPERO AND MIRANDA
I. ii. I- 13

MIRANDA
TI YOUR ART : Miranda
addresses her father with the F by your art, my deerest father,
'you '-form of the second per- you have
son, while he speaks to her Put the wild waters in this rore,
in the 'thou '-form. But too
much attention must not be alay them .
paid to the fact, for Caliban The skye, it seemes, would powre
addresses Prospero in both
down stinking pitch ,
forms (arguing his innate per-
versity, some one may say ! ). But that the sea, mounting to th' welkin's
The formal grammatical dis- cheeke,
tinction that "you " was used
to superiors in EL. E., and Dashes the fire out. Oh , I have suffered
"thou" to inferiors or per- With those that I saw suffer ! A brave vessell ,
sons dear to the speaker is
Who had, no doubt , some noble creature in
a principle largely inferred
from the modern use of the her,
German pronouns. The two Dash'd all to peeces. O , the cry did knocke
forms of the pronoun roughly
Against my very heart ! Poore soules, they
did express these relations,
but they interchange in the perish'd.
most bewildering fashion, and Had
often a single speaker in good Had II byn
byn any
any god
god of of power, I would
EL. E., e.g. in Sidney's Ar- Have suncke the sea within the earth or ere
cadia, will use both within the
It should the good ship so have swallow'd and
compass of a single sentence.
YOU HAVE : the verse breaks The fraughting soules within her.
awkwardly, but probably in-
tentionally in order to bring the graphic reversal of rhythm at the beginning of the next
verse. 2 RORE, ' uproar,' as frequently in M. E. and EL. E., and therefore the definite
pronoun, cp. "Why nil I brynge al Troye upon a rore" Chaucer's Troilus V.45 ; and cp.
1.1.18. Our modern spelling with oa merely indicates the original long open o in the word,
in EL. E. sometimes represented, sometimes not. 3 STINKING PITCH seems to have
been an EL. imitation of the classic pix vapida, which Cooper in his dictionary translates
"stinking pitch." " Coelumpice nigrius " Ovid, " caligo picea " Virgil, " imber piceus " Pliny,
and MN . E. ' dark as pitch ' all convey this association between pitch and darkness. The
unsavoury character of pitch is also referred to in II.2.54. 4 Welkin's cheeKE, cp.
"the cloudie cheekes of heaven " Rich.2 III . 3.57 , and " the wide cheekes a' th'ayre " Cor. V.
3.151 (cited by Delius). Such figures were common in EL. literature : cp. "the heaven's
breath" Macb. I. 6.5, "the blanket of the dark " ibid. 1.5.54, "the morning's eye " Rom. &Jul.
III.5.19 ; we still have ' face of heaven.' 5 FIRE, probably dissyllabic : in EL. E. r very
frequently makes a separate syllable, cp. " remembrance " Macb. III.2. 30, and " children
ibid. IV. 3. 177 ; ' Henery ' is an EL. form of the name still common in American dialects.
OH corresponds to MN. E. 'ah ' -cp. note to Macb. V. I. 59 - rather than to MN.E. ' oh.' ¶6
SUFFER here and in Macb. III.2.16 seems to mean ' perish.' A similar usage of the
word with an added touch of humour occurs in II. 2. 40. BRAVE has its 1.M. E. and
e. N. E. meaning of ' fine,' ' splendid.' 7 WHO : not a personification, as it appears to
12
 THE TEMPEST

be in MN. E., but an instance of the pronoun as used in EL. E. with a neuter antecedent,
cp. II. I. 127 , II.2.13, and the numerous instances in Schmidt's Shakspere Lexicon s.v.
'who.' CREATURE is not a mistake for ' creatures ' as has frequently been assumed,
nor yet a collective noun tantamount to ' creatures,' nor is her use of the word a mark of
Miranda's doubt as to what sort of beings these were, as Coleridge thought ; the word in
M. E. and e.N. E. was used with a connotation of admiration now lost, see N. E.D. s.v. 3 b
and cp. III . 1.25 ; Miranda is only expressing her conviction that there was some person
of rank on the ' royal ship,' as it is called in V. I.237 . 8 THE often in EL. E. has the
force of a possessive pronoun, and is here tantamount to ' their.' CRY, a collective noun
in Shakspere's time, means ' screams,' ' outcries,' cp. " It is the cry of women " Macb.V.5.8
and note. 10 BYN and " bin " are usual e.N. E. phonetic spellings of the unstressed form
of 'been.' GOD OF POWER : cp. " prince of power" v. 55. I WOULD : again the light end-
pause, and so with the next two verses ; this occasional vague definition of the end of the
verse is characteristic of Shakspere's later poetry ; it practically amounts to treating the end-
pause as if it were a cæsura, and making the cæsura itself, which is usually placed toward
the end of the verse, sharp and clear. II OR ERE is a strengthened form of " ere " in
which " or" as well as " ere " means ' before,' cp. แ or ere they sicken " Macb. IV. 3. 173.
13 To FRAUGHT is an obsolete M. E. and e.N. E. verb meaning ' to load a ship,' N. E. D. I ;
its past participle is still in
archaic use .
ACT I SCENE II 13-21
13 COLLECTED : the word
PROSPERO is now usually used to con-
Be collected : note ' control of the intellec-
tual powers ' ; in Shakspere's
No more amazement : tell your pitteous heart
time it seems to have referred
There's no harme done. to the emotions as well-
one collects himself from fear
MIRANDA in Wint.T. III. 3. 38. ዋ 14
O , woe the day ! AMAZEMENT denotes ' be-
wilderment,' ' consternation ,'
PROSPERO cp. Macb. IV . I. 126, and
No harme : PITTEOUS, like " pittiful,"
means ' feeling pity ' in EL. E.,
I have done nothing but in care of thee, cp. Macb. 111. 2. 47. ዋ 15
Of thee, my deere one, thee, my daughter, There's nó hárme dóne " is
who unusual stress in MN. E. , es-
pecially in view of the " NŐ
Art ignorant of what thou art , naught knowing hárme" that follows : but per-
Of whence I am, nor that I am more better haps we should read " Thére
is nó hárme dóne," treating
Then Prospero, master of a full poore cell , "done" as the common extra
And thy no greater father. impulse before the cæsura.
Miranda's exclamation seems
to be interjected, Prospero continuing his thought in " No harme." The colon of FO. I after
HARME is better pointing than the modern period, but its period after ART, v. 18, is an
obvious misprint. 19 OF WHENCE : in this idiom ' from ' is the preposition in MN.
use. MORE BETTER, ' nobler ' ; double comparatives and superlatives are common in
literary EL. E., cp. " more skilfuller " Golding's Calvin, Galatians, 222 b, " more calmer
times" Drayton's Barrons Warres II.68.2, "most craftiest knave " Halle's Chronicle,
Henry VIII , fol. I. " Better" is used of rank and station in EL . E., see N. E. D.a. ዋ 20
PROSPERO is syncopated to " Prosp'ro " : this loss of an unstressed impulse, especially
in a syllable containing a liquid or nasal, is a common phenomenon of EL. E. both in prose
13
 THE TEMPEST

and in poetry. FULL POORE : the adverb "full " in M.E. performed the same function as
did " very," intensifying a quality expressed by an adjective. The idiom was retained in
EL. E. and is still in use in poetry. We have "full salt " in v. 155. CELL in the sense of
'humble dwelling, ' ' cottage,' is now confined to poetic use. $ 21 GREATER, ' nobler,'
cp. " our great bidding" Macb. III.4.129. The placing of a notion that really qualifies the
subject as if it merely described it -' thy father who is no richer than to be master of
this poor cell ' is like " The
fraughting soules within her,"
above. ACT I SCENE II 21-33

22 MEDLE in e.N. E. means MIRANDA

'to mingle with,' ' to take an More to know
interest in,' and THOUGHTS
has a shade of meaning now Did never medle with my thoughts .
borne by ' purposes.' 23 PROSPERO
LEND THY HAND : the magic
'Tis time
mantle is so potent that he
must have help to remove it ; I should informe thee farther. Lend thy hand ,
in V. I.85 it is Ariel who lends
his hand to " discase " the And plucke my magick garment from me. So :
magician. 24 SO is not LAYS DOWN HIS MANTLE
' thank you ' (see citations in Lye there, my art. Wipe thou thine eyes ;
Schmidt), but the particle of have comfort.
acquiescence almost tanta-
mount to ' that is done,' cp. The direfull spectacle of the wracke, which
V.I.96. The stage direction touch'd
"Lays down his mantle " is
Pope's ; none appears in FO.I. The very vertue of compassion in thee,
25 LYE THERE, MY ART : I have with such provision in mine art
a number of EL. citations
have been adduced by Stee- So safely ordered, that there is no soule-
vens and Dyce to show that No, not so much perdition as an hayre
this phrase was often used by
Betid to any creature in the vessell
one laying aside an assumed
rôle, probably an extension Which thou heardst cry, which thou saw'st
of "lie" in the sense of ' re- sinke . Sit downe ;
main unused ' (N. E. D. 8).
Steevens's citation from Ful- For thou must now know farther.
ler's Holy State, p. 25, is most
apposite : ' Sir William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, Lord High Treasurer in the reign of Eliza-
beth, when he put off his gown at night used to say, " Lie there, Lord Treasurer."' Shak-
spere in conceiving Prospero and his magic mantle may have had in mind some such story
as that of Ericus, King of Sweden, who ' had an enchanted cap, by virtue of which, and
some magical murmur of whispering terms, he could command spirits, trouble the air, and
make the wind stand which way he would, insomuch that when there was any great wind
or storm the common people were wont to say the king had now on his conjuring cap.'
HAVE COMFORT, ' take comfort,' as in v. 30. 26 WRACKE is a common e.N. E. form
of 'wreck ' ; in 1. (late) M. E. and e.N. E. e and a interchanged in a number of words before
k. ¶27 VERY with nouns is an intensive in e.N. E. , cp. " very guise " Macb. V. 1. 22. 28
PROVISION was needlessly emended to ' prevision ' by Dyce ; " providence " has the literal
sense of ' foresight ' in M. E. and e.N. E., - cp. " very worthy deedes are done unto this nation
by thy providence " Acts XXII . 2 (ed . 1613) , and Cotgrave couples " provision " and "fore-
sight" in his gloss of prouvoyance (cited by W. Aldis Wright) : the notions of ' provision '
14
 THE TEMPEST

and ' prevision ' are mingled in Shakspere's words. 29 Notwithstanding the obvious
anacoluthon in Prospero's assurance, Theobald read ' foyle ' (i.e. damage, loss : but the word
had no such meaning in e.N. E., see N. E. D. ' foil ' sb. 2), Holt and Johnson ' soile ' (i.e. stain
or spot), and Capell and Staunton ' loss ' ; ' evil,' ' ill,' 'hurt,' have also been suggested, and
the fact that editors have overlooked ' foul' in its M. E. and e.N. E. sense of ' disastrous ' used
substantively with ' betide,' ' fall,' ' happen to,' is perhaps the only reason why we have not
had ' foule ' — indeed, a very good case might be made out for this last claimant. Anaco-
lutha in FO. I are very carelessly printed, see note to Macb. 1.7.28 : the thought here is
connected, the verbiage only broken, for " no soule " is continued in the " perdition betid "
of the next clause, PERDITION meaning ' loss ' in EL. E.; cp. " Sir, his definement suffers
no perdition in you " Ham. V.2.117, and Florio's definition ( Italian Dictionary, 1611 ) , " per-
ditione, perdition, losse, loosing ; also damnation or ruine." HAYRE is usually a measure
of small difference in MN. E.; in EL. E. it is used more generally as an infinitesimal measure
of weight, and usually associated with notions of loss, probably from Matt. X. 30, see
N.E.D.5. 31 BETID : the anacoluthon is not so sharp as in MN. E., for "is " out of the
preceding clause-" is [lost] " -goes with " betid " to form the perfect tense, " is betid to "
being equivalent to MN. E. ' has befallen ' ; this form of the past participle is normal and
common in e.N. E., since the M. E. past participle of weak verbs ending in d or t had no
inflectional ending : our MN. ' betided ' is a new formation. 32 The first WHICH has
"creature" for its antecedent ; the second, " vessell " : these respective constructions are
ornaments of EL. style which
Shakspere is peculiarly fond
ACT I SCENE II 33-4I
of, cp. "who neyther begge
nor feare Your favors nor
MIRANDA your hate" Macb. I. 3.60.
You have often
¶34 WHAT, from its M. E.
Begun to tell me what I am , but stopt use in the sense of ' what sort
And left me to a bootelesse inquisition , of person,' came frequently
to be used in the sense of
Concluding, ' Stay : not yet. ' 'who' as an interrogative re-
PROSPERO ferring to persons, cp . "What
The howr's now come ; are these?" Macb. II . 3. 21 .
35 INQUISITION , 'the act
The very minute byds thee ope thine eare ;
of inquiry,' cp. " inquisition
Obey and be attentive . Canst thou remember of one's life, vitæ examina "
Alvearie. 36 THE HOWR'S
A time before we came unto this cell ?
NOW COME : " howr" in M.E.
I doe not thinke thou canst, for then thou and e.N. E. had the sense of
wast not 'appointed time,' cp. "Time
and the houre " Macb. I. 3.
Out three yeeres old . 147. This use of the word
suggested astrology and prob-
ably led to the parallel use of MINUTE , which was ' the sixtieth part of a degree of the
ascendant.' In IV. I. 141 Prospero says, "the minute of their plot Is almost come," which
he knows by "the prevision of his art." So in All's W. 1.2.38 we have, " and his honour,
Clocke to it selfe, knew the true minute when Exception bid him speake : and at this time
His tongue obey'd his hand," a figure somewhat like that involved in Prospero's words to
Miranda (note the OBEY, i.e. "the bidding of the minute," which follows). 41 OUT,
'completely,' 'fully,' a sense still preserved in adjective use in such phrases as ' an out and
out rascal, cp. " He was nere fourskore years of age, if not all out," Bradford's Plymouth
Plantations, p. 408 (cited in Cent. Dict.). The stress is " Out thrée yéeres óld." The
words make Miranda but fifteen at the time when the play opens.
15
 THE TEMPEST

$ 43 OF ANY THING THE IMAGE TELL ME, ' give me your description of anything' ;
FO. I cuts off " tell me " by commas, evidently regarding the phrase as parenthetical, but
"image" is frequently used in EL. E. for 'description,' ' representation,' N. E. D. 6 ; cp. " This
play is the image of a murder done in Vienna " Ham. III.2.248, and " The image of it gives
me content already [ Isabel is referring to the duke's description of how her brother shall be
saved, her honour preserved,
etc.]" Meas. III . I. 270. For
TELL in this sense of ' de- ACT I SCENE II 41-55
scribe ' cp. "Tell us the man-
ner of the wrastling " A.Y.L. MIRANDA
I. 2. 118. 44 KEPT, of
Certainely, sir, I can.
course, has here its sense of
'lodged,' ' abode,' N. E. D. 38, PROSPER O
and Pope's ' in ' for WITH , By what ? by any other house or person?
which is sometimes followed
Of any thing the image tell me that
by modern editors, is a need-
less change. $ 45 ASSUR- Hath kept with thy remembrance.
ANCE is now usually used of
' the conduct of one who feels MIRANDA
sure,' orof making one sure ': 'Tis farre off
in EL., and still sometimes in And rather like a dreame then an assurance
MN. E., it means 'fact,' ' cer-
tainty." 46 WARRANTS That my remembrance warrants. Had I not
in EL. E. still preserved much Fowre or five women once that tended me ?
ofits M. E. meaning of ' stands
surety for.' ¶47 FOWRE : PROSPERO
the u of the diphthong is fre-
Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how
quently written w before a
consonant in M. E. and e.N. E., is it
cp. "howr," above ; this is What seest
That this lives in thy minde ?
still retained before n and l,—
thou els
cp. 'known,''bowl,'-but not
beforer. TENDED, ' attended,' In the dark backward and abisme of time ?
its usual EL. meaning, cp.
"Give him tending " Macb. I. Yf thou remembrest ought ere thou cam'st
5.38. 49 SEEST is a mono- here,
syllable in EL. E. ¶50 THE How thou cam'st here thou maist.
DARK BACKWARD : the no-
tion seems to be the same as MIRANDA
that in "the swallowing gulfe But that I doe not.
Of darke forgetfulnesse and
deepe oblivion " Rich.3 III.7. PROSPERO
128, "backward " being anom-
alously used as a noun for Twelve yere since, Miranda , twelve yere
'what lies behind one,' and since,
ABISME, the EL. form of Thy father was the Duke of Millaine and
' abyss,' meaning a ' bottom-
less gulf,' N. E.D.2. " Back- A prince of power.
ward" in EL. E. was used in
reference to time, cp. the citations from Bacon, " By a computation backward from
ourselves," and from Burges, " This statute extendeth to forty yeares backe-ward " in
N.E.D. A 8. FO. I hyphenates "dark-backward " as it does " sainted-king " in Macb. IV. 3. 109.
"Abisme " was pronounced up to 1616 ( see N.E.D. ) in its M. E. form, " abeem." 951
16
 THE TEMPEST

OUGHT, the common e. N. E. form of ' aught.' 53 The first YERE may be an instance
of the EL. syllabic r : but " ye-ar" is an unusual EL. form, and verses lacking an unstressed
impulse at the beginning are frequent in The Tempest. " Yere," the M. E. form of the
plural, was still in use in Shakspere's time with designations of number, cp. "for ten yeare
together" Meas. II . I.252, and " within ten yeare " All's W. 1.1.159 : an analogous use of
the singular 'foot ' is still cur-
rent in such expressions as
ACT I SCENE II 55-65 'six foot two.'

MIRANDA $ 56 PEECE in EL. E. has

Sir, are not you my father ? often the sense of MN. E.
' masterpiece, ' cp. “ making a
PROSPERO
peece of reverence unto him,
Thy mother was a peece of vertue, and Mighty Prince, ' said I " Sid-
She said thou wast my daughter ; and thy ney's Arcadia, p. 60. Shak-
spere's spelling is the usual
father EL. form, though ' piece ' is
not uncommon. $ 59 AND
Was Duke of Millaine ; and his onely heire
PRINCESSE : Pope's emen-
And princesse no worse issued . dation ' A princess ' has been
MIRANDA widelyaccepted by Shakspere
editors, but it makes little im-
O the heavens !
provement. The apparently
What fowle play had we, that we came from interpolated " and thy father
thence ? Was Duke of Millaine " and
the numerous " ands " are sus-
Or blessed was 't we did ?
picious. We may here have
PROSPERO to do with the result of a mis-
understood revision like that
Both , both , my girle : in " And shut up in measure-
By fowle-play, as thou saist, were we heav'd lesse content " Macb. II . 1.16 :
'queen' is a not unusual
thence,
meaning of "princesse" in
But blessedly holpe hither. EL.E. It is possible, there-
MIRANDA fore, that vv. 54 to 59 first
stood : "Thy father was the
O, my heart bleedes
Duke of Millaine and Thy
Tothinke o' th' teene that I have turn'd you to, mother was a princesse no
worse issued ; Thou wast my
Which is from my remembrance ! Please you,
daughter and onely heire of
farther. Millaine," and that Shak-
spere's intended revision was
something like : " Thy father .. and A prince of power." " Sir, are not you my father?"
"Thy mother was a peece of vertue, and She said thou wast my daughter and onely heire
Of Millaine no worse issued." " O the heavens ! " but that this was misunderstood by the
copyist or printer (as in the later version of L.L.L. IV. 3.290 ff. ), who mingled the original
with the amended text. THE HEAVENS : the form is now vocative without the article, but
in EL.E. "the heavens " stands for ' God,' cp. " After that thou shalt knowe that the heavens
do rule" Daniel IV.26 ( 1611 ), cited in N.E. D.6b. 60 FOWLE PLAY is a compound
word in EL. E., see note to " dead-man " in Macb. IV. 3. 170, hence the stress "fówle play."
FO. I hyphenates it in v. 62. ¶61 blessed, ' fortunate,' a common EL. meaning of the
word. 62 HEAV'D in M. E. and e. N. E. means ' removed,' cp. " His onely daughter,
whom (through false pretext) Stephen, Earl of Bulloyn, from the kingdom heaves " Dray-
17
 THE TEMPEST

ton's Barrons Warres (cited in N.E.D.4). ¶63 HOLPE is the M. E. and e. N. E. past
participle of ' help.' 64 TEENE is a M. E. word meaning ' grief,' ' vexation,' still current
in e. N.E. TURN'D YOU TO, cp. "all the trouble thou hast turn'd me to " 3Hen.6 V. 5. 16.
$ 65 WHICH, etc., ' but it has passed from,' the relative pronoun in e. N. E. being often
equivalent to a pronoun and connective. FROM, ' out of,' ' passed from,' cp. “ A very
hard thing, Sir, and from
my power" Beaumont and
ACT I SCENE II 66-78
Fletcher's Knight of Malta
III.4 (cited in N. B. D. 8 b) .
PROSPERO
Prospero's speech is some- My brother and thy uncle, call'd Anthonio—
what broken : on the mention
of his brother's name a rush I pray thee, marke me that a brother should
of feeling overpowers him Be so perfidious - he whom next thy selfe
and disturbs the order of his Of all the world I lov'd, and to him put
thought. As it stands, the
sentence is mainly participial The mannage of my state ; as at that time
down to v. 75, and continues Through all the signories it was the first,
the train of thought inter-
rupted at v.59. $ 67 MARKE And Prospero the prime duke, being so
ME: " me" is the ethical da- reputed
tive, and " that," etc., the ob-
In dignity, and for the liberall artes
ject of " marke, " i.e. ‘ observe, Without a paralell ; those being all my studie ,
'note.' 69 PUT TO, ' con-
fided to,' cp. "I put it to your The government I cast upon my brother
care" Hen.8 1. 2. 102. $ 70
MANNAGE is a noun as well And to my state grew stranger, being trans-
as averb in EL. E., cp. " Young ported
men in the conduct and man-
And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncle—
nage of actions," etc., Bacon's
Dost thou attend me?
Essays of Youth and Age.
AS, not ' because ' or ' since ,'
butthe M. E. and e. N. E. redundant " as," common before adverbs and adverbial expressions,
and still retained in " as yet," cp. "a province untoucht in a manner and new to us as till
then " Bolton, 1618 ( N. E. D. 34). So " as this dyre night " Rom.&Jul. V. 3.247, and " as this
11
very day" Cæs. V. 1.72. 72 The rhythm is " Prósp'ro, the prime dúke.' PRIME in
EL.E. is often used of persons to denote ' the first rank,' cp. " The prime men of the city "
Fletcher's Spanish Curate I. I. (cited in Cent. Dict.). This connotation is still retained in
'prime minister.' ¶73 DIGNITY, ' worth,' not MN. E. ' dignity,' cp. note to Macb. V. I.63.
FOR, ' as for.' 74 PARALELL in EL. E. was used of persons with the sense of ' peer,'
cp. the verb " parallel " in Macb. II.3.67. BEING : the present participle of e. N. E. verbs
ending in a long vowel may be monosyllabic as in M. E.; so " doing," " going," " seeing," etc.
ALL MY STUDIE, ' my whole occupation ' : the original meaning of " study" is ' object of
pursuit,' and this connotation clung to it in EL. E. 75 CAST, ' bestowed upon,' N. E. D. 36.
476 STATE means ' rank and appurtenances of a prince ' as well as ' government in gen-
eral,' cp. " in your state of honor I am perfect " Macb. IV.2.66. TRANSPORTED now
connotes the effect of strong emotion, but in EL. E. the word was applied to any altering
or transforming agency ; it had also the sense of ' remove into a far country,' a sense still
preserved in ' to transport criminals.' In Macb. 1.5.57 Macbeth's letters " have trans-
ported " Lady Macbeth " beyond the ignorant present " ; so Prospero's love of learning
removed him from the practical affairs of every-day life. 77 RAPT IN, ' carried away
by,' cp. note to Macb. 1.3.57. SECRET, ' occult,' cp. " If secret powers suggest but truth
To my devining thoughts " 3Hen.6 IV.6.68. 478 DOST : printed " do'st " in FO.I.
18
 THE TEMPEST

$ 79 The scansion seems to be " Béing once pérfectéd hów to graunt suítes " : BEING
PERFECTED is EL. E. for ' being taught, ' having learned,' cp. " Apollo perfect me in the
characters ! " Per. III.2.67. SUITES : ' petitions ' is the corresponding MN. E. word, cp.
1.2.122. 80 WHO : the logical nominative for the grammatical accusative is common
in EL. E., cp. Macb. III . I. 123. T' ADVANCE : elision of the unstressed infinitive particle
before a following verb beginning with a vowel frequently occurs in EL. poetry and prose.
481 TO TRASH, a hunting-term meaning to check an over-eager dog. Shakspere uses
it in "this poore trash [the word was used of worthless, idle persons in EL. E. ] of Venice,
whom I trash [ FO. trace, QO. crush, showing that the compositors were not familiar with
the word] for [i.e. to prevent] his quicke [i.e. eager] hunting " Oth. II . 1.312 ; cp., also,
"He [i.e. young Hengo] trashed me [ Hengo was bound on the back of Caratach, who
is speaking, and impeded his flight] " Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca I. I (cited by War-
ton), "prolongation of magistracy trashing the wheel of majesty " Harrington's Works, p. 303
(cited by Holt White, Var. I ),
"there is no means on earth
ACT I SCENE II 78-87
besides the very hand of God
able to trash or overslow the
MIRANDA furious driver" Hammond's
Sir, most heedefully . Works IV.563 (cited inTodd's
Johnson), and Gervace Mark-
PROSPERO
ham, who, in his Country
Contentments , 1611 , I.I.16,
Being once perfected how to graunt suites,
speaks of collars and trashes
How to deny them, who t ' advance and who as hunters' paraphernalia
To trash for overtopping, new created (cited by Nares). There is
The creatures that were mine, I say, or ample evidence, therefore, .
that theword"trash" in Shak-
chang'd ' em , spere's time meant 'to check
Or els new form'd ' em ; having both the key the speed of. ' OVERTOP-
PING : the word " top " is used
Of officer and office , set all hearts i' th ' state in EL. E. in the sense of ' sur-
To what tune pleas'd his eare ; that now he pass ,' cp. "So farre he topped,
was me thought" (FO.I " past
my thought ") Ham. IV.7.89 ;
The ivy which had hid my princely trunck, "over" is frequent in EL.
Thou at- compounds in the sense of
And suckt my verdure out on 't.
tend'st not ? ' excess,' e.g. overlive - out-
live, overrun = outrun, etc.;
so that even if " overtop " be
not a hunting-term corresponding to " trash," it can well mean ' outstripping the others.'
This meaning of the word seems to be clearly implied in Milton's " If kings presume to
overtop the law by which they reign, for the public good they are by law to be reduced [i.e.
brought back] into order " Eikon. XXVIII . Here it is clearly the notion of overstepping
limits and outrunning prerogative that Milton has in mind. Cp., also, " I would persuade
all lovers of hunting to get two or three couple of tryed hounds and once or twice a week
to follow after them a train-scent [on train scent, i.e. after a drag] . And when he [i.e. one]
is able to top them [i.e. outstrip them] on all kinds of earth .. he may the better relie on
his speed " The Hunting Horse, 1685, VII.71 (cited by Arrowsmith in Notes and Queries,
1853, 121 ), and " if this letter speed .. Edmond the base Shall top th' [ FO. to' th' , QO.
too th' ] legitimate " Lear I. 2. 19, where " top " seems to be the word intended. Phraseologia
Generalis, 1681 , glosses "to top or overtop one, superare, exuperare " (" pass " and " sur-
pass " are common glosses of exuperare). So, whether " overtopping " was a hunting-term
or not, we have good evidence that it meant ' to exceed in speed.' Another interpretation
19
 THE TEMPEST

has been given: ' trash ' is originally the name of the small branches that fall from the trees
in the forest ; it is therefore assumed that ' trash ' means ' to lop,' though no evidence for
such a verb has been cited earlier than the 18th century. " Overtopping" is taken in its
literal sense, and the passage is glossed ' to prune in order to prevent too rapid growth.'
Some colour is given to this interpretation by a citation from Warner's Albion's England
X.57, " Who suffreth none by might, by wealth or blood to overtopp, Himself gives all pre-
ferment and whom listeth him doth lop." Evidently Dryden read the verse in this way,
substituting ' lop ' for "top " in his version of The Tempest. In Rich.2 III.4.63 Shakspere
has a similar notion. But the objection to this interpretation is that " trash " is not known
as a verb in EL. E. meaning ' to lop,' and that the thought does not fit in with ADVANCE in
the previous clause with that niceness of association that we find in Shakspere. "To trash
for overtopping " is therefore best read as ' to check in order to prevent [a M. E. and e. N. E.
use of FOR] their surpassing the rest.' 82 OR .. OR, ' either .. or,' a common e. N. E.
meaning of these correlatives still found in MN. poetry. 83 HAVING BOTH THE KEY,
etc., i.e. having the key ( Shakspere usually calls it ' a wrest ') which ' screwed ' the officer ' to
his true place of subservience and set the key-note of his administration. The word " key "
thus seems to be used in its two senses (N. E. D.7 and 13 ) in one of those compact locu-
tions which are so common in Shakspere. 84 SET, ' he set ' : the omission of the sub-
ject pronoun in such idioms is a common characteristic of M. E. and e. N. E. syntax. I'TH'
STATE was omitted by Steevens as being a needless phrase making the verse an alexan-
drine: but if we read " state "
in the sense of ' administra-
ACT I SCENE II 88-97
tion,' and not ' body politic,'
there is no tautology ; cp.
"Without the king's will or MIRANDA
the state's allowance " Hen.8 O, good sir, I doe !
III.2.322. 85 THAT, ' so
PROSPERO
that,' a frequent EL. meaning
of the conjunction, cp. Macb. I pray thee, marke me.
I. 2. 58. 87 VERDURE,
I ,, thus
I neglecting
thus neglectin g worldly
worldly ends, all dedicated
' vigour,' cp. "Their [ i.e. thy
lips] verdour still endure " To closenes and the bettering of my mind
Ven. & Ad. 507 ; in the 16th
With that which , but by being so retir'd
and 17th centuries the word
se
had the form " verder " as well Ore-priz'd all popular rate, in my fal
as "verdure," and this gives brother
better rhythm here. OUT Awak'd an evill nature ; and my trust,
ON , ' out of,' an EL. idiom still
current in dialect English. Like a good parent, did beget of him
A falsehood in its contrarie as great
88 The verse begins with
As my trust was ; which had indeede no limit ,
a stressed impulse , cp. note
to v. 53. 90 CLOSENES , A confidence sans bound.
'retirement,' N. E. D. 3. 91
WITH, ' by,' as frequently in El.E. BUT BY BEING , ' if only because they were.' ¶92
ORE- PRIZ'D : "prize " in EL. E. is MN. E. ' price,' newly formed from the noun ' price ' ; the
M. E. verb is " prisen, " which would regularly give ' prize ' in MN . E.: we probably have
this form in ' prize, to set a value on.' In e. N. E., however, this word " price," " prize,"
seems to have had the meaning ' pay for,' cp. " The man that made Sansfoy to fall Shall
with his owne blood [ normal EL. stress, cp. Macb. III.4. 135 ] price that he hath spilt "
Spenser's Faerie Queene I. v.26. " Ore-prized," therefore, probably means ' more than
paid the price for,' though the word is not given in the dictionaries in this sense. There
is, however, the possibility that " ore-prized " is a mistake for " o'er-peized," a common EL.
20
 THE TEMPEST

word meaning ' outweighed.' The u in EL. POPULAR had not yet become iu, and the
word could be syncopated to " pop'lar " as here, cp. " With popular studies gapes for sover-
eigntie" Jonson's Sejanus ( 1640), p. 335. RATE, ' estimation ,' ' rank,' cp . " I am a spirit
of no common rate " Mids. III . 1. 157. Prospero's thought about study is probably remi-
niscent of some such notion as Bacon expresses in his essay ' Of Studies ' : " Their chief
use for pastime is in privateness and retiring." 93-95 These lines evidently refer to the
proverb "Heroum filii noxa." FALSEHOOD, ' treachery,' N. E. D. I : the word is now ob-
solete in this sense. IN ITS CONTRARIE : the phrase is in wide philosophical use in EL. E.
to express ' opposite attributes,' and is scarcely translatable into MN. E. 497 SANS, a
common M. E. and e.N.E.
preposition meaning ' with-
ACT I SCENE II 97-106 out.'

He being thus lorded 97 BEING, monosyllabic,

Not onely with what my revenew yeelded , see note to v.74. LORDED,
not ' made a lord,' for he was
But what my power might els exact, like one one already, but ' empowered
Who having into truth , by telling of it, to collect revenue ' ; Shak-
Made such a synner of his memorie spere usesthe word in its legal
sense of ' having dominion.'
To credite his owne lie , he did beleeve 98 REVENEW in EL. E.
He was indeed the duke , out o' th' substi- often has its M. E. stress,
"revénew." 99 ELS, ' be-
tution, sides.' 100 INTO, ' unto ,"
And executing th ' outward face of roialtie as in M. E., N. E. D. 16 ; cp .
" Did I expose my self ..
With all prerogative : hence his ambition
Into the danger of this ad-
growing- verse towne " Tw. N. v.1.86 ,
I and " Looke back into your
Dost thou heare?
mightie ancestors " Hen.5 I.
2. 102. IT seems to be proleptically used, and to refer to ' lie ' below, meaning ' Like one
who, by repeatedly telling a falsehood, has made of his memory such a sinner unto reality
that he believes his own lie.' OF before the direct object of present active participles is
a very common EL. idiom (cp. Schmidt for dozens of instances in Shakspere) and survives
in colloquial English. 102 TO CREDITE : the infinitive is frequently used in EL. E. after
" such " without the correlative " as," cp. " I would with such perfection governe, sir, T'ex-
cell the golden age " in II. I. 167. The construction seems to be ad sensum , the predicate
of " who" being involved in the infinitive clause. Another interpretation is possible : SUCH
A is frequently used in M. E. and e. N. E. for ' a certain ' -some person or thing that could
be particularized if the speaker chose : e.g. " wee dyed at such a place " Hen.5 IV. I. 144,
and " when in rush'd one and tells him such a knight Is new arrived " Daniel, ' Civil Wars'
II. MN.E. usually doubles the " such," ' such and such.' SYNNER Of his memORIE
might easily be a figurative expression for ' a lie,' the word " synner" having a shade of
meaning like that in Timon 1.2.58, " Heere's that which is too weake to be a sinner, Honest
water, which nere left man i' th' mire," the OF being objective, as it frequently is in EL.E.;
IT would then represent this sinner, MADE INTO may have its sense of ' transformed ' or
'translated into,' and the thought be like that in " So are those errors that in thee are seene
To truths translated and for true things deem'd " Sonn. XCVI. 7, and Prospero's words
mean ' Like one who having transformed into truth some sinner against his memory [i.e.
some falsehood] by telling it.' If we take this interpretation and assume that TO is an error
for " doth," caused by the printer or proof-reader mistaking the meaning of " such " (it is evi-
dent that the passage was not clear, for FO I puts a period after " exact " and begins a
new sentence with " Like "), we get a grammatical reading ; but the gain is hardly great
21
 THE TEMPEST

enough to justify alterations of the text. Dozens of other emendations have been proposed,
-some twenty-five are recorded in the Cambridge Text, and these are by no means all,-
but none of them give idiomatic EL. E. that comes anywhere near the form of the words as
they stand in FO.I and at the same time suits the context. Theobald's ' oft ' for " of it"
is somewhat plausible, for the word is common in EL. E.; but its usual position is before
the verb, as in Malone's apt citation from Bacon's Hist. of Hen. VII : ' Nay, himself [ i.e.
Perkin Warbeck] , . . with oft telling a lye, was turned by habit almost into the thing he
seemed to be.' 103 OUT O', ' on account of,' ' because of ' ; the clause goes with "be-
lieve," but the comma of FO.I after DUKE is usually changed to a semicolon in modern
editions. SUBSTITUTION : " substitute " in EL.E. has the legal meaning of ' deputy, ' or ' one
who acts for another,' cp. "heaven's substitute, His deputy annointed " Rich.2 1.2.37. The
definite article in EL. E. often has a slight particularizing force like that of a MN. possessive
adjective : it limits " executing" as well as " substitution." The second half of the verse be-
gins with a double unstressed
impulse. 104 To " execute
ACT I SCENE II 106-116
a face" was quite possible in
Shakspere's time, when EX-
ECUTING had the sense of MIRANDA
'going through with a form or Your tale, sir, would cure deafenesse—
ceremony'; "executing th❜out-
ward face of roialtie," there- PROSPERO
fore, meant ' performing the To have no schreene between this part he
acts associated with it ' : see
N.E. D. 2b and cp. 4 a. FACE plaid
means ' show,' ' appearance,' And him he plaid it for , he needes will be
' display,' cp. " never invaded Absolute Millaine . Me, poore man, my li-
the liberties of the commons
brarie
byanyface of prerogative " N.
Bacon, 1647 (cited in N. B. D. Was dukedome large enough : of temporall
10), and " well noted face Of
roialties
plaine old forme is much dis-
figured " John IV.2.21 . ROI- He thinks me now incapable ; confederates
ALTIE : in M. E. and e. N. E. i
So drie he was for sway - wi ' th ' King of
and y were interchangeable ,
y being preferred at the end of Naples
a word or next n, m, and u.
To give him annuall tribute , doe him homage,
The word is probably synco- Subject his coronet to his crowne and bend
pated to ' roi'lty ' here and in
v. IIO. 105 ALL has here The dukedom yet unbow'd - alas , poore
its sense of ' every,' corre- Millaine ! —
sponding to M.E. " alle " and
notto MN.E. 'all.' HENCE, i.e. To most ignoble stooping.
'from this source.' PREROG-
ATIVE may be syncopated in EL. E.; thus the verse illustrates the common type in which
there is an extra unstressed impulse before the cæsura. 106 This verse, like the second
half of v. 103, begins with a double impulse. FO. I prints " Do'st thou." Miranda is already
struggling against the " dulnesse " which she yields to at v. 185. The slight impatience
gives the magician a human interest, as well as breaks his long monologue.

106 CURE may be dissyllabic in EL. E., the r developing a vowel sound and giving an
extra syllable, cp. "This swórd shall súre pút you oút of doúbt " Greene's Alphonsus of
Arragon 628. Shakspere, however, does not elsewhere use this form ; and if he uses
it here, either WOULD is to be shortened to "ild" or " sir " is extra-metrical : cp. note to
22
 THE TEMPEST

Macb.III.1.40. DOST .. DEAFENESSE is, of course, parenthetical, and “ ambition growing

to have," etc., is Prospero's thought. 107 Sch in SCHREENE represents sc as in MN.
'school,' cp. " schreemes " in Macb. 11.3.61 . The word in EL. E. describes the shade which
tempered the direct shining of a candle or any light, cp. " Let .. the screene [be] green , a pair
of snuffers hard at hand" Čomenius's Janua Linguarum ( 1643 ) 745. This screen interpos-
ing between the king and the deputy-king, and dimming the full radiance of majesty for
Anthonio, was, of course, the personal right and title of Prospero. Some editors, taking the
word in its usual modern sense, have thought of Anthonio as playing his part behind this
screen, and have emended HIM in v. 108 to ' them ' so as to make the pronoun represent
the audience. 108 NEEDES is a M. E. and e. N. E. adverb meaning ' necessarily ' ; it is
still preserved in the literary idiom. 109 The scansion is " Absolute Millaine " ( FO. I "Mil-
lanie" ), the name having English stress. The names of sovereignties in EL. E. may stand
for the sovereigns themselves, cp. " Norway himselfe " Macb. 1.2.50. ABSOLUTE in EL. E.
means ' free from all doubt and uncertainty ' and is often used like an adverb, N. E.D.II.
The folio punctuation is " Absolute Millanie, Me (poore man) my . . enough : of . . in-
capable. Confederates," etc.: taking the parenthesis marks as denoting anacolutha, as in
the case of "(alas poore Millaine)," v. 15, and the colon after " enough " as marking another,
like that after " growing " in v. 105, ME will be the object of THINKS, repeated later as is
usual in such EL. constructions. But if we stick literally to the punctuation of FO. I , we may
have ME used in its sense of ' as for me,' common syntax in EL. E. Either reading gives
good sense : in the one case " Poore man," etc., is Anthonio's thought ; in the other, Pros-
pero's. 110 TEMPORALL ( syncopated to ' temp'rall ' as is " confederates," below, to
'confed'rates ') contrasts, of course, with the royalties of the mind implied in " librarie."
ROIALTIES (FO. I misprints it ' roalties ') , ' regalia,' ' prerogative.' 112 DRIE in EL.E.
as well as in MN. colloquial English means ' thirsty,' cp. " to be dry or thirsty, sitire ; we
are dry, i.e. we want drink, sicci sumus " Phr. Gen. s.v. ' dry ' ; cp. also " poure in : his am-
bition is dry" Tro.& Cr. II.3.233 . " With " of FO. I is evidently a mistake for " wi' th'," cp.
note to I. 1.38 ; such expressions are as definite in EL. E. as in MN. E. 114 CORONET is
syncopated to ' cor'net,' a syn-
copation further developed to
ACT I SCENE II I16-120 'cronet' and ' crownet ' in
EL. E. HIS, in " his crowne,"
MIRANDA has a strong secondary stress
which the high primary stress
Oh the heavens !
in " crowne," due to its con-
PROSPERO trast with " coronet," makes
Marke his condition and th ' event ; then tell possible without disfiguring
the verse. In EL. poetry the
me
low part (auftakt) of a rhythm
If this might be a brother. wave may be higher than the
MIRANDA high part (takt) of the preced-
ing wave.
I should sinne
117 CONDITION in EL. E.
To thinke but noblie of my grand-mother :
means'agreement," contract,"
Good wombes have borne bad sonnes.
N. E. D. 3 ; cp. note to v. 120.
TH' EVENT, ' its result ' or
'issue.' 118 MIGHT : " may " and " might " in M. E. often mean ' it is possible,' ' it was
possible,' a meaning now usually expressed by ' can ' and ' could.' 119 TO THinke ,
if I should think ' : the EL . infinitive idiom often corresponds to a MN. E. subordinate
clause. BUT, ' otherwise than,' cp. " It cannot be but a dishonor " Milton, Areop., 1644
(in N. E.D.) . GRAND- MOTHER : for the stress cp. " schóolemastër, " v. 172, and "Is the
sole hope of his old grándmother " Jonson's Alchemist I.2.
23
 THE TEMPEST

120 CONDITION seems here to reflect its legal usage, cp. " Condition is a restraint or
bridle annexed to a thing so that by the not performance the party to it shall receive preju-
dice and loss, and by the performance and doing of the same, commodity and advantage "
Cowel's Law Dictionary, 1684, s.v. 122 INVETERATE in EL. E. is used absolutely in
the sense of ' embittered,' ' malignant,' cp. "There is also another party which I am sure is
inveterate toward me " Essex Papers, 1675, in N. E. D.3 ; the word has this sense here,
and was probably syncopated to ' invet'rate ' : verses with an extra impulse before the
pause are common in EL. E.; so there is no necessity for emending the " hearkens " to
'harks.' TO ME goes with " inveterate," ' full of malignity toward me.' HEARKENS
is transitive in e.N. E., having
the sense of 'listening favour-
ACT I SCENE II 120-135
ably to.' 123 IN LIEU
O' in Shakspere always has
the meaning 'in return for,' PROSPERO
'in compensation for,' cp. Now the condition :
"All that is mine I leave at
thy dispose [disposal ] , My This King of Naples , being an enemy
goods, my lands, my reputa- To me inveterate, hearkens my brother's
tion ; Onely, in lieu thereof, suit ;
dispatch me hence" Two
Gent. II.7.86. PREMISES in Which was, that he , in lieu o' th' premises
EL.E. means ' conditions, cp. Of homage and I know not how much tribute,
"the premises observ'd, Thy
will by my performance shall Should presently extirpate me and mine
be serv'd" All's W. II . I. 204. Out ofthe dukedome, and confer faire Millaine
FO.I places a comma after With all the honors on my brother : whereon,
the word, but it is likely that
"premises" goes with O " f A treacherous armie levied , one mid-night
homage," and that Shakspere Fated to th' purpose did Anthonio open
is thinking of the legal use
of the term, cp. "The office The gates of Millaine, and i ' th ' dead of
of the premises [in a deed or darkenesse
conveyance] is to express the
The ministers for th ' purpose hurried thence
names of the grantor, grantee,
and the thing granted "Cowel, Me and thy crying selfe.
s.v. habendum. Anthonio's MIRANDA
style and that of the King of
Naples as given in the ' prem- Alack, for pitty !
ises ' of the contract, implies I , not remembring how I cride out then,
homage from Anthonio to the Will cry it ore againe : it is a hint
King of Naples. ¶ 125 PRES-
ENTLY has here its usual EL. That wrings mine eyes too 't.
signification of ' immediately.'
EXTIRPATE in EL. E. means ' to drive out, ' cp. "I will drive and extirpate oute of this citie
L. Tarquinius Superbus and his wicked wife " Painter, 1566 ( in N. E. D. 3b). 127 THE
HONORS , probably equivalent to ' its honours.' WHEREON is probably so stressed. ¶ 128
MID-NIGHT has its primary stress on the second element of the compound, so “ sweet-
heárt," " life-blood," and numerous other similar compounds in EL. E., where the first ele-
ment was still thought of as an adjective and received adjective stress. 130 AND I'TH'
DÉAD OF DARKENESSE is so scanned : " dead of night," " dead of winter," for ' depth of
night,' etc., are still in use. 131 MINISTERS may be syncopated to ' min'sters ' as in
Macb. 1.5.39. The repetition of PURPOSE is not a blemish of style as it would be thought
in MN.E.; such repetitions are common in the best writers of Shakspere's time, cp. note to
24
 THE TEMPEST

Macb. V.3.44. 134 CRY IT : it was a common practice in EL.E. to make an action general
by putting "it " after the verb describing it ; we still use this idiom in ' fight it out,' cp. " Let
Maistres Nice go saint it where shee list And coyly quaint it with dissembling face " Faire
Em ' V.1.131 . HINT means ' occasion ' or ' opportunity ' in EL. E. (N. E. D. I ), cp. " It was
my hint to speake " Oth. 1.3 . 142 , and cp. also II. I.3. 135 TOO ' T : the adverb "too"
is not distinguished from the preposition in EL. E., probably because the latter still retained
its sentence stress : had not
this been the case, such a con-
ACT I SCENE II 135-151 traction as we have here would
have been 't' it.'
PROSPERO
Heare a little further, 137 UPON ' S : such con-
tractions of the unstressed
And then I ' le bring thee to the present busi-
personal pronoun are com-
nesse mon in EL. prose, and not
poetic licenses as they seem
Which now's upon ' s ; without the which this to us. WITHOUT , i.e. apart
story from. THE WHICH is a M. E.
Were most impertinent. idiom that survived in e.N.E.
138 IMPERTINENT, ' ir-
MIRANDA relevant .' 139 DESTROY
Wherefore did they not in M.E. and in e.N.E. is widely
used in the sense of ' kill,'
That howre destroy us?
' slay,' a meaning now some-
PROSPERO what restricted, N. E. D. 4.
DEMANDED in EL. E. often
Well demanded , wench :
means merely ' asked,' cp.
My tale provokes that question. Deare , they
Deare, Speake. Demand. Wee'l
durst not, answer" in Macb. IV . I..61 .
WENCH in EL. E. was a com-
So deare the love my people bore me, nor set mon term for ' girl,' though it
A marke so bloudy on the businesse , but had already acquired its pres-
ent connotation. 141 As
With colours fairer painted their foule ends. DEARE is a sixteenth-cen-
In few, they hurried us aboord a barke , tury spelling of M. E. "dere,"
'to injure,' 'do wrong to,' and
Bore us some leagues to sea ; where they is a word common in e.N.E.
prepared despite Minsheu's statement
A rotten carkasse of a butt, not rigg'd, that it is " an old word " (cp.
N.E.D.'dere ' I and its citation,
Nor tackle , sayle, nor mast ; the very rats "The stick nor the stake shall
Instinctively have quit it : there they hoyst us, never deere the potts," 1613) ,
Shakspere may haveintended
To cry to th' sea that roard to us, to sigh
it here; or, again, "deare"
To th' windes whose pitty, sighing backe may be a mistake for " dare,"
'defy,' which would have the
againe,
same sound in e.N. E. N. E.D. ,
Did us but loving wrong.
however, gives no such spell-
ing. But as FO.I places a
comma after " not," we must give the word its e. N. E. meaning ' intimate.' The cæsu-
ral pause, as is frequent in EL. verse, has an extra impulse before it, but some editors
omit "nor" to make the verse normal. SET A MARKE, ' affixed a sign manual,' cp.
"death and hell have set their markes on him " Rich.3 1.3.293 . 143 COLOUR has
25
 THE TEMPEST

a wide range of application in EL. E. to describe specious logic. 144 IN FEW is a

common e.N. E. phrase meaning ' in short,' N. E. D. Ig. ABOORD : for the spelling cp. note to
1.1.20. FO. I hyphenates the word. 146 CARKASSE : this word is frequently employed
in EL. E. to denote a stranded hulk, cp. "where the carcasses of many a tall ship lye buried "
Merch. III . I.6 ; and Heywood, 1637 ( in N. E. D.) , speaks of the superstition that " the still
remaining carkasse of the Ark of Noah " is to be seen on Mount Ararat. BUTT : there is
no such word denoting any kind of boat among the thirteen substantive ' butts ' given in
N.E.D.; nor will ' butt, a wine-cask ' fit the context, for the rats would not be leaving it ;
nor is ' butt ' in this sense a normal English way of designating a rotten or ill-shaped boat,
as is ' tub.' While it is possible that a word "butt," denoting some kind of small vessel,
has disappeared out of English, leaving no traces behind, it is also possible that " butt "
is a misprint. Some editors suppose that ' boat ' was the original word : but the objection
to this is that it involves too violent an alteration ( N. E. D. gives "botte " as a 16th-
century form, but no citations to support it) , and the context requires a sharper word.
" Buss" was a common 17th-century designation of " a small sea-vessel us'd by the Hol-
landers for the catching and carriage of herring, etc. " (Kersey) -Coles glosses it navigium.
The word was originally a Romance form, but seems to have become associated with the
Dutch herring-fishery. A buss might have two or three masts. There is also a flat-
bottomed boat known as a " cutt " which Phillips, 1706, says was formerly used in the
Channel for transporting horses : this word was still known in 1867, though given as obso-
lete, see N. E. D. The former term seems the more fitting to the context, though perhaps
neither is sufficiently evident to displace the " butt " of FO. I. 147 NOR TACKLE, ‘ and
not having tackle ' : the verbal notion is very frequently omitted in EL. E. negative expres-
sions where it can be supplied from the context, cp. "no teeth for th' present " Macb.
III.3.31. 148 HAVE (many modern editors alter to ' had ') marks the change to present
time, and HOYST seems to be not the past tense, as it is usually explained, but the present ;
such changes in tense were
common in M. E., and sur-
vived into e. N. E. "Hoise' ACT I SCENE II 151-158
and"hoyst "(they are variants
of the same word) may mean MIRANDA
'to lower or launch a boat,' Alack, what trouble
cp. "a boat being therefore
hoised forth " World Encom- Was I then to you !
passed, 1628 (in N. E. D. I b). PROSPERO
The N.E. D., however, takes
O, a cherubin
this instance as meaning ' be-
ing raised by tackle.' Thou wast that did preserve me. Thou
didst smile,
152 CHERUBIN, though a
plural form, was felt to be Infused with a fortitude from heaven,
equally applicable to the sin- When I have deck'd the sea with drops full
gular in M. E. and e. N. E., see
N.E. D. 2a. It occurs again salt ,
in Oth. IV. 2. 63, while in Under my burthen groan'd : which rais'd in me
Macb. I.7.22 it is plural. The
confusion is due to the Latin An undergoing stomacke , to beare up
transliterations ofthe Hebrew Against what should ensue.
forms. One would infer from
Prospero's PRESERVE ME that Shakspere was familiar with the medieval conception
of the cherubim as a guard of angels, angelorum præsidium, see N. E. D. I d. 153 FO.I
prints " was't," but this is mere printer's philology without significance. 154 IN-
FUSED, ' imbued,' ' inspired,' N. E. D.5 ; the primary notion in EL. E. is ' steeped in,' pass-
26
 THE TEMPEST

ing over into a figurative sense now borne by ' inspired. ' 155 DECK'D has been taken
by many editors as a by-form of or misprint for " deg'd," a 17th to 19th-century dialect
word meaning ' to sprinkle,' N.E. D.s.v. But Shakspere does not employ out-of- the- way
provincialisms, even granting that ' deg, to sprinkle ' existed in his time ; and, moreover,
his audience would have had difficulty in understanding such a form without a dialect glos-
sary at hand. " Deck " in EL. E. means ' to cover over,' but in the N. E. D. all the citations
refer to covering with some continuous material. It also has a wide range of use in the
sense of ' garnish ' : in Mids. I. I.211 we have " Decking with liquid pearle the bladed grasse "
and in Rom.&Jul. 1.1.198 the sea is nourished with lover's tears ; we have here a similar
overwrought association - they were common in EL. E.- through which Prospero, carrying
further the highly coloured imagery of vv. 149 ff., thinks of his tears as pearls falling upon
the garment of the sea. ' Flecked,' ' eked,' ' lecked,' ' bracked,' ' dewed,' ' mocked" (why
not yecked,' which means ' mocked ' in EL. E. ?), have all been proposed as patches.
DROPS is a frequent form for ' tears.' 156 UNDER MY BURTHEN, etc., comes in awk-
wardly, and such omissions of the connective are not frequent in EL.E. GROAN'D can
hardly be transitive, as no such idiom as ' to groan tears ' is found in EL. E. The tense of
"have deck'd " is also awkward, despite the fact that change of tense from past to histori-
cal present is common in EL. E.; but the phrase probably expresses the notion of habitual
past action as in Mids. II . I. 128. The sense would have been much clearer as EL. E. if
the line had run ' When I under my burthen groan'd and deck'd the sea with drops full
salt.' WHICH is the common EL. connective relative and corresponds to MN . E. ' and
this.' RAIS'D, ' aroused,' cp. " If thy unworthinesse rais'd love in me " Sonn.CL. 13 : we
still think of ' raising one's spirits,' but raising love, courage, etc., is not MN . E. idiom.
157 UNDERGOING , ' enduring,' cp. " and those [ i.e. labours] which hee sets himselfe
about, hee undergoeth them with a cheerful courage" Comenius, Janua 883. The STOM-
ACKE in EL., as in classic
psychology, was regarded as
ACT I SCENE II 158-168
the seat of fortitude and pa-
tience , cp. "Basenesse of wit
MIRANDA and stomach not able to com-
How came we a shore? passe or atchieve anie great
enterprise" Alvearie. Min-
PROSPERO
sheu explains that the stom-
By providence divine. ach stands for courage be-
cause "the mind desires diffi-
Some food we had and some fresh water that
cult and corages enterprises
A noble Neopolitan, Gonzalo, as the stomach desires food."
Out of his charity (who being then appointed Shakspere makes use of it
also in "call some knight to
Master of this designe) did give us, with armes That hath a stomacke,
Rich garments, linnens, stuffs and necessaries , and such a one that dare
Maintaine I know not what "
Which since have steeded much ; so , of his
Tro.& Cr. II.1 . 136, and " ani-
gentlenesse , mum muliebrem gerere, to
have a woman's hart or stom-
Knowing I lov'd my bookes, he furnish'd me
acke" Cooper's Thesaurus,
From mine owne library with volumes that 1573.
I prize above my dukedome.
158 WE A SHORE : in EL.
poetry the final vowels of unstressed pronouns are often elided before words beginning
with a vowel, see note to Macb. IV. I. 71. Often in Shakspere, as here, an interjected
half verse will complement both the preceding and the following half verses. ዋ 159
DIVINE in FO.I is followed by a comma, which modern editors alter to a period : but
27
 THE TEMPEST

" By providence divine " seems to include Gonzalo's ministrations. 160 " And some
fresh water" is the rhythm ; for, though "fresh " has more stress than " some," it has
less than the first impulse of " water" : such crescendos of rhythm are common in Shak-
spere, cp. "sessions of sweet silent thought " Sonn. XXX. I. 162 WHO, etc., is neither
'confused' nor ' careless ' idiom, as it is usually explained to be, nor yet a misprint for
'he,' as Capell thought, but an instance of obsolete EL. syntax through which a relative
as well as a personal pronoun could be made the subject of an absolute construction,
cp. "for three daies they caried the prize ; which being come from so farre a place to dis-
grace her servaunts, Palladius persuaded the queene to suffer us two to have our horse and
armour" Sidney's Arcadia, p. 195 b. The construction is equivalent to a connective with
personal pronoun and verb, and corresponds to MN . E. 'since they had come,' etc.; so Pros-
pero's speech corresponds to MN. E. ' For he was then appointed,' etc., as is shown by the
FO. punctuation. The idiom goes a step farther in EL. E., and the relative pronoun may
stand for subject of a main clause and object of a subordinate one, cp. " there are two or
three strangers whom inward melancholies having made weery of the worldes eyes, have
come," etc. (i.e. who, since inward melancholies had made them weary, had come, etc.) ,
Arcadia, p. 17 b. 163 MASTER in EL.E. covers the field of connotation now usually
expressed by ' superintendent ' ; this early meaning of the word is still preserved in ' dock-
master,' ' harbor-master,' ' master mason,' etc. DESIGNE in EL. E. means ' enterprise ' or
' plot,' though this sense is not sharply differentiated in N. E. D.; Minsheu gives " a designe
or enterprise," and cp. " A vessell rides fast by, but not prepar'd For this designe " Wint.T.
IV.4.512. 164 STUFFS, ' household stuff,' cp. "his treasure Rich stuffes and ornaments
of household " Hen.8 III.2.125. 165 STEED is ' to serve,' a common EL. by-form of
"stead," and probably indicates a form of the word with a close e: " in steede " for ' in-
stead ' is also frequent in EL. E., e.g. Euphues (Arber), p. 79. The variation has not yet
been explained, but probably depends on the M.E. form of the word, " stide, styde, stüde " ;
' stiddy 'and ' instid ' in vulgar English still preserve this variant with a subsequent shorten-
ing. GENTLENESSE in M. E. and e. N. E. means ' kindness,' courtesy,' N. E. D. 3, a meaning
now obsolete, cp. " And will with deeds requite thy gentlenesse " Titus I. I.237. If the word
is not syncopated, -and there
is no evidence yet to show
ACT I SCENE II 168-170
that it was, - the verse is one
of six waves, the last of which
is made up of an unstressed MIRANDA
followed by a stressed im- Would I might
pulse. 167 MÍNE OWNE
is the usual EL. stress for this But ever see that man !

group of words, see note to PROSPERO

Macb. III . 4. 135. RESUMES HIS MANTLE
Now I arise :
169 EVER in its sense of
' unquam,' ' at any time,' is Sit still, and heare the last of our sea- sorrow.
often used like an indefinite
adverb, ' once,' and so may be qualified by ' but,' i.e. 'only ' : MN. E. ' hardly ever ' retains
this idiom . RESUMES HIS MANTLE is not in FO.I ; but some such direction is neces-
sary if we interpret NOW I ARISE in the usual way, viz., as a notice to the reader that
Prospero is resuming his functions as magician preparatory to putting Miranda into a sleep,
v. 185. EL. " arise," beyond the fact that it is a common form for ' rise,' and not poetic
as now, has no meaning that fits the situation better than MN . E. 'arise ' does. There is
a comma after the word in FO. I , so that it may be that " arise " is a misprint : it is barely
possible that "avise," an e. N. E. form of ' advise,' was intended. This word in M. E. and
e. N. E. means ' to make one observe,' ' to bring to one's attention,' cp. N. E. D. and its cita-
tion from Surrey's Eneid IV.461 : " The troubled ghost doth fray [affright] me and avise
28
 THE TEMPEST

The wronged hed by me of my deare sonne [ i.e. the head of my dear son wronged by me] ."
If Shakspere used it here, " sit still and hear " is, of course, a parenthesis : " avise the last
of our sea-sorrow" will then mean ' call to mind the end of our sad story.' Again, " Now
I arise " may be an intruded actor's direction for Miranda to arise. The name of the actor
taking a part was often written in the margin of EL . plays. " Nowel " or some such name
might have looked like " now I ," or " I " may have been intended for the first actor, i.e.
Miranda. But if we take " Now I arise " as having reference in Prospero's mind to the
rising of his auspicious star, which he speaks of in vv. 181 ff. (cp. "my fortunes . . droope "
in v. 183), but misunderstood by Miranda as a hint that his story is finished, we get clear
sense without doing violence
to the text. Moreover, such
ACT I SCENE II 171-184
an association of ideas is nat-
ural, for it is by his books
Heere in this iland we arriv'd ; and heere that Prospero knows of the
Have I , thy schoolemaster, made thee more coming ascendancy of his
star.
profit
Then other princesse can that have more 172 SCHOOLEMASTER is
time so stressed, cp. note to 1.2.119.
PROFIT is usually taken as a
For vainer howres and tutors not so carefull . verb ; but it is advancement
MIRANDA or progress in learning that is
in Prospero's mind : "profit"
Hevens thank you for 't ! And now, I pray has just this sense in EL. E.,
you , sir, cp. "I thanke you for this
profit " Oth. III. 3. 379, and
For still 't is beating in my minde , your reason
"Mybrother Jaques he keepes
For raysing this sea- storme ? at schoole, and report speakes
goldenly of his profit " A.Y.L.
PROSPERO
I.1.5. As MAKE has a wide
Know thus far forth , range of use in EL. E. in the
sense of ' cause,' e.g. " of mine
By accident most strange bountifull Fortune, own country I have not made
Now my deere lady, hath mine enemies so great experience " Putten-
Brought to this shore ; and by my prescience ham's Poesie, p. 253, " made
thee more profit " probably
I finde my zenith doth depend upon means ' have caused you to
A most auspitious starre , whose influence learn more.' 173 PRIN-
CESSE is an inflectionless
If now I court not but omit, my fortunes
plural : many e . N. E. words
Will ever after droope. ending in s still preserved the
M. E. plural forms without s,
see note to Macb. 1.4.6. CAN , if " profit " be taken as a noun, has its M. E. and e. N. E.
sense of 'know," understand,' cp. v. 27 and " she could the Bible in the holytongue "Jonson's
Magn. Lady I. I , in N. E. D. I. 175 HEVENS : the plural as well as the singular form of
the word seems to have been used in EL. E. without the article, though no instances are
given in N.E.D.; it occurs again in II . I.324, III . I.75, and in Mids. III.2.447. 176 'T IS
BEATING : " it " refers to the storm which is still beating and dashing in her mind ; some
editors refer it to " reason," taking " beating" in the sense of ' discussing,' in which it is used
in V. I.246 : but in EL. E., while one could " beat on a reason," i.e. discuss it, reason could
not beat in the mind, see N. E. D. s.v. But here is probably intended the same figure as that
which occurs in Lear III.4. 12, " The tempest in my mind Doth from my senses take all
feeling else Save what beates there," where " beates" has the sense of ' pulses,' ' quivers.'
29
 THE TEMPEST

177 The FORTH links Prospero's answer with his narrative. " Forth " in M. E. and
e. N. E. is appended to another adverb, giving the additional notion of ' for some distance in
the specified direction,' N. E. D. 2 b. Though N.E. D. does not give a citation later than
1587, we here clearly have " forth " so appended to " far," i.e. " know that from this point
on fortune hath taken hold and hath ,' etc. Modern editors change the comma of FO.I after
"forth" to a period, but such punctuation change mars the sense of Prospero's words.
179 NOW MY DEERE LADY, i.e. ' my bountiful protectress now ' ; so in Cym. 11.3.158,
"Your mother, too ; She's my good lady" (cited by Delius). 181 MY ZENITH DOTH
DEPEND UPON, i.e. ' the point of the heavens above my head is waiting to be filled by,'
and not ' my fortune depends upon,' as it is always explained : for " zenith " does not mean
'fortune' in EL. E. The terms are astrological : " depend upon " is used in its now ob-
solete sense of ' wait anxiously for,' cp. " Some gentlemen depended a yeare upon his pro-
jects, but nothing could be effected " Smith, 1612 (in N.E. D. 6), and "that, me thinkes, is
the curse dependant on those that warre for a placket " Tro.&Cr. II.3.21 ; " influence " in
EL. E. still has its original astrological sense denoting the supposed flowing from the stars
of an ethereal fluid which acted on the destiny of man,-see N.E. D. s.v., - and the " zenith "
marked the culmination of a star's influence. 183 OMIT is used in its now obsolete
sense of ' neglect,' cp. " I will
omit no opportunitie That
ACT I SCENE II 184-193
may convey my greetings "
Rom.&Jul. III.5.49.
Heare, cease more questions :
ዋ 184
HEARE is always Thou art inclinde to sleepe ; ' t is a good dul-
changed in modern editions
to the adverb ' here,' which is nesse,
somewhat incongruous. The An d give it way : I know thou canst not
word in O.E., M.E. , ande.N.E. chuse.
means ' obey,'- see N.E.D. 8,
MIRANDA SLEEPS
-and Prospero is merely tell-
ing Miranda to yield to his Come away, servant, come. I am ready now.
command togoto sleep. ¶ 185
dulnesse has its e. N.E. Approach, my Ariel, come.
meaning of ' drowsiness,' and ENTER ARIEL
GOOD its common EL. sense ARIEL
of ' propitious.' ¶ 186 AND
is used in its EL. sense of All haile , great master ! grave sir, haile ! I
'therefore,' cp. " Warre would come
he have? and he shall have
To answer thy best pleasure ; be ' t to fly,
it so" Gorboduc II.2.5, and " I
almost die for food, and let me To swim , to dive into the fire , to ride
have it" A.Y.L.II.7.104 (cited On the curld clowds, to thy strong bidding
by Wright). GIVE IT WAY, taske
'give rein to it,' cp. Macb. II.
1.9. CHUSE is a common Ariel and all his qualitie.
e. N. E. spelling of ' choose,'
which historically should be ' cheese.' Miranda has from the beginning been overpowered
by a desire to sleep, hence Prospero's " Dost thou attend? " " Dost thou heare?" While
this drowsiness may have been induced by Prospero's magic, it cannot be assumed that he
' resumes his mantle ' to cause it, for it began before v. 78. 187 COME AWAY is
EL. E. for ' come ' ( N. E. D. ' away ' I ), and is here tantamount to MN.E. ' arise,' ' appear,'
' come to me ' ; cp. " Come away, come away, Hecate, Hecate, come away. Hecate. I
come, I come, I come, I come, with all the speed I may" Middleton's Witch. 189 GRAVE,
not ' dignified ' or ' solemn-looking,' the modern meaning, but ‘ influential,' ' powerful,' the
30
 THE TEMPEST

EL. meaning of the word ( N. E. D. I ) ; so Othello's " Most potent, grave, and reverend
signiors" in 1.3.76. 190 ANSWER, ' satisfy,' N. E. D. (though N. E. D. cites " answer your
hopes " from Walton, 1659, as the earliest instance of the word in this sense). Shakspere
is probably thinking of the legal association of the word, ' to live up to an agreement' or
' satisfy a claim,' N. E.D. 7. BEST, ' greatest,' ' highest,' still in use in such phrases as ' my
best thanks,' where no idea of comparison is involved. 192 TO, ' according to,' ' to the
full extent of,' a common EL. meaning of the preposition. STRONG in EL.E. connotes a high
degree of anything, cp. Macb.
II. 3.130 ; " strong passion,"
ACT I SCENE II 193- 206 19 46
"strong sorrow,' strong su-
perstition," are common EL.
PROSPERO expressions. 193 QUAL-
Hast thou , spirit, ITIE in EL.E. denotes ' pecu-
liar and characteristic power,'
Perform'd to point the tempest that I bad thee ? and is used of professional
ARIEL skill, cp. "give us a tast of your
quality [i.e. a sample of your
To every article. professional skill] " Ham . II .
I boorded the king's ship ; now on the beake, 2.452 (cited by Steevens).
The word is sometimes con-
Now in the waste , the decke , in every cabyn,
crete in EL. E. meaning ' fra-
I flam'd amazement : sometime I'ld divide, ternity, ' N. E.D.5 b. ARIEL is
two syllables, and QUALITIE
And burne in many places ; on the top- mast,
is syncopated to ' qual'ty,' as
The yards and bore-spritt, would I flame dis- in Timon I. I.54, "Of grave
tinctly , and austere qualitie, tender
downe."
Then meete and joyne ; Jove's lightning, the
precursers 193 SPIRIT is syncopated
to 'sprite,' as is usual in ÉL. E.
O'th ' dreadfull thunder-claps, more momen-
194 PERFORM'D means
tarie 'effected,' 'brought to pass,'
cp. "to perform or bring to
And sight out-running were not : the fire and
pass, perficere" Phr. Gen.;
cracks
the word was very widely
Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Nep- used in e. N. E.: to perform
tune love, friendship, mischief, are
common EL. locutions, and
Seeme to besiege and make his bold waves to perform wrestlingoccurs in
tremble , A.Y.L. 1.2 . 155. Ariel takes
the word in the sense of ' per-
Yea, his dread trident shake .
forming a contract,' and an-
swers to the uttermost article
of our bargain.' TO POINT, ' ad punctum ' : in Meas. III.1.254 the phrase has the form
"tothe point." BAD : " bid," ' ask of,' has in EL. E. its M. E. senses of ' command ' and ' ask,'
but in MN. E. the past tense ' bade ' is assigned only to the former sense. 196 BOORDED,
'boarded': the spelling reflects a M. E. lengthening before rd, cp. note to v. 144. THẾ
KİNG'S SHIP is rhythm like that of v. 114. BEAKE, ' prow,' N.E.D. 7. 197 WASTE
is a frequent EL. spelling of ' waist.' 198 FLAM'D, 'conveyed by flaming,' N. E. D. 4 b.
AMAZEMENT is a stronger word in EL. E. than now, and means ' consternation,' 'bewilder-
ment,' N. E. D. I , as in I.2. 14. SOMETIME is EL. E. for ' sometimes,' as in Macb. 1.6.11 .
200 BORE-SPRITT is an e. N. E. form of the word which is now ' bowsprit ' ; the history
of the form in English is not clear. DISTINCTLY in M. E. and e. N. E. means ' separately,'
31
 THE TEMPEST

cp. "to aske distinctly, one thing after another, minutatim . . interrogare " Alvearie. Shak-
spere had in mind some such account of St. Elmo's fire as is found in Hakluyt : “ in the
great and boysterous storme there came upon the toppe of our maine yarde and maine
maste a certain little light which the Spaniards called the Cuerpo Santo ; .. the light con-
tinued aboord our ship about three houres, flying from maste to maste and from top to top ;
and sometimes it would be in two or three places at once " Voyages, 1598 , III . 450 (cited
by Capell and Malone). In the account of the wreck of Somers's ship as given by Strachey
there is a long description of the St. Elmo's fire which ' streaming along the mainmast
and shooting sometimes from shroud to shroud ' terrified the mariners. Shakspere prob-
ably had this story in mind when he wrote The Tempest : see Introduction. 201 In
FO. I there is a period after JOYNE, but the comparison between Ariel's swiftness and Jove's
lightning seems clearly intended. Many editors change LIGHTNING to ' lightnings,' but
the idiom is probably, as the stress indicates, the e. N. E. subjunctive, not the indicative :
Ariel claims that Jove's lightning could not have been swifter than his movements. The
M. E. and e. N. E. subjunctive was used, much like the Latin, to express a hypothetical no-
tion (it occurs frequently in indirect discourse in EL. E.), e.g. " Thy promises are like Adonis'
garden [ modern editors change to ' gardens ' ] That one day bloom'd and fruitfull were [i.e.
' could be,' ' it was possible for it to be ' ] the next " 1Hen.6 1.6.6 ; " To countrey they
no reckning make what massacre befall [i.e. may befall] " Newton's Thebais (Spenser So-
ciety, Tenne Tragedies of Seneca) 1.97 ; " Perhappes there be [ i.e. may be] that in your
prejudice would say that birth should yeld to worthinesse " Gorboduc 1.2.85 ; and " Wonder
it were to write of the lamentation " Halle's Chronicle Hen.8 , fol. 2. This idiom is now so
rare that modern Shakspere editors try to make it indicative, as here and in the IHen.6 pas-
sage, bychanging the number ofthe subject. PRECURSERS : Shakspere calls them " vaunt-
curriors of oake-cleaving thunder-bolts " in Lear III.2.5. 203 SIGHT OUT- RUNNING :
as " sight" was in common use for ' power of vision ' (cp. " she hath amaz'd my sight " Macb.
V. I.86) , " sight out-running " is not an unusual form of expression. FIRE AND CRACKS
OF SULPHUROUS ROARING , i.e. ' sulphurous fire and crashing roaring' : such arrange-
ments are a frequent ornament of EL. style, and Shakspere is especially fond of them. The
common meaning of e. N. E. " crack " is ' crash, ' cp. Macb. IV. 1.117. The figure is of the
heavens bombarding the sea. 205 SEEME is by many editors changed to ' seemed,'
but in EL. E. and M.E. syntax the past and the historical present sometimes mingle in the
same narrative, as in Macb. 1.2. 15. BOLD in M.E. often has the sense of ' fierce ' : in e.N.E.
it was used of winds, fire, waves, etc. (N. E. D. 5), cp. " The bold windes " Ham. II.2.507.
The N.E. D. marks it as a Scottish locution, but Shakspere seems aware of it here and in
the quotation from Hamlet above. 206 It has been proposed to read ' sha-ake ' to make
the line metrical : but the com-
mon omission in EL. verse of
ACT I SCENE II 206-208
an unstressed impulse in a
strong cæsura makes it un-
necessary to resort to such a PROSPERO
violent expedient.
My brave spirit !
207 FIRME is now usually Who was so firme , so constant, that this coyle
applied to steadfastness of Would not infect his reason ?
will, but in EL. E. it means
'brave,' ' confident ' ; cp. " who so firme that cannot be seduc'd? " Cæs. I. 2. 316, probably
an extension of the e. N. E. meaning ' secure,' N. E. D. 5 b. COYLE is a common EL. term
for 'confusion,' ' uproar,' ' din ' ; cp. " But put water to fire and then you have a thundering
coil " Adams, 1633 (in N. E. D. 2). 208 INFECT HIS REASON : cp. " infected mindes "
Macb. V.1.80 ; the word in EL. E. still had the literal meaning ' taint,' ' disease.' Burton
says fear 'causeth oftentimes sudden madness ' ( 1.2 . iii. 5) , that ' hideous noises .. drive men
out of their wits,' and instances various earthquakes as having caused insanity ( 1.2 . iv.3) .
32
 THE TEMPEST

208 The verb is often omitted in such negative constructions as this, cp. I. 2. 147, 1.2.399.
209 FEAVER is EL. spelling for ' fever,' preserving the M. E. long open e and pronounced
like MN. ' favour ' ; " a feaver of the madde " is an access of insanity ; in EL. pathology mad-
ness was conceived of as a fever, cp. " what's a feaver but a fit of madnesse?" Err. V. 1.76 .
"The madde " in this phrase and in MN . E. ' touch of the mad ' seems to be used substantively.
$ 210 TRICK in EL. E. is applied to any excess in conduct or actions, not necessarily
to a mischievous one : cp. " Plaies such phantastique tricks before high heaven " Meas. II .
2.121 . BUT MARINERS : the "th"" seems to have been lost before " mariners " as in
" with ' king" I. I.67 and " with maine-course " I. I. 38, though the case here is not so clear.
211QUIT: M.E. verb-stems
ending in d or t took no end-
ACT I SCENE II 208-217
ing in the third person of the
past indicative : many ofthese
ARIEL inflectionless forms remained
Not a soule in e. N. E., and this one has
survived in colloquial English
But felt a feaver of the madde and plaid to the present time. In FO. I
Some tricks of desperation . All but mariners there is a semicolon after VES-
SELL and no point after ME ;
Plung'd in the foaming bryne and quit the modern editors follow Rowe's
vessell ; change and place a comma
Then all a fire with me, the king's sonne, after "vessell " and a period
after "me." But the singling
Ferdinand ,
out of Ferdinand for special
With haire up-staring - then like reeds, not infection is of a piece with
haire,- the plot. 212 THEN (i.e. ' at
that time ' ) , like most M.E.and
Was the first man that leapt ; cride , ' Hell is e. N.E. adverbs, was not ne-
cessarily placed close to its
empty,
verb : cp. " Then thou wast
And all the divels are heere .' not out three yeeres old,"
PROSPERO MN. E. ' you were then not
quite three years old ' ; the
Why, that's my spirit ! repetition of " then " in v.213
But was not this nye shore ? is not sufficient ground for
ARIEL alteringthe punctuation of the
text as in modern editions. A
Close by, my master. FIRE well pictures the fever
PROSPERO of his madness . WITH ME,
'bymy agency' (e.N.E. " with"
But are they, Ariell, safe ? expresses agency) : the per-
sonal pronouns are frequently
so used in EL.E., cp. " from him [i.e. on his authority] " Macb . 1.3.105 . 213 STAR-
ING is a common EL. word for hair standing on end, cp. "The hedge hog or urchin
and the bristly porcupine have staring prickles in stead of hair " Comenius's Janua 206,
and "her faire locks up stared stiffe on end " Spenser, Faerie Queene III . 12.36. REEDS
is also the word for thatch ' in EL. E., cp. V. I. 17. In 2Hen.6 III.3.15 Beaufort says,
"Combe downe his haire .. it stands upright Like lime twigs." 214 CRIDE, i.e. he
cried' : the omission of the subject in independent clauses was common in M.E. and e.N.E. ,
cp. Macb.IV.3.23. 215 DIVELS is a common EL. form of ' devils ' still preserved in vulgar
English ; it is frequently monosyllabic, as here and in Macb. I.3 . 107 , the v being lost-
' dils.' Ferdinand's " Hell is empty " is like Lady Macbeth's " Hell is murky." ~ Ariel's
merry laugh as he recalls the scene is an easy inference from the context.
33
 THE TEMPEST

217 PERISH'D seems to be the participle of the EL. transitive verb " perish," " to injure,'
-cp. " let not my sins perish your noble youth " Beaumont and Fletcher's Maid's Tragedy
IV. İ (in Cent. Dict.),-and the clause to be participial, ' not a hair the worse ' ; for HAIRE
in this sense of measure of damage, cp. 1.2.30. 218 SUSTAINING has caused difficulty,
some modern editors explaining that their garments buoyed up the swimmers (but the
very reverse would be true) , others emending it to ' sea-staining' or to 'unstaining ' or to
' sea-drenched.' But the word is used absolutely of ' abiding,' ' enduring,' in EL. E.; cp.
"substo, to sustayne or abide constantly " Cooper, Coles, and Thomas. From II . 1.68 it
is apparent that the garments held their shape, colour, and freshness. 219 For the
EL. syntax by which the substantive verb is omitted in a short negative sentence cp.
note to v. 208. $ 220 TROOPS in EL. E. evidently denotes a small company as well
as a larger one, corresponding to MN. E. ' groups ' ; cp. " Stares [ ' starlings ' ] fly flocking
together (by troops) but not in a row" Comenius, 152. 221 KING'S SONNE is unusual
stress in MN. E., but descriptive notions sometimes take full stress in M. E. and e.N.E.
poetry. 223 ODDE in EL.E.
sometimes means ' remote,'
'out of the way,' cp. " How ACT I SCENE II 217-226
ferre odde those persons are
fromthe nature of this prince " ARIEL
Udall, ' Apothegms of Eras-
Not a haire perish'd,
mus,' p.185 (Cent . Dict.). The
sense vacuus is the one on On their sustaining garments not a blemish,
which both Minsheu and But fresher then before : and as thou badst
Skinner base their etymolo-
gies of odd.' ANGLE in EL.E. me,

designates ' a spot lying out of In troops I have dispers'd them ' bout the isle.
the way,' cp . " That little angle The king's sonne have I landed by himselfe ;
where I wasborn called Cowp-
land " Grindel, 1563 (in N.E.D. Whom I left cooling of the ayre with sighes
4). 224 KNOT was used In an odde angle of the isle and sitting,
of folded arms in e. N. E. (this
His armes in this sad knot.
sense seems to be overlooked
in N. E. D.) , cp. " Marcus un- PROSPERO
knit that sorrow wreathen
Of the king's ship
knot : Thy neece and I , poore
creatures, want our hands and The marriners say how thou hast dispos'd
cannot passionate our tenfold And all the rest o' th ' fleete.
11
griefe With foulded armes'
Tit. III.2.4 ; cp. also Two Gent. II. I. 19. This folding of the arms, like pulling the hat
over the face (cp. Macb. IV. 3.208), was a conventional gesture of melancholy in Shak-
spere's time ; cp. " Musing and sighing with your armes a-crosse " Cæs. II . 1.240, and " les
bras croisez, mournfully, wofully, dolefully, with heavy cheere" Cotgrave s.v. ' croisé.' MN .
-
idiom would require ' with ' before " His armes." OF goes with " dispos'd," "the king's
ship,"
," "The marriners," and "the rest o' th' fleete " being the object of " dispos'd of," as is
evident from Ariel's answer. 225 SAY is used in its EL. sense of ' tell. In FO. I the
sentence is punctuated with an interrogation-point, but this seems to be due to the loose
use of this punctuation-mark by EL. printers.

226 The adverb SAFELY is due to the independent force of IS in the sense of ' rests,'
' remains ' [i.e. rides] , cp. II . 1.321 . 227 NOOKE in Purchas's Pilgrimage is used of a
retired bay,-" A description of the nooke or bay beyond Toro " I. vii. 7 (cited by Wright),
-and the word probably had this sense in EL. E. 229 STILL-VEXT, ' always troubled ' :
'always' is the common EL . meaning of " still," and for "vext " cp. " As mad as the vext
34
 THE TEMPEST

sea" Lear IV.4.2. BERMOOTHES (th = t) is the common EL. form of Bermudas. Stowe
speaks of the " accustomed monstrous thunder storme and tempest neer unto those ilands ;
..the whole coast is so wonderous dangerous of rockes that few can approach them but
with unspeakable hazard of shipwrack." Purchas quotes William Strachey to the effect
that "the ilands seem rent with tempests of thunder, lightning and raine, which threaten in
time to devour them all : the stormes in the full and change keep their unchangeable round
winter and summer." Shak-
ACT I SCENE II 226-241 spere had read this or a simi-
lar account of the Bermudas
(see Introduction) . FO.I has
ARIEL
a semicolon after HID, which
Safely in harbour modern editors change to a
colon ; but MARRINERS • •
Is the king's shippe ; in the deepe nooke , STOWED seems to be an ab-
where once
solute clause going with what
Thou calldst me up at midnight to fetch dewe precedes. A delicate humour
breathes in Ariel's " stowed."
From the still-vext Bermoothes, there she's
231 WHO is the connective
hid, relative - 'for I've left them ':
The marriners all under hatches stowed ; "who" instead of " whom
where the word is really the
Who, with a charme joyn'd to their suffred subject of the thought is com-
labour, mon EL. syntax. WITH, ' by
means of.' JOYN'D in EL. E.
I have left asleep : and for the rest o ' th ' fleet
means ' added,' cp. N.E. D. 4
Which I dispers'd , they all have met againe and its citation dated 1645,
"Those five other sacra-
And are upon the Mediterranian flote,
ments..joynd by the Papists
Bound sadly home for Naples, are superfluous ." SUFFRED ,
Supposing that they saw the king's ship 'which
The EL they participle
. past have suffered.'
often
wrackt
corresponds to a MN. relative
And his great person perish. clause. 232 I HAVE, proba-
bly intended to be contracted
PROSPERO to 'I've.' FOR, ' as for,' as in
Ariel, thy charge 1.2.73. 234 FLOTE (an
e. N. E. spelling of ' float ' )
Exactly is perform'd : but there's more worke.
means a ' wave' or ' billow' ;
What is the time o' th' day? cp. "the flotes of inconstan-
cie" Knowles, 1603, and "the
ARIEL
mutinous flotes which beat
Past the mid season . the flanks of this great bark "
PROSPERO Jennings, 1655 ( in N.E.D.3).
237 GREAT is widely used
At least two glasses . The time ' twixt six and in EL. E. for things and per-
now sons ofimportance, cp. Macb.
III. 4. 129. CHARGE, ' task,'
Must by us both be spent most preciously. N.E. D. 12 : it now denotes an
office or general responsibil-
ity rather than a specific thing to be done, as it does here. 238 EXACTLY, ' completely,'
cp. N. E. D. 4 and " arm'd at all points exactly" Ham. 1.2.200. 240 AT LEAST TWO
GLASSES : many editors give the words to Ariel. But Prospero looks up at the sun
to verify Ariel's information. He may well be ignorant of the time of the artificial day,
35
 THE TEMPEST

absorbed as he has been in his astrological computation ; and if, as Ariel answers, the
sun bursts forth and the rack of the storm rides away, he might easily say, ' Yes, at
least two hours.' The nautical glass, according to N. E. D. 6b, is half an hour ; but Shak-
spere seems here to use the word as equivalent to the running of a common glass [i.e.
an hour] . In V. I. 223 the boatswain says it is three glasses since the wreck, and in
v. 136 of the same scene Alonso says it is " three howres since " : both speeches are made
at about the same time. (An indubitable citation for ' glass ' meaning ' hour ' is not given
in N.E. D. 6 b.) 241 PRECIOUSLY, cp. " So idly to prophane the precious time "
2Hen.4 II. 4. 391 ; the word
seems to mean ' in such a
ACT I SCENE II 242-250
way as to yield pretium, or
value,' and to be equivalent
to 'carefully.' ARIEL

Is there more toyle ? Since thou dost give me

242 PAINS in M. E. and
e. N. E. means ' labour,' ' toil,' pains ,
'difficulty' : we still say ' pain- Let me remember thee what thou hast
fully ' and ' to take pains ,' but
promis'd,
not 'to impose pains.' 243
REMEMBER, 'remind,' cp. Which is not yet perform'd me.
"remembrancer," ' one who PROSPERO
reminds,' in Macb. III . 4. 37.
How now? moodie ?
244 ME,'for me,'the e.N.E.
ethical dative. MOODIE, ' pet- What is ' t thou canst demand ?
ulant.' Douce, ' Illustrations,' ARIEL
I, cites Scot's Discovery of
Witchcraft to show that spir- My libertie.
its in subjection were nat- PROSPERO
urally rebellious against their Before the time be out ? No more !
masters. But while Ariel's
relation to Prospero is like ARIEL
that of a familiar to a witch
or wizard as conceived in I prethee,
popular folk-lore, his service Remembe r I have done thee worthy service ;
is not the unwilling kind that Told thee no lyes , made thee no mistakings ,
witches compel, nor is Pros- serv'd
pero his master through any
league that his art has enabled Without or grudge or grumblings : thou did
him to make with the devil.
promise
The tie that binds them is
To bate me a full yeere.
Prospero's kindness to the
tricksy spirit ; the resisting
element to Prospero's control is only the chafing of an aerial spirit of freedom at the tem-
porary restriction of his liberty to roam at will like a bee or butterfly. 245 CAN, i.e.
what is it possible for thee reasonably to ask?' 246 NO MORE , i.e. ' say no more ,'
' do not propose it ' ; cp. " Silence ! No more ! " John IV. I. 133. PRETHEE is an e. N. E.
form of ' pray thee ' [i.e. I pray thee] , the shortening of the ai being due to lack of stress,
which sometimes gave the form " prithee." ¶ 248 MADE THEE : the verse being unmet-
rical, many editors assume that "thee " has been repeated by accident and omit it ; others
assume some sort of elision in "made thee no " ; and still others, a shortening of "mis- " to
'm's-.' But neither of these latter assumptions is supported by analogy. " Taken " in M.E.
and e. N. E. loses its intervocalic k, cp. "quite broken and tane hence " Jonson, ' Sejanus'
(ed. 1640), p. 334 ; the same phenomenon has given us " made " from O.E. " macod." " Mis-
36
 THE TEMPEST

tane" occurs in Rom. &Jul. V.3.203 and in Rich.3 V.3.35 ; we may have such a form as
'mista'ings' to do with here ; the ai would normally in EL. E. take the place of one verse
impulse. 249 GRUDGE : the M. E. sense of this word, ' murmuring,' ' discontent,' was
still extant in EL. E., cp. N. E.D. I. 250 BATE in e. N. E. means ' to reduce,' cp. "Who
bates mine honor shall not
ACT I SCENE II know my coyne " Timon III.
250-261
3.26 (in N.E.D. 4).

PROSPERO 252 To THINK MUCH is

Dost thou forget EL.E. for ' to grumble at,' cp.
"Hedid think muchto dispute
From what a torment I did free thee ?
with any that did allege such
ARIEL base and sordid instances"
Bacon's Advancement of
No.
Learning II. 1.85 (cited by
PROSPERO Wright). OOZE, ' bottom of
the sea,' cp. III.3.100. 253
Thou dost, and thinkst it much to tread the "OF THE SAÅLT DÉEPE ” is
ooze one of the frequent incom-
Of the salt deepe, plete verses in The Tempest.
$ 255 ME, ' for me,'ethical da-
To run upon the sharpe winde of the north , tive. VEINES O'TH ' EARTH :
To doe me businesse in the veines o' th' earth the expression in EL. E. de-
scribed subterranean chan-
When it is bak'd with frost.
nels or cavities, cp . " vaine or
ARIEL veine in the body, in the earth,
17
or of mettall, or in writing'
I doe not, sir. Minsheu ; "veine, also a veine
PROSPERO of the earth, or of metall, etc.,
inthe earth" Cotgrave ; "venæ
Thou liest, malignant thing ! hast thou forgot per translationem in terra
The fowle witch Sycorax , who with age and dicuntur subterranei meatus
Hirt ; veynes in the earth "
envy
Cooper ; Holyoke cites " A
Was growne into a hoope ? hast thou forgot vein of the earth " from Pliny,
her? and gives "the vein of a foun-
ARIEL tain [ i.e. spring] , the bubbling
and rising up of water out of
No , sir. 260 a spring. ¶256 BAK'D is
PROSPERO e. N. E. for ' caked ,' and could
be used of cold as well as heat,
Thou hast. Where was she born ? speak ; cp. "the cold of winter doth
tell me. 260 bake .. the ground " Barnaby
Googe, 1572 (N.E.D. 3). 257
ARIEL
LIEST is a monosyllable like
Sir, in Argier. "dost " in EL. E. THING was
aterm of opprobrium, cp.note
to Macb.V.4.13. Prospero becomes angry at Ariel's apparent insubordination, and by a
touch of human nature the hatred which he naturally feels for Sycorax gets into his words
to Ariel. For SYCORAX , see note to v. 266. 258 ENVY in EL. E. still has its M.E.
meaning of ' malice,' ' malignity,' N. E. D. I. 259 WAS GROWNE, ' had grown,' the e.N.E.
auxiliary 'to be ' instead of MN.E. ' to have.' 260 Short sentences and words of address
are often extra-metrical in BL. verse, cp. note to Macb. III . I.40. $ 261 ARGIER is an
37
 THE TEMPEST

e. N. E. form of Algiers. Howes (Stowe's Annales, p. 916) describes as part of the cele-
bration of the marriage of Princess Elizabeth in 1613 a castle built at Stangate which
"resembled Argier to surprise and spoil the Christian's ships comming in their way. "
Purchas, in his Pilgrimage, 1614 , says, " The Moores call this citie Gezier ; the Spaniards,
Algier." rg for lg in Arabic
words is common in Portu-
ACT I SCENE II 261-268
guese, and the English " Ar-
gier " is probably due to a
PROSPERO
Portuguese original.
Oh, was she so ? I must
T262 MONETH is a common
M. E. form of the word, re- Once in a moneth recount what thou hast bin ,
tained in the spelling after Which thou forgetst. This damn'd witch
the vowel of the second syl-
lable had been lost. 264 Sycorax ,
MISCHIEFES in EL. E. means For mischiefes manifold and sorceries terrible
'disasters,' ' mischances,' cp. To enter humane hearing, from Argier,
"I will heap mischiefs upon
them" Deut. XXXII.231 , and Thou know'st, was banish'd : for one thing
"Some ayery devil hovers she did

in the skie And pours downe They wold not take her life. Is not this true ?
mischiefe " in John III. 2.2.
SORCERIES and TERRIBLE ARIEL
are syncopated ; for the lat- I , sir.
ter, see note to Macb.I.2.
51. "Terrible to enter" was changed by Rowe and Hanmer to ' too terrible to enter' ;
but the infinitive corresponding to the Latin adjective and supine is a genuine English
idiom, and was still current in EL. E., cp. Cooper's gloss " mirabile dictu, a marvellous
thing to tell "; Milton has a similar phrase in Paradise Lost XI . 465, " O, sight of terrour,
foul and ugly to behold, horrid to think." 265 Shakspere in Merch. II.5.35 speaks
of the ears as the entrance of a house, and in Macb. III.4.77 we have " murthers have
bene perform'd Too terrible for the eare." 266 The ONE THING SHE DID to save
herself from the death which as a known witch she would have to suffer, Ariel and Pros-
pero evidently knew : the reference_is definite, " one thing," and some particular public
service is evidently adverted to. The citation in the note to v. 261 shows a popular
interest in Algiers when Shakspere was writing The Tempest. The city is reported to
have been saved by a witch in 1541. Charles Lamb pointed out the record of the incident
in John Ogilby's Description of Africa, 1670 (translated from the Flemish of Dapper).
The besieged were on the point of giving up the town to the troops of Charles V, but a
witch besought the governor to hold out for nine days longer, when the Christian fleet
would be dispersed by a storm. So it happened, and the witch was rewarded. H. Gram-
mont, who edited Nicholas Villegagnon's Latin account of the expedition ( 1541 ) and
Pierre Tolet's expanded contemporary translation ( Paris, 1874) , says that this tradition
was current at the time. But neither Villegagnon nor Tolet refers to it. Nor does Pur-
chas, who cites Villegagnon. Some editors explain Prospero's words as a reference to
v. 269, but the verb "did " could hardly refer to the condition of pregnancy, and, moreover,
witches' brats were always monsters engendered of the devil, and to spare a witch on such
a ground is hardly consistent with EL. popular superstitions. Lamb's explanation, there-
fore, viz. that Shakspere was familiar with the story told above, seems to be the simplest.
268 I is the regular EL. spelling of ' aye ' used for ' yes.' Our MN. spelling was hardly
known in Shakspere's time, cp . note to Macb. II.2. 17. The verse is extra-metrical like
"No, sir," v. 260, above.
above. The assumption of a definite service gives the question and
answer dramatic point as an interruption in Prospero's monologue.
38
 THE TEMPEST

$ 269 BLEW is regular EL. spelling ; our MN. form dates from 1700 and shows the
French way of spelling the sound in which the diphthong had until the present generation.
The worddenotes the leaden colour of the skin which we now call ' black." Milton, in Comus,
434, speaks of a "blue, meagre hag" ; and cp. "bloody, black or blew eyes, oculi, cruen-
tati, cruore suffusi " Phr. Gen., " occhii liuidi, blew or blubbered eies " Florio ; for the word
applied to an eye with black rings about it, cp. "A leane cheeke .. a blew eie and sunken "
A.Y.L.III.2.392 . The reference here is probably to the livid colour of the eyelids in
pregnancy ; all sorts of meanings, however, have been tortured from this simple obsolete
locution, and the usual list of
emendations have been pro-
ACT I SCENE II 269-284 posed for the text. ዋ 271
REPORT in EL.E. was a less *
PROSPERO formal word than it now is,
and meant merely ' to say.' 1
This blew ey'd hag was hither brought with
child WAS : third person forms of
auxiliary verbs were frequent
And here was left by th ' saylors. Thou , my in EL.E. with second person
subjects, cp. note to Macb.
slave,
V.5.39. The chief power of
As thou reportst thy selfe, was then her witches was to command
servant ; spirits through their influence
with the devil, and by means 1
And , for thou wast a spirit too delicate of these "servants " and fa-
To act her earthy and abhord commands, miliars they wrought their ma-
licious purposes. The same
Refusingher grand hests, she did confine thee, demonology is reflected in the
By helpe of her more potent ministers opening scene of Macbeth in
And in her most unmittigable rage, the mention of Graymalkin,
and in Harpier in Scene III of
Into a cloven pyne ; within which rift I
that play. 272 FOR, ' be-
Imprison'd thou didst painefully remaine cause ' ; in M. E. and e. N. E.
A dozen yeeres ; within which space she di'd this particle, like ' as,' ' since,'
'because,' could introduce a
And left thee there ; where thou didst vent reason followed by a conse-
thy groanes quence : the consequence in
MN. E. comes first. Spirits
As fast as mill -wheeles strike . Then was were of all kinds of forms and
this island- natures, gross, heavy, nimble,
delicate, etc.; cp. Burton's
Save for the son, that he did littour heere,
Anatomy of Melancholy, On
A frekell'd whelpe hag-borne - not honour'd the Nature of Spirits. 273
with ACT, ' execute, ' a common EL.
meaning of the word, cp.
A humane shape.
N.E.D. 3 and "things .. which
must be acted ere they may
be scan'd" Macb. III.4.139 . EARTHY, ' coarse,' ' dull ' : but the word has also its EL. 1
metaphysical meaning, cp. " when they [flowers] are crushed the grosser and more earthy 1
spirit cometh out with the finer and troubleth it " Bacon, Sylva § 390 (in N. E. D. 2). It
was the earthy spirits that did drudgery work in magic ; Ariel was a spirit of the air.
274 REFUSING : to refuse a command or hest is a common M. E. and e. N. E. idiom •
still in restricted use. GRAND seems here and in " grand commission " Ham. V. 2. 18, and
in " Under the allowance of your grand [QOS.; FO.I and MN. editors read "great "] •
aspect " Lear II.2.112 (Kent is speaking ironically), to have the sense ‘ authoritative,' not
39
 THE TEMPEST

noted in N.E.D. 275 MINISTERS is the regular term for attendant or ministering
spirits, cp. Macb.I.5.49 . 276 In e . N. E. IN often has a strongly causative sense, ' by
reason of,' N. E.D. 13 a. 274,277 CONFINE .. INTO, common EL. idiom, cp. " hee con-
fined his .. grandsonne .. into the iland Planasia " (dated 1620 in N. E. D. 4). 280 VENT,
'to utter' : the verb is now restricted - ' to vent one's rage, spleen,' etc. 281 STRIKE
in the sense of ' make a sound by percussion ' is now limited to the clock and the bell, but
could be used with any subject in EL. E.: in Sonn. VIII . 10, a string " strikes." So when
the paddles of a water-wheel hit the water, making a sound like the paddle-wheel of a
steamer, it would in EL. E. be said to strike. THEN, ' at that time,' as in v.212 : MN.E.
requires the adverb immediately to follow the verb. 282 The HE of FO. I was altered
by Rowe to ' she,' and is usually so printed. While the correction makes apt sense, the
passage is not quite meaningless as it stands, for in EL. E. THAT is frequently used where
MN. E. employs ' since ' or ' because,' cp. " That he does, I weepe " 1.2. 434, and " He .. is
afarre off guiltie But that he speakes " Wint.T. II. I. 104. LITTOUR (the spelling is after
the analogy of "honour " ) in EL. E. is used of an animal making his bed, N.E. D.3 ; ' save
for the son, in that the wolf-whelp made his bed here in the island ' is therefore not unin-
telligible, though the change of "he " to ' she ' has more in its favour than such alterations
of Shakspere's text usually
have. If we accept Rowe's ACT I SCENE II 284-296
correction, "littour " means
'to bring forth young' : Au-
tolycus, in Wint.T. IV. 3. 25, ARIEL
says he was littered under Yes, Caliban her sonne.
Mercury, i.e. born when Mer-
PROSPERO
cury, the patron of thieves,
was in the ascendant. 283 Dull thing, I say so ; he, that Caliban
FREKELL'D : this word and
"flecked," " blotched with red Whom now I keepe in service . Thou best
know'st
spots,' seem to have been con-
fused in EL. E.: in Rom. &Jul. What torment I did finde thee in ; thy grones
II. 3. 3 all texts but QO. I
read "flecked." So, perhaps, Did make wolves howle and penetrate the
here the sense intended was breasts
'blotched,' as ' freckled ' in
our modern sense would not Of ever-angry beares : it was a torment
be much of a disfigurement To lay upon the damn'd , which Sycorax
to a monster like Caliban.
Could not againe undoe : it was mine art,
BORNE and "born " are not
distinguished from each other When I arriv'd and heard thee, that made
in EL. E., the restriction of gape
the participial form "borne " The pyne and let thee out.
to the sense ' carried ' being
ARIEL
later than Shakspere's time.
284 HUMANE and " hu- I thanke thee, master.
man " also are in EL. E. in-
PROSPERO
different spellings of the
same word, cp. note to Macb. If thou more murmur'st, I will rend an oake
1.5.18.
And peg thee in his knotty entrailes till
284 Ariel's impatience here, Thou hast howl'd away twelve winters.
like Miranda's absent-mind-
edness before, gives dramatic interest to Prospero's long story. 285 DULL THING ,
' stupid idiot ' : "thing" in EL. E. was a term of mild opprobrium, cp. v.257. I SAY SO,
40
 THE TEMPEST

'I say Caliban' : the colon of FO. I after " so " seems to be the light point equivalent to a
comma, and HE the absolute use of the pronoun common in EL. E. FO. I has a colon after
SERVICE. 289 EVER-ANGRY : the compound is made with " angry " in its archaic sense
of 'fierce,' ' irritable.' 291 Folk-lore had it that witches could not undo the charms they
had wrought. $ 295 HIS,
' its,' as frequently in EL. E.
ACT I SCENE II 296-300 296 THOU HAST , probably
contracted to ' thou 'st.'
ARIEL
Pardon, master ; 297 CORRESPONDENT,
' submissive,' cp. " It [ Britain]
I will be correspondent to command continued correspondent to
And doe my spryting gently. the Romans " N. Bacon, 1647
PROSPERO (N. E.D.3). $ 298 SPRYT-
ING, an EL. form of ' spirit-
Doe So, and after two daies ing' with the usual syncopa-
tion. The word seems to
I will discharge thee.
have been in use in the sense
ARIEL
of ' performing the duties of
That's my noble master ! an attendant spirit.' GENTLY
in EL. E. means ' in the man-
What shall I doe ? say what ; what shall I
ner of one of gentle birth,'
doe ? 'courteously.' The reminder
of Caliban probably occa-
sioned the word. DOE SÓ is the stress of the phrase, cp. "I shall do só" Macb. IV. 3.220.
TWO likewise has full stress, being one of the frequent instances in M. E. and e. N.E.
poetry where the describing adjective takes more stress than the noun. 300 SAY WHAT,
i.e. ' I say what,' according to the FO. punctuation.

301 ff. NYMPHS in Shakspere's time were the spirits of the water as well as of the woods,
cp. 'Water devils are those Naiads or water nymphs which have been conversant about
waters and rivers [wood-nymphs were earth-spirits ] ' Burton, Anat. 1.2.1.2 . A nymph of
the sea is therefore a mermaid or siren. Minsheu glosses " mær minne, maris nympho ."
These spirits, Burton tells us, were at the service of magicians. Ariel is to assume the form
of one of them in order to sing a siren's song to Ferdinand, who is sitting on the beach ;
cp. v. 375. That Prospero should tell Ariel to assume this particular shape when he is to
be invisible to every one save himself has occasioned much difficulty to modern editors,
many of whom assume that Shakspere was guilty of a passing inconsistency, others that
the text is corrupt. But while a spirit of the air, Ariel seems to have been conceived by
Shakspere as a water-spirit also. As in Macbeth, he reflects surviving popular conceptions
of Germanic mythology. The mystery of the frozen North, the Valkyrie riding upon the
wings of the wind, the magic of the frost, the potency of spirits in storm and tempest, -all
these associations, centuries old and traceable to the early literature of the English and their
sister peoples (cp. Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie 1.601 ff.), lie behind the few touches with
which he draws Ariel for us here. Spirits in Shakspere's time were conceived of as being
fiery, aerial, watery, and earthy : as we are told in the Names of the Actors, Ariel's nature
puts him in the second class,- he is an " ayrie " spirit, —and we learn from v. 272 that he was
of too fine a nature to execute the heavy duties of an earth-spirit or goblin. In the early
part of this scene he has had the form of a spirit of the air : these, and not water-spirits,
Burton tells us, raised storms at sea. As an air-spirit he cannot sing the siren's song, so
that Prospero's command is necessary to produce the change in Ariel's nature, regardless
of whether he is to be invisible or not, and it is not Shakspere but the modern editors who
are nodding. 301 The rhythm of the verse is imperfect : "like to " is the reading of
41
 *

THE TEMPEST

FOS. 2, 3, and 4, and ' to ' is inserted into the text by many editors. Malone, followed by
Wright, brought up "be subject " from the following verse, which is one wave too long ; but វ
this change makes the rhythm of that verse begin badly. But GOE may be independent,
with a pause after it taking the place of an unstressed impulse as in v. 304, though the
FO. does not so punctuate the
sentence. Again, " Goe" may ACT I SCENE II
have intruded into the text- 301-304
it seems a little out of place
-and the verse originally PROSPERO
have begun with " make " and Goe make thy selfe like a nymph o ' th ' sea :
ended with " subject to," " in-
visible" being read as a full Be subject to no sight but thine and mine,
form. Its omission would give invisible
us two perfect verses instead To every eye-ball else. Goe take this shape
oftwo imperfect ones. ¶ 302
To be invisible to one's own And hither come in ' t : goe : hence with dili-
sight is a curious phrase : gence !
Steevens thought that THINE EXIT ARIEL
AND had intruded into the
text ; but six wave-lines are not unusual in EL. blank verse, nor is it certain that " thine " does
not make good sense in EL. E., for possessive pronouns were widely used in their substan-
tive form for the property (still in use), family (also in use), soldiers, attendants, etc., of the
person referred to, cp. " And points at them for his [ i.e. images of his offspring] " Macb.
IV. I. 124. Granting this syntax here, we have ' Subject to [ i.e. exposed to] no sight [vision]
but that of thy attendants and mine own.' Whether spirits were visible or invisible was a
contention of medieval metaphysics. Burton thinks they are visible to whom they please ;
James, in his Demonology, III . 3, says, “ In this transporting [i.e. passing through the air]
they say themselves that they are invisible to any other except amongst themselves."
INVISIBLE in EL. E. may be contracted to ' invis'ble ,' cp. V. I.97 and Macb. III . 2. 48. 303
THIS means ' such a ' in EL. E., cp. note to Macb. IV.3.74. 304 IN 'T : such contrac-
tions, common in EL. prose and poetry, are unusual now. GOE, i.e. ' get thee gone,' with 1
a pause supplying the unstressed impulse, and full stress on HENCE. FO. I makes a
separate verse of " With diligence," and has a colon after " goe." DILIGENCE is prob-
ably syncopated to ' dil'gence,' cp. "my too dil'gent eare " III. I.42 ; the word here has its
e. N. E. meaning of ' speed,' ' haste,' and not the MN. meaning of ' industry,' cp. N. E.D.2
and " If your dilligence bee
not speedy I shall be there
ACT I SCENE II 305-307
afore you" Lear 1.5.4. This
EL. sense still survives in ' dil-
igence, an express coach,' ". PROSPERO
1
kind of stage-coach so called Awake, deere hart, awake ! thou hast slept
from its expedition, differing
from the ordinary stage-coach well ;
in moving with greater veloc- Awake !
ity," as Nugent defined it in MIRANDA
1756.
The strangenes of your story put
306 PUT .. IN, ' instilled Heavinesse in me.
into ' the range of "put" in
EL.E. was a wide one. 307 HEAVINESSE, ' torpor,' ' drowsiness,' N. E. D. d, cp. especially
11
the citation from George, "the dumpishe heavinesse that proceedeth of melancholy."
Melanchthon thus explains heaviness or dullness such as would follow Prospero's sad story
of sea sorrow : " mæstitia cor quasi percussum .. languescit cum acri sensu doloris," or,
42 1
 THE TEMPEST

as Burton says, ' the collection of melancholy blood about the heart extinguisheth the good
spirits, or at least dulleth them ' Anat. 1.2 . iii. 5. This seems to be the psychology that
Shakspere here implies ; and as in II. 1.202 wakefulness is due to " nimble " spirits (in
the arteries), so when these nimble spirits are overpowered sleep results. But Miranda
thinks that it is the strangeness of his story, rather than its sadness and her anxiety over the
fate of the storm-tossed ship,
ACT I SCENE II and possibly a spell of Pros-
307-316
pero's weaving, that have put
her to sleep. The stress is
PROSPERO "Heavinesse in me."
Shake it off. Come on ;
307 COME ON : cp. note to
Wee'll visit Caliban my slave , who never v. 187. 308 VISIT in EL.E.
Yeelds us kinde answere. is a stronger word than in
MN. E., and not only means
MIRANDA 'go to see,' but also ' look
'Tis a villaine, sir, after.' It was possibly this
I doe not love to looke on. notion in the έπεσκέψασθέ με οι
Matt. XXV.36 that the trans-
PROSPERO lators had in mind when they
rendered it " I was sicke and
But, as ' t is,
ye visited me," i.e. looked af-
We cannot misse him : he does make our fire, ter my wants, nursed me.
Fetch in our wood and serves in offices Physicians are still said to
visit the sick. The word in
That profit us. What , hoa ! slave ! Caliban ! EL. E. also means looking af-
Thou earth, thou ! speake. terin the way of punishing, so
that ' sins are visited ' upon
CALIBAN
one. 309 YEELDS is used
WITHIN in its M. E. and e. N. E. sense
There's wood enough within. of 'gives,' ' returns.' KINDE
isnow obsolete in this sense of
PROSPERO
'courteous,' N. E.D. 5, cp. III.
Come forth , I say ! there's other busines for 3.20. The stress is "Yéelds
thee : ús kinde answere." Caliban's
surliness is the first note we
Come, thou tortoys ! when ? have of him. 'TIS : the EL.
use of ' it' as a general sub-
ject, cp. "'T is a peerelesse kinsman " Macb.1.4.58. The reason for Miranda's repugnance
to Caliban is stated in v.348. " Tis .. on " is but one verse in FO . I. 311 MISSE in
e. N. E. frequently means ' do without,' cp. Macb. III.4.90 and " honnye and wax .. both
so necessary that we cannot misse them " Lyly's Euphues, p. 267 (cited by Wright). 312
OFFICES, ' services,' as frequently in EL. E. 313 PROFIT, ' help,' its usual e. N. E. sense.
SLAVE has secondary stress. 314 EARTH, ' clod,' cp. " thou little better thing then
earth " Rich.2 III.4.78 ; earth and water were the heavy elements of things in the EL. cos-
mogony. Caliban's answer implies that his usual service is that of fetching firewood. 315
BUSINES, ' tasks ' (probably the inflectionless plural in spite of the ' is' ), cp. " put This . .
businesse into my dispatch" Macb. 1.5.69. 316 WHEN was used in EL. E. as an ex-
clamation of impatience, cp. "Off with my boots, you rogues, you villaines, when ! " Tam .
of Shr. IV. I. 147, and "When, Lucius, when ? Awake, I say ! " Cæs. II . 1.5. Caliban's nature
is here forecast : not only a dull, servant monster, but a sluggish and fishlike one. This
conception is traceable to accounts of the dreadful coasts of the " still-vex't Bermoothes. "
Job Hartop in his ' relation ' of these islands in Hakluyt says that they had here sight of a " sea
43
 THE TEMPEST

monster which three times shewed himselfe from the middle upwards in shape like a man
of the complexion of a mulato or tawnie Indian : but this name [ i.e. Iland of Divils] was
given it not of such monsters but of the monstrous tempests " Purchas, IX. xiv. Voyagers
in the eastern seas brought back similar accounts of monsters : " Of fish monsters like men
and like an hog, some wrote," says Purchas in his account of India, V.xi. There can be
little doubt that these stories of fish monsters, rather than esoteric Hebraic philosophy or
prophetic visions of evolutionary missing links, furnished Shakspere with his Caliban.
Farmer thought that the name of the creature was a form of Cannibal (more likely of Cari-
ban) ; some have derived it from Kalee-ban, the Hindu Proserpine ; one suggests the
Greek for ' drinking-cup ' ; another connects the name Kalebôn, Arabic popular language
for ' a vile dog' ; another, with Calibia, a region on the Moorish coast. But the name, like
Sycorax, Shakspere's wandering fancy probably caught up from some account of devils and
monsters that is now lost, and guesses as to its meaning or ' etymology ' are fruitless, as
such things usually are. Comments on Caliban are endless : perhaps the best is Brown-
ing's poem, though one not free from narrowness. In the aesthetic structure of The Tem-
pest fantasia he serves a like purpose with those hideous monsters and grotesques of
medieval architecture, representing the ugly aspects of the human soul crushed into sub-
servience to its nobility and
beauty. The contrast is here
ACT I SCENE II 317-324
artfully heightened by the ap-
pearance of Ariel.
ENTER ARIel like a WATER-NYMPH
317 APPARISION reflects Fine apparision ! my queint Ariel,
the M.E.form of the word (the Hearke in thine eare.
MN.E. t is really an s) : it
means ' illusion ' in e. N. E., ARIEL
cp. "That which man can doe My lord, it shall be done .
with true collours, the Divell
can do with apparitions" EXIT
Healy, 1610 (N. E. D. 10). PROSPERO
QUEINT, ' skilful,' ' cunning,"
Thou poysonous slave, got by the divell him-
' ingenious,' N. E. D. I , cp. "To
shew how queint an orator selfe
you are " 2Hen.6 111.2.274; Upon thy wicked dam, come forth !
the word implies that Ariel
takes pleasure in his spiriting. ENTER CALIBAN
318 HEARKE may mean CALIBAN
'whisper' (though this mean-
ing is given as Scottish in As wicked dewe as ere my mother brush'd
N.E.D.) and the phrase be one With raven's feather from unwholesome fen
of those quasi-imperatives Drop on you both ! A southwest blow on yee
like" say" for' I say'in v. 300.
This seems likely because " in And blister you all ore !
the ear" is a M.E. and e.N.E.
phrase for ' whispering,' cp. Chaucer's " What aloude and what in eere " ; " speak," " say,"
"inform in the ear " are common e. N. E. phrase-groups, N. E. D. 3. The form of the phrase
which Shakspere uses occurs in " Hearke in your eare, sir" Bullein's Dialogue, 1564
(B.E. T. S., p. 14) , where it obviously means ' let me tell you confidentially.' Prospero's
instructions about the mermaid business are, of course, whispered to Ariel. 319 POY-
SONOUS suggests Caliban's reptile or toad-like nature. DIVELL : cp. I.2.215. EL. folk-
lore had it that monsters resulted from the intercourse between witches and devils. 321
WICKED, originally sister word to " witch," means ' poisonous,' ' noxious ' ; in the M.E.
version of Palladius ‘ de re rustica,' 175, the " wicked air" is spoken of : a shade of this mean-
44
 THE TEMPEST

ing, 'baleful,' survived in e. N. E., cp. " wicked chaines " Faerie Queene III . 9.24 (Cent.
Dict.), and" wicked dreames " Macb.11.1.50. The word is neither a mistake, as Dyce thought,
nor a metaphysical application of wicked as of its opposite, virtuous (but the original mean-
ing of virtuous is ' efficacious,' not ' possessing moral goodness ' ), as many editors have
argued. Douce, ' Illustrations ' 1.8, thought that Shakspere had in mind a passage from
Bartolomæus, "The raven is called corvus or corax [which Douce thinks is the base of
Sycorax] ; .. it is said that ravens' birdes [ EL.E. for ' nestlings, ' N.E.D. I ] be fed with the deaw
of heaven all the time that they have no black feathers by benefit of age " XII . 10. But Douce,
like the modern editors, read FEN as MN . E. ' marsh ' : the word in O. E., M. E. , and EL. E.
means ' mud,' ' clay,' ' mire,' ' filth,' ' excrement,' and FEATHER is probably used in its e. N. E.
sense of ' wing.' Sycorax brushing dew from unwholesome ordure with a raven's wing is
Shakspere's picture, sharp and clear as his pictures_usually are. Still, Douce's citation
illustrates the popular dew and raven association. The word DEWE was probably pro-
nounced differently from " knew" in EL. E.: ew, not iw, as is shown by the frequent spelling :
"deaw" ; "knew " is never spelled ' kneaw.' 323 DROP in M. E. and e. N. E. is used of
the falling of any moisture, not necessarily of large globules : cp. " the kindly deaw drops
from the higher tree " Spenser's Shepherdes Kalender, November 31 , and " The christall
tide that from her two cheeks .. dropt " Ven. &Ad. 957. SOUTHWEST : the many notes on
this word aim to show that the south wind is noxious : but it is " the southwest " that Shak-
spere speaks of; the reference is probably to the parching sirocco (cp. " blisters "), the hot,
dry, dust-laden wind from Africa which varies from southeast to southwest. In EL. dic-
tionaries the sirocco is usually glossed " southeast," and libeccio the " southwest winde,"
cp. Florio. Milton, ' Paradise Lost ' X. 706, puts them among his winds but does not de-
scribe them. There can be
little doubt, therefore, that
ACT I SCENE II 325-330
Shakspere was thinking of the
hot sirocco when he wrote
PROSPERO the word " southwest." YEE
For this, be sure, to night thou shalt have is properly the EL. nominative
plural of the second personal
cramps , pronoun, "you " supplying the
Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up ; accusative and indirect cases ;
but this historical distinction
urchins
is not always observed, e.g.
Shall , for that vast of night that they may "to heare for certaintie what
worke , shall happen to your king and
ye" Greene's Alphonsus of
All exercise on thee ; thou shalt be pinch'd Arragon, 1308.
As thicke as hony-combe , each pinch more
325 That CRAMPS and
stinging SIDE-STITCHES were the
Then bees that made ' em. direct result of supernatural
malignity was an early Ger-
manic belief still current in Shakspere's time : one of the oldest Germanic lyrics is a charm
against side-stitches. 326 URCHINS is a common word for fairies or hobgoblins in EL.E.,
though the word originally means ' hedgehog ' : cp. " Like urchins, ouphes, and fairies'
MerryW.IV.4.49. The supernatural regard in which the hedgehog was held in England
is evident from Macb. IV.1.2 : cp., also, " urchyn-shewes [ i.e. processions of fairies] " II.
2.5 and 10. 327 FOR, ' during. ' VAST OF NIGHT is an EL. expression occurring also
in Ham . 1.2.198 . An extension of the meaning is ' void' : Cotgrave has " vuide, vast."
Flibbertigibbet has for his working period from curfew to the first cock, cp. Lear III.4. 121 .
328 EXERCISE in e. N. E. means ' to practise upon,' cp. " surgeons on flesh exercise "
Lane, 1616, and " I shall exercise on steel" Moxon, 1703 (in N. E. D. 6b). ALL is used in
45
 THE TEMPEST

its EL. sense of ' in a body,' cp. " let them flye all " Macb. V. 3. I. Pinching was a popular
notion of fairy punishment ; the honeycomb here pictures the spots of the pinch-marks :
cp. "pinch-spotted " IV. 1.261 , and " I do so nip him or her that with my pinches their
bodies are as many colors as a makrel's back " Halliwell's Fairy Mythology of Shakspere,
p. 150. The word PINCH also means the bite of an animal's tooth. 329 THICKE is
an adverb in EL. E. , cp. " My heart beates thicker then a fevourous pulse " Tro.&Cr. III .
2.38. HONY-COMBE seems to mean ' the cells of a honeycomb,' though no such use is
cited in N. E.D.; many editors change to ' honeycombs.' 330 THEN, than,' cp. I. 1.21 .
'EM is not colloquial, as in
MN. E., but an unstressed
ACT I SCENE II 330-344
form of the pronoun that oc-
curs in the best e. N. E. prose
and poetry. CALIBAN
I must eat my dinner.
332 WHICH, ' but .. it,' the
connective relative. ዋ 333 This island's mine by Sycorax my mother,
STROAK'ST is changed to Which thou tak'st from me. When thou
'stroakedst' by modern edi- cam'st first,
tors, including the Cambridge Thou stroak'st me and made much of me,
Text, under the impression
that Shakspere meant to use wouldst give me
the past tense of ' stroke.'
But " strike " in M. E. and Water with berries in ' t, and teach me how
e. N. E. means ' to pass the To name the bigger light, and how the lesse ,
hand over,' cp. "to strike soft-
That burne by day and night : and then I
lie, demulcere caput alicui "
Alvearie: so, in II Kings V.II , lov'd thee
" He will .. strike his hand And shew'd thee all the qualities o ' th ' isle,
over the place and recover the
leper." "Stroke," " stroak " The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place
(M.E. "strok "), is an e. N. E. and fertill :
past-tense form of " strike " ; Curs'd be I that did so ! All the charmes
"stroak'st,"therefore, is EL.E.
for MN. ' strokedst .' The Of Sycorax, toades , beetles , batts, light on
change of MADE to " madest " you !
is likewise unwarranted, as
third-person forms of verbs For I am all the subjects that you have,
are frequent with second-per- Which first was min owne king : and here
son subjects , especially in the
case of auxiliaries and of you sty me
"made." In John IV. 2.228 In this hard rocke , whiles you doe keepe from
occurs : "thou .. Made it me
no conscience to destroy a The rest o' th ' island.
prince." The forms of the
text, necessary to the rhythm ,
are thus quite legitimate EL. idiom. 334 WATER WITH BERRIES IN 'T : this has been
thought to be a reference to coffee, a little-known drink in EL. England ; but ' water with
berries in it' is rather a vague description of coffee. It is much more likely that Shakspere
refers to palm wine and had in mind Strachey's account of the Bermudas : " They found
there .. berries blacke and round as big as a damson , ripe in December and very lus-
cious." 335 BIGGER LIGHT : possibly a reminiscence of Prospero's Christian instruc-
tion of Caliban , based upon " And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule
the day, and the lesser light to rule the night " Gen.1.16. 337 QUALITIES , ' proper-
46
 THE TEMPEST

ties,' ' natural advantages,' cp. " according to the qualities and wealth of the country "
Grimstone, 1604 (N. E.D. 7) ; the N. E. D. does not sharply distinguish this meaning. $ 339
" Cúrs'd be I thát I did só " is the reading of FO. 2, etc., giving regular rhythm (" cúrs'd be" is
a usual stress in EL. E.: cp. Mids. V.I.182, Merch. 1.3.52). If we follow FO. 1 , reading " did
só" (cp. note to v. 298), we have a verse in which a pause takes the place of the unstressed
impulse before the cæsura. CHARMES are now usually associated with safety or bless-
ing; but the word in Shakspere's time describes any kind of spell. In N. E. D. I these
two senses are confused. 340 LIGHT ÓN : for the stress cp. note to v. 360. 342 WHICH
is masculine and feminine as well as neuter in EL. E. FIRST, ' at first,' originally a M. E.
meaning of the word, cp. " Plancina growing more insolent then first" Grenewey's Tacitus,
1598 (N.E.D. BId). MIN is a common spelling of the word in late (1.) M. E., though rare in
e.N.E.; the stress is " mín ówne," cp. 1.2.167. STY ME ishyphenated in FO.I, as is " peg thee"
in v.295, probably to indicate that " me " is unstressed. There is no evidence that Cali-
ban's story is false, though he
leaves out the most signifi-
ACT I SCENE II 344-351 cant episode of his life.

PROSPERO 345 MAY, ' may possibly,'

Thou most lying slave, a shade of meaning common
to this EL. auxiliary , cp. note
Whom stripes may move, not kindnes ! I to 1.2.118. US'D in EL.E.
have us'd thee, frequently means ' treated,'
Filth as thou art, with humane care , and cp. " I'le use thee kindly for
thy Mistris' sake, That us'd
lodg'd thee me so" Two Gent. IV. 4.207.
In mine owne cell, till thou didst seeke to 346 HUMANE, ' consider-
ate,' has stress on the first
violate
syllable, cp. note to v. 284.
The honor of my childe. 349 OH HO was an ex-
clamation of exultation and
CALIBAN
derision in Shakspere's time :
Oh ho, oh ho ! would't had bene done ! Malone cites " Oh ho ! quoth
the devil, ' t is my John a
Thou didst prevent me ; I had peopel'd else combe." In the Robin Good-
This isle with Calibans. fellow ballads Robin always
goes away laughing, " Ho, ho,
hoh." Cotgrave glosses oho by " oho? is it even so ? is it so indeed ?" N. E.D. s.v. cites
Tw.N.III.4.71 , " Oh ho, do you come neere me now?" and shows the word in use from the
14th to the 19th century.

Modern editors, as a rule, alter the text that follows and give vv. 351 to 362 to Prospero.
The defence ofthe alteration follows Theobald's reasoning : ( 1 ) That Prospero, rather than
Miranda, must have educated Caliban ; but the ' must ' is not very convincing, and Caliban
himself, in II.2.144, says that his mistress showed him the man in the moon, though it was
Prospero who taught him the name of the " lesser light " : how like Shakspere -astronomy
from Prospero, but poetry from Miranda ! (2) That it would be a ' great impropriety ' for
Miranda to take discipline out of her father's hands ; but Miranda is not taking discipline
out of her father's hands : she is defending him against a charge of injustice, and a girlish
impetuosity rings through her loyalty. Theobald's third reason is that it is a ' sort of in-
decency ' for her to reply to Caliban's last words ; but the indecency, again, is a creation
of the editorial imagination : she does not reply to Caliban's words, evidently not under-
standing them ; she simply tells him that she hates him because he is evil, her notion of
evil being roughness and violence. She is afraid of her former pupil and playfellow, and
47
 THE TEMPEST

feels toward him a deep disgust, as she has already told her father. Her remark that ' his
nature had that in it which goodness could not abide to be with ' shows how she as his
instructress has struggled to put down her repugnance. Her speech, far from being un-
maidenly, is instinct with maidenliness : there is not a word in it that implies aught but
outraged purity. Her invective is womanly, - " abhorred slave," " savage," " gabble," " A
thing most brutish," -all the little touches of angry womanhood, quite unlike Prospero's
speeches. The horrible experience is evidently a recent one, a horrible black blot on her
island happiness and innocence. To see this monster defying her father is sufficient to
cause her to lose self-control and to provoke the outburst of impassioned speech. Indeed,
this change of Theobald's, as such alterations of Shakspere's writing usually do, robs the
scene of much of its human interest, —so much so, that had the speech been given to Pros-
pero in FO. I there would be
ground for thinking it to be a
ACT I SCENE II 351-362
printer's error. ¶ 352 PRINT,
' imprint,'' impression ' : Cali-
ban is like a bad piece of MIRANDA
paper. 353 CAPABLE OF, Abhorred slave ,
'susceptibleto,' cp." urgethem
Which any print of goodnesse wilt not take,
while their soules Are capable
of this ambition " John 11.1 . Being capable of all ill ! I pittied thee ,
475 ; but the word in EL. E.
still had its original meaning Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee
of 'able to hold,' N. E. D. I , as each houre
well as ' able to receive ,' so
One thing or other : when thou didst not ,
the figure was clearer in Shak-
spere's time than it is now. savage,
Wright aptly cites " heart too Know thine owne meaning, but wouldst gab-
capeable of everie line and ble like
tricke Of his sweet favour "
from All'sW.1.1.106 . Cali- A thing most brutish , I endow'd thy purposes
ban's nature was entirely With words that made them knowne. But
filled with wickedness, so that
there was no room for good- thy vild race,
ness in him. ALL ILL, ' every Tho thou didst learn, had that in ' t which
form of wickedness,' retain-
good natures
ing a M. E. meaning of " all"
still preserved in isolated idi- Could not abide to be with ; therefore wast
oms. Miranda's words prob- thou
ably echo an explanation of
her father's, given in answer Deservedly confin'd into this rocke,
to some mystified inquiry as Who hadst deserv'd more then a prison.
to why it was that Caliban
could not learn good things. I pittied thee : a long record of patient endeavour to
make something out of Caliban lies behind the words. 356 KNOW in EL. E evidently
retained some of its M. E. meaning of ' make known,' cp. "We .. do not know our selves "
Macb. IV.2.19 ; there is therefore no ground to botch the word to ' show,' as has been
proposed, nor any need to resort to metaphysical interpretations of knowledge. 357
PURPOSES in EL. E. means both ' wants,' ' demands,' -cp. "therefore have we Our written
purposes before us sent " Ant.& Cl . II . 6.4,-and ' meaning,' cp. "'t is our will That some
plaine man recount their purposes " L.L.L.V.2. 175 ; both meanings seem to be implied
here : primitive wants thought of as mental propositions. 358 VILD is an EL. form of
' vile ' with an unhistoric d after the l, like " shold," " shoald," a 1. M. E. and e. N. E. form
of ' shoal ' ; Drayton rhymes, " Poles " and " roles " with " upholds " in Barrons Warres VI. 5,
48
 THE TEMPEST

probably reflect similar pronunciation. RACE, as frequently in EL. E., means ' nature,'
cp. "And now I give my sensuall race the reine " Meas. 11.4. 160 ; Polixenes says, " We ..
make conceyve a barke of baser kinde By bud of nobler race " Wint.T. IV. 4.94. 359
THO THOU DIDST LEARN : Miranda is just to Caliban's quick wits ; her pupil made
apt progress, but he turned his knowledge to vile ends. There is something pathetic in
the long struggle with innate barbarism which the association of Miranda's words reveals-
a pathos which Prospero would not have shown. GOOD NATURES : the words in EL. E.
meant more than they do now, since " good" more sharply connoted ' virtuous,' ' noble,'
cp. "The hand that hath made you faire hath made you good " Meas. III . I. 184, where the
contrast shows that the duke meant ' pure ' ; and " nature " means ' inherent and essential
character,' as distinct from acquired characteristics. It is the instinctive repugnance that
purity feels in the presence of beastliness that Miranda refers to. 360 TO BÉ WITH
is unusual stress in MN. E., but in EL. E. adverbs sometimes take secondary stress where
in MN. E. they take the pri-
ACT I mary, and vice versa ; cp.
SCENE II 363-371
“ háng up thêm ” Mach. IV.
2.58, and"do só " for MN . 'dó
CALIBAN ső,' Macb. IV. 3.220. 361
CONFIN'D INTO : see note to
You taught me language ; and my profit on 't
v.277. ¶362 A four-wave
Is, I know how to curse. The red-plague
verse finishes the speech ; Ab-
rid you bot reads " desérved mó-er,"
but this destroys the emphatic
For learning me your language ! 11
reversal, "more than.'
PROSPERO
Hag-seed , hence ! 363 ON 'T : one of the
frequent EL. idioms in which
Fetch us in fewell ; and be quicke , thou ' rt "on"denotes occasion. 364
best, RED - PLAGUE : Shakspere
uses "red-pestilence " as an
To answer other businesse. Shrug'st thou ,
objurgation in Cor. IV. I. 13,
malice ? and"red-murren [plague] " in
Tro. & Cr. II . I. 20 : "A red
If thou neglectst or dost unwillingly
murren o' thy jades ' trickes ! "
What I command , I ' le racke thee with old Murrain was usually applied
crampes , to a pestilence among ani-
mals. Steevens thought that
Fill all thy bones with aches , make thee rore
erysipelas was meant ; mod-
That beasts shall tremble at thy dyn. ern editors see in the word
a reference to the colour of
the plague sore. Halliwell cites " sometimes it [i.e. the plague sore] is red, otherwhiles
yellow, and sometimes black" from The General Practise of Physike, 1605, p. 625. Bul-
lein, Dialogue Against Fever Pestilence, 1578 ( E. E. T. S. , p. 45 ) , makes them "fower," adding
a "grene sore" ; but he expressly says that the red and yellow are easy to cure, which
makes against this interpretation, for Caliban would not have been likely to stop at half-
way measures in his cursing. Halliwell also adds that in a medical commonplace- book
in his possession it is said that "the plague and pestilence, or red plage, doth most abounde
from Midsomer to Autumne." This is one of Hippocrates's Aphorisms which Bullein ren-
ders : "In the time of harvest are most sharpe and deadly sicknesses." EL. writers on the
subject mention the bubo, anthrax or carbuncle as a characteristic of the plague. Car-
buncle is defined by Phillips as a " red furr botch or sore." " A carbuncle or plague sore,"
Minsheu says, "is so called from a fiery redness." Anthrax is still known as bloody mur-
rain in cattle. There can be little doubt, then, that Shakspere's " red-plague," " red-pesti-
49
 THE TEMPEST

lence,"‚" "red-murren," though these names are not common in contemporary literature, refer
to a bubonic pestilence such as visited London in 1609. RID is used absolutely in EL. E.
in the sense of ' get out of the way,' cp. "To cut off or cut away that which is superfluous,
to rid : amputo " Alvearie, and " I am the king's friend and will rid his foe " Rich.2 v.4. II .
365 LEARNING in the sense of ' teaching,' which is now vulgar, was good literary M. E.
and e.N.E. SEED is concrete in EL. E., meaning ' son,' ' descendant,' cp. Macb. III . 1.70
and note. 366 THOU ' RT, 'thou wert ' used parenthetically, or possibly ' thou art,' for
the historical past subjunctive was confused with the present indicative in the EL. form
of this idiom, cp. " you are best " in Lyly (cited in N. E.D.b 19) ; as to " 's" for ' was,'
"'re" for 'were, etc., see note to Macb.1.2.8. The idiom was originally impersonal, " you
[' for you,' dative ] were [ ' it would be '] best," i.e. ' it were best for you.' 367 TO, ' in
order to,' as frequently in EL. E. ANSWER in EL. E. means ' attend to,' ' obey,' in the
sense of performing what is expected, N. E. D. 22, a sense still preserved in ' the ship answers
her helm ,' cp. "Till I and my affaires are answered " A.Y.L. II.7.99. BUSINESSE, ' tasks ' :
the word is sometimes plural in EL. E., cp. note to Macb. III.5.22, and probably is so here,
cp. "Joseph went into the house to doe his busines " [i.e. ' attend to his work,' see Revised
Version] Gen. XXXIX.II . MALICE, like “ savage " above, is in parentheses in the FO., a
common 16th-century way of indicating a person addressed. 369 OLD is used in EL. E.
as an intensive like MN. E. 'fine ' or the colloquial ' jolly,' cp. "old turning the key" Macb.
II.3.2. 370 ACHES, a dissyllable, ' aitch-es, ' in EL. E., as frequent puns on ' H ' show,
cp. "Ake is the verbe of this substantive ach, ch being turned into k " Alvearie, s.v. ‘ ake '
(cited by Boswell) ; it occurs as a dissyllable also in Timon I.I.257 , V.I.202 . " Ake " is made
on the analogy of the verb,
O. E. acan, M. E. ake ; the O. E.
noun ace gave M. E. ache ACT I SCENE II 371-374
the e. N. E. "aitch." RORE in
EL. E. is used of loud weep- CALIBAN
ing, cp. "we shall make our No , ' pray thee.
griefes and clamor rore"
Macb.1.7.78 . ASIDE

I must obey : his art is of such pow'r,

373 To CONTROLL in the
16th and 17th centuries means It would controll my dam's god, Setebos ,
to ' overmaster,' ' overpower.' And make a vassaile of him.
SETEBOS : Farmer pointed PROSPERO
out, in his essay on The
So, slave ; hence !
Learning of Shakespeare , a
passage in Eden's Historie of EXIT CALIBAN
Travaile in the West and
East Indies, which gives an account of Magellan's voyage. Narratives of this voyage
were common in Shakspere's time, and this or some similar account he evidently had read
or heard before he wrote The Tempest. It says the mariners saw " a man of the stature of
a giant who came to the haven daunsing and singing... When he saw the captayne with
certayne of his company about him, he was greatly amased, and made signes, holding up
his hande to heaven, signifying thereby that our men came from thense." [They captured
two of these aborigines by deceit. ] "When they saw how they were deceived they roared
like bulles and cried upon theyr great divell Setebos to helpe them... When any of them
dye there appeare X or XII devils leaping and daunsing about the bodie of the dead...
Among them there is one seene bigger then the residue who maketh great mirth and re-
joysing. This great devyll they call Setebos."

375 (St. Dir.) INVISIBLE : of course not to the audience ; Ariel was probably clothed in
some garment that suggested invisibility. 376 COME : Ariel calls from the shore to his at-
50
 THE TEMPEST

tendant sea-nymphs who are sporting in the waves. 377 TAKE HANDS now usually means
'take hands in a circle, ' but in EL. E. it means ' join hands in pairs,' cp. "The said Roger
and Ellen toke handes together " Child Marriage, 1565 ( in N. E. D. 46) ; " hands " has a colon
after it in FO. I , but this is probably the EL. light colon. 378 CURTSY is transitive
in e. N. E., ' render obeisance to,' cp. "to curtsey him . . when he stayes " Drant, 1566, and
"How would they cap me and curtsie me " H. Smith, 1592 (in N. E. D. 2). Though Shak-
spere does not elsewhere use the word in this sense, he may well have done so here, and
Ariel's meaning be ' when you have courtesied to the wild waves and kissed them to silence .'
379 Modern editors, almost without exception, change the text so as to make " The
wilde waves whist " an abso-
lute clause, ' the wild waves
ACT I SCENE II 376-386 being silenced ' ; but Ferdi-
nand says just below that it
ENTER FERDINAND AND ARIEL ( INVISIBLE)
was Ariel's song that allayed
PLAYING AND SINGING the violence of the waters.
ARIEL WHIST is rather a participial
SONG adjective predicatively used
and meaning ' into silence .'
Come unto these yellow sands,
$ 380 FEATLY, 'gracefully,'
And then take hands, cp. "she dances featly" Wint.
T.IV.4. 176 ; it is a M. E. word
Curtsied when you have and kist still common in Shakspere's
The wilde waves whist: time. 381 Pope changed
the FO. text to "And sweet
Foote it featly heere and there,
sprites the burthen bear," and
And sweete sprights beare the burthen. he is followed by most mod-
BURTHEN disperseDLY ern editors ; but it is quite
possible that the words "the
Harke, harke! Bowgh- wawgh. burthen," which in the FO.
The watch-dogges barke: Bowgh- have a line to themselves ,
were the title of the following
wawgh.
verses : cp. A.Y.L. II . 5.40, p.
ARIEL
190 of FO. I , where the stage
Hark, hark! I heare direction, "Altogether heere,"
being in the same type as the
The straine of strutting chanticlere text, could easily be mistaken
Cry, Cockadidle-dowe . for it. "Sweete sprights
beare" is good EL. idiom , for
"sweete" may mean ' soothing,' ' softening,' cp. " to those men that sought him sweet as
summer [the word often corresponds to MN. E. ' flattering "] " Hen.8 IV.2.54 ; " sprights "
may have its common EL. meaning of ' temper,' and " beare " its frequent meaning of
'have' : to "bear a heart," to " bear life," are common EL. expressions. Such a meaning
well fits the obvious intention of the passage, the soothing of Ferdinand's sorrow . With
this interpretation the verse will have the same rhythm as the other alternate verses, two
rising waves. In the Janua 754 we are told that the poet " now and then puts the foot
(burden) of the song after the rest." BURTHEN had two meanings in e. N. E.: one that of
M.E. "bourdon " (see N. E. D. s.v. ), ' the foot ' or ' undersong,' and the other that of ' chorus ' ;
the "dispersedly " ( i.e., ' here and there ' N. E. D. I ) shows that the former is meant here ; cp.
"wolves do howle and bark And seem to beare a bourdon to their plaint " Sidney's Astro-
phel, Ægl. 77. Such a dispersedly sung burden occurs in Tw.N. v.1.398. But, taking
the text as it stands, the internal rhyme with " the burthen " following "beare " is as effec-
tive lyrically as Pope's emendation. If the " bowgh-wawgh " burden is " dispersed " through
the first six lines as an undersong, and is then used as chorus in the two following lines ,
51
 THE TEMPEST

followed by Ariel's three lines ending with " Cockadidle-dowe," we get an intelligible arrange-
ment of the song without departing from the FO. text. 382 BOWGH-WAWGH -the
gh being sounded like a guttural ch in German and ow having nearly the sound of the
diphthong in MN. E. ' know ' - is an e. N. E. form more onomatopoetic than ' bow-wow ,' its
historical descendant. $ 385 For a STRAINE to CRY is a somewhat distorted use of
English : "cry" may have been a stage direction indicating the cock's cry behind the
scenes ; for the use of the word cp. " owles doe crie " V. 1.90. 386 COCKADIDLE-
DOWE as well as " cockadoodle-doo " is an EL. E. form for the cockcrow. While the
dog's bark and the cock's crow were perhaps common burdens in the part-singing of
Shakspere's time, their employment here has a subtle influence in ' sweetening the spirit'
of Ferdinand ; the laughing, dancing waves succeeding the storm, the sounds of human
habitation dispelling his loneliness, the ditty remembering his drowned father softening
and allaying his suffering, are
transforming influences of
pathetic association wielded ACT I SCENE II 387-395
by a master hand in ' strange'
business . FERDINAND
Where shold this musick be ? I' th ' aire or
387 SHOLD (M. E. and th ' earth ?
e. N. E. spelling), ' can,' an EL.
use of the auxiliary, cp. note It sounds no more : and, sure, it waytes upon
to Macb. II . 3. 127. 388
Some god o' th ' iland. Sitting on a banke,
SOUND is the regular e . N. E.
word for the effect of music ; Weeping againe the king my father's wracke,
perhaps it had the notion of 11 This musicke crept by me upon the waters ,
soft resonance, M. E. "soon,'
" swoon," which in e.N.B. Allaying both their fury and my passion
fell together with " sound," With its sweet ayre : thence I have fol-
cp. note to Macb. IV. I. 129. low'd it,
AND continues Ferdinand's
thought (N. E. D. II ), giving it Or it hath drawne me rather. But 't is gone.
an asseverative character tan-
No , it begins againe.
tamount to MN. E. ' indeed,'
cp. "Art. And will you ?
Hub. And I will " John IV.I.40 . WAYTES is a happy word, with the association of sere-
nading that it had in the 17th century. 389 BANKE is EL. E. for 'the shore of the sea ' ;
the indefinite article, however, here points to a dune or hillock on the sloping beach, see
N. E.D. In FO. I " Sitting on a banke " is construed with " god," and separated from the
preceding clause only by a comma, the period being placed after " wracke" ; but the context
requires it to go with what follows. It was Pope who first altered the punctuation as in the
text. 390 AGAINE in M. E. and e. N. E. means ' in opposition to,' and is common with
"murmur," " speak," etc. , cp. N. E. D. 6. Ferdinand's complaint is against heaven. Not
familiar with this meaning of the word, early editors changed " againe " to against,' and Abbot
explained it as meaning ' again and again,' but no such meaning for ' again ' is given in N. E.D.
391 " Crépt by mé" is unusual stress in MN. E.: that it was not unusual in EL. E. is shown
by "knéele by mé " Meas. V. I.442, " stánd by mé " Err. V. I. 185 , and " júmps along by
hím ” A.Y.L. II. 1.53, though the MN. stress seems more common. Cp. also 1.2.307. 392
PASSION is now usually used of violent anger, but in Shakspere's time it meant, ' strong,
but not necessarily violent, emotion ,' retaining some of its primitive sense, ' suffering.'

396 FADOM and " fathom " in e. N. E. as in M. E. are historical variants of the same word :
the former is now obsolete. It here has its M. E. inflectionless plural form, though "fathoms "
was also in use in EL. E. It is likely that, like "heaven," etc., it is used for but one impulse
52
 THE TEMPEST

ACT I SCENE II 396-404 of the verse, the stress being

"Fúll fadom five." Shakspere
ARIEL in this song uses the four-
wave falling rhythm which he
SONG usually employs in dealing
withthe supernatural , cp . note
Full fadom five thy father lies; to Macb. III . 5. 399 NO-
Of his bones are corrall made; THING OF HIM, 'there is no-
Those are pearles that were his eies : thing' : cp. Chapman's verses
on Prince Henry's death,"No
Nothing of him that doth fade spirit in our blood But in
But doth suffer a sea- change our soul's discourses bears
Into something rich and strange. a part," and Macb. III.2.32.
FADE has here its EL. mean-
Sea-nimphs hourly ring his knell : ing of ' decay,' cp. "her heare,
BURTHEN : DING DONG her eares, and nose did fade"
403
(citation dated 1685 in N.E.D.
Harke! now I heare them, —Ding-dong bell. 2). 404 The ' famous tune'
of DING-DONG was a com-
mon EL. burden, and is still preserved in ' Mother Goose ' ; it is also found in Merch.
III. 2.71 . The following music of R. Johnson, though not printed until it appeared in
Wilson's Cheerfull Ayres or Ballads, 1660, was in all probability that which was sung on
the stage to this song. Johnson was in the service of Prince Henry in 1611. See also
N. Sh. S. Misc. , No. 4, p. 3 , and Roffe's Handbook of Shakespeare Music, 1878, pp. 86 ff.
The undersong, as seen in Johnson's scoring, will also illustrate clearly the way the " Bowgh-
wawgh " burden was applied to the song above.

Cantus Primus. [ 6] R. Johnson.

F Ull fathome five thy Father lyes , of his bones are Corrall made

thoſe are pearles that were his eyes , nothing of him that doth fade but doth

fuffer a Sea change into fomething rich and ftrange .

53
 THE TEMPEST

[7]

Sea Nymphs hourly ring his knell , Hark now I heare them

Ding Dong Bell Ding Dong Ding Dong Bell •1•

¶ 405 DITTY, the ' theme of a song ' as distinct from the tune, see N.E.D.3 ; cp. " there was
no great matter in the dittie" A.Y.L. v. 3. 35. REMEMBER, ' mention commendingly,'
still preserved in MN. E. idiom. 406 BUSINES has in EL. E. the sense of ' commotion'-
cp. Macb. 11.3.86 — and also that of ' solicitude,' N. E. D. 5 : both these senses enter into the
word here. 407 OWES is a M. E. and e. N. E. verb which we now know only in the
form 'owns,' cp. Macb. 1.3.76.
408 The eyelids were fre-
ACT I SCENE II 405-411
quently in EL. poetry thought
of as curtains or " pent-
houses," cp. Macb. 1. 3. 20. FERDINAND
In M.E.and e.N.E. ADVANCE
The ditty does remember my drown'd father.
often means ' to lift up,' ' to
This is no mortall busines, nor no sound
raise,' N. E. D. 9 : cp. " Ad-
vancing his wife from the That the earth owes. I heare it now above me.
earth " Heywood (N. E. D.) ;
PROSPERO
so "advanc'd their eye-lids"
IV.I.177. 409 YOND, 'yon- The fringed curtaines of thine eye advance
der,' is now only in adjective
And say what thou seest yond.
use, but in M. E. and e. N. E.
it was an adverb. 'What is 't? MIRANDA
a spirit?' is Capell's reading, What, is ' t a spirit ?
generally adopted by MN . edi- Lord, how it lookes about ! Beleeve me , sir,
tors; Daniel proposed 'What !
It carries a brave forme. But 't is a spirit .
Is 't a spirit? The FO. read-
ing (that of the text) is , how-
ever, good EL. E. and much more apposite. WHAT in EL. E. is an untranslatable inter-
rogative particle, cp. note to I. 1.56. Miranda takes Ferdinand for some shape such as she
has seen Ariel assume . 410 LORD : the ejaculation is less vulgar in EL. E. than in
MN. E., cp. " Lord, how mine eies throw gazes to the east ! " Pass. Pilg. 193 (XV. I ). Fer-
dinand, of course, is looking for the music. He first notices Prospero and Miranda at
v. 421. 411 CARRIES A BRAVE FORME, ' presents a fine appearance,' cp. "That lady
trew, whose semblance she did carry " Spenser, Faerie Queene I. I.46, and " That baye
.. carries the forme of a tongue " Bishop Hall (N.E. D. 28). BUT 'T IS A SPIRIT : the
stress falls upon " 't is" ; " but " in its EL. sense of ' if not' would, perhaps, be clearer,—
'if it is not a spirit,'-were it not for the FO. punctuation (that of the text).
54
 THE TEMPEST

ACT I SCENE II 412-428 $ 412 WENCH, ' girl,' as in

v. 139. 413 SUCH , i.e. the
PROSPERO very same ; the FO. punctu-
ation is "have : such." 414
No, wench ; it eats and sleeps and hath such BUT, ' except that.' 415
senses MIGHT'ST probably here has
its sense of ' wast obliged to,'
As we have, such . This gallant which thou cp. note to Macb. III . I. 122.
seest 418 NATURALL , ' belong-
Was in the wracke ; and but hee's something ing to the natural world, ' a
sense somewhat rare now.
stain'd
419 The syntax in MN.E.
would be ' I never saw any-
With greefe, that's beauties canker, thou
thing,' cp.v. 488. ¶ 420 Eliza-
might'st call him
bethan psychologists divided
A goodly person : he hath lost his fellowes the 'soul 'into 'two parts,'the
And strayes about to finde ' em. 'understanding or rational
soul ' and the ' will.' See Bur-
MIRANDA ton, I. I. ii. II . IT, of course,
I might call him stands for Prospero's great
plan. SPIRIT, ' sprite, ' in both
A thing divine , for nothing naturall instances. Ariel is doing his
I ever saw so noble. work finely. ¶421 MOST
PROSPERO SURE, THE GODDESSE : re-
ferring to the notion (v. 399),
ASIDE still in his mind, that the mu-
It goes on, I see, sic attends some divinity of
prompts it . theisland. Ferdinand's father
As my soule prompts it. Spirit, fine spirit ! pays Miranda the same com-
I'le free thee pliment in V. I. 187. 423
KNOW seems to have a shade
Within two dayes for this.
of its M. E. meaning of ' re-
FERDINAND veal,' ' disclose,' though the
N.E.D. 13 does not give this
Most sure, the goddesse
as an e.N.E. meaning of the
On whom these ayres attend ! Vouchsafe my word, cp. note to Macb. IV.
3.165. REMAINE would now
pray'r
be'abide,''dwell,' cp. "Where
May know if you remaine upon this island ; remaines he ?" A.Y.L. III.2.
And that you will some good instruction give 235. 425 BEARE ME il-
lustrates the M.E. and e. N.E.
How I may beare me heere : my prime request ,
reflexive use of the personal
Which I do last pronounce , is, O you wonder ! pronoun, ' conduct myself.'
PRIME retains , of course,
If you be mayd or no ?
its now obsolete meaning of
MIRANDA 'first.' 427 MAYD was re-
No wonder, sir, placed by ' made ' in FO.2,
probably accidentally, a read-
But certainly a mayd. ing which Shakspere editors ,
strangely enough, used to fol-
low, explaining that " made " meant ' created being.' WONDER means both ' miracle ' and
prodigy ' in EL. E., and is a happy anticipation of Miranda's name. 428 CERTAINLY,
'I assure you ' rather than ' surely,' a frequent meaning in both EL. E. and MN.E.
55
 THE TEMPEST

428 Ferdinand's happy discovery that Miranda speaks the language of Naples is another
of the delightful touches of nature that run through this passage. His question beautifully
knits up three ravelled motives -to know if she is a human being, as she appears to be,
though a wondrous fair one ; to know if she can speak his language and can converse with
him ; and to know if she is unmarried and can reciprocate his love, cp. v. 521 . One can
almost hear the silvery laugh-
ter in her reply, " No wonder, ACT I SCENE II 428-438
But certainly a mayd." ¶431
WHAT WERT THOU, ' who
would you be,' as in " What FERDINAND
are you, sir?" Meas. II . I.62. My language ! Heavens !
432 SINGLE, ' sincere,' or
I am the best of them that speake this speech ,
'honest,' with, perhaps, also
the connotation of ' weak- Were I but wher ' t is spoken.
e
ness ' (cp. Macb. 1.3.140 and PROSPERO
ibid. 1. 6. 16) ; as thought of
in connection with AS I AM How? the best?
NOW, it probably includes the What wert thou, if the King of Naples
notion of ' singleness ,'-'the
heard thee ?
King of Naples and I are one.'
433 NAPLES, ' the King of FERDINAND
Naples,' as the verse stress A single thing, as I am now, that wonders
must fall on HE in the next
clause. 434 MY SELFE, To heare thee speake of Naples . He does
'I myself,' the M.E. and e.N.E. heare me ;
pronoun was itself a subject.
437 THE DUKE OF MIL- And that he does I weepe : my selfe am
LAINE, etc.: Theobald called Naples ,
this ' a slight forgetfulness on
Who with mine eyes , never since at ebbe ,
Shakspere's part,' as there is
no Duke of Millaine's son in beheld

the play. Halliwell thought The king my father wrack't.

the difficulty might be attrib-
uted to the old play or novel MIRANDA
(no such has been found, nor Alacke, for mercy !
probably ever existed) on FERDINAND
which Shakspere based his
plot. Holt tried to explain Yes, faith , and all his lords , the Duke of
that "his brave sonne'11 was Millaine
Ferdinand himself, but was
ridiculed for his pains - ' Fer- And his brave sonne being twaine .
dinand would not have spoken
of himself as "brave ""; so editors have followed Theobald in his assumption that 'Homer
nodded' here. But the whole matter is quite simple : in II. I. III Alonso's words about
the supposedly lost Ferdinand, " O thou mine heire of Naples and of Millaine," have been
strangely overlooked by Shakspere editors. They imply that Ferdinand was heir to An-
thonio's duchy. What more natural than that Ferdinand should carry out the notion of
"single" in v. 432 ? ' I say all his lords, for the Duke of Millaine and the king's son [" his "
takes full stress] were then two different persons, and I at that time was not the Duke of Mil-
laine as I am now ; therefore my father did lose all his lords.' Ferdinand may well speak
of himselfas "brave," for the word, as shown above, means ' fine,' ' finely dressed,' in EL.E.:
the royal prince looks back on himself in his gaiety as he came home from the wedding
with a feeling of compassion, and Ferdinand arrogates courage for himself no more than
56
 THE TEMPEST

ACT I SCENE II Miranda claims it for the ship

438-456
in I.2.6.
PROSPERO
439 MORE BRAVER, the
ASIDE EL. double comparative , com-
The Duke of Millaine mon in Shakspere and good
And his more braver daughter could controll literary idiom in his time : cp.
"more better " I. 2. 19, “ more
thee, fitter" Meas. II . 2. 17, " more
If now ' t were fit to do ' t . At the first sight skillfuller" Golding's Calvin,
Galatians, p. 222 b, "more
They have chang'd eyes. Delicate Ariel, calmer" Drayton's Barrons
I 'le set thee free for this. Warres II.68 ; so, likewise,
TO FERDINAND the superlative , e.g. " most
craftiest " Halle's Chronicle,
A word , good sir ;
Henry VIII , I. CONTROLL ,
I feare you have done your selfe some wrong:
' challenge,' ' dispute your
a word. claim,' cp. " That I would
controlle the cognizaunce of
MIRANDA
noble men " Skelton ( N. E. D.
Why speakes my father so ungently? This 3b) ; the word also means
Is the third man that ere I saw, the first ' rebuke ' in El.e. ¶440 fit,
'fitting, N.E. D. 2, cp. "the
That ere I sigh'd for : pitty move my father soft way, which thou dost con-
To be enclin'd my way! fesseWere fit for thee to use"
Cor. III. 2. 82. 441 Το
FERDINAND
"change eyes" is an EL. ex-
O , if a virgin , pression for exchanging am-
And orous glances, cp. " mingle
your affection not gone forth , I'le make
eyes" Ant. & Cl. III. 13. 156 ;
you แ" slicke flatterie and shee [i.e.
The Queene of Naples. self-love] Are twin borne sis-
ters, and so mix their eyes As
PROSPERO
if you sever one the other
Soft, sir ! one word more. dies " Jonson, Cynthia's Rev-
ASIDE ells 1.2 ; we still keep " eyes"
in this sense of ' amorous
They are both in eyther's pow'rs ; but this
glances' in the phrase ' make
swift busines eyes,' N. E. D. 5. DELICATE,
I must uneasie make , least too light winning subtle,'YOU
' skilful,'
HAVEas in v. 272.
DONE
443
Make the prize light . YOUR SELFE . . WRONG
TO FERDINAND seems to have been a con-
One word more ; I ventional phrase for ' you
are very much mistaken ' ;
charge thee
cp. "You wrong your selfe
That thou attend me : thou dost heere usurpe too much" Merry W. III. 3.
176, and "You do your
The name thou ow'st not ; and hast put thy
selfe mighty wrong, M.
selfe Ford " ibid. III. 3.221 . Pros-
Upon this island as a spy, to win it pero's words refer to Ferdi-
nand's statement, " my selfe
From me, the lord on 't.
am Naples" ; hence Miranda's
57
 THE TEMPEST

"ungently " that follows. 447 ENCLIN'D is a 16th-century spelling of ' inclined.' 449
SOFT ! a conventional EL. expression like MN. E. ' stop ! ' or ' wait !' The interjected aside
is necessary, that the audience may understand Prospero's motive. 450 BOTH IN
BYTHER'S POW'RS, ' each in the other's power ' ; " eyther" has a distributive use in EL. E.
corresponding to MN. E. 'the one or the other,' still preserved in ' on either side,' and out of
this use is to be explained such an idiom as "that curiosity [i.e. selfish exactness] in neither
can make choise of either's moity " Lear I. 1.6. This reciprocal use is here combined with
"both," which really means ' each of two taken together, cp. "with either of them both
['with either one of the two ' ] " North's Plutarch, p. 605. " Pow'rs " seems to be the com-
mon e. N. E. distributive plural, and not a misprint : the use of " either" with the plural is
not uncommon in e. N. E., -cp. " upon either feet they have five distinct claws " Topsell,
1608 (in N. E.D. I b), — and would not therefore be felt to be illogical. SWIFT often means
'rash,' ' quick,' in EL. E., and BUSINES ( if it does not mean ' eagerness,' a meaning cited
in N.E.D. as late as 1543) is more generally used in EL. E. than now. 451 UNEASIE ,
'difficult,' cp. " uneasy difficulties " Coles. LIGHT : Prospero's pun turns on the e. N.E.
use of "light " in the sense of ' easy,' N. E. D. 18 (still in use in ' light tasks,' etc. ), and in
the sense of ' cheap,' N.E. D. 13 b, which cites "all that sold light wares " Douay Version
of I Kings X. 15. $ 453 ATTEND, ' listen to,' a sense not archaic in Shakspere's time,
cp. N. E. D. I a, and " mine eares that have So long attended thee " Cym. 1.6.141 . 454
OW'ST, ' ownest,' cp. v. 407.
456 ON in its sense of
ACT I SCENE II 456-464
'of' is frequent in M. E. and
e. N. E.
FERDINAND
456 I AM was probably in- No, as I am a man .
tended to be contracted to
'I'm.' 457 ILL in e.N.E. MIRANDA
is used in all the senses of Ther's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple :
' evil,' of which it is a doublet
form. "Ther ' s nothing ill If the ill spirit have so fayre a house,
can dwell," etc., is usually ex- Good things will strive to dwell with ' t.
plained 'there is nothing ill PROSPERO
that can,' etc., but the idiom
TO FERDINAND
is rather equivalent to ' it is
not possible for anything ill Follow me .
to,' etc. FO.I places a comma TO MIRANDA
after "ill" and another after
"temple." 458 Miranda's Speake not you for him ; hee's a traitor.
words seem illogical : she first TO FERDINAND
says that an " ill spirit " (the
word is compounded in FO. I , Come ;
but probably incorrectly, as I ' le manacle thy necke and feet together :
the stress, " If the ill spirit," Sea water shalt thou drinke ; thy food shall be
shows) cannot dwell in the
house, and then that the good The fresh -brooke mussels , wither'd roots and
will strive to dwell with it if huskes
it dwells there ; but perhaps Wherein the acorne cradled. Follow.
we here have " if" used in the
sense of ' even though,' as it
is in " If sprites of their owne accorde woulde gladly tell us many thinges : yet wee must
not give eare unto them " citation dated 1572 in N.E.D. Miranda's notion seems to be
' evil [i.e. total depravity] cannot dwell in Ferdinand, for even though evil should gain a
temporary residence in him, good things would strive to dwell with it.' The notion of the
58
 THE TEMPEST

body being domicilium animae is also involved in Macb. II.3.72,74. Miranda's philosophy
is Platonic, cp. " Good, fair, and unity cannot be separated " Burton, III. I.i. 2. 459 In
FO.I FOLLOW ME ends p. 5 ; the catchword " Pro," instead of " speake," is appended,
and the continuation of the speech on the next page is headed " Pro." 460 SPEAKE NOT
YOU FOR HIM is the common imperative word order in e. N. E., cp. the EL. phrase " much
good do it you." 463 FRESH-BROOKE : the hyphen of FO. I is retained in the text because
the word seems to be a compound adjective like "fresh-water," taking primary stress on the
first part, with secondary on
the last. The word distin-
ACT I SCENE II 464-473
guishesthe uniofrom the " sea-
muskle, musculus marinus."
FERDINAND
No ; $ 465 ENTERTAINMENT,
'treatment,' a common EL.
I will resist such entertainment till
meaning of the word, N.E.D.
Mine enemy has more pow'r. 5 ; there may also be implied
HE DRAWES AND IS CHARMEd from mOVING in it the notion of ' service,'
' employment,' N. E. D. 2 , cp.
MIRANDA "He must thinke us some
O deere father, band of strangers i' th' adver-
saries entertainment " All'sW.
Make not too rash a triall of him, for IV. I. 16. 468 GENTLE is
Hee's gentle and not fearfull . here used in its commone.N.E.
PROSPERO meaning of ' nobly born ' ; cp.
What ? I say , "A gentleman, . . borne of a
gentle race" Alvearie, and
Myfoote mytutor? Put thy sword up, traitor ; Macb. IV. 3. 161. 'Ferdinand
Who mak'st a shew but dar'st not strike, thy is a gentleman and will fight'
is Miranda's warning to her
conscience
father. Many modern edi-
Is so possest withguilt. Come from thy ward, tors, overlooking " rash," read
"gentle" in its MN . sense,
For I can heere disarme thee with this sticke
giving the weak ' he ' s mild-
And make thy weapon drop. mannered and not terrible ' !
MIRANDA Wright's objection that Shak-
spere does not use the word
Beseech you , father. in its M. E. and e. N. E. sense
of ' nobly born ' is not well
taken in view of the Macbeth passage, and would amount to little in any case ; for the
meaning is a common one in Shakspere's time, and Shakspere uses hundreds of hapax
legomena. 469 MY FOOTE MY TUTOR seems to rest on the fable of the body and the
members. Malone cites a similar notion, from Lyly's Euphues (Arber, p. 261 ), that " the
foot should neglect his office [its duty] to correct the face " ; Nicholson, in ' Notes and
Queries' ( 1879), I , p. 363, cites from the first part of the ' Sermon against Wilful Rebel-
lion,' in ' Homilies to be Read in Churches,' Oxford, 1683 , p . 355 ( London, 1623 , p. 279),
a passage on the peril of subjects judging of the acts of princes, saying that such judge-
ment is " as though the foot must judge the head." He also cites, in ' Ñ. and Q.' ( 1883 ),
II , p. 242, a passage from Armin's Nest of Ninnies ( 1608, ed. Grosart), p. 56, "the braine
is now lodged in the foote, and thereupon comes it that many make their head their foote."
Wright cites " shew lord Timon that meane eyes have seene The foot above the head"
Timon I. 1.93 . Prospero means ' shall the baser part of him, fear, instruct the nobler parts,
his will and reason, and become his tutor?' " Pút thy swórd up " is common EL. stress, cp.
the note to "háng up thém " in Macb. IV. 2.58. 471 COME, FROM is the punctuation of
59
 THE TEMPEST

FO. I , but it seems to be an error ; N. E. D. does not give " from " in independent use meaning
'abandon.' Here "from" corresponds to MN. E. away from.' WARD, another form of
'guard,' means ' position of defence in fencing' ; in I Hen.4 11.4.215 Falstaff tells the prince,
"thou knowest my olde
ward." 473 beseechyou :
ACT I SCENE II 474-485
the phrase, like " pray thee,"
"prithee," is one of a group
of such in which, in M.E. and PROSPERO
e. N. E., the first person sub- Hence! hang not on my garments .
ject was omitted.
MIRANDA
474 HANG NOT, etc.: one Sir , have pity :
of the literary touches of the I 'le be his surety .
play representing the scene
to the reader. 476 SHALL : PROSPERO
the distinction of person in Silence ! One word more
the use of " shall " and " will "
to express futurity is a MN. Shall make me chide thee , if not hate thee.
one. 478 THERE IS : the What !
singular is now felt to be
ungrammatical in this idiom An advocate for an impostor ! Hush !
when the predicate is plural ; Thou think'st there is no more such shapes
but it is quite common in as he,
3.13. Having seene but him and Caliban : foolish
e. N. E., iscp.
SHAPE often usedIV.
Cor. in EL.E.
to connote masculine beauty. wench !
$ 480 TO, ' in comparison To th ' most of men this is a Caliban
with,' a frequent meaning of
the preposition in e. N. E., cp. And they to him are angels.
"impostors to true feare" MIRANDA
Macb. III. 4. 64. MOST, ' ma-
jority' : a substantive use of My affections
the word now rare. ዋ 481 Are then most humble ; I have no ambition
AFFECTIONS in e. N.E. often
To see a goodlier man.
means 'desires,' cp. " did min-
ister Untothe appetite and af- PROSPERO
fection common Of the whole TO FERDINAND
body" Cor. I. I. 107. ¶483 Come on ; obey :
" Goodly" is, of course, an
adjective (-ly = O . E. adj . suf- Thy nerves are in their infancy againe
fix -lic), and GOODLIER an And have no vigour in them .
e. N. E. normal form of the
comparative. 484 NERVES, ' muscles,' or ' sinews,' as in Macb. III.4. 102, where Mac-
beth says, "my firme nerves shall never tremble."

¶ 486 AS IN A DREAME : to understand Shakspere's psychology, cp. ' sleep is a binding

of the outward senses... The phantasy alone is free, and his commander reason, as ap-
pears by those imaginary dreams... This ligation of the senses proceeds from an inhibi-
เ
tion of spirits, the way being stopped by which they should come ' Burton, Anatomy of
Melancholy' I. I. ii. 7. BOUND UP : "bind " has an e. N.E. meaning, ' stop the flow of,'
still met with in poetry, as well as the meaning ' confined,'- cp. Macb. III.4.24,-so the
word is peculiarly appropriate here. " Up " has, of course, its common phrasal meaning of
'completely.' 487 WEAKNESSE : like Hamlet (cp. " Out of my weaknesse and my
60

1
 THE TEMPEST

melancholly .. Abuses me to damne me " Ham. II.2.630), Ferdinand is overcome by a sense

of his own loneliness and helplessness. 488, 489 NOR in EL. E. is sometimes used before
the last only of a group of notions, being understood with the others : EL. syntax often nega-
tives the subject or object rather than the predicate, cp. v. 419, Sonn. CXLII, 9 and " fitter time
nor place you can have" Sid-
ney'sArcadia, p.43. BUTmay
ACT I SCENE II 485-493 mean ' only,' as well as ' not
otherwise than,' in EL. E.;
FERDINAND Shakspere seems to have here
So they are ; combined these two meanings
in an EL. zeugmatic idiom ,
My spirits, as in a dreame , are all bound up. cp. Macb. 1. 3. 144 : 'my fa-
My father's losse, the weaknesse which I ther's loss, my loneliness ,
and the wreck of my friends
feele,
are mere light burdens to me ;
The wracke of all my friends , nor this man's and even this man's threats
threats would not be of much moment
to me, if I might,' etc. TO ..
To whom I am subdude , are but light to me,
SUBDUDE, ' whose estimate
Might I but through my prison once a day of me I am forced to accept,'
cp. "Her infinite cunning
Behold this mayd : all corners else o ' th ' earth [Walker's conjecture for FO.
Let liberty make use of ; space enough I's "insuite comming"] •
Have I in such a prison . Subdu'd me to her rate [i.e.
brought me down to her
price] " All's W. v.3.216. The rhythm seems to be, " áre büt light tó mé " ; but perhaps
"subdude " was intended to be stressed as it is in Oth. V. 2.348 , and we should read, “ To
whóm I'm súbdűde." 490 MIGHT :,the sequence ARE .. MIGHT is difficult. It may
be that the comma after ME in FO. I is a mistake for a full stop -a kind of error common
in FO. I and the colon
after MAYD the light point.
ACT I SCENE II 493-495
But if the text is rightly
pointed, ARE must be equiva-
PROSPERO lent to the MN . E. subjunc-
ASIDE TO ARIEL tive, i.e. are now and would
It workes. be,' and the syntax is like
that in II. I.279 and IV . I. II .
TO FERDINAND Shakspere evidently recalled
Come on. the passage, in Chaucer's
Knightes Tale, A 1230, where
ASIDE TO ARIEL Arcite says that if he were in
Thou hast done well , fine Ariell ! prison now,"Oonly the sighte
of hir whom that I serue,
TO FERDINAND
Though that I neuer hir grace
Follow me . may deserue, Wolde han suf-
ASIDE TO ARIEL ficed right ynough for me."
491 ALL CORNERS, ' every
Harke what thou else shalt do mee. quarter,' cp. "All mistes and
fogges of ignoraunce may be
driven away out of all the corners of this kingdome " (N. E. D. 7). 492 MAKE USE OF in
EL. E. meant also ' to derive advantage from ,' cp. "Can you make no use of your discon-
tent?" Ado 1.3.40. ' Let freedom have the advantage of every corner of the earth ' is Fer-
dinand's thought. 495 MEE, ' for me ' : the e. N. E. dative.
61
 THE TEMPEST

$ 496 NATURE is commonly ACT I SCENE II 495-501

used in EL. E. in a sense cor-
responding to MN. E. ' dispo- MIRANDA
sition.' 497 BY SPEECH ,
'judging from his manner of Be of comfort ;
speaking,' cp. "howsoever it
My father's of a better nature, sir,
[i.e. the fear of God] seemes
not in him by some large Then he appeares by speech : this is unwonted
jeasts hee will make " Ado II. Which now came from him.
3.205; the phrase does not
PROSPERO
need the pronoun " his " : cp.
"slowin speech" Tam.of Shr. TO ARIEL
II. I.248, "tax'd for speech" Thou shalt be as free
All's W. I. I. 77 , "his deeds
As mountaine windes : but then exactly do
exceed all speech " I Hen.6
1.1.15. THIS : sc. ' speech,' All points of my command .
i.e. way of speaking. UN- ARIELL
WONTED, ' unusual ' : in MN.
E. the word is confined to To th ' syllable.
attributive usage. T 499 BUT PROSPERO
THEN, ' but if that is to be the TO FERDINAND
case,' cp. the second "then " Come, follo . w
in "He is then a giant to an
TO MIRANDA
ape ; but then [ i.e. if a man
leaves off his wit] is an ape a Spea ke not for him.
doctor to such a man " Ado v. EXEUNT
1.205. DO .. COMMAND ,
'execute .. orders,' cp. " does not all commands " Cym. V. 1.6. 500 SYLLABLE in EL.E.
is used to denote the minutest detail, cp. "even to the utmost syllable " All ' s W. III.6.74.

The first act of The Tempest gives us the groundwork of the story. The first scene brings
the actors of the play into the charmed circle of Prospero's ' prevision ' ; the second dis-
pels the notion of impending tragedy which the first gives us with the assurance that the
action will end happily (will be a comedy in the EL. sense of the word) through the ' pro-
vision ' of Prospero's art. The assurance leads naturally to the story of Prospero and
of Ariel's and Caliban's servitude, the one naturally making for good in Prospero's hands,
the other naturally working for evil, but overruled by the higher good. After this narrative
the action resumes with v. 308. Prospero begins to work on the material which fate has
thrown into his hands, and first upon Ferdinand. Love magic and book magic here deli-
cately blend in a spell that shall abide when the fabric of the unsubstantial drama shall have
4
faded and Prospero's art shall be all overthrown.
The second act deals with the King of Naples and his courtiers, and its first threat of
evil is brought to naught on the edge of a tragic event by the good angel of Prospero. A
second menace, however, arises from Caliban and the drunken retainers : this is left un-
checked until the middle of Act IV.

62
 THE TEMPEST

THE SECOND ACT

SCENE I : ANOTHER PART OF THE ISLAND

ENTER ALONSO SEBASTIAN ANTHONIO GONZALO ADRIAN
FRANCISCO AND OTHERS

I - II
GONZALO

ESEECH you, sir, be merry ; you have cause,

So have we all, of joy ; for our escape

Is much beyond our losse. Our hint of woe

Is common ; every day some saylor's wife ,
The masters of some merchant, and the merchant
Have just our theame of woe ; but for the miracle,
I meane our preservation, few in millions
B Can speake like us : then wisely, good sir, weigh
Our sorrow with our comfort.
ALONSO
I BESEECH YOU , SIR, cp.
Prethee, peace.
1.2.473 . Gonzalo is a sort of
SEBASTIAN Polonius, full of wise saws
and modern instances, a type
He receives comfort like cold porredge.
of intellectual respectability
ANTHONIO which seems to have been
particularly exasperating to
The visitor will not give him ore so. Shakspere. 2 SO HAVE
WE ALL: similar parentheses
occurin Ant.&Cl. III. 12.27, " promise,And in our name, what she requires ; adde more, From
thine invention, offers." 3 HINT has here its EL. meaning of occasion,"' cause,' and" hint
of woe," ' occasion for sorrow,' is parallel to " cause .. of joy " above. 4 COMMON,
'general.' 5 MASTERS, ' captain and officers,' cp. note to I.1.2 . MERCHANT, ' mer-
chantvessel,' cp. " conveyed like a ship-boy in a merchant " Ford, ' Lover's Melancholy ' II . I ,
and "Christian merchants that with Russian stems plough up huge furrows in the Caspian
" Marlowe's Tamburlaine, First Part, 1.2. The word is used the second time in its
sense of ' trader,' or, perhaps, of ' supercargo,' which was also one of its meanings in
Shakspere's time. T6 THEAME OF WOE, i.e. loss of sailors, vessel, and cargo. Such
iterations as "hint of woe,'," "theame of woe," are so common in EL. literature as scarcely
to deserve remark, however offensive they may be to modern ears. 10 The passage
which follows, as far as v. 106, save for vv. 16 and 17, is in prose. Pope thought it an
interpolation, but subsequent editors have, for the most part, defended it. Besides giving
us the cause of the voyage to Tunis, and revealing the shallow natures of the courtiers
to prepare us for the conspiracy which follows, the court wit of this passage complements
the low humour of the subsequent scene, which is undoubtedly Shakspere's. It must not
be forgotten that such sallies as those of Sebastian and Anthonio were especially accept-
63
 THE TEMPEST

able to EL. audiences, though distasteful to us, as the countless similar contests of wit
in EL. plays bear witness ; and to jest on the serious aspects of life was one of the com-
mon characteristics of the EL. gentleman. LIKE COLD PORREDGE, i.e. without thanks :
' porredge " in Shakspere's time meant ' broth ' or ' pottage,' cp. Sherwood -Cotgrave,
porrage, voyez pottage" ; the expression was proverbial. II VISITOR : the refer-
ence seems to be to a ' visitor' whose duty it was to console the afflicted during the
plague. GIVE ORE is used
in its EL. sense of ' desert,'
ACT II SCENE I 12-24
N.E. D. 'give' 63 c.; cp. "to
give you over at this first
encounter" Tam. of Shr. I.2. SEBASTIAN
105.
Looke, hee's winding up the watch of his wit ;
12 In Shakspere's time by and by it will strike .
WATCH was the name of a GONZALO
clock as well as of what we
Sir,-
call a watch, cp. L.L.L. III.
I. 192, 194. Gonzalo is ob- SEBASTIAN
viously planning the artificial One : tell.
speech that follows. 13 BY
GONZALO
AND BY, ' immediately,' not
our MN. meaning. ¶ 15 TELL When every greefe is entertain'd that's of-
originally means 'count':
fer'd,
here it seems to mean ' note
the time,' cp. "Tell the clocke Comes to th' entertainer-
there " Rich.3 v. 3. 276 (the SEBASTIAN
stage direction is " clocke
A dollor.
strikes "). 16 Gonzalo's
use of the common EL. in- GONZALO
verted predicate- subject idi- Dolour comes to him, indeed : you have
om gives Sebastian the oppor-
tunity for his jest. GREEFE spoken truer then you purpos'd.
as late as the 18th century
SEBASTIAN
still retained a M. E. form,
"gref" (pronounced ' grafe '). You have taken it wiselier then I meant you
It is likely, therefore, that should.
Sebastian's jest turns on the
GONZALO
similarity between this and
graf, a German count,' which Therefore, my lord-
in EL. E. was "greve " or ANTHONIO
"grave" : Minsheu gives
"greeve" and says that " in Fie, what a spend-thrift is he of his tongue !
the Low Dutch country they
call [use the term ?] graves " ; Phillips has "greve or grave, a word of authority among the
Low Dutch signifying as much as Lord or Governor." 17 ENTERTAINER is a com-
mon EL. word for ' host.' 18 DOLLOR is glossed in EL. dictionaries as a Dutch coin,
cp. Coles ; Holyoke gives the " Lions dollar of the Low Countries" as being a silver coin
worth four shillings English. 19 Gonzalo's reply turns upon the identity in EL. E. of
"dollor " and "dolour," as the 17th-century spelling of "dollor " and the still current pro-
nunciation of "dolour " with an open o show. " Dolour" was sounded with a short vowel
in Shakspere's time. In Lear II.4.54 the fool says, "thou shalt have as many dolors for
thy daughters as thou canst tell in a yeare," and Coles gives " dollar " and "dolour "
among words which agree in sound but have different spellings. So with " collar," " colour,"
64
 THE TEMPEST

and "choler," cp. Tw.N.1.5.6. " Dolour" means ' resentment,' ' anger,' in EL. E., and that
is probably the application Gonzalo intends below. 21 WISELIER, the regular form ofthe
comparative of such adverbs in EL.E. 23 MY LORD is of course addressed to the king.

$ 25 SPARE intransitively used for ' keep quiet,' cp. " tell him and spare not " Rich.3 1 .
3.114. 27 HE will be talkING , ' he cannot stop talking,' cp. "you'll be daring
still" Jonson, Cynthia's Rev-
ells ' 1.1. The phrase had
ACT II SCENE I 25-33 also a bad sense and meant
' he's always babbling,' cp.
ALONSO Ado III.5.36. 28 WHICH,
OF HE OR ADRIAN : the
I pre-thee, spare.
same idiom is used in Mids.
GONZALO
III.2.336, " try whose right
Well, I have done : but yet,- Of thine or mine is most in
Helena" (cited by Staunton),
SEBASTIAN
and in Sidney's Arcadia 1.75,
He will be talking. "but the question arising who
should be the former against
ANTHONIO
[i.e. take precedence in fight-
Which, of he or Adrian , for a good wager, ing ] Phalantus , of the blacke
or the ill apparelled knight,
first begins to crow?
.. of [i.e. by ] the one side
SEBASTIAN
was [i.e. there was ] alleged,"
The old cocke. etc. (cited in reference to this
passage by Lettsom). The
ANTHONIO
idiom was evidently felt to
The cockrell . be appositive, not partitive,
SEBASTIAN hence the ungrammatical but
really logical nominative case
Done . The wager? following "of," cp. Macb.
ANTHONIO III.4. 14. The GOOD WAGER
implies that the stake was of
A laughter. some value. 30 THE OLD
COCKE, etc., cp. " As the old
cocke of Canturburie did crow in this behalfe, so the yoong cockerels of other sees did
imitate his demeanor " Harrison's England, ed. Furnivall, I , p.9. 33 A LAUGHTER is
EL.E. corresponding to MN. E. ' a laugh,' N.E.D. I b, or ' a subject for laughter.' This is
evidently the sense in which the word is construed in v.37 ; but as this construction seems
to have been an unexpected one, there must also have been a sense of the word which
would naturally fit with " good wager " to give point to the jest. There is an EL. word
'laughter or lawter,' meaning ' a setting of eggs, which may have been suggested by the
words ' cock ' and ' cockrell. " Laughter " may have been, however, a current cant term
for some coin or other, record of which has been lost. Foreign money was largely current
in EL. England (cp. the Low-Country " dollar" above). Harrison gives a list of these
coins, but admits that it is but a brief one, in his England ; other tables of moneys are
found in Cooper, Thomas, and Holyoke (the last very incomplete). But none of these
contain a word that would give point to a pun here ; nor do the cant terms for coins, like
"bord" and "tester " (cp. MN. E. ' bob ' for ' shilling,' or ' tanner ' for ' sixpence '), include
any word like ' latter,' or ' lawter,' or ' Lothar,' or 'lotter,' or ' lofter,' or ' lafter,' any one
of which would answer, for in the 16th and the early 17th century " laughter" still pre-
served its normal M.E. form which we represent in our MN. spelling, and in this the gh
was silent or only slightly spirantal in Shakspere's time : the gh = fis a dialect form current
65
 THE TEMPEST

in EL. E. and afterward made standard . While we may have here some such pun as would
be the use of " bord " with its EL. E. meaning of ' shilling,' but with the double sense of
'jest,' 'joke,' at present we shall have to be content with ' lawter' as ' a setting of eggs.'

34 MATCH is the ordinary EL. word for a ' bet' ; in Tam. of Shr. V.2.69 ff., Hortensio
asks,"What's the wager?" Lucentio answers, " Twentie crownes." Petruchio says that
is too little, and Lucentio
raises it to a hundred. Hor-
tensio says, "Content," and ACT II SCENE I 34-45
Petruchio, " A match, 't is
done." 35 DESERT , pro- SEBASTIAN
nounced ' desart,' is an ad- A match !
jective meaning'uninhabited'
ADRIAN
in EL. E., see N. E.D. ¶ 36
FO.I gives HA, HA, HA ! to Though this island seeme to be desert ,—
Sebastian and SO YOU'R
SEBASTIAN
PAID to Anthonio : but it is
Anthonio who has bet on Ha , ha , ha ! Anthonio ! So you'r paid.
Adrian and must be paid, and ADRIAN
Sebastian says the laughis on
him and Anthonio is there- Uninhabitable and almost inaccessible , —
fore paid his wager. Theobald
SEBASTIAN
gives 'Seb. Ha, ha, ha ! So,
you're paid,' and is followed Yet ,-
by the Cambridge Text ; but ADRIAN
if we assume that the line
originally stood as in the text, Yet,-
we get an easy explanation ANTHONIO
of the FO.'S confusion. ¶ 40
He could not misse 't.
The point of Anthonio's re-
mark lies either in the fact ADRIAN .
that "yet" was a word that
It must needs be of subtle, tender and deli-
Adrian could not get along
without after once having cate temperance.
used "though," or in the fact ANTHONIO
that he has called "almost
inaccessible" an island that "Temperance was a delicate wench . "
it was impossible for them to SEBASTIAN
avoid. The latter seems more
I , and a subtle ; as he most learnedly de-
in keeping with what follows.
41 SUBTLE, ' nice,'' exact,' liver'd.
cp. "subtle-potent [ i.e. having
its force exactly adjusted] " Tr.& Cr. III . 2. 25. TENDER, ' mild,' used of the air also in
Cym . V.5.437 , and there explained by " mollis aer." DELICATE, ' charming,' ' delightful,'
N.E.D.CI ; cp. "The ayre is delicate " Macb. I. 6. 10, and the citation from Dampier's Voy-
ages, 1697 , " though a delicate, fruitful island. " 42 Coles gives TEMPERANCE as hav-
ing the same meaning as ' temperament.' This latter word in EL. E. primarily denotes the
right and proportionate tempering of the four humours, fire, earth, air, and water. ዋ 43
Anthonio mocks Adrian with what sounds like the first line of a popular song (" delicate "
being often syncopated in EL. E. to ' del'cate ' ) such as " Greensleaves was all my joy."
The use of such personal names as Charity, Temperance, etc., by women not worthy to
bear them seems to be alluded to by Taylor (cited by Schmidt), " Though bad they be
they will not bate an ace To be called Prudence, Temperance, Faith, or Grace." DELI-
66
 THE TEMPEST

CATE has so many meanings in EL. E. that it is hard to fix the point of Anthonio's jest.
It is possible that the citation dated 1613 in N. E.D. 2b, " delicate, daintie, given to plea-
sure," contains the shade of meaning that the song intended ; other meanings are ' fas-
tidious ' N. E.D. 5, ' ingenious ' N.E. D. II , and ' modest ' N. E. D. 12. WENCH is probably
here used in the opprobrious sense which it had already acquired in M. E. ¶44 SUB-
TLE has here, of course, its
sense of ' crafty.' DELIV-
ACT II SCENE I 46-60
ER'D, ' explained,' ' set forth,'
N.E.D.II.
ADRIAN
46 BREATHES was the
The ayre breathes upon us here most sweetly.
SEBASTIAN regular EL. term for the gentle
movements of the air, cp.
As if it had lungs and rotten ones. "when a mild gale breatheth
ANTHONIO (a gentle coole aire puffeth) it
cherishes us" Janua 55, and
Or as ' t were perfum'd by a fen. "the heaven's breath Smells
GONZALO wooingly here " Macb. 1.6.5 ,
but Sebastian gives the word
Heere is every thing advantageous to life . its literal meaning. 48 AS
ANTHONIO is EL. idiom corresponding to
True ; save meanes to live. MN. E. 'as if.' FEN is possi-
bly 'dung-heap ,' cp.1.2.322,
SEBASTIAN and " stinkis like ony fen"
Of that there's none , or little. Stewart's Chronicle III. 440
(N.E.D.). 52 LUSH : Malone
GONZALO
cited "Then green and voyd
How lush and lusty the grasse lookes ! How of strength and lush and
foggy is the blade And cheeres
greene ! the husbandman with hope"
ANTHONIO Golding's Ovid, Metamor-
The ground indeed is tawny. phoses, V (ed. 1567), p. 189 b,
and glossed it ' juicy,' ' suc-
SEBASTIAN
culent.' " Lush and foggy
With an eye of greene in 't. [ ' spongy "] " translates turget
et insolida est. The word is
ANTHONIO
rare. LUSTY, ' vigorous,' still
He misses not much. in use, but usually applied to
SEBASTIAN persons. 54 INDEED is
used in its e. N. E. sense and
No ; he doth but mistake the truth totally.
is almost equivalent to ' on
GONZALO the contrary,' N. E. D. 2 b.
55 WITH AN EYE OF
But the rarity of it is , -which is indeed al- GREENE IN ' T : Sebastian
most beyond credit, — takes "ground " in its sense
SEBASTIAN of 'background,' ' body-color."
As many voucht rarities are. "Eye " is ' tinge,' a common
EL. meaning, and Sebastian
seems also to glance at its
sense of ' spot,' N. E. D. 12 , as he does at the meaning of ' credulous, ' ' gullible,' which
"greene" bore in EL. E. 56 MISSES NOT : ' does not leave out ' is probably Anthonio's
meaning, but Sebastian quibbles in the sense of ' does not hit ' (cp. " you misse my sense"
Tam. of Shr. V.2.18), and hence his " mistake the truth," cp. "thy false dart Mistakes
67
 THE TEMPEST

that aime" V.&A. 941 . 58 RARITY, ' strangeness ' : FO. I here and below spells "rari-
ety," but elsewhere " rarity." Sebastian takes the word in the sense of ' freak,' cp. " Or
is 't a raritie or some object new" Jonson, " Cynthia's Revells ' 1. 5. 60 VOUCHT, the
ordinary EL. word for ' guar-
anteed, ' warranted.'
ACT II SCENE I 61-80
63 FRESHNESSE has been
taken as an inflectionless GONZALO
plural by some editors, and That our garments , being, as they were,
GLOSSES as a mistake for
drencht in the sea , hold notwithstanding their
the singular by others ; but
"freshnesse " is a collective freshnesse and glosses, being rather new
attribute, and " glosses " (ie. dy'de then stain'd with salte water.
the various lustrous colours)
a distributive one, and nat- ANTHONIO
urally in EL. E. plural, cp.
If but one of his pockets could speake, would
e.g. "Revenges burne in them"
Macb. V.2.3. 967 FALSELY it not say he lyes ?
POCKET UP , ' wickedly keep SEBASTIAN
silent about, cp . " Patience I , or very falsely pocket up his report.
hath trained me to pocket up..
GONZALO
heinous indignities " Gabriel
Harvey (in Čent. Dict. ) ; cp.
Me thinkes our garments are now as fresh as
also John III.1.200. The
same jest occurs in Hen.5 when we put them on first in Affricke , at the
III.2.54, " which makes much marriage of the king's faire daughter Claribel
against my manhood, if I
should take from another's to the King of Tunis.
pocket to put into mine ; for SEBASTIAN
it is plaine pocketting up of 'Twas a sweet marriage , and we prosper well
wrongs." REPORT, ' state-
ment,' as in Macb. 1.5.3 . The in our returne.
whole jest is probably a vulgar ADRIAN
one, turning on " lyes" as well
as on "pocket," and involv- Tunis was never grac'd before with such a
ing some lost sense of the paragon to their queene.
word, cp. Macb. II . 3.44. ¶ 69 GONZALO
AFFRICKE is the e.N.E. form
Not since widdow Dido's time.
of Africa, cp. Coles, "Africk,
the fourth part of the world, ANTHONIO
Africa." This is the M.E.
form based upon the Old Widow ! A pox o' that ! How came that wid-
French (O. FR.), and still pre- dow in ? Widdow Dido !
served in the well-known SEBASTIAN
hymn, 'Where Afric's sunny
fountains.' MN.E., as in so What if he had said ' Widdower Æneas ' too ?
many cases, has substituted Good lord, how you take it !
the Latin form for the his-
torically correct English one, as the latter appeared to be an undignified shortening ; so
for "Colosse," " Atride " (two syllables), " Esculape," etc. , we have substituted the classic
words ; we still retain " Horace," " Vergil," and " Ovid," but we have lost " Tully." 75
TO, ' for' : a common EL. idiom still preserved in Bible English. 78 WIDDOW DIDO, in
allusion to the ballad of ' Queen Dido,' which ' ale knights sing over a cup,' cp. 'Jack of
68
 THE TEMPEST

Dover,' p. 44, Percy Ballads III . 193. There is no mention of the marriage in the ballad.
$ 79 WIDDOWER ÆNEAS : it is " Eneas, wandering prince of Troy" in the ballad. 80
TAKE IT, i.e. construe it, as
above, v. 21 , possibly with a
ACT II SCENE I 81-99 reference tothe sense of " take
it " in such phrases as " take
ADRIAN it in snuff."
'Widdow Dido ' said you ? You make me study
82 OF,'concerning,' N.E.D.
of that : she was of Carthage, not of Tunis. 26. 83 Gonzalo's explana-
GONZALO tion is 'This modern Tunis
corresponds to ancient Car-
This Tunis, sir, was Carthage.
thage ' ; Purchas says : "Tunis
ADRIAN is now a great citie since the
Carthage ? ruines of Carthage neere unto
which it standeth " (cited by
GONZALO
Wright, p. 602). 86 Antho-
I assure you, Carthage. nio's allusion is to Amphion,
ANTHONIO who "was so cunning a musi-
tian that as he played on his
His word is more then the miraculous harpe. lute, which Mercurius gave
SEBASTIAN him, the stones that builded
Thebes followed him to the
He hath rais'd the wall and houses too.
place where they should be
ANTHONIO laid " Holyoke, 1677. MORE,
in M.E.and e.N.E. often mean-
What impossible matter wil he make easy ing 'more potent.' 92 An-
next ? thonio alludes to Cadmus , the
SEBASTIAN other builder of Thebes, who
sowed dragons' teeth in the
I thinke hee will carry this island home in his earth and brought forth armed
pocket and give it his sonne for an apple. men. 94 Many editors give
the word I to Alonso, explain-
ANTHONIO
ing it as an indication of the
And, sowing the kernels of it in the sea, bring king's grief ; but this exclama-
forth more islands. tion of grief is spelled "ey,"
"ay," in EL. E., not "I." De-
GONZALO lius takes it as an ironical
I— reply of Gonzalo's to the
courtier's wit. But it seems
ANTHONIO
rather to be the preliminary of
Why, in good time !— Gonzalo's speech to the king
GONZALO that follows : ' Aye, sir, we
were,' etc.: see N. E. D. 2 a.
Sir, we were talking that our garments seeme Anthonio interrupts him with
now as fresh as when we were at Tunis at the WHY, IN GOOD TIME, a con-
ventional EL. exclamation
marriage of your daughter , who is now queene. corresponding to MN.E. ' In-
ANTHONIO deed !' but ironically spoken
And the rarest that ere came there. and implying 'It's time you
were returning to the object
ofyour consolation.' EL. dictionaries gloss the phrase " opportune," and Cotgrave parallels
it with "à la bonne heure " ; in Wint. T. IV. 4. 162 Dorcas says " Marry, garlick to mend her
69
 THE TEMPEST

kissing with." Mopsa answers, " Now, in good time ! " (i.e. ' Indeed ! ') ; so in Err. II . 2.57
Dromio of Syracuse says, " I thinke the meat wants that I have." Antipholus of Syracuse
asks, " In good time, sir, what's that?" 96 EL. TALK has the sense of MN. E. ' say'
also in the phrase " I'le talke a word " Lear III.4.162 ; here the notion seems to be ' con-
verse,' -' we were conversing about our garments seeming.' The idiom does not occur
elsewhere in Shakspere. 99 Anthonio's mock at Gonzalo's ' paragon ' seems to imply
some bitterness toward the
princess. Perhaps a suit for
ACT II SCENE I 100-113
her hand had played a part
in his ambitious schemes.
SEBASTIAN

¶ 100 BATE, ' leave out of Bate , I beseech you , widdow Dido.
count,' cp. " For bate reward,
ANTHONIO
who will at vertue aime ?"
Stapleton, 1647 (in N. E. D.7). O, widdow Dido ! I , widdow Dido.
103 SORT : cp. "Am I your GONZALO
selfe But as it were in sort or
limitation ?" Cæs. II . I. 282. Is not, sir, my doublet as fresh as the first day
104 FISH'D FOR seems I wore it ? I meane , in a sort.
to have its meaning of ' ob-
ANTHONIO
tained by artifice,' N. E. D. 3,
and " sort" to be taken in its That sort was well fish'd for.
EL. sense of ' lot,' ' chance ' ; GONZALO
Anthonio means that the
qualification is happy. But When I wore it at your daughter's marriage ?
there seems to be more in the ALONSO
jest than this : ' fish for aces,'
used in the game of com- You cram these words into mine eares against
merce, occurs in a citation in The stomacke of my sense . Would I had
N.E. D. 3, dated 1806 ; it is
never
possible that "fish'd for" was
a card-playing term in Shak- Married my daughter there ! For, comming
spere's time, no record of
thence,
which has been preserved ;
"sort (suit) par" occurs in My sonne is lost and, in my rate, she too,
Coles : "fishing for a sort" Who is so farre from Italy removed
may therefore be drawing for
a 'doublet ' or pair. 105 I ne're againe shall see her. O thou mine
Gonzalo's tactless insistence heire
upon the cause ofall their mis-
fortune-"your daughter's Of Naples and of Millaine , what strange fish
Hath made his meale on thee ?
marriage " -gives the scene
an intensely human repre-
sentative interest as well as pathos. 107 SENSE, ' attention ' : Alonso speaks in terms
of EL. psychology, cp. ' This common sense is the judge or moderator of the rest . . for
by mine eye I do not know that I see, or by mine ear that I hear, but by my common
sense' Burton I. I.ii. 7. Ås the stomach will not take distasteful food unless it is crammed
into it, so Alonso does not know that he hears anything save by Gonzalo's forcing sound on
his attention. Cp . "her eyes are open .. but their sense are shut " Macb. V. I. 28, and also
Ham. III . 4.71 , IV. 5. 155. ¶ 109 RATE, ' opinion,' cp. I. 2. 92. 110 WHO, ' for she,'
the connective-relative idiom. III Ferdinand - at least, Shakspere's Ferdinand-
was heir to the duchy of Milan as well as to the kingdom of Naples, so that the young
prince is the heir of the usurping duke, as Miranda is of the rightful one.
70
 THE TEMPEST

113 ff. Francisco plays so little part in The Tempest that one editor is for taking him
out altogether and giving this speech to Gonzalo, and his words in III.3.40 to Anthonio ;
but it must not be forgotten that Shakspere's plays are for the eye as well as for the ear ;
Sebastian and Anthonio, Gonzalo and Adrian, are grouped, so that Francisco, with his
interest in Ferdinand, vaguely suggests such a relation as is common in life, -that of an
important member of a group of persons who does not happen to be involved in their inter-
action on one another. So Rosse and Angus are both in Macb. I.2.44, though Angus does
not say a word in the action, and many editors remove him altogether. The language of
the passage is full of the highly
wrought imagery so often
ACT II SCENE I 113-127
found in Shakspere ; modern
critics, with an æsthetic sen-
FRANCISCO timent and æsthetic norms
Sir, he may live : different from those of EL.
England, often assume that
I saw him beate the surges under him, such passages are spurious,
And ride upon their backes ; he trod the water, and this is no exception. The
rhythm here, however, is ad-
Whose enmity he flung aside, and brested
mirably representative of the
The surge most swolne that met him ; his scene : the beating the surges
bold head under, the treading of water,
thedashingaside of foam from
' Bove the contentious waves he kept, and
the wave crest, the breasting
oared "The súrge most swólne that
mét him,"-there is a dash of
Himselfe with his good armes in lusty stroke water in the face in the " met
To th' shore, that ore his wave-worne basis him," the " bold héad " per-
bowed, sistently rising, the strong
strokes in " and oáred Him-
As stooping to releeve him : I not doubt
sélfe with his good ármes in
He came alive to land . lústy stroke To th' shore,"
ALONSO with its long shoot of atten-
tion stress -all these phrases
No, no, hee's gone. have in them the motion of
SEBASTIAN the strongswimmer who loves
the sea and moves as a part
Sir , you may thank your selfe for this great
of its rhythm . 113 MAY,
losse, ' it is possible that,' the EL.
That would not blesse our Europe with your meaning of the auxiliary ; to
convey this shade of mean-
daughter, ing in MN . E. the word must
But rather loose her to an Affrican ; be heavily stressed. 117
SURGE MOST SWOLNE
Where she at least is banish'd from your eye,
THAT is common EL.word or-
Who hath cause to wet the greefe on 't. der. 120 HIS, ' its.' BASIS,
'the foot of the cliff,' N. E. D.:
the word is now archaic in this sense. BOWED, ' inclined,' cp. "The toppe of mount Peor
that boweth toward the wilderness " Coverdale's version of Numbers XXIII . 28 ( in N.E.D. 3 ).
¶ 121 RELEEVE in M.E. means ' to lift up,' and in EL. E. ' to succour,' cp. " secourir, to
succour, second, relieve, comfort " Cotgrave. There is therefore no ground for suspecting
a misprint for ' receives.' 123 Sebastian's brotherly ' I told you so ' reflects an earlier
interest connected with Claribel's marriage. ¶ 125 LOOSE is the EL. form of ' lose,' with
voiceless s , -cp. note to Macb. 1.5. 13 , —but Sebastian probably intends also the meaning
71
 THE TEMPEST

of Polonius's " loose " in " I'le loose my daughter to him" Ham. II.2.162. 126 EYE ,
' sight,' or ' face,' as frequently in EL. E. 127 The antecedent of WHO seems to be implied
in " your." It may, however, be " eye," as ' who ' sometimes has a neuter antecedent in
EL. E.; cp. III . 3.62. WET is probably used in the sense of ' moisten with tears,' cp. " And
wet his grave with my repentant teares " Rich.3 1.2.216 ; but this meaning has not been
quite satisfactory to modern editors, who have proposed ' whet ' and ' weigh' ; ' wite ' (M.E.
"wite," with probably an archaic pronunciation ' weet ' ), meaning to ' censure,' ' find fault
with,' was still in archaic use in Shakspere's time, and if the text is to be changed " weet "
would give good sense with the minimum of alteration. GREEFE may mean ' hardship,'
' suffering,' in EL.E., N. E. D. I , or ' injury done by another,' N.E. D. 2. ON 'T may mean
'occasioned by your banish-
ment,' or ' on your face,' ' if
ACT II SCENE I 127-135
she could see it ' being im-
plied. Either construction
makes good sense. ALONSO
Pre-thee, peace.
128 Sebastian goes onwith
SEBASTIAN
a wilful cruelty quite different
from the stupidity of the other You were kneel'd too and importun'd other-
Job's comforter. YOU WERE : wise
the EL. contraction ' you're'
-cp. Macb. I. 2. 15 - was By all of us, and the faire soule her selfe
probably intended. TOO, the Waigh'd betweene loathnesse and obedience
EL. spelling of ' to.' IMPÓR-
at
TUNE still retains this stress
beside the later ' importúne .' Which end o' th ' beame should bow. We
¶ 130 WAIGH'D can be either have lost your son ,
participle or past tense, but is
probably the latter ; the word I feare, for ever : Millaine and Naples have
is used in e.N.E. in the sense Mowiddowes in them ofthis businesse making
of ' consider,' ' deliberate,'
cp. "weigh what convenience Then we bring men to comfort them :
both of time and meanes May The fault's your owne .
fit us to our shape " Ham.IV. ALONSO
7.150. AT probably goes with
44 So is the deer'st o' th ' losse.
waigh," introducing the oc-
casion or cause, a range of
meaning much wider in EL. than in MN. E. and due to the notion of hesitancy in the verb,
'pondered over which end.' 131 SHOULD was taken by Malone as an error for ' she 'ld,'
and many modern editors follow him ; others read ' the ' for O' TH', following Rowe ; others
explain " should bow" as having " she " for its subject, the subject of the dependant clause
being frequently omitted in M. E. and e. N. E.; cp. " And from her eyes do dart such golden
6
beames that holds [i.e. she holds] my hart in her subjection " Faire Em ' 1.4. 19 ; with this
construction, "bow" must mean yield,' as the verb is not used intransitively in the sense
of ' incline,' and " at which end " becomes awkward. All things considered, it is better to
take " waigh'd .. at " together. 133 MO, the e.N.E. form of ' more ' with the partitive
4
genitive. BUSINESSE, the genitive without s : cp. " The Marquesse resolution " Patient
Grisel,' 1619, Percy Soc. , p. 17 ; "his mistresse picture " Sidney's Arcadia, p . 65 ; "a horse
legge " Purchas's Pilgrimage 1.7 ; "A princesse worth " Drayton, ' Heroicall Epistles '
42. Final s in M.E. was not voiced (i.e. had not the sound of x), and it was just getting
to be so in e.N.E.; the succession of s's was evidently very difficult to pronounce and
cacophonous at best in e.N.E., and was avoided wherever possible, either by retaining the
M. E. inflectionless form, as here, or by the use of the ' his ' genitive, especially with proper
72
 THE TEMPEST

names ending in s ; we find even such forms as "the device of their attire was Master
Jones his " Ben Jonson's preface to 'The Masque of Queenes,' and the ' his ' genitive after
feminine nouns, " Atropos his stroke " Peele, 'Clyomon and Clamydes ' 132. MN . E. 'for
goodness sake,'' for mercy sake,' etc., preserve these inflectionless forms, and many people
still write and many printers still put in type occasional genitives of proper names ending
in s with but one s followed by an apostrophe, though they cannot tell why they do so.
Such inscriptions as ' Samuel Webber, his book,' in our grandfathers' days, and John Smith,
his mark,' still in use, preserve the widely used ' his ' genitive of e. N. E. which took the
place of the inflectionless form. 134 THEN, the common EL. form of ' than.' 135
DEER'ST (for this spelling see note to Macb. II . 3.61 ) : superlatives of monosyllabic adjec-
tives are commonly monosyllabic in EL. prose as well as poetry, see note to Macb. 1.5.3.
The word " dear" is frequently used in EL. E. of what affects one intimately ( N. E. D. 4 b),
a sense derived from its meaning of ' precious,' ' of high estimation.' Both meanings are
now obsolete, though the
former is preserved in the
ACT II SCENE I 136-144 phrase 'my dearest foe,' and
the latter in ' my dear sir,' cp.
GONZALO "The letter was .. of deare
My lord Sebastian , import " Rom.& Jul. V.2. 18.

The truth you speake doth lacke some gen- 138 TIME, ' fitting time,'
tlenesse a common meaning in e.N.E.,
cp. "Time and the houre "
And time to speake it in : you rub the sore, Macb. 1.3. 147. 139 PLAS-
When you should bring the plaister. TER and " master" had in
SEBASTIAN e.N.E. by-forms with the diph-
thong ai; "maister " is also
Very well .
1. M. E., but " plaister " is not
ANTHONIO recorded for M. E. ዋ 140
CHIRURGEONLY, ' in the
And most chirurgeonly. manner of a surgeon ' : MN.E.
GONZALO ' surgeon ' is a later form of
It is foule weather in us all , good sir, chirurgeon ; the barber-sur-
geon in EL. E. occupied a
When you are cloudy. lower social position than the
SEBASTIAN physician, cp. “ surgeons . .
Fowle weather? imploy their paines in cutting
and shaving away haires and
ANTHONIO in curing wounds and ulcers "
Very foule. Janua 796. Anthonio proba-
bly intends a sneer at the
GONZALO amateur physician, Gonzalo.
Had I plantation of this isle , my lord ,— Applying plasters to sores
was a common form of treat-
ANTHONIO
ment in Shakspere's time,
Hee 'd sow 't with nettle- seed . cp. "to plaister a sore, phar-
macum adhibere " Alvearie.
SEBASTIAN
141 FOULE WEATHER,
Or dockes, or mallowes. 'storm' : Coles gives "weather
[pronounced ' wayther '] , faire
or foule, tempestas" and " wether, mutton, vervex" as words agreeing in sound but differ-
ing in orthography. " Foule " in EL. E. means ' tainted,' cp. " Fule swine or corrupted
salmon sould [ i.e. should] not be sauld [i.e. sold] " citation dated 1609 in N.E.D. This
73
 THE TEMPEST

not very elegant jest was perhaps what Sebastian intended : in Merch. IV. I. 114 Anthonio
says, ery am a tainted weather of the flocke," showing that Sebastian's application of
'tainted' was not uncommon. 143 PLANTATION , ' colonization,' a common meaning
in e. N.E.: cp. " Plantations are amongst ancient, primitive, and heroicall workes " Bacon's
Essay on Plantations. 144 Anthonio takes the word literally : there is probably an
allusion in his jest to the then current saying that ' an ass will eat nettles,' cp. “ Asne
d'Arcadie broute chardons et ortie quoy que tout chargé d'or." Cotgrave says that the
proverb is " applicable to a rich and most wretched penie-father ; one that all the yeare
long bestowes not a bit of good meat on himself. " Gonzalo will have to have nettles, for
he is an ass. Sebastian adds DOCKES OR MALLOWES, but the point of his jest is not
so clear. It may possibly lie in the medicinal virtue of these herbs : Baret, in his Al-
vearie, says that "the broth of the rootes of all kindes of dockes driveth away the itch of
the bodie" ; dock is also the chief ingredient of remedies for scabies given in M.E. phar-
macopoeia, cp. Heinrich, ' Altenglisches Medicinbuch,' passim. Mallow is recognized as
possessing a " softening [ i.e. demulcent ?] or loosening quality " in most of the dictionaries
of Shakspere's time, cp.
Cooper, Coles, etc. Min-
sheu and Skinner base their ACT II SCENE I 145-158
etymologies of the word on
mollio, 'to soften.' GONZALO

And were the king on ' t, what would I do !

145 Gonzalo intendsWHAT
WOULD I DO in its sense of SEBASTIAN

' How much I should accom- Scape being drunke for want of wine.
plish !' For the inversion of
GONZALO
subject and predicate, cp.
1.2.151 . The FO. punctua- I' th ' commonwealth I would by contraries
tion of such exclamatory
Execute all things ; for no kinde of trafficke
phrases by an interrogation-
point is common. Sebastian Would I admit ; no name of magistrate ;
takes the words as a question . Letters should not be knowne ; riches , poverty,
147 to 156 are taken by And use of service , none ; contract , succession ,
Shakspere from Florio's
Montaigne 1. 30 (Temple ed., Borne, bound of land , tilth , vineyard , none ;
pp. 39, 40) : " It is a nation, No use of mettall , corne , or wine , or oyle ;
would I answer Plato, that
hath no kinde of traffike, no No occupation : all men idle , all ;
knowledge of letters, no in- And women too , but innocent and pure ;
telligence of numbers, no
name of magistrate, nor of No soveraignty ; —
politike superioritie ; no use SEBASTIAN
of service, of riches or of Yet he would be king on 't.
povertie ; no contracts, no
successions, no partitions, no ANTHONIO
occupation but idle ; no re- The latter end of his common - wealth forgets
spect of kinred, but common,
the beginning.
no apparell but naturall, no
manuring of lands, no use of
wine, corne or mettle. The very words that import lying, falsehood, treason, dissimula-
tions, covetousnes , envie, detraction, and pardon, were never heard of amongst them ."
147 BY CONTRARIES is glossed in N. E. D 3 c, ' in the way just opposite to what might
have been expected,' citing Ascham's Toxophilus (Arber, p. 45), “ Medicines stande by [i.e.
depend for their efficacy upon] contraries, therfore the nature of studying considered,
74
 THE TEMPEST

the fittest pastyme shal soone appeare." Gonzalo will have his government the exact
opposite of governments in vogue. 148 To EXECUTE authority, government, rights,
etc., was common M. E. and e. N.E. idiom, cp . note to 1.2 . 104. It is not necessary to as-
sume that " execute " was stressed upon its second syllable in EL.E., as does Schmidt :
the line begins with a reversal, “éxecûte áll." TRAFFICKE is used in its e.N.E. sense of
' commerce.' 149 ADMIT, ' permit.' F150 RICHES, POVERTY is unrhythmic and
various attempts have been made to cure the verse. It is possible that the order of the
two words has been reversed, as suggested by Capell : " póverty, ríches " would make
perfect versification. Puttenham, ' Arte of Poesie ' (ed. Arber, 173), speaks of a shortened
form for poverty, viz. "poorety," as being among the poetic licenses of his time. As the
other forms he cites in this connection are normal English word forms due to English
sound laws, and as the loss of an intervocalic v is in e.N.E. more common than in MN.E.,
giving such forms as " esen " (" eaves ' with -n plural), " Lirpool " ( " Liverpool ') , “ marle "
(' marvel ') , etc., a form "poorety" may have been extant in Shakspere's time. If we as-
sume this here and read "knowne " as " knowen " (not an anomaly in EL. E.), the verse be-
comes normal. Likewise, in Merch. IV. I.271 , we get a normal verse, "An age of poverty ;
fróm which lingring penance." 151 USE, ' employment,' cp. "When we need Your use
and counsell " I Hen.4 1.3.20. ¶ 152 BORNE (the spelling is e.N.E., reflecting the O.FR.
borne ; MN. E. "bourn," like " mourn," is a later form) : the word is twice used by Lord
Berners in " boundes and bournes folowynge " (cp. N. E.D.) , and was probably only em-
ployed in writing out deeds, etc. Shakspere makes frequent use of it, and it was owing
to this that the word was revived as literary idiom in the 18th century. TILTH , ' tilled
land,' is still current in poetic use. 154 OCCUPATION is used in its wider EL. sense of
'business.' 156 SOVERAIGNTY was usually four syllables in EL. E., but Puttenham
puts " soveraigne " along with " poorety" in the passage cited above. YET HE WOULD,
etc., completes the verse, and
Anthonio's speech is in prose.
ACT II SCENE I 159-166
157 The point of An-
thonio's jest is that this noble
GONZALO government ignores its hum-
All things in common nature should produce ble origin.
Without sweat or endevour : treason , fellony, 160 SWEAT ÓR seems to
Sword, pike, knife, gun , or neede of any engine, be the rhythm, but it is un-
Would I not have ; but nature should bring usual ; perhaps a reversal was
intended, " without sweat or
forth , endévour," a slight cæsura
Of it owne kinde , all foyzon , all abundance, following " without ." FEL-
LONY, syncopated to ' fel'ny' :
To feed my innocent people. the association with trea-
SEBASTIAN son is explained by Cowel's
statement, "we account any
No marrying ' mong his subjects ? offence felony that is in de-
ANTHONIO gree next petit treason."¶ 161
None, man, all idle ; whores and knaves . PIKE, in its e. N. E. sense of
'spear,'isnowwell- nigh obso-
lete, but was a common word
in EL.E. ENGINE, ' machine or instrument,' especially one used in warfare, cp. " wherof
to found their engins and their balls " Milton, ' Paradise Lost ' VI.518 (in N. E. D. 5). 163
IT as well as " his " is an e. N. E. form of the possessive of " it " : ' its ' came into use in the
early part of the 17th century. FOYZON (the spelling is phonetic) is a M.E. word mean-
ing ' plenty,' still current in e. N. E. In Shakspere's time it often has the sense of 'nour-
ishment,' as here, cp. " The liturgie .. is but dry meat and hath no foison in it " citation
75
 THE TEMPEST

dated 1624 in N.E. D. b. 164 INNOCENT is syncopated to ' in'cent, ' cp. note to Macb.
1.5.66. 166 IDLE in EL. E. also means ' light-headed,' ' frivolous,' ' trifling,' hence An-
thonio's pun on ' idle ' in v. 154. FO.I punctuates with semicolon after " idle " and comma
after "knaves," but the points
are probably misplaced. 167-182
ACT II SCENE I
T168 T'EXCELL : the fre-
quent EL. result infinitive GONZALO
corresponding to the MN. E. I would with such perfection governe, sir,
infinitive with ' as,' cp. 1.2.
T'excell the golden age .
101. Montaigne says that
the conditions of these sav- SEBASTIAN
age nations "exceed all the
'Save his majesty !
pictures wherewith licentious
[i.e. imaginative] poesie hath ANTHONIO

proudly embellished the gold- Long live Gonzalo !

en age." Such dreams of
GONZALO
Utopian or Arcadian com-
monwealths were character- And do you marke me, sir?
istic of Shakspere's time ; but ALONSO
with his practical insight into
the conditions of life and the Pre-thee, no more : thou dost talke nothing
human limitations of society, to me.
he laughs at the inherent
GONZALO
weakness of these contradic-
tory visions, whose " latter I do well beleeve your highnesse ; and did it
end forgets the beginning."
169 Sebastian's and An- to minister occasion to these gentlemen , who
thonio's exclamations of loy- are of such sensible and nimble lungs that
alty to King Gonzalo were they alwayes use to laugh at nothing.
probably intended as prose
and to be spoken simultane- ANTHONIO
ously. 171 AND seems to 'T was you we laugh'd at.
be the connective conjunction
GONZALO
introducing a question with a
shade of surprise, cp. " And merry fooling
Who in this kind of merry fooling am nothing
will you?" John IV. I. 40, and
to you : so you may continue and laugh at
not the beginning of a new
but abruptly broken off flight nothing still.
of Gonzalo's imagination ; ANTHONIO
modern editors usually punc. What a blow was there given !
tuate it as MN.E., 'And-.'
172 NOTHING is El.E. SEBASTIAN
for ' nonsense,' cp. " speakes 1
an infinite deale of nothing" And it had not falne flat-long.
Merch. I. I. 114. 175 SEN-
SIBLE, ' sensitive,' cp. "Love's feeling is more soft and sensible" L. L. L. IV.3.337. NIM-
BLE LUNGS is current EL. psychology : cp. "the heaving of my lunges provokes me to
rediculous smyling " L. L. L. III. 1.77 ; "the jolly Britaine .. laughes from ' s free lungs "
Cym. 1.6.67 ; and " The clowne shall make those laugh whose lungs are tickled a' th' sere
[i.e. have delicate triggers, as it were] " Ham. II . 2. 336. Gonzalo's quick, courtier-like
change of attitude is further marked by his speech being in prose. 176 ALWAYES use,
'are in the habit of ' : MN. E. retains this idiom only in the past tense. 179 TO, ' in com-
76
 THE TEMPEST

parison with.' 182 AND, the M.E. and e.N.E. particle meaning ' if.' FLAT-LONG illustrates
an O. E. and M. E. adverb suffix still preserved in ' headlong ' and ' sidelong.' Sebastian
takes advantage of the two meanings of the word, ' prostrate ' and ' with the flat side of
a weapon,' cp. " they let themselves fall flatlong down to the earth " citation dated 1600
in N. E. D., and "the pitilesse
sword . . did but hit flat-
ACT II SCENE I 183-187
long" Sidney's Arcadia 304
(in N. E. D. 2).
GONZALO
183 METTAL and "mettle"
You aregentlemen of brave mettal ; you would
are the same word in EL.E.:
lift the moone out of her spheare, if she the distinction in spelling is
would continue in it five weekes without MN. E., cp. note to Macb. I.7.
73. 184 LIFT..OUT : in
changing.
EL. E. the phrase means ' to
ENTER ARIELL PLAYING SOLEmne musiCKE remove ' or ' get removed ,' cp.
SEBASTIAN "carrying tales to the great
persons and endeavouring to
We would so, and then go a bat-fowling. lift one another out " cita-
tion dated 1659 in N. E. D. 2.
SPHEARE is, of course, the 17th-century form of the word, long close e (= M. E. long open e)
not yet having become long i. It meant ' orbit ' in Shakspere's time, cp. " As Mars in
three-score yeares doth run his spheare " Spenser, Sonnet LX (in Cent. Dict. ) . 185
WOULD : MN.E. requires ' should' in this idiom ; here, however, " would " perhaps con-
veys the notion of persistence in a determination. 186 CHANGING : this word in the
sense of ' perverting the meaning of words ' is not recorded in N. E. D. Holofernes makes a
similar word-play on " exchange " in L.L.L. IV. 2.42 : " the allusion holds in the exchange."
187 In EL.E. SO stands for a predicate notion of the preceding sentence, cp. " Oh, was she
so? [i.e. born in Argiers ] " 1.2.261 ; this idiom , with stress " I would só," as we have it here, is
still found in colloquial English, and is especially common amongchildren. BAT- FOWLING
is a sport mentioned as early as 1440, and described by Markham in his Hunger's Pre-
vention, or the Whole Arte of Fowling, 1621 (here cited from Delius's Einleitung, p. vi) :
"For the manner of Bat-fowling it may be used either with nettes, or without nettes : if
you use [i.e. practise] it without nettes (which indeede is the most common of the two)
you shall then proceede in this manner. First there shall be one to carry the cresset of
fire (as was showed for the Lowbell) , then a certain number, as two, three, or foure (accord-
ing to the greatnesse of your company), and these shall have poales bound with dry round
wispes of hay, straw, or such like stuffe, or else bound with pieces of linkes, or hurdes
dipt in pitch, rosen, grease, or any such like matter that will blaze. Then another com-
pany shall be armed with long poales, very rough and bushy at the upper endes, of which
the willow, byrche, or long hazell are best, but indeed acording as the country will afford,
so you must be content to take. Thus being prepared and comming into bushy or rough
ground where the haunts of birds are, you shall then first kindle some of your fiers, as
halfe, or a third part, according as your provision is, and then with your other bushy and
rough poales you shall beat the bushes, trees and haunts of the birds, to enforce them to
rise ; which done you shall see the birds which are raysed to flye and play about the lights
and flames of the fier ; for it is their nature, through their amazednesse and affright at the
strangenes of the light and the extreame darknesse round about it, not to depart from it,
but as it were almost to scorch their wings in the same : so that those which have the
rough bushye poales may (at their pleasures) beat them down with the same, and so take
them. Thus you may spend as much of the night as is darke, . . and doubtlesse you shall
finde much pastime, and take great store of birds, and in this you shall observe all the
observations formerly treated of in the Lowbell ; especially, that of silence untill your lights
77
 THE TEMPEST

be kindled ; but then you may use your pleasure, for the noyse and the light when they are
heard and seene a farre of, they make the birds sit the faster and surer." It was probably
the early accounts of the Bermudas that suggested the turn of Sebastian's jest ; Sylvester
Jourdain (1610) especially notes the many varieties of birds in the island, some of which
"live in holes like cony-holes." William Strachey, shipwrecked on the Bermudas in 1609,
likewise speaks of the "great number of fowles " and says that at the first landing of his
men "they killed with batts seven hundred fowles like gulls at one time." And in this
same connection he notes " even heere, lest the iland should lose that former name of
Divells, some entered into a
divellish conspiracie three 188-192
ACT II SCENE I
several times" (cited from
Purchas, IX. 14): this latterin- 191 *-198
cident may have given Shak- ANTHONIO

spere a suggestion for the plot Nay, good my lord , be not angry.
of Sebastian and Anthonio.
GONZALO

188 The word "bat-fowl- No , I warrant you ; I will not adventure my

No,
ing" was also a slang term for
discretion so weakly. Will you laugh me
' swindling,' cp. " As for coni-
catching [ EL.E. " cony" cor- asleepe, for I am very heavy?
responds to MN . E. ' sucker'] ANTHONIO
they cleape it bat-fowling" ci-
tation dated 1602, and " some- Go sleepe, and heare us.
timeslikewise this card-cheat- ALL SLEEP save ALONSO SEBASTIAN AND
ing .. is called batt fowling" ANTHONIO
Dekker, 'Belman of London ,'
ALONSO [191*
1608 (both in N. E. D. 2 ) : this
is probably the ground of An- What, all so soone asleepe ! I wish mine eyes
thonio's BE NOT ANGRY, themselves , shut up my thoughts :
Would , with themselves,
Would,
and the point of Gonzalo's
answer, ' I would not put my I finde they are inclin'd to do so .
reputation for sagacity to SEBASTIAN
such a foolish test.' GOOD
Please you , sir,
MY LORD is common EL.
word order, cp. "gracious Do not omit the heavy offer of it :
my lord" Macb. V. 5. 30. It sildome visits sorrow ; when it doth ,
192 In GO SLEEPE, AND
HEARE US Anthonio takes It is a comforter.
"laugh" in the EL. transitive ANTHONIO
sense of ' deride,' ' mock,' cp.
11 We two, my lord ,
" She .. laughes the songe '
Spenser, Shepherdes Kalen- Will guard your person while you take your
der,' January, 66 (in N.E. D.5) : rest,
'we'll mock you even when
you are asleep.' GO was often And watch your safety.
followed in EL. E. by the in- ALONSO
finitive without " to," an idiom Thanke Wondrous heavy.
now largely dialectical, N. E.D. you .
32 a. The stage direction is * The text returns to the standard numeration.
not in FO. I ; it was added in
substance by Capell. 192 THOUGHTS, ' anxieties, ' a shade of meaning common in
e. N. E. 194 OMIT, neglect,' cp. 1.2 . 183. HEAVY OFFER, a use similar to " heavie
summons" Macb. II . 1.6. 195 SILDOME is a M. E. form of the adverb still current in
78
 THE TEMPEST

e. N. E. 196 IT IS A COMFORTER is part of the preceding verse in FO.I : It sildome

.. comforter, We .. person, While .. safety is the verse division of FO . I. 198 WATCH,
'watch over.' Alonso's muttered WONDROUS HEAVY, with its sleepy rhythm , adds a
realistic touch to the scene.

199 ff. Anthonio's explanation of the drowsiness caused by Ariel's music, and his sur-
prise at his and Sebastian's freedom from the influence of it, gains additional force
when we read the early accounts of the Bermudas cited above. The short episode which
follows is a sort of Macbeth tragedy in miniature without a tragic issue. A strange wake-
fulness of soul, which Shakspere associates with ambition of power in Macbeth, disturbs
the normal balance of mental power in Sebastian and Anthonio : an afar-off guiltiness
begins to overshadow them, and fills them with a vague alarm. A temptation , already
half consented to, gradually assumes concrete form from the outside of Sebastian's con-
sciousness ; when it knocks at the door of his soul his first instinctive Apage Sathanas,
like Macbeth's, is but half-hearted : there must be some mistake - Anthonio is joking
with him. From this point on his course is like Macbeth's, a resistance which suddenly
turns to an acquiescence. Anthonio is like Lady Macbeth : he feels not the deity of con-
science in his bosom ; he begins with dreams of crowns, visions of what Sebastian is to
be, and goes on to show how easy and simple the trick is — just a stroke and the end is
gained ; nature will wink a moment and when she opens her eyes there will be no trace
of the foul deed. Macbeth knew better, but for all that was willing to take the risk ; for
in his case, as in Sebastian's, it was the fatal easiness of the thing that drew him on--a
deed of sleep and darkness over with in the morning: a new day of glory and power, with
naught but a single bad dream to trouble it. This subtle association of evil and darkness,
this momentary eclipse of righteousness and all its baleful train, Shakspere has worked
out in Macbeth : we only catch sight of the fringe of the tragic mantle here ; but the shadow
that it flings across the sunny pages of The Tempest is the same as that which envelops
Macbeth in gloom. 201
SINKE in EL. E. means ' cause
ACT II SCENE I 199-205 to droop,' cp. for its figurative
use, " it is a marvel it did not
SEBASTIAN discourage and sinck them "
What a strange drowsines possesses them ! Bradford's Plymouth Planta-
ANTHONIO tion, p. 208 (in Cent. Dict.).
I FINDE NOT, the common
It is the quality o' th' clymate. EL. negative idiom , replaced
SEBASTIAN in MN. E. by ' do not' with
following verb ; the end-pause
Why is therefore not so slight as
in MN . E. In FO.I NOT is
Doth it not then our eye-lids sinke ? I finde
a part of the following verse.
not
202 SPIRITS ARE NIM-
My selfe dispos'd to sleep . BLE : again the EL. psychol-
ANTHONIO ogyof spirits running through
the arteries. 203 FELL
Nor I ; my spirits are nimble. TOGETHER : there is one
They fell together all , as by consent ; citation ( 1654) in N. E. D. 100
for"fall together" in the sense
They dropt, as by a thunder-stroke. What
of ' collapse ' : it is possible
might, that a shade of this connota-
tion is involved here. ALL,
Worthy Sebastian ! O , what might ! No 'in a body,' the e.N. E. quasi-
more. adverbial use, cp. 1. 2. 328.
79
 THE TEMPEST

CONSENT has here its origi- ACT II SCENE I 206-210

nal meaning of ' agreement' ;
there is no point after the
word in FO. I, but the And yet me thinkes I see it in thy face,
phrase evidently goes with What thou should'st be : th' occasion speaks
"fell together." ¶ 204 THEY thee, and
DROPT: the graphic rhythm
echoesthe sense. THUNDER- My strong imagination sees a crowne
STROKE corresponds to our Dropping upon thy head.
MN. E. ' stroke of lightning' ;
SEBASTIAN
it was a common compari-
son, cp. "Some man by force What, art thou waking?
of sicknesse down doth fall ANTHONIO
As if by thunderstroke"
Florio's Montaigne II. 6. Do you not heare
me speake ?
WHAT MIGHT, ' what power
of destiny,' a natural linking association. Modern editors take it as a verb beginning an
anacoluthon, but they ignore the EL. sense of " should " (see below) and needlessly depart
from the FO. punctuation, cp. " unlesse this miracle have might " Sonn. LXV. 13, "from what
powre hast thou this powrefull might " ibid. CL. I , and "the very worst of fortune's might "
ibid. XC. 12. It is rather the might of fate, which in Macbeth's case led on the murderer, that
Anthonio is urging. 205 NO MORE, i.e. ' I will not make the application.' 206 FACE,
i.e. Sebastian's regal look makes it impossible for Anthonio to forgo the application.
207 SHOULD in EL. E. sometimes means ' is fated to,' cp. note to " She should have
dy'de heereafter " Macb. V. 5. 17. OCCASION in EL. E. means ' necessity ' as well as ' op-
portunity,' cp. "least occasion call us " Macb. II.2.70, and Anthonio's word subtly carries
out the fate notion in his thought. SPEAKS THEE, ' proclaims thee,' i.e. king ; cp. " Have
I liv'd thus long ( let me speake my selfe, Since vertue findes no friends) a wife, a true
one?" Hen.8 III.1.125 . 208 Lady Macbeth also has a vision of a crown upon her hus-
band's head. 209 DROPPING, ' descending ' : in EL. E. the word connotes slow as well
as rapid falling.

211 SLEEPY, like " slum-

ACT II SCENE I 210-217
bry agitation " Macb. V. I. 12,
is language ' proper to sleep,'
i.e. the language of dreams. SEBASTIAN
The whole passage is similar I do ; and surely
to Macb. V. I. 9 ff. 216
There is evidence that in the It is a sleepy language and thou speak'st
16th and the early 17th cen- Out of thy sleepe . What is it thou didst say?
tury short i was still heard
with its close M. E. sound This is a strange repose , to be asleepe
(like the German short i) , and With eyes wide open ; standing, speaking,
Anthonio probably puns on
moving,
' let slip' [i.e. let go] and
'sleepy, as does Moth on And yet so fast asleepe .
"ship" and " sheep " in L.L.L. ANTHONIO
II. I. 219. WINK in EL. E.
connotes more than the mo- Noble Sebastian ,
mentary closing of the eyes.
that it denotes in MN . E., Thou let'st thy fortune sleepe —die, rather ;
wink'st
cp. Macb. I. 4. 52. ዋ 217
WHILES is the historical Whiles thou art waking.
80
 THE TEMPEST

ACT II SCENE I 217-223 form of the adverb, which has

developed a phonetic t in
MN.E. 217 Sebastian car-
SEBASTIAN
ries along the jest which An-
Thou dost snore distinctly ; thonio has begun, but now
There's meaning in thy snores. half seriously. DISTINCTLY
seems here exactly to corre-
ANTHONIO
spond to MN. E. ' articulately,'
I am more serious then my custome : you i.e. in the form of language ;
Coles glosses "distinctly" by
Must be so too, if heed me ; which to do "articulatim." 218 MEAN-
Trebbles thee o're. ING , i.e. ' sense, ' as in I. 2. 356.
SEBASTIAN 220 IF HEED ME : there
seems here to be that ellipsis
Well, I am standing water. of the subject which is com-
ANTHONIO mon in EL. syntax, cp. “ Al-
cides ne're [i.e. ne were] more
I 'le teach you how to flow. fit for warres sterne shock
SEBASTIAN Than when for love sate spin-
Do so : to ebbe ning at the rocke [i.e.distaff] "
Drayton,'Heroicall Epistles ,'
Hereditary sloth instructs me. p. 42, and see note to Macb.
IV.2.23. It is quite a different
idiom from that in I.2.447, which involves the omission of both subject and predicate and
is still in use in MN.E. ( N.E.D. ' if ' 6). So there is here no occasion for the emenda-
tions 'you' or ' ye ' which have been proposed. WHICH TO DO, i.e. the heeding of what
I say. The word order is not uncommon in e. N. E.: cp. " Love not thou riches , which to
doe is the most beggerly thing in the world " Latin Grammar, Oxford, 1673, sig. C3.
221 TREBBLE was used in EL. E. to connote a more or less definite superlative increase
of power, duration, etc. , cp. " trebble-senewed, hearted, breath'd " Ant. &Cl. III . 13. 178, and
"treble-dated [ i.e. long-lived] crow" Phoenix, 17 ; ' treble clef ' still preserves this meaning.
The same notion as this occurs in " yet for you I would be trebled twenty times my selfe,
A thousand times more faire, ten thousand times More rich " Merch. III.2.153 . Some
early editors, not understanding the idiom, read ' troubles ' for " trebbles." O'RE, denoting
repetition with multiplication , is still in current use. WELL, i.e. ' That is all very well, but
do not count on me,' stress falling upon " I." STANDING WATER : Cotgrave glosses
eau endormie by " A calme, still, or standing water," and quotes the proverb " Fol est qui
se fie en eau endormie, men of a still, sad, sleepie, melancholicke disposition are not to be
relied on" ; this seems to be Sebastian's meaning, ' don't trust yourself to standing water.'
Anthonio, however, takes the word in the sense of ' water dammed up,' cp. " Represada
agua, a standing water, water that is stopped that it cannot run " Percival's Spanish
Dictionary. There is no evidence that " standing water " in EL. E. means ' slack water,'
i.e. ' water at the turn of the tide ' (though that might well be the case), for if in " as a
squash is before ' t is a pescod or a codling when 't is almost an apple, 't is with him in
standing water, betweene boy and man " Tw. N. 1.5.168, we take " standing water" as
'water that is dammed up and has no current,' we get clear sense. So it is better to con-
nect EBBE with FLOW, taken by Sebastian in a punning sense as used of the tide.

223 In the speech that follows, Anthonio's words down to EBBING are evidently an
aside, though they have not been considered so by modern editors ; for the words have
too much selfishness in them to be addressed directly to Sebastian. FO. I does not mark
asides ; so there is no direct evidence to indicate the intent of the speech. But the inten-
tion of the lines seems to be to show the audience clearly that Sebastian's manner is be-
81
 THE TEMPEST

traying him, and not to inform Sebastian of the fact. He is not so skilful at this sort of
thing as Banquo is : the one definitely and finally puts Macbeth's temptation away with
a remark that is as equivocal as is Macbeth's suggestion, but yet makes a continuation
of the interview awkward ; Sebastian plays with the temptation, and this aside tells us
that Anthonio is aware that he is playing with it. 224 PURPOSE in EL.E. means
' something requested of another ' or ' proposed to another,' hence the " cherish " and
"mocke," cp. " in the morning early shall my unckle Bring him our purpose [they are pro-
posals] " I Hen.4 IV. 3. 110, " Wee ' le execute your purpose and put on A forme of strange-
nesse " Tro.& Cr. III . 3.50, and " May I never To this good purpose .. Dreame of impedi-
ment " Ant.&Cl. 11.2.146. The definite article is here equivalent to the MN. E. possessive
pronoun ' my,' cp. note to Macb.1.2.6. CHERISH means ' fondle,' ' caress,' in EL. E.:
Anthonio's words are figurative. 226 EBBING MEN, ' men of waning influence,' cp.
" ebb'd man " Ant. & Cl.1.4.43 ; the adjective was widely used in e. N. E.; N. E. D. records
"the ebbing'st wit " and " ebbing chance." 227 BOTTOME meant ' dregs ' in Shak-
spere's time, cp. Cotgrave,
"Mare, mother, grounds,
ACT II SCENE I 223-231
dregs, lees, bottome, or set-
lings of liquor. " It is hard
to tell whether the figure is ANTHONIO
the draining of a wine- vessel ASIDE
or the moving out of a ship O,
on the ebb-tide. For the lat-
ter, cp. " muddied in fortune's If you but knew how you the purpose cherish
mood " A.Y.L. v. 2. 4 - Pa- Whiles thus you mocke it ! howin stripping it,
rolles is punning on " mood" You more invest it !
and " mud," which were pro-
nounced alike in EL. E.- TO SEBASTIAN
and the well-known verses, Ebbing men, indeed ,
"There is a tide in the af- Most often do so neere the bottome run
fayres of men Which taken
at the flood leades on to for- By their owne feare or sloth.
tune ; Omitted, all the voyage SEBASTIAN
of their life Is bound in shal-
lowes and in miseries " Cæs. 'Pre-thee, say on :
IV.3.218 ; for the former, cp. The setting of thine eye and cheeke proclaime
"we then should see the bot-
A matter from thee , and a birth indeed
tome Of all our fortunes "
2Hen.6 V.2.78. 228 THEIR Which throwes thee much to yeeld.
OWNE contrasts, of course,
with "hereditary," and has the EL. stress " théir ówne." 229 SETTING of the eye for
'staring ' is common in EL. E. Though CHEEKE in its original sense of ' jaw ' is not
illustrated in N. E. D. later than 1450, such e. N. E. glosses as " fauces, the upper part of
the throat, jaws, cheeks," " cheeks, fauces," "the cheek, gena, mala," " mala, the cheek
or cheek-bone " in Coles ; " cheeke, mandibula " in Thomas ; " fauces, cheeke, the jawes,
the upper part of the throte " Cooper ; " mexillas, the jawes, the cheekes " Percival (cp.
"jaw bone, mexilla " in the English part) ; " mascella , a jawe or cheeke " Florio, point to
the fact that enough of its original sense still clung to the word in e. N. E. to make it
properly connote the lower part of the side of the face as well as the middle. " Cheek-
bone " in English meant ' jaw-bone ' as late as the King James version of the Bible, which
has in Psalmes III.7, " for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheeke bone ;
thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly." " Setting " of the " cheeke " probably refers to
Anthonio's firm-set jaw, and not to his colour, the phrase connoting determination rather
than excitement. The comma after " eye " and the plural verb may be instances of the
82
 THE TEMPEST

FO.'S close punctuation ( cp. note to Macb. IV.I.2, and the logical character of the sub-
ject and predicate agreement in EL. E). Otherwise " cheeke " will have to be explained
as due to the EL. zeugmatic construction and meaning ' thy cheek,' though such a zeugma
would be difficult to parallel. PROCLAIME, ' announce.' 230 MATTER, ' serious
statement,' i.e. the opposite of jesting, cp. " to speake all mirth and no matter " Ado II. I.
343 ; Thersites puns on the phrase in " Then there would come some matter from him,
I see none now" Tro. & Cr. II.1.9. 231 THROWES, ' gives birth-throes ' : the spell-
ing is historical from M. E.
" throwen." YEELD , ' bring
ACT II SCENE I 231-244
forth,' cp. " she was yielded
there" Per. V.3.48.
ANTHONIO
Thus, sir : 231 THUS, i.e. this is what
I have to say, cp. " Marry,
Although this lord of weake remembrance , sir, thus : those precepts can-
this not be serv'd " 2Hen.4 V. I.
Who shall be of as little memory 14. 232 REMEMBRANCE ,
'memory,' cp. 1. 2. 65. An-
When he is earth'd , hath here almost per- thonio here impugns Fran-
swaded- cisco's story on the ground
of his notoriously weak mem-
For hee's a spirit of perswasion, onely ory, and below on the ground
of his notorious love of in-
Professes to perswade —the king his sonne's
fluence. THIS is sometimes
alive,
used absolutely in e. N. E. for
'T is as impossible that hee's undrown'd 'this person,' ' this man,' cp.
As he that sleepes heere swims. "And Hymen now with luck-
ier issue speed's [i.e. speed
SEBASTIAN
us] Then this [ i.e. than this
I have no hope man] for whom we render'd
That hee's undrown'd. up this woe " Ado V. 3. 32 , and
"He was a man ; this [i.e. this
ANTHONIO person ] in respect [i.e.in com-
O, out of that ' no hope ' parison] , a childe " 3Hen.6
V.5.56. Many editors have
What great hope have you ! No hope that taken the passage to refer to
way is Gonzalo, but Gonzalo has
Another way so high a hope that even not tried to persuade the king
that his son is alive. ¶233
Ambition cannot pierce a winke beyond, OF AS LITTLE MEMORY,
But doubt discovery there. Will you grant i.e. the memory of whom
with me shall be as short-lived as his
" remembrance ," playing on
That Ferdinand is drown'd ? the latterword. ¶ 234 WHEN
HE IS EARTH'D , i.e. asleep
in death. HERE, ' in the matter before us,' cp. " here I hit it right : Our Romeo hath not
beene in bed to night " Rom. &Jul. II . 3.41 ( in Ñ. E.D. 6). 235 SPIRIT in e . N. E. is often
used to connote ' a person in some particular sphere of activity,' cp. " every himne that
able spirit affords " Sonn. LXXXV.7. It may also mean ' very soul of persuasion .'
ONELY PROFESSES TO PERSWADE, ' whose whole business is persuasion ' : the passage
has made great difficulty for modern editors, but is perfectly clear in EL. E. "Onely"
means ' solely' ; " professes" is used in its EL. sense of ' make profession of,' cp. "I
conjure you bythat which you professe " Macb. IV. I.50 ; the adverb in EL.E. can be placed
83
 THE TEMPEST

almost anywhere in its clause, and the close connection of the clause with the preceding 11
sentence is paralleled by " They that stabb'd Cæsar shed no blood at all, did not offend '
3Hen.6 v.5.53 ; for " perswasion " as a profession in Shakspere's time, cp. Baret, " An
exhorter, a counsellor, a perswader, suasor." 238 The SWIMS is, of course, a con-
temptuous reference to Francisco's poetical description of Ferdinand's swimming. T240
NO HOPE THAT WAY, i.e. as applied to Ferdinand. IS ANOTHER WAY, i.e. as applied
to yourself. 242 PIERCE, cp. " A closet never pearst with christall eyes " " Sonn.
XLVI. 6, and "let some graver eye Pierce into that" Hen.8 I. I. 67. For WINKE as
a measure of distance, cp. " my purpose doth extend Not a frowne further " V. I. 34.
243 BUT DOUBT DISCOVERY THERE, ' without doubting what is revealed there ' : the
passage has caused much
discussion and been provo-
ACT II SCENE I 244-254
cative of a deal of emenda-
tion because of its obscurity
when read as MN. E.; but it SEBASTIAN
is perfectly clear when read He's gone .
as EL. E. For the e. N. E. use
of "but " in the sense of ANTHONIO
'without' followed by a par- Then tell me ,
ticiple, cp. "To be thus is
Who's the next heire of Naples ?
nothing Butto be safelythus"
Macb. III . I.48, and the cita- SEBASTIAN
tions there given ; cp. also
"Few men have wedded their Claribell.
sweet hearts .. but have come ANTHONIO
home by weeping cross
Florio's Montaigne III. 5. She that is queene of Tunis ; she that dwels
For"discovery " in the sense Ten leagues beyond man's life ; she that from
of ' what is revealed,' cp. " I'll
Naples
open but one leaf .. and you
shall see the whole discov- Can have no note , unlesse the sun were post-
ery" citation dated 1632 in The man i' th' moone's too slow- till new-
N. E. D. 5 ; the word in EL.E.
borne chinnes
also means ' knowledge that
comes of a reconnoissance,' Be rough and razorable ? She ! That from
cp. Macb. V.4.6, - and it is whom
likely that this shade of mean-
ing is involved in it here. We all were sea- swallow'd , though some cast
The indefinite usage is proba-
againe,
bly due to analogy from the
And by that destiny to performe an act
phrase " make discovery,"
i.e. 'reveal,' not yet obsolete. Whereof what ' s past is prologue , what to
come
247 TEN LEAGUES BE-
YOND MAN'S LIFE , ' ten In yours and my discharge !
leagues beyond a lifetime's
travel,' from the analogy of phrases measuring travel by time ; cp. " too vile to .. set their
profane feet within their live's length of his thresholds " Chapman's Preface to his Iliad.
248 NOTE in EL.E. means ' news,' ' information,' cp. " The king hath note " Hen.5 II.2.6.
POST, ' messenger,' cp. " as thick as hale Ran post with post " Macb. 1.3.97 . 250 SHE !
THAT FROM WHOM, ' she, that woman on whose account ' : Anthonio's speech is ironical
hyperbole, but quite intelligible as EL. E.; the difficulty resides in " that," which is here
not a redundant relative, but the demonstrative in apposition with " she," and absolutely
84
 THE TEMPEST

used, just as "this " was above, vv. 232 ff.: cp. " Hee, That [i.e. the one] with the plume
All's W. III.5.80 ; " That [ i.e. that man] with his sonnes, a terror to our foes, Hath yoak'd
a nation strong" Titus 1. 1. 29 ; and " Be that thou know'st thou art and then thou art
As great as that [i.e. the one] thou fear'st " Tw. N. v. I. 152. FROM is used in its EL.
sense of ' on account of,' ' through the instrumentality of ' ; cp. " from broad words " Macb.
III.6.21 ; " From whom we do exist and cease to be " Lear I.I.114 ; and " cal'd so from
his grandfather" Tam.of Shr. III . 1.53. That this is the meaning, and not ' coming from
whom ' (which is also possible idiom in e. N. E.), is shown by Anthonio's significant " by
that destiny " : Anthonio makes Claribell the fated instrument of Sebastian's kingship ;
had it not been for Claribell he never would have had his opportunity. It is clear from
the context that Anthonio's words have in them indignant surprise (though FO.I punc-
tuates with colon after " razorable " and period after " discharge," printing " she " with a
capital letter possibly as an indication of the heavy stress which the pronoun has) : ' Clari-
bell -why, Claribell is the very person who, guided by fate, is making you king of Naples ! '
Many and various emendations and interpretations of the passage have been offered, but
they all of them try to square the words with modern syntax ; Spedding's curious emen-
dation, ' she that-from whom ? We were, etc.,' was incorporated into the Cambridge Text,
a botching that is not very
intelligible, though in 'Notes
ACT II SCENE I 254-257 and Queries' for April 28,
1877 (p. 324), there appears
SEBASTIAN an explanation of its ingeni-
What stuffe is this ? How say you? ous intention. 251 CAST
means ' vomit forth ' in EL.E.,
'Tis true, my brother's daughter's queene and is, of course, due to its
of Tunis ; association with ' swallow-
ing' ; vague reminiscences of
So is she heyre of Naples ; ' twixt which re- Jonah and his fated mission
gions are probably floating in An-
There is some space. thonio's mind. 252 DES-
TINY, syncopated to ' des-
t'ny,' as in " And Jove is
sworne to doe what dest'nie would " Markham's Tragedie of Sir Richard Grinvile, Arber,
p. 74. TO PERFORME, ' about to perform ' ; the infinitive in e. N. E. is sometimes used
with the sense of a Latin future participle. " The following rule in Phr. Gen. for translat-
ing English into Latin implies this sense of the infinitive : " The infinitive mood active,
especially where it is intimation of any motion [ i.e. intention ] , purpose, or intent, may be
elegantly rendred . . by a participle in rus." This seems to be precisely the sense which
the infinitive has here : through the fated wreck and the fated preservation they are on
the eve of a great act to which these things have pointed. It is interesting to note that
Macbeth's dream of glory likewise takes the form of an act upon the stage. 253 The
FO. punctuates with a semicolon after PROLOGUE, and is followed by modern editors,
but the connection is closer than that indicated by our present use of the semicolon.
WHAT TO COME, ' the coming act ' : the infinitive, again, used as a future participle.
254 YOURS AND MY DISCHARGE : the substantive form of "yours " is due to the
omission of " discharge," cp. " Even in theirs and in the commons ' eares " Cor. V.6.4.
The association of the theatre is still kept up by Anthonio, for in Shakspere's time the
word " discharge " was evidently used to mean ' to act,' ' to play a part ' (though not so
noted in N. E.D.) ; this meaning could very easily flow from the sense of ' give utterance
to ' (Macb. V. 1.81 ) , cp. " Thus have I . . my part discharged " Mids. V. 1.207 ; "A fine
tragedy .. and very notably discharg'd " ibid. V. 1.367 ; and " You have put me nowto such
a part, which never I shall discharge to th' life " Cor. III.2.105 . STUFFE : the interro-
gation-point of FO. I here seems to mean ' What kind of nonsense is this?'
85
 THE TEMPEST

259 MEASURE US, ' tra- ACT II SCENE I 257-274

verse us,' i.e. the cubits (the
word is common in e. N. E.,
and denotes a distance of ANTHONIO
about a foot and a half), cp. A space whose ev'ry cubit
"we must measure twentie
Seemes to cry out , ' How shall that Claribell
miles to-day" Merch. III. 4.
84. KEEPE, ' dwell,' seems Measure us backe to Naples ? keepe in Tunis,
vague in contrast to "wake " : And let Sebastian wake . ' Say, this were
but the word may be a mis- death
print for " sleepe," as John-
son conjectured ; sl is a single That now hath seiz'd them ; why, they were
type in EL. printing, and is in no worse
the neighbourhood of k in the
compositor's case ; it is evi- Then now they are. There be that can rule
dentlythe notion of sleep that Naples
leads on to the next thought.
260 There are no quote- As well as he that sleepes ; lords that can
marks in FO. I , but there can prate
be little doubt that the quo-
As amply and unnecessarily
tation ends here and not with
"Naples," as the earlier edi- As this Gonzallo ; I my selfe could make
tors punctuated ; the Cam-
A chough of as deepe chat. O , that you bore
bridge Text was the first to
make the change. 261 In The minde that I do ! what a sleepe were this
THEY WERE NO WORSE For your advancement ! Do you understand
"were " is, of course, the me ?
common e. N. E. subjunctive
'they would be.' 262 BE SEBASTIAN
is an old plural indicative Me thinkes I do .
that appears frequently in ANTHONIO
e. N. E.; it is especially com-
mon inthis idiom , "there be," And how does your content
etc. As in M.E., so in e.N.E. Tender your owne good fortune !
the relative pronoun per-
forms a double function , be- SEBASTIAN
ing complement to "be " I remember
and subject of " can rule."
266 CHOUGH , as is shown You did supplant your brother Prospero.
by the N. E.D. , was not re- ANTHONIO
stricted in EL. E. to the Cor-
True :
nish chough, but was espe-
cially applied to the common And looke how well my garments fit upon me ;
jackdaw. DEEPE, of course , Much feater then before : my brother's ser-
means ' significant,' ' impor- vants
tant,' cp. Macb. 1.6.17 . CHAT
is now obsolete in its e. N. E. Were then myfellowes ; nowthey are my men.
sense of ' chatter,' cp. N.E.D.
268 FO. I points with a question-mark after " advancement," cp. v. 270. $ 269 CON-
TENT in EL. E. means ' consent,' ' acquiescence,' cp. " By a content and acquiescence in
every species of truth " Sir T. Browne, 1646 (cited in N. E.D.). 270 TENDER, ' have
regard for,' ' consider the interests of,' cp. " Tendering the precious safetie of my prince"
Rich.2 1.1.32 . FO. I punctuates the exclamation with the usual question-mark, see note
86
 THE TEMPEST

to v. 145 : cp. Sebastian's words in v. 223 ; for the inversion cp. I.2. 151 , II . I.145 . It is
significant that Sebastian allows Anthonio to take his " Me thinkes I do understand you "
as a consent to the plot. His remembrance of Anthonio's supplanting Prospero is due
to"O, that you bore the minde that I do ! " 273 FEATER, ' more becomingly,' cp. " in your
neat'st and feat'st adorning"
Wither, 1613 (in N. E. D. 3).
ACT II SCENE I 275-280
$ 275 BUT FOR, ' save for,'
SEBASTIAN a saving clause going with
But for your conscience. the first part of Anthonio's
remark. 276 KYBE, ' chil-
ANTHONI O
blain on the heel ' (the word
is used on account of its
I , sir ; where lies that ? If ' t were a kybe,
association with ' gall,' cp. "a
'T would put me to my slipper : but I feele not galled conscience is as great
This deity in my bosome : 'twentie con- a torment as can possibly
sciences happen .. Instar ulceris cor-
pus jugiter percellens " Anat.
That stand 'twixt me and Millaine, candied of Mel.'III.4. ii. 3), carries out
be they the notion of dress. If An-
thonio's conscience did trou-
And melt ere they mollest. ble him it would be only a
kybe that he could easily
wear a slipper for. 278 'TWENTIE CONSCIENCES : the apostrophe in the FO. seems
to imply the definite article, cp. I. 1.67 and note to Macb. I. 1.5 : if we take this con-
struction, " the twentie consciences which stand 'twixt " the person Anthonio and the
Duke-of- Millaine Anthonio and might be thought a source of irritation are those of his
co-conspirators ; he feels not ' the deity in his bosom ' at all. The number twenty and
the number four are used indefinitely in EL. E., the one for a small indefinite numeral and
the other for a large one, cp. " Twentie adieus, my frozen Muscovits " L. L. L. V.2.265,
and a dozen other instances cited from Shakspere by Schmidt. 279 CANDIED may
mean ' sugared over ' ; BE will then be the indicative ; and MELT will mean ' lose their
consistency and liquefy in sweeter words,' the subject " they " being omitted : ' as for the
dozen or two bad consciences that connect me with Millaine, they are all sugared over
with preferments (cp. I. 2.79), and they melt with compassion for my sin before they
trouble me about it.' They are consciences like those in L.L.L. V.2.333- " consciences
that wil not die in debt Pay him the due of honie-tongued Boyet." Anthonio says that
the consciences of his fellow-conspirators give him no trouble. These consciences which
stand between the usurping duke Anthonio and the real duke which he would be, this
new screen that has been substituted for the one Prospero speaks of in 1.2 . 107 , are
troubling elements which he has no difficulty in controlling, cp. John IV.2.248 ; they are
candied with his favors, and they discandy and melt away in fawning flatteries before
any good intentions they may entertain get really troublesome. A similar notion is found
in Anthony's bitter words, " The hearts .. to whom I gave Their wishes [i.e. ' which I
candied '] , do discandie , melt their sweets On blossoming Cæsar " Ant. & Cl. IV. 12.20. So
in this case, Gonzalo is the only one of the courtiers necessary to dispose of besides the
king, for Gonzalo is a fool who cannot keep his mouth shut ; the others, Francisco, Adrian,
and the vague numbers representing the court, will take suggestion as a cat laps milk.
This seems to be the meaning of the passage, though not the one usually given, which
takes " candied " in its sense of ' frozen,' and makes Anthonio's words a sort of vague
ejaculation, placing an exclamation-point for the FO.'S period after " mollest " : " If twenty
consciences stood between me and Millaine, let them be frozen and melt before they
trouble me.' The passage usually cited as being analogous, " Least zeale now melted by
87
 THE TEMPEST

the windie breath [the word means ' flattery ' in EL. E. ] Of soft petitions, pittie and re-
morse, Coole and congeale againe to what it was " John II. 1.477, confuses the sense here,
as Anthonio is not thinking of ' melting ' as a state of activity opposed to " candied," but
rather as a state of softness consequent on the ' candying.' " Melt " in EL. E. also means
'vanish,''disappear,' cp. "Melted as breath into the winde " Macb. 1.3.81 . While Gonzalo,
Francisco, and Adrian are the only courtiers mentioned, they are not the only ones involved
in the imaginative entourage, so to speak, of the scene. If theirs had been the only con-
sciences to be ' candied, ' it would have been easy for the conspirators to double their murders
and ' candying ' would have been needless. The stress seems to be " cándied be théy."
280 AND MELT, ' and they melt ' : the omission of the subject is less confusing in EL.
than in MN . E. The verb may
here be construed as subjunc-
ACT II SCENE I 280-294
tive 'they would melt,' cp.
1.2.489.
Heere lies your brother,
282 THAT'S : a similar No better then the earth he lies upon,
contraction of " this is " was
If he were that which now hee ' s like , that's
common in M. E. and e. N. E.,
cp. "this's heathen Greek dead ;
toyou?" Jonson, 'Alchemist'
Whom I , with this obedient steele , three
11.5. 284 THUS, i.e. act-
inches of it,
inginthe same way ; the word
is usually explained as being Can lay to bed for ever ; whiles you, doing
accompanied by a gesture :
but "thus" in e. N. E. some- thus,
times means ' as I have said To the perpetuall winke for aye might put
or done ' as well as ' as I am This ancient morsell, this Sir Prudence, who
going to say or do.' 285
The syncope of the last two Should not upbraid our course. For all the
syllables in PERPETUALL rest ,
was easier in EL. than in
They'l take suggestion as a cat laps milke ;
MN . E. for the u, later devel.
oped into iu, still had its pure They ' l tell the clocke to any businesse that
u sound. WINKE , again used We say befits the houre .
of ' closing the eyes,' not our
MN. E. ' wink.' 286 MOR- SEBASTIAN
SELL, cp. "this morcell of Thy case, deere friend ,
dead royaltie " John IV. 3.
143. 287 FOR, used with Shall be my president ; as thou got'st Mil-
its M. E. and e. N. E. meaning , laine,
'asfor.' 288 SUGGESTION
I ' le come by Naples. Draw thy sword : one
in EL. E. connotes ' tempta-
stroke
tion ' also, cp. IV. I.26 and
noteto Macb.1.3.134 . ¶289 Shall free thee from the tribute which thou
To TELL THE CLOCKE
paiest :
seems in Shakspere's time.
to have been a curren t phrase And I the king shall love thee.
for guilty acquiescence, cp.
" Emperours..sate by the bishops and held their peace and told the clocke " citation dated
1565 in N. E.D. clock ' 4. 291 PRESIDENT, ' precedent ' ; Coles gives both spellings
entered in their proper places, " A precedent, exemplum," and " A president (example), ex-
emplum": the parenthesis in the latter gloss, coming after " president, præses," would point
to identity of sound in the two words , the s of the former probably being voiceless in e. N. E.
88
 THE TEMPEST

293 is an interesting instance of Shakspere's skill in keeping together the threads of a

story : Prospero has already told us, I.2. 124, how the tribute of Millaine to Naples began.

295 REARE in this sense of ' raise ' is now only literary. 296 FALL, ' let fall,' a M. E.
sense of the verb still preserved in e. N. E. Shakspere uses the word of weapons also
in Rich.3 v.3 . 135 and in A.Y.L. III.5.5 . In American idiom a kindred sense is common in
'to fall a tree.' The infinitive idiom corresponds to a MN, preposition and participle,
'by bringing your weapon down,' cp. Macb. 1.7.50 . IT in EL. E. is somewhat less spe-
cific than it is now, cp. I.2 . 100, and probably refers to " sword " rather than to “ hand."
O in EL. E. may correspond to MN. E. ' Ah ! ' cp. note to Macb. V. I.59. The ONE WORD
is probably about what is to be done when the other courtiers awake. 297 Prospero's
"provision" and " prevision"
are combined, cp. I. 2. 28.
ACT II SCENE I 294-305 298 HIS FRIEND i.e. Gon-
zalo , near whom he is speak-
ANTHONIO ing. 299 THEM , Anthonio
Draw together ; and Sebastian, who will be in
danger of their lives if Ariel
And when I reare my hand , do you the like wakes Gonzalo without pro-
To fall it on Gonzalo . viding some palpable excuse
SEBASTIAN for the compromising posi-
tion in which they will be
O, but one word ! placed when Gonzalo rouses
THEY TALK APART the king. These two sides
ENTER ARiell with musicke and SonG of Ariel's plan are probably
indicated by gesture and a
ARIEL
strong secondary stress upon
ASIDE
"them"; that Gonzalo has
Mymasterthrough his art foresees the danger been Prospero's friend is
That you, his friend , are in ; and sends me evident from 1.2.161 ff., and
that Prospero's plot requires
forth-
thepreservation of Sebastian
For else his project dies — to keepe them and Anthonio, traitors and
his bitter enemies though
living.
they be, is evident from the
SINGS IN GONZALOES EARE
sequel (and cp. Epilogue).
While you here do snoaring lie , Modern editors, strangely
Open-ey'd conspiracie misinterpreting the passage,
have, as usual, assumed cor-
His time doth take.
ruptness of text, amending
If of life you keepe a care, "you his friend " to ' these his
friends ' Steevens and John-
Shake off slumber, and beware:
son, " project " to ' projects'
Awake, awake! (making "them " refer to
'projects ') Malone, "them"
to 'you ' Hanmer, or " them" to ' thee ' Dyce. There are no stage directions in FO. I ,
save the" Enter," etc., and " Sings," etc.; but " Talk apart " (Capell) is necessary from " O,
but," etc. Ariel is obviously not only invisible but inaudible to the only actors who are
awake, and Capell's " aside " is quite in keeping with the action , Ariel's purpose being to
hint to the audience a reason why the obvious dramatic justice due to Sebastian and
Anthonio should be delayed, and the traitors protected from the normal consequences of
their attempt. PROJECT DIES, ' plot fails ' : the word " project " was slightly more definite
in EL. E. than now : Ben Jonson calls the design of a masque its " project " in " Cynthia's
89
 THE TEMPEST

Revells' IV. I. 300 SNOARING : the oa is due to the fact that the vowel in ' snore ' was
a long open o in M. E. 302 TIME, ' opportunity.' 303 KEEPE A CARE is cited for EL. E.
in N. E. D. ' care ' 3 c, but only this reference is given. 304 BEWARE in e. N. E. retains its
early absolute meaning ' be ware,' cp. " an olde king that doteth and cannot bewarre in time
to come " Coverdale's version of Eccl. IV. 13 (in N. E. D.) ; the King James version has, " an
old and foolish king who will
no more bee admonished."
ACT II SCENE I 306-313
306 SODAINE, a common
EL. spelling of 'sudden' in ANTHONIO
its e. N. E. sense of ' quick.' Then let us both be sodaine .
THEN, of course, implies
GONZALO
that the conspirators have
now decided what to do, and Now good angels
connects dramatically with Preserve the king.
"O, but one word." Gon-
zalo's first words reveal an THEY WAKE
honest sense of duty. ¶308 ALONSO
WHY ARE YOU DRAWN ? Why, how now? Hoa, awake ! Why are you
'why have you drawn wea-
pons in your hands ?' cp. drawn ?
"Where art thou? .. Here, Wherefore this ghastly looking?
11
villiane, drawn and ready'
GONZALO
Mids. III.2.401 . 309 THIS
GHASTLY LOOKING : Se- What's the matter?
bastian and Anthonio, just SEBASTIAN
starting toward the sleeping
Whiles we stood here securing your repose,
forms of Gonzalo and the
others, are stayed by a bel- Even now, we heard a hollow burst of bel-
lowing and roaring in their
ears produced by Ariel's sub- lowing
ordinate spirits as the second Like buls, or rather lyons : did't not wake
part of his trick. Pale at
you ?
the noise, they are look-
It strooke mine eare most terribly.
ing about for its cause when
Gonzalo awakes, and the only ALONSO
suspicious circumstance is
I heard nothing.
theirdrawn swords. They are
not menacing the sleepers,
else Alonso and Gonzalo would not have waited to ask questions, but, rousing the others,
would have attacked the conspirators at once, and thus Prospero's project be frustrated.
Their excuse, therefore, is genuine. Staunton and Dyce were for improving the text by
giving Alonso's first words to Gonzalo and " What's the matter? " to Alonso ; but the fact
that Sebastian answers the king's question immediately shows clearly that the text stands
in need of no botching. Gonzalo awakes the king, who answers ashe opens his eyes , " Why,
how now?" Then, seeing Anthonio and Sebastian with drawn swords, he cries to the
others, " Hoa, awake !" and asks the reason for the attitude of the two. Gonzalo puts the
same question, and Sebastian's reason for his terror-stricken face and posture of defence
follows. The punctuation of the FO., " Why how now hoa ; awake?" is probably due to the
common use of the question-mark as an exclamation-point. 310 SECURING , ' making
free from anxiety,' an EL. use of the word now obsolete ; in Matt. XXVIII . 14 the King
James version " we will .. secure you" accurately translates vµãç duɛpíμvovs monooμev
('we will make you free from care ') : the Revised Version has ' we will .. rid you of care.'
90
 THE TEMPEST

ACT II SCENE I 311 EVEN NOW, ' just

314-327
now.' Phrases like HOLLOW
BURST OF BELLOWING for
ANTHONIO 'burst of hollow bellowing'
O, ' t was a din to fright a monster's eare , were frequent in EL.E.; a list
of those in Shakspere will be
To make an earthquake ! sure, it was the found in Schmidt, Ist ed., p.
roare 1424. 312 DID 'T seems an
Of a whole heard of lyons. anomalous contraction, but
"is 't" (= is it) is very com-
ALONSO
mon in e. N. E., " shoul't "
Heard you this, Gonzalo ? (should it) occurs in Drayton,
"see 't" (rhyming with
GONZALO
"meet") and " ore 't" in
Upon mine honour, sir, I heard a humming, Greene, " beate" ("leeful
beate to say" ) in Heywood's
And that a strange one too , which did awake Hercules Furens II ," why't"
me :
(why it) in Ben Jonson ; cp.
I shak'd you , sir, and cride : as mine eyes also " doo 't " in Macb. V. I.
39 and note to ibid. 1. 2. 7.
open'd,
I saw their weapons drawne : there was a 314 MONSTER'S EARE :
" monster " connotes lack of
noyse,
sensibility in e.N.E.; cp. " it is
That's verily. 'T is best we stand upon our a pitty Would move a mon-
guard , ster" Hen.8 11.3.10. 315
SURE, ' surely,' cp. I. 2. 388.
Or that we quit this place : let's draw our 316 HEARD : the spelling
weapons. preserves the M. E. length-
ALONSO ening of e + rd, and ' haird'
was probably the pronuncia-
Lead off this ground ; and let's make further tion in Shakspere's time.
search 319 SHAK'D : weak forms
of M.E. strong verbs are
For my poore sonne. common in EL.E.; e.g.
GONZALO "overcomed" (overcame ),
" clingde" (clung), " shind "
Heavens keepe him from these beasts !
(shone)," chosde " (chose) oc-
For he is, sure, i' th' island. curin goodliterature and illus-
ALONSO trate a tendency which has
Lead away. given many MN. E. past-tense
and participle forms in -ed.
ARIELL CRIDE, likewise, is a normal
Prospero my lord shall know what I have English form, M. E. " cride,"
done : still preserved in e. N.E. The
word of itself means ' cried
So, king, goe safely on to seeke thy son. aloud,' ' raised an alarm ,' in
EXEUNT EL. E., cp. " to speake or utter
wordes, to crie, voces œdere
(i.e. edere)" Alvearie, "to
cry, clamo " Coles. 321 THAT'S VERILY : Pope's emendation, ' verity,' is quite un-
necessary ; cp. 1.2.226 and Cor. IV. 1.53 . The verse has six waves , which Steevens
was for curing by dropping " 'T is " and " we " on the analogy of Cym. III.6.25.
91
 THE TEMPEST

INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO SCENE II

The action of the last scene is continued in Scene III of Act III . This scene takes up
Stephano and Trinculo and their meeting with Caliban, and its action is preparatory to
that of Scene II of Act III , the second plot which Ariel must frustrate. Its most inter-
esting figure is, of course, Caliban, whom Shakspere has drawn with such rare skill that
the scientific treatise on the monster's physical form found in Wilson's Caliban, the
philosophical drama on the social state of a generalized, triumphant Caliban written by
Renan, and the unfolding of Caliban's implied theology in Browning's poem, merely fill
in the details of Shakspere's first sketch.

SCENE II : ANOTHER PART OF THE ISLAND

ENTER CALIBAN WITH A BURTHEN OF WOOD
A NOYSE OF THUNDER HEARD
II. ii. I - 14

CALIBAN
I INFECTIONS : Cali- LL the infections that the sunne
ban's imprecation is a differ- suckes
entversion of his " red-plague up
rid you " in I. II . 364 ; cp. From bogs, fens, flats , on Pros-
"Windes doe carrie pestilent per fall , and make him
vapours from stinking places
to the cleane partes .. as rot- By ynch -meale a disease ! His
ten fennes" resulting in " dis- spirits heare me,
persed pestilence by the in-
spiration of the aire," one of And yet I needes must curse : but they'll
Bullein's explanations of the nor pinch ,
plague of 1578. Shakspere
Fright me with urchyn-shewes , pitch me
adds the notion of the sun
i' th' mire ,
sucking up this infected air.
43YNCH-MEALE : "-meal," Nor lead me , like a fire- brand , in the darke
M.E. "-mele," O.E. "-mælum ,"
Out of my way, unlesse he bid ' em . But
is an adverbial suffix still re-
tained in ' piece-meal ' ; in For every trifle are they set upon me ;
e. N. E. "by" was added to
make up for the lost dative Sometime like apes that moe and chatter
at me,
inflection, M. E. -e, O.E. -um.
A DISEASE : " a " or " an " is
And after bite me ; then like hedg-hogs, which
originally an unstressed form
of the numeral " one," and it Lye tumbling in my bare-foote way and mount
retained some of its numeri- Their pricks at my foot-fall ; sometime am I
cal force in e. N. E., so that "a All wound with adders , who with cloven
disease" represents MN. E.
'one disease.' 5 URCHYN- tongues
SHEWES are ' goblin proces- Doe hisse me into madnesse.
92
 THE TEMPEST

sions ' ; for "urchin," meaning ' fairy ' or ' goblin,' cp. 1.2. 326, and for " shew" in its EL. sense
of ' procession,'' pageant,' cp. Macb. IV. I. 111. 9 MOE is a M. E. and e. N. E. verb formed
from the noun " moe," " mowe," and meaning ' grimace,' ' make faces.' The spelling " mow "
has become the standard for MN.E. 10 AFTER, ' afterward ' ; the adverb is now confined
to designations of place, save in ' before and after,' but was used of both time and place in
O.E., M. E., and e.N.E. TII MOUNT is e. N. E. for ' raise,' cp. " mounting his eyes, He did
discharge a horrible oath " Hen.8 1.2.205. 12 FOOT- FALL seems to be one of those
EL. compounds that have undergone a change of stress since Shakspere's time. 13
WOUND WITH, ' infolded by,' cp. " I will winde thee in mine arms " Mids. IV. 1.45.
ADDER was the name given to any serpent in O. E. and M. E.; though N.E.D. does
not cite an instance of it later than 1573, Baret's gloss, " An adder or snake, anguis,
coluber," shows that the old general meaning still clung to the word, and that it was not
yet restricted to ' a small viper.' Minsheu, 1617 , also has “ adder or snake," which he
ingeniously explains as being
derived from " Belgick aen,
ACT II SCENE II 14-25
i.e. super, upon, and d'ærd,
i.e. terram, the earth."
ENTER TRINCULO
Lo , now, lo ! 15 SPIRIT, the monosyl-
labic form . AND TO TOR-
Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me MENT is e. N. E. syntax cor-
For bringing wood in slowly. I'le I'le fall flat ;;
fall flat responding to MN. E. ‘ and
Perchance he will not minde me. that to torment,' cp. " You are
abus'd and by some putter
TRINCULO
on" Wint. T. II . I. 141 , and
Here's neither bush nor shrub, to beare off "The things thou think'st on
all at full shall be per-
any weather at all , and another storme brew-
form'd to thee .. And at [i.e.
ing ; I heare it sing i ' th ' winde : yond same through] the fame of thy il-
lustrious sire " Chapman's
blacke cloud, yond huge one, lookes like a
foule bumbard that would shed his licquor. Odyssey 11.408. ¶ 17 MINDE,
notice, cp. "To mind ..
If it should thunder as it did before , I know animadverto, observo " Coles.
18 ff. In the scene that
not where to hide my head : yond same cloud follows mental processes are
cannot choose but fall by paile- fuls. pictured by Shakspere with
rare humour and sympathy ;
Trinculo would play the philosopher and account for what he sees : ' it looks like a fish,
smells like a fish ; it is a fish .' Then the man-association in v. 33 sets his thinking on
a new tack : ' it is legged like a man, armed like a man, warm-blooded like a man ; my
inference that it was a fish was " opinion," obiter dictum ; being unbiased and unpreju-
diced, I abandon my former opinion and decide in favour of man ' ; later his opinion is
shaken again, and he becomes as firmly convinced that Caliban is not-man, i.e. " monster."
18 BEARE OFF, 'ward off,' ' turn off,' cp. " a demie bukram cassok . . which will
neither beare of winde nor wether " Ascham's Scholemaster ( in N. E. D. 34). 19 AT
ALL is now usually confined to such idioms as ' no bush at all ' : in e . N. E. it was used to
strengthen a general negative, cp. " I understand not any one word at all, verbum prorsus
nullum intelligo " Phr. Gen. 422 FOULE in EL. E. means both ' soiled ' and ' misshapen ,'
N. E. D. II , and is especially graphic here ; for a BUMBARD was a large leather drinking-
vessel in use in Shakspere's time, cp. " The great blackjacks and bombards at the court,
which, when the Frenchmen first saw, they reported ..that the Englishmen used to drink out
of their boots " Heywood, 1635 ( in N.E.D.). The word was stressed upon the first syllable.
Acorresponding verb form, with stress upon the last syllable, has been retained in MN.E.
93
 THE TEMPEST

' bombard.' Trinculo's tap-room comparison of the swollen, misshapen, greasy-looking

cloud to a dirty leather drinking-vessel almost bursting with deformity was emended to ' full
bombard' by early editors.
HIS,'its.' LICQUOR is applied
ACT II SCENE II 26-45
to any liquid in e. N. E.

26 A MAN OR A FISH , cp . What have we here ? a man or a fish ? dead or

note to 1.2.316. 28 NOT alive? a fish : hee smels like a fish ; a very an-
OF THE NEWEST POORE-
cient and fish-like smell ; a kinde of not of the
JOHN, ' stale salt fish,' cp.
"verily he looks as pitifully newest poore-John. A strange fish ! were I in
as a poor John " Marston, England now, as once I was, and had but this
'Antonio and Mellida ,' Part I ,
V. I. 316 (ed. Bullen) ; for fish painted, not a holiday-foole there but
their malodour, cp. " stinking would give a peece of silver : there would this
of poor-John" Beaumont and
Fletcher, ' Scornful Lady' monster make a man : any strange beast there
11.3 (in Cent. Dict. ). 31 makes a man : when they will not give a doit
PAINTED, ' represented on a
to relieve a lame begger , they will lay out ten
banner' (for purposes of ad-
vertisement), cp. " Wee 'l to see a dead Indian . Leg'd like a man ! and
have thee, as our rarer mon- his finnes like armes ! warme o ' my troth ! I
sters are, Painted upon a
pole" Macb. V.7.54. 33 doe now let loose my opinion ; hold it no
MAKE A MAN, i.e. ' set him longer ; this is no fish, but an islander, that hath
up in business ,' later punned lately suffered by a thunderbolt. THUNDer
on in the sense of ' passes for
a man, ' both topical hits . Alas, the storme is come againe ! my best way
34 THEY in e.N.E. is still is to creepe under his gaberdine ; there is no
used as it was in M. E. - as an
other shelter hereabout : misery acquaints a
indefinite pronoun meaning
'people,' 'men,' cp. " Both in man with strange bedfellowes. I will here
this part and in the former
shrowd till the dregges of the storme be past.
they [i.e. ' people,' there is no
antecedent in the context]
had neede go strong and well accompanied " Purchas, ' Pilgrimage ' III . I. A DOIT was
a Dutch coin current in Shakspere's time and worth about half a farthing. ¶35 RE-
LIEVE, more generally used in EL. E. than now in its sense of ' help,' cp. II. I. 121. LAME
in the 17th century still had its early meaning of ' paralyzed ,' cp . " lame of halfe his body"
citation dated 1604 in N. E. D .; this sense of the word, contrasting with " dead," adds a
humorous touch to the passage. 36 DEAD INDIAN : Purchas, V. I , tells us that " the
name of India is now applied to all farre-distant countries, not in the extreeme limits of
Asia alone, but even to whole America, through the errour of Columbus and his fellowes,
who, at their first arrivall in the westerne world, thought that they had met with Ophir
and the Indian regions of the east." Other allusions to ' making one's fortune ' by prey-
ing upon the popular curiosity about the marvels of the New World occur in Hen.8
V. 4.34 and Macb. V.7.54 ( Globe V.8.25). Steevens refers to a passage in the account of
Frobisher's First Voyage for the Discovery of Cataya, 1578, describing how one ofthese
Indians, " when he found himself in captivitie, for very choler and disdain he bit his tong
in twaine within his mouth : notwithstanding he died not thereof, but lived untill he came
in England and then he died of cold which he had taken at sea." This Indian arrived
the second of October, 1576 , with Frobisher, on his return from his discovery of Fro-
bisher's Bay. Steevens probably had no intention of leading the reader to infer that he
94
 THE TEMPEST
1

supposed that this dead Indian was on exhibition at the time The Tempest was written.
As a boy of twelve years Shakspere might have seen or heard of the marvel and re-
membered it afterward. 38 LET LOOSE, ' let go,' cp. " let me loose " L. L. L. III.1.128.
HOLD, cp. " All the Egyptians hold opinion that the crocodile is a divinatour" Topsell,
1608 (in N. E. D.). 42 GABERDINE : Comenius translates lana by " a rough gaberdine
(frock)" ; Minsheu defines " gaberdine " as " a rough Irish mantle or horseman's coat,"
deriving it from French gaban, which he says is " a sort of pallium or garment to protect
onefrom storms " ; Percivall has " capote, a gabardine, . . a shepherd's cloke or cassocke " ;
Skinner says that it is " a livery coat given every year by masters to their servants."
$ 45 SHROWD, ' take shelter,' cp. " We see a cloud And fearing to be wet do run and
shroud Under a bush " Ran-
dolph, 'An Eclogue to Master
ACT II SCENE II 44* -58
Jonson ' (in Cent. Dict. ) ; the
last letter of a diphthong end-
ENTER STEPHANO SINGING
ing in u in M. E. and e. N. E. is
STEPHANO often written w before a con-
I shall no more to sea, to sea, sonant, cp. "powre " Macb.
V.2. I. DREGGES : Trinculo
Here shall I dye ashore— is still thinking of the "foule
This is a very scurvy tune to sing at a man's bumbard," not yet empty.
funerall . Well, here's my comfort.
44 Stephano's mournful
DRINKES SINGS ditty only gets as far as the
The master, the swabber, the boate- swaine second line. He does not like
the tune, and, abruptly break-
and I,
ing off, starts a new song.
The gunner and his mate Both these songs , so redolent
of the sea, were probably
Lov'd Mall, Meg and Marrian and Mar- learned from Stephano's
gerie, forecastle friends on the voy-
But none of us car'd for Kate; age from Tunis. ¶ 48 SWAB-
BER, cp. " swabber, an infe-
For she had a tongue with a tang, rior officer aboard a man of
Would cry to a sailor, 'Goe hang!' war whose business is to see
She lov'd not the savour of tar nor of that the ship be kept clean "
Kersey; "a small [i.e. petty]
pitch, officer who cleans the ship'17
Coles ; Cocker (English Dic-
Yet a tailor might scratch her where ere
she did itch: tionary, 1715) glosses the
word " scullion." This and
Then to sea, boyes, and let her goe hang! "gunner" carry out the local
colour of the man-of-war
This is a scurvy tune too : but here's my com-
song. BOATE- SWAINE, ' bo-
fort. son. 50 The rhythm of
DRINKS the verse is, of course, " ' " x
* The text returns to the standard numeration. IXXIX MALL is a pet
name for Mary, like " Hal "
for Harry, cp. " Mall (for Mary), Maria " Coles. In the former case the a + 1 developed
a u and the resulting diphthong became o, represented in our MN. spelling ' Moll.' $ 55
11
TAILORS were proverbial as lacking manly courage, cp. " nine taylors make a man
Ray's Proverbs. 456 THEN TO SEA, BOYES, illustrates the juxtaposition of heavy
stresses common in the accenting of a finale phrase in English poetry. 57 Stephano's
humorous comment to himself is based upon the scurviness of the ' ditty ' in v. 55.
95
 THE TEMPEST

60 SALVAGES AND MEN ACT II SCENE II 58-77

OF INDE , etc., seems to echo
pulpit phraseology ; it has
CALIBAN .
been pointed out that Cover-
dale's version of Jer. XIII. 23, Doe not torment me : oh !
'Can the Ethiopian change STEPHANO
his skin?' is " Canthe man of
Inde change his skin ?" The What's the matter ? Have we divels here ?
frequent in the e. N. E. form Doe you put trickes upon ' s with salvages and
of 'savage,' found in Hak-
luyt, Eden, Spenser, etc., men of Inde, ha ? I have not scap'd drowning
seems to be a sophisticated to be afeard now of your foure legges ; for it
spelling due to etymological hath bin said, ' as proper a man as ever went
associations with silva ; it
was not pronounced, how- on foure legs cannot make him give ground ' ;
ever, in Shakspere's time or and it shall be said so againe while Stephano
later, as is shown by 16th-
breathes at ' nostrils .
century orthographists, who
include " salvage " with such CALIBAN
words as "talk " and " calm ."
61 HA? is the same inter- The spirit torments me ; oh !
jection of indignant inquiry STEPHANO
that is in "Who does me This is some monster of the isle with foure
this , ha ? " Ham. II . 2. 602, legs , who hath got, as I take it, an ague.
and roughly corresponds to
our MN. "eh ?" 62 YOUR Where the divell should he learne our lan-
FOURE LEGGES, ' anything guage ? I will give him some reliefe, if it be
that walks on four legs, the
"your" being the general in- but for that. If I can recover him and keepe
definite pronoun. 63 Ste- him tame and get to Naples with him , he's
phano misquotes the prov-
a present for any emperour that ever trod on
erb ; his language sounds as
if he thought his quotation neates-leather.
was scriptural ; "breathes at CALIBAN
the nostrils," too, sounds like
Bible phraseology, though of Doe not torment me, ' prethee ; I'le bring my
course the expression is not wood home faster.
an uncommon one, cp. “ All
in whose nostrils was the
breath of life " Gen. VII.22. The apostrophe stands for the clipped definite article, cp.
note to I.1.38. 69 Stephano concludes quite naturally that the four trembling legs
which he sees sticking out from beneath the gaberdine are those of a monster with the
ague. 70 SHOULD is used in its EL. sense of ' can .. have,' cp. " Where shold this
musick be " 1.2.387. ¶72 RECOVER, ' cure ' ; the word in this sense is transitive as
well as reflexive in EL. E. 74 PRESENT : like Frobisher's present of the narwhal's
tusk to Queen Elizabeth : " They found a great dead fish, round like a porcpis, twelve
foot long, having a horne of two yards lacking two inches growing out of the snout,
wreathed [twisted] and straight like a wax taper and [sc. in MN . E. 'the animal '] might
be thought a sea unicorne... It was reserved as a jewele [i.e. treasure ] by the queenes
commandement in her wardrobe of robes." Stephano probably says ' emperour ' because
he is an Italian, and has in mind such a sovereign as Charles V, whose dominions in-
cluded the duchy of Milan and the kingdom of Naples. ' Ever trod shoe leather ' is our
corresponding MN. phrase.
96
 THE TEMPEST

478 FIT: the paroxysms of fever and ague were called " fits " in e. N. E.; indeed, that
is the original meaning of the word, cp. Macb.III.2.23. 79 Charitable Stephano !
80 GOE NEERE is an e. N. E. idiom now represented by ' come ' with a present parti-
ciple, cp. " it will goe neere to be thought so shortly " Ado IV.2.24. 81 REMOVE in
EL. E. means ' put an end to,' cp. " hardly or with paine to remove or put awaie, amolior "
Alvearie. $ 82 I WILL NOT TAKE TOO MUCH : if this was a current phrase for asking
a stiff price for a thing, no other instance of it has yet been cited from EL. E.; Steevens
parallels, 44 And ye be beholdyng unto my lady for hyr good worde, for she hath never
preysyd yowe to much " Paston Letters II, p.219, which seems to mean ' for she cannot
speak too highly of you,' i.e. thinks you are worth more than anything she can say of you.
If we have similar syntax
here, Stephano's thought is,
ACT II SCENE II 78-93
' I cannot set too high a price
on him ' ; but this seems to
STEPHANO be a curious use of " will."
He's in his fit now and does not talke after Some editors take the ex-
pression for ironical. But
the wisest. Hee shall taste of my bottle ; if
perhaps the simplest expla-
hee have never drunke wine afore , it will goe nation is to assume a form of
neere to remove his fit. If I can recover him humour, common in Shak-
spere's clowns, bywhich they
and keepe him tame , I will not take too much are made to say just the
for him ; hee shall pay for him that hath him, opposite of what they mean.
We have already had Ste-
and that soundly.
phano misquoting the prov-
CALIBAN erb in v.63, and later on he
quotes ' every man shift for
Thou dost me yet but little hurt ; thou wilt
himself' as " Every man shift
anon , I know it by thy trembling : now Prosper for all the rest and let No
man take care for himselfe "
workes upon thee.
STEPHANO V. I.256 ; so here he may
have intended to say, ' I shall
Come on your wayes ; open your mouth ; here not take too little for him.'
84 AND THAT SOUNDLY
is that which will give language to you, cat :
seems a pet phrase of Ste-
open your mouth ; this will shake your shak- phano's, one of those touches
of habit that sharpen person-
ing, I can tell you, and that soundly : you
ality, cp. v.91 . 86 TREM-
cannot tell who's your friend : open your
BLING, Steevens says, is
chaps againe. represented as one of the ef-
fects of being possessed by
the devil ; he cites " mark how he trembles in his extasy " Err. IV.4.54 ; Wright adds,
"all the spirits with much adoe being commanded to goe downe into her left foote, they
did it with vehement trembling and shaking of her leg," from Harset's Declaration, p . 58.
Trinculo trembling with fear at the voice which he thinks a devil's, Caliban frightened
into fits by Trinculo's trembling, and Stephano gingerly ministering to the pair of cowards
in the belief that he is curing a four-legged monster of the ague, is a humorous situation
only to be paralleled from Henry IV. 88 COME ON YOUR WAYES is not a nautical
expression, nor the equivalent of ' come on your side,' as it has been explained, but a
common phrase meaning ' come, don't be afraid,' cp. " come your waies " A.Y.L. 1.2.221 ,
where it is an invitation to wrestle ; so in Tro.&Cr. III.2.46 " come your wayes, come
your wayes " is spoken to the bashful Troilus as Pandarus urges him to speak to Cres-
sida. "Come on your wayes " is a natural variant of the phrase, for " come on " itself
97
 THE TEMPEST

is in e. N. E. a common exclamation of encouragement, cp. " Now, sir, come on : what

was done to Elbowes wife ?" Meas. II . I. 144. 89 CAT : Stephano refers to a prover-
bial phrase, cp. " old liquour able to make a cat speak " D'Urfey, 1719 (in N. E.D. 13c).
The phrase was probably current in Shakspere's time, though the only EL. citation in
N.E.D. is this from The Tempest. 90 SHAKE : Baret's gloss, " to make to shake
or quake, to expell with violence, concusso," points to the sense in which Stephano first
uses the word ; so in 2Hen.4 IV. I. 209, " Hee doth unfasten so and shake a friend," there
seems to be a shade of this meaning involved. 92 CANNOT TELL in EL. E. is the same
as 'do not know,' cp. Macb. I.
2.39. 493 CHAPS, ' jaws,' ACT II SCENE II 94-107
cp. Macb. 1.2.22.

494 SHOULD, first in its TRINCULO

sense of ' ought to,' and then I should know that voyce : it should be-
in that of ' must be,' cp. note
to 1.2.387. Trinculo evident- but hee is dround , and these are divels ; O
lytries to peer out from under defend me !
the gaberdine, but in an ac- STEPHANO
cess of fear draws his head
back. 97 DELICATE in Foure legges and two voyces : a most deli-
EL . E. means ' ingeniously cate monster ! his forward voyce now is to
constructed,' N. E. D. II b, cp. speake well of his friend ; his backward voice
"delicate stratagem" Lear
IV. 6. 188 ; but its conno- is to utter foule speeches and to detract. If
tations, ' exquisite, ' ' dainty,' all the wine in my bottle will recover him, I
give Stephano's words fine
humour, and his ready appre- will helpe his ague. Come ! Amen , I will
ciation of the practical value poure some in thy other mouth.
of the imagined ingenious TRINCULO
arrangement adds a touch of
personality at the same time. Stephano !
99 BACKWARD , ' placed STEPHANO
at the rear,' cp. " The back-
ward hips .. in the way of Doth thy other mouth call me ? Mercy,
an angle for the back part of mercy ! This is a divell , and no monster : I
a building " Moxon, Mech. will leave him ; I have no long spoone.
Ex. (1677) 156, and " A lodg-
ing in the backward garret
of a mean house " Johnson, ' Rambler ' 171 , in N. E.D.5. IOI RECOVER HIM , i.e. ' bring
him out of his paroxysm.' 102 HELPE in its EL. sense of ' to cure wholly ' is now
obsolete, cp. " This helpyth poysoning and comforteth all the members " citation dated
1576 in N. E. D. 10, so " Turne giddie and be holpe by backward turning " Rom. &Jul. 1.2.48.
AMEN : the frequent occurrence of " Amen " after the last petition of the Lord's Prayer,
"deliver us from evil," and its use as a concluding response to " God bless us," gave the
word in EL. E. peculiar virtue as an adjuration against evil spirits, cp. Macb. II.2.29.
Stephano realizes the danger he is incurring, and accompanies his action with a protec-
tive " amen," spoken betimes lest the devil cross his prayer. But if we may disregard the
close pointing of FO. I, we may, with Capell, take the word as an adjuration concluding
the first application of the bottle, charm cures in EL. E. being usually concluded with an
"amen." "Amen " is sometimes used in MN. E. as a verb, ' to amen ' meaning ' to conclude,'
see N. E. D. ' amen,' v. , but does not seem to be sufficently substantiated in EL. E. to justify
Steevens's explanation , which was ' Have done,' i.e. leave some for thy other mouth - a
most happy interpretation if it were justifiable. 105 CALL ME, ' call me by name,'
98

1
 THE TEMPEST

cp. "Answere as I call you" Mids. 1.2. 18, and " I call thee not [i.e. I do not name thee] "
Rich.3 1.3.234. Stephano's realization that it is the backward mouth that "calls " him
adds to his horror. 107 SPOONE, an allusion to the proverb, " He must have a long
spoone shall eate with the divell " Heywood, ' Proverbs ' II, 1562, Spenser Soc . , p . 58 ; the
proverb is also given in
Bailey, 1730, and Ray, 1742,
ACT II SCENE II 108-125 but is overlooked in N. E.D.
22 n ; cp. also Err. IV.3.64.
TRINCULO
108 TOUCH ME, i.e. show
Stephano ! if thou beest Stephano , touch me that thou art not a spirit.
and speake to me ; for I am Trinculo - be 110 THY GOOD FRIEND
not afeard thy good friend Trinculo. TRINCULO, the cajoling
tone and the repetition of
STEPHANO
"Trinculo " emphasize the
If thou beest Trinculo , come foorth : I'le humour of the situation.
TIII IF THOU , stressed
pull thee by the lesser legges : if any be Trin-
upon "if": Stephano puts
culo's legges, these are they. Thou art very the test before deciding to
Trinculo indeede ! How cam'st thou to be the helphim. ¶ 112 TRINCULO'S
LEGGES : the recognition
siege of this moone-calfe ? Can he vent Trin- has a humorous certainty
culos ? about it that hardly speaks
TRINCULO well for Trinculo's figure.
For the word order, cp.
I tooke him to be kil'd with a thunder-strok. "it standeth us on hand to
But art thou not dround , Stephano ? I hope have an excellenter raun-
some than we can bring any "
now thou art not dround . Is the storme
Golding's Calvin, Galatians
over-blowne? I hid mee under the dead 197. 113 VERY is fre-
moone-calfes gaberdine for feare of the quently used as an intensive
adjective in e. N. E., cp. " I
storme. And art thou living, Stephano ? O am verie shee" Drayton,
Stephano, two Neapolitanes scap'd ! 'Heroicall Epistles ,' p. 50 a,
STEPHANO and "her very guise " Macb.
V. I. 21. 115 SIEGE is
'Prethee , doe not turne me about, my stomacke glossed in Coles by latrina,
is not constant. forica ; such Rabelaisian hu-
mour was less offensive in
Shakspere's time than it is
now, and as a recognized aspect of the life of the lower classes was a legitimate represen-
tative interest of the EL. drama, cp. note to the porter's speech in Macb. II.3.47 ; but
such language, however tolerated among the vulgar, was as offensive to the higher classes
as it now is to all. MOONe-calfe is eL. E. for a monstrous or abortive birth and is
glossed mola in EL. dictionaries, cp. " mole, a timpany or moon calf " Cotgrave ; " mola,
a lump of flesh .. called a moon-calfe or a timpany, any lump of flesh without shape "
Florio ; this latter sense seems to be the one in which Stephano uses the word. The same
association evidently gave rise to " mola," defined by Phillips, 1658, as “a fish found
in the Adriatick sea, so called as being like a lump of flesh ." 117 WITH has here
its EL. meaning ' by,' still in colloquial but reprehended use in idioms like ' ill with the
measles,' etc. THUNDER-STROK : cp. II . 1.204. 118 There is delicious humour in
the phraseology of Trinculo's question, which the actors probably made the most of. 122
LIVING : used predicatively, cp. II . I.299 ; MN . E. prefers ' alive.' 123 Trinculo implies
99
 THE TEMPEST

that the escape of two Neapolitans was a very miracle of Providence. Borde, E. E. T. S.,
p. 177, says of the Neapolitans, " Yet I dyd not see that they were men of gret activitie " ;
a note to the passage cites Thomas as saying that they do not keep their word, but
neither of these passages seems to hit the allusion in Trinculo's words. SCAP'D is a
normal EL. form and not an aphetic pronunciation of ' escaped, ' cp. note to Macb. III.4.20.
124 Trinculo evidently falls on Stephano's neck, hence Stephano's protest against
being turned around. 125 CONSTANT in the sense of ' steady,' ' settled,' is now
obsolete. The odour of Cali-
banis too much for Stephano.
ACT II SCENE II 126-141

126 FINE THINGS, ' no-

ble creatures.' AND, ' if,' cp. CALIBAN
note to II. I. 187. ዋ 127 ASIDE
BRAVE, cp. " brave vessell "
These be fine things, and if they be not
1.2.6. BEAR in EL.E. was
used of carrying anything, sprights . That's a brave god and beares ce-
whether weighty or not ; lestiall liquor. I will kneele to him.
"bear a letter " is common
EL. idiom, so " he .. had the STEPHANO
bagge and bear what was put
therein" S. John XII.6. An- How did'st thou scape ? How cam'st thou
other of its senses which has hither ? Sweare by this bottle how thou
become restricted is ' own,'
cam'st hither. I escap'd upon a but of sacke
'possess,' ' have,' cp. Mac-
beth 1. 3. 110 ; so bear a which the saylors heaved o're-boord , by this
brain,""atongue," " a heart," bottle which I made of the barke of a tree with
are common idioms. These mine owne hands since I was cast ashore.
senses mingle in Caliban's
use of the word. There per- CALIBAN
haps lies in the background
a humorous suggestion of a I'le sweare upon that bottle to be thy true
parallel between Stephano subject ; for the liquor is not earthly.
and Ganymede. This and STEPHANO
Caliban's next speech are
probably half-asides accom- Heere ; sweare then how thou escap'dst.
panied by a grotesque grov- TRINCULO
elling which Stephano at
last impatiently recognizes Swom ashore , man , like a ducke : I can swim
in his " How now, moone- like a ducke, I ' le be sworne.
calfe," below. ¶ 129 HOW
DID'ST THOU SCAPE may STEPHANO
be two questions uttered al-
Here, kisse the booke. Though thou canst
most simultaneously by Ste-
phano and Trinculo and an- swim like a ducke, thou art made like a goose.
swered first by Stephano .
130 The stress is of course " thou " and " f " ; the swearing in each case being accom-
panied by a swig of the liquor. 131 SACKE, Minsheu says, is " a wine that commeth
out of Spaine." The word was generally used to distinguish the white wines of the
south of Europe from those of the north. 132 O'RE-BOORD : the contracted form of
"over " was common in compounds in EL. E., cp. " ore-eaten " Tro. &Cr. V.2.160, " ore-
feed " (FO. 1664 " ore-fee ") Per. III, Gower 3, " ore shooes in bloud " Mids. III. 2. 48.
137 Caliban's words pass unnoticed, and Stephano addresses Trinculo. " Then," ' in
your turn,' cp. I. 2.499. 138 SWOM is a M. E. past tense of ' swim ' still current in EL. E.
100
 THE TEMPEST

141 GOOSE is the term for a stupid coward in EL. E., cp. Macb. V. 3. 12, and may refer
to the action of v.95 ; but in v. 112 Stephano alludes to the peculiar individuality of Trin-
culo's nether limbs, and it is more probable that " made like a goose " is said with a
significant glance at those
sturdy bowed legs which
ACT II SCENE II 142-158
brought Trinculo to shore,
and is a comment on their
TRINCULO peculiar architecture.
O Stephano, hast any more of this ?
142 O STEPHANO ! the
STEPHANO wordsthemselves suggest the
The whole but, man ; my cellar is in a rocke sigh of satisfaction with
which Trinculo relinquishes
by th ' sea-side where my wine is hid. How the bottle. 143 Stephano,
now , moone-calfe ! how does thine ague ? the provident butler, saved
from drowning by his nat
CALIBAN
ural affinity for wine-butts,
Hast thou not dropt from heaven ? has made it his first duty
STEPHANO to store his precious cask,
and with pompous gesture
Out o' th ' moone, I doe assure thee : I was refers to his " cellar " and
the man i' th ' moone when time was. his "wine." Caliban now
becomes insistent for the
CALIBAN
bottle, provoking the ' well,
I have seene thee in her and I doe adore thee : abortion, how 's your fever?'
from the practical Stephano,
my mistris shew'd me thee and thy dog and who is anxious about the
thy bush . health of his protégé. ¶ 147
STEPHANO OUT O' TH' MOONE : with
ready and ingenious assur-
Come, sweare to that : kisse the booke : I will ance, Stephano seizes the
furnish it anon with new contents : sweare. advantage offered by Cali-
ban's error to increase his
TRINCULO ascendancy over him ; Trin-
By this good light , this is a very shallow mon- culo, however, philosophizes
over his credulity, sagely
ster ! I afeard of him ! A very weake monster !
concluding that this is a
The man i' th' moone ! A most poore creadu- superstitious monster. ¶ 148
lous monster ! Well drawne, monster, in good WHEN TIME WAS is usually
glossed ' once upon a time,'
sooth !
and probably correctly, cp.
"Time was, I did him a de-
sired office " All's W. IV.4.5. 150 MISTRIS : cp. note to I.2.351 ff. THY DOG AND
THY BUSH : the shadows on the moon's face have been variously read in popular folk-
lore, cp. Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie II , pp. 679 ff.; this form is peculiarly fitting here,
bringing with it the association of " bush " in its EL. sense of ' a taverner's or vintner's
sign.' The same folk-lore is referred to in Mids. V. I. 136. 153 ANON , ' immediately,'
N.E.D.4. 154 BY THIS GOOD LIGHT : far-fetched forms of swearing were common
in Shakspere's time and are ridiculed by Jonson in Cynthia's Revells. This one is used
twice by Trinculo, probably here with reference to the liquor, and once by Stephano in
III.2 . 17, whose usual oath , however, is ' by this hand ' ; cp. also Ado V. 4.92,94. SHALLOW
in EL. E. bears the notion of ' stupid ' as well as of ' superficial,' cp. " so shallow, so con-
ceitlesse" Two Gent. IV.2.96. 156 MOST POORE : in e. N. E. the adverb often corre
ΙΟΙ
 THE TEMPEST

sponds to MN. E. ' very,' cp. " many that are worse and most few better" Chapman's
Odyssey II.424. CREADULOUS : the ea is probably due to analogy from " credit,"
which has a form " creadit " in e. N. E., representing an O. FR. crédit ; the e was probably
short in Shakspere's word, as now. 157 Well Drawne : for " draw" in the sense
of ' taking a draught of li-
quor,' cp. "they had their
ACT II SCENE II 159-173
cup quarrels, striving who
should draw deepest " Pur-
chas's Pilgrimage 348. CALIBAN

I'le shew thee every fertill ynch o ' th ' island ;

163 WHEN'S shows the
common EL. unstressed form and I will kisse thy foote : I prethee, be my

of " his " contracted with the god.

preceding word. Caliban TRINCULO
probably makes some sly
movement to gain the bottle By this light, a most perfidious and drunken
and thus excites Trinculo's
monster ! when's god's asleepe, he'll rob his
remark. ROB is used with
bottle.
the sense ' take away,'' steal,'
in e. N. E., cp. "the jewell of CALIBAN
life • was rob'd" John V.
I 'le kisse thy foot ; I ' le sweare my selfe thy
1.40. 167 COME ON : cp.
note to v. 88. ¶ 170 I COULD subject .
FINDE IN MY HEART, ' I feel STEPHANO
inclined': the phrase is com-
mon in e. N. E. - see N.E.D. Come on, then ; downe, and sweare.
40 - and is not yet quite ex- TRINCULO
tinct. It depends upon "heart"
in its obsolete sense of I shall laugh my selfe to death at this puppi-
'will,''purpose,'' inclination,' headed monster . A most scurvie monster !
N. E.D.7, a meaning still re-
I could finde in my heart to beate him,—
tained in my heart is set on
it,' and ' after my own heart.' STEPHANO
¶ 171 Stephano's COME, Come , kisse !
KISSE, interrupts the sen-
tence. 172 BUT THAT, TRINCULO
'if it were not that.' IN
-but that the poore monster's in drinke. An
DRINKE, ' intoxicated,' cp.
abhominable monster !
"I doe not speake to thee in
drinke" I Hen.4 11.4.458. The
phrase is still current. 173 ABHOMINABLE is an e. N. E. spelling of ' abominable,'
and Trinculo here probably preserves the sound of the h intentionally to enforce the
etymological meaning, ab homine, ' inhuman.' Holofernes, in L. L. L. V. I.26, says : " This
[ i.e. the historical spelling of English words] is abhominable, which he would call abbom-
inable." (The passage is a pleasant comment on Shakspere's good sense in these matters .)
There is an increasing note of jealousy in Trinculo's disgust : Caliban's words are ad-
dressed to Stephano .

165 WOOD : the influence of associations upon emotion and Shakspere's vivid psy-
chology in portraying it are well illustrated here in the effect of the notion ' wood ' upon
Caliban's train of thought. 167 STICKES, ' wood for burning,' an e. N. E. sense now
archaic, though still used in ' a stick of wood.' This collecting of fuel seems to be es-
pecially odious to Caliban, probably because a regular and methodical occupation chafing
102
 THE TEMPEST

his liberty. 171 CRABS, ' wild apples,' cp. Lear 1.5.16. 172 PIG-NUTS is a reference
to bunium flexuosum, ' an umbelliferous English plant with a root as large as a nutmeg,
hard, tuberous, and brown ' (Cent. Dict.) ; ' hawknut,' ' kippernut,' and ' earthnut ' are also
popular names for the species. Turner, 1548, enters it under apios and says : " it is
called in Englische an ernut or an earth nute : it groweth plenteouslye in Northumber-
land beside Morpeth and in Germany betwene Redkyrke and Colon." Fletcher, in ' Bon-
duca,' has "First soldier.
Fight like hogs for acorns !
ACT II SCENE II 164*-176 Second soldier. Venture our
lives for pig-nuts ! " (in Cent.
CALIBAN Dict.). Purchas says that in
I ' le shew thee the best springs ; I 'le plucke some parts of the West In-
dies they use a root " called
thee berries ;
papas, like to ground nuts,
I ' le fish for thee and get thee wood enough. for bread which they call
chuno" ; something like this
A plague upon the tyrant that I serve !
may have suggested the no-
I'le beare him no more stickes , but follow tion of pig-nuts to Shak-
spere. Purchas also men-
thee,
tions filberts as a New World
Thou wondrous man.
product. But if Shakspere
TRINCULO is thinking of the fruits of the
New World, he attaches to
A most rediculous monster, to make a won-
them familiar English names.
der of a poore drunkard ! ዋ 174 MARMAZET : the
CALIBAN word was in common use in
the 16th century as a gloss
I prethee, let me bring thee where crabs for cercopithecus (' an Afri-
grow ; can genus and very agile,'
Cent. Dict.), and was gener-
And I with my long nayles will digge thee ally used as a synonym for
pig-nuts ; 'monkey.' Coles and Glosso-
Show thee a jayes nest and instruct thee how graphia define it as " a kind of
black monkey with a shaggy
To snare the nimble marmazet. I'le bring neck as they are shewn in
thee England " ; Cocker, 1715,
adds that they are "shewn
To clustring philbirts, and sometimes I ' le
for a rarity in England." An
get thee American monkey may there-
Young scamels from the rocke . Wilt thou fore have been known in
Shakspere's day. " Marme-
goe with me? set"and " marmuset " are the
*The text returns to the standard numeration. usual historical spellings.
ዋ 175 PHILBIRTS is an
e. N. E. form of ' filberts,' due to the association of their ripening with St. Philibert's day,
N.E.D. s.v. 176 YOUNG SCAMELS FROM THE ROCKE : Stevenson, ' Birds of Nor-
folk' 11.260, says that the female bar-tailed godwit is called a " scamell " by the gunners
of Blakeney ; Swainson, ' British Birds,' p. 199, has substantially the same statement.
Professor Newton, in the Encyclopædia Britannica, says of it : " It is a bird about as
big as a tame pigeon, but possesses long legs and a long bill with a slight upward turn.
It is known to breed in Lapland, but its eggs are of great rarity ; toward autumn the
young visit our coasts and a few of them remain." These birds were great delicacies in
Shakspere's time, cp. " Your eating pheasant and godwit here in London " ' The Devil is
103
 THE TEMPEST

an Ass' III.3 , and it is not unnatural to suppose that he was familiar with their local
name ; the history of English shows many words in more or less general use in the 16th
and 17th centuries that are restricted to dialect use in MN. E. Indeed, Shakspere may
even himself have shot scamels. Nor does " from the rocke " necessarily mean that they
breed in the rocks, for GET in e. N. E. has the meaning of ' procuring by hunting,' N.E.D. 19,
and taking Caliban's SOMETIMES with the SNARING just before, we may easily under-
stand him to mean that he will be able occasionally to hit a young scamel for Stephano
from his vantage on the cliff jutting over the sandy beach below, cp. II . 1. 120. Most
early editors inferred that " scamels " was a misprint, and Theobald suggested ' sea-malls,'
or ' sea-mews' ; " sea-malls " is a 17th-century name for ' sea-gulls,' cp. " The sea-mall :
the bill white but yellow toward the tip, bending " R. Holme, ' Academy of Armory,' 1688,
II.262 (cited by Dyce). These birds were a well-known delicacy, according to Minsheu.
Gollancz would read ' seamew ' because of the mention of a kind of " web-footed fowle
of the bignesse of a sea-mew" in Strachey's and Jourdain's accounts of the Bermudas.
"Sea-mew" is often unhyphenated in EL. E., cp. "Larus is a certaine little byrde of the
kind of seamews " Cooper s.v. A w in EL. manuscripts often looks like a ll, and the
misprint would be an easy one. Another plausible emendation is ' stannel ' (Dyce),
a recorded spelling of ' stanniel, the kestrel or wind-hover.' The fact that " stannel "
seemsto be misprinted as " stallion " in Tw. N. II.5.124 also makes for Dyce's emendation.
Burton says แ some reclaime ravens, castrils, pies, etc., and man [ i.e. tame ] them for their
pleasures " ' Anat. of Mel.' II.2.iv : Caliban might have been imagined to have tamed one ;
Pennant, 1766, says that they
breed in the hollows of trees
ACT II SCENE II 177-183
(N. E. D. s.v. ' kestrel '). But
"scamels" as a name for ' god-
wit,' a delicious titbit in Shak- STEPHANO
spere's day, fits the context
I prethee now, lead the way without any
as well as any of these sub-
stitutions, and it is surely more talking. Trinculo , the king and all our
better to retain it. ROCKE company else being dround , wee will inherit
means ' cliff ' in EL. E.: Gib-
raltar is still called ' the rock .' here: here ; beare my bottle , fellow Trinculo ;
we ' ll fill him by and by againe.
179 INHERIT is now ob- CALIBAN SINGS DRUNKENLY
solete in this sense of ' take
possession,' ' dwell,' cp. " O Farewell, master ; farewell, farewell !
where can life celestial in- TRINCULO
herit?" Tourneur, 1600 (in
N. E.D.5 b). 180 FELLOW A howling monster ; a drunken monster !
TRINCULO, perhaps a salve
for the "beare my bottle." FO. I sets a colon after " bottle," but it is probably the light point
which often stands for a MN . comma. ¶ 182 FAREWELL is often so stressed in EL. E.

184 The rollicking rhythm of Caliban's song, starting with " Nó móre dáms I ' le máke
for fish," would naturally repeat itself in ' " ' X I
'' X ' x , so that FETCH IN may have been
intended for "fetch," " Nór scrape trénch'ring, nór wash dísh " finishing the strain : then
the refrain ' !!!! × '× × × ××' . 187 TRENCHERING is usually emended to
Pope's ' trencher,' ' beyond a doubt a printer's error,' remarks Dyce. But hardly so :
the suffix -ing, as in ' bedding,' ' shipping,' ' flooring,' ' firing,' as a collective designation
of substance or material used in a common operation, is too frequent in English to allow
us to assume that " trenchering " is a mistake. In this sense " trenchering" will mean
'table furniture,' especially the EL. pieces of wood which correspond to the MN. ' plate,
cp. "He shift a trencher? He scrape a trencher? " Rom. &Jul . 1.5.2. DISH also meant
104
 THE TEMPEST

ACT II SCENE II 184-192 'bowl for drinking from ' in

Shakspere's time, N. E. D. I b,
CALIBAN cp. " I'le give .. My figur'd
goblets for a dish of wood"
No more dams I'le make for fish; Rich.2 III.3.147, and " There,
Nor fetch in firing take it to you,trenchers, cups ,
and all" Tam.of Shr.IV.I.168.
At requiring; 188 'BAN, ' BAN : a similar
Nor scrape trenchering, nor wash dish : refrain verse- " Dán, dán,
dán, deridán ". was cited by
* Ban , ’ Ban , Ca - Calyban Malone from Sidney's Arca-
Has a new master : get a new man. dia ( 1598), p. 486. The FO.
prints " Ban' ban'," but the
Freedome, high-day ! high -day, freedome !
apostrophes seem to belong
freedome, high- day, freedome ! before the "bans " ; possibly
STEPHANO the printer thought the sense
was ' ban ' em.' 189 That
O brave monster ! lead the way.
is, the old master must get a
EXEUNT new man. $ 190 FREE-
DOME : the word seems to be
used in its sense of ' liberty from bondage ' : but the suggestion of " freedom " in a wider
sense may have been in Shakspere's thought,-some such notion as Renan has elaborated
in his Caliban. HIGH-DAY ! is an e. N. E. form of ' hey-day,' and probably due to asso-
ciation with " high-day," ' a festal day,' cp. " Highday ! who have we got here " T. Brown,
1687 ( in N. E.D.). The word is an old Germanic interjection of wild gaiety, quite unre-
lated to 'high' (N. E.D.).

Act II is so closely linked with Act III that it will be well for the reader to take the two
together. They both have to do with the threatened frustrations of Prospero's plans.
There are three of these clustering about the three groups of actors,-Alonso and his
courtiers ; Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo ; and Ferdinand and Miranda. The first of
them arises from the vicious Anthonio playing on the ambitions of Sebastian, and is
checked by Ariel in Scene I of Act II ; the second arises through the hatred of Caliban
inflamed by Stephano's sack, and is only forecast in Scene II of Act II : the theme is
fully developed in Act III ; the third threat of frustration is merely hinted at : it would
have been effective had Ferdinand failed under the test imposed by Prospero, the happy
issue of which is pictured in the first scene of Act III .

INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO SCENE I OF ACT III

With a fine appreciation of contrast, Shakspere ends the preceding scene in a mad ex-
altation of accidental liberty, which is only another form of the basest servitude, and
begins this one with a servitude which is ennobled by love into the highest liberty. Cali-
ban reels off the stage in a drunken frenzy of unleashed passions : Ferdinand moves
patiently in with his log, cheerfully accepting drudgery and abasement because they point
to rich ends, and joyfully exclaiming that his freedom is greatest when his task is heaviest
-"most busie lest, when I doe it."
105
 THE TEMPEST

THE THIRD ACT

SCENE I : BEFORE PROSPERO'S CELL : ENTER FERDINAND

BEARING A LOG
I - 15

FERDINAND

HERE be some sports are painfull , and their labor

Delight in them set off : some kindes of basenesse
Are nobly undergon , and most poore matters
Point to rich ends . This my meane taske
Would be as heavy to me as odious , but
The mistris which I serve quickens what's dead,
And makes my labours pleasures : O , she is

Ten times more gentle then her father's crabbed ,

And he's compos'd of harshnesse . I must remove
Some thousands of these logs and pile them
The BEFORE PROSPERO'S
CELL is Theobald's place up,
direction. 1 THERE BE Upon a sore injunction : my sweet mistris
..ARE, the common e. N. E. Weepes when she sees me worke, and saies,
indicative idiom with omitted
relative . PAINFULL, ' toil- such basenes
some,' the e.N.E. sense. AND, Had never like executor. I forget :
'and yet,' cp. "' and ' may be
Latin'd by vero .. in affirma- But these sweet thoughts doe even refresh
tions as well as negations my labours ,
Phr. Gen.; see N. E. D. 7 b.
Most busie lest, when I doe it.
T2 DELIGHT in e.N.E. often
means ' recreation,''pastime,'
cp. "Sir John, do you thinke .. that ever the devill could have made you our delight ? "
Merry W. v.5. 154, and " recreation, delight, ease, pleasure, oblectatio " Alvearie. IN
THEM SET OFF, 'framed by them,' i.e. by the painful sports : " in " in the sense of ' by'
is common in e. N. E.; "them " refers logically to the "painfull sports " ; " set off" in
the sense of ' adorned,' ' made attractive,' is still in current use ; the whole construction is
zeugmatic, corresponding to MN.E. 'There are some sports which are toilsome, and
yet the labour associated with them is pastime enhanced by their toilsome character.'
The words have occasioned great difficulty, as EL. zeugmatic constructions invariably
do, -cp. note to Macb. IV.3. 15, -and many attempts have been made to wrest them into
MN.E.: Pope and Steevens read 'but' for " and," and Rowe changed " set " to ' sets ' ;
most modern editors make this latter alteration in the text, taking " delight " in its sense
of ' pleasure,' and ' sets off ' in the sense of ' minimizes,' and understand the text to mean
'and taking pleasure in them assuages their labour.' But this does not appear to be
Ferdinand's notion : he says that these sports are the very opposite of toil -are in
106
 THE TEMPEST

themselves pleasure. If we stick to the Folio and read it as EL. E., the sense is clear and
the phrasing quite in the condensed style of " most busie lest," below ; so while much can
be said for the ' sets ' reading, and Macb. II.3.35 speaks strongly for it, ' their labour is
pastime ' is quite as strongly supported by the sense of v.9, and it is not necessary,
therefore, to change the text. 3 MOST POORE seems to be the absolute superlative.
MATTERS in EL. E. often means ' business,' ' tasks,' cp. " thou hast undertaken a hard
matter, business, or charge, provinciam cœpisti duram et arduam " Alvearie, and " I scarce
have leisure to salute you, My matter is so rash [i.e. urgent ] " Tro.& Cr. IV.2.61 . 5
AS ODIOUS, ' as it is odious,' a frequent EL. ellipsis. ME AS is probably contracted, ' m' as,'
cp. 1.2. 158 and Macb. IV. I.72, and " odious " a dissyllable. BUT in e. N. E. and in many
modern idioms is equivalent to ' if' with the negative of the verb expressed. 6 DEAD,
either ' lifeless ' or ' dull,' cp. " To shewe that wee are God's true servants we must not
go to work with a dead hand (as the proverb is) " Tomson, 1579 (N. E. D. 16). 9 COM-
POS'D, ' made entirely of,' cp. " He is compos'd and fram'd of treacherie " Ado V. I.257
(N.E.D.4). TII UPON in M. E. has the meaning of ' on penalty of,' and this sense was
carried over into e . N. E. as ' in consequence of,' a meaning of wider application in
e. N. E. than in MN. E., cp. " Will you, upon good dowry, marry her? Slender. I will
doe a greater thing then that upon your request " Merry W. 1.1.246. SORE : cp. " sore
labor's bath " Macb. II.2.38. 13 EXECUTOR, ' performer,' ' doer of a task,' cp. "The
said earl [ Bothwell] was one of the principal executors of the murder [ of Darnley] "
Throckmorton in Robinson's History of Scotland, 1567 (N. E.D. I ) . I FORGET, i.e. ' I for-
get my task ' : he takes up his log again with the excuse which follows. 14 THOUGHTS
seems to be used in its common EL. sense of ' anxieties,' and to refer to Miranda's
solicitude rather than to Ferdinand's thoughts about her, hence the EVEN, i.e, ' contrary
to what one might suppose.' 15 LEST, a common e. N. E. form of ' least,' remaining
into the 18th century, see N. E. D.; as both " lest " and " least " were ' lēst ' in EL. E., -cp.
Macb. II.4.37, -there was no advantage in distinguishing them by spelling. The phrase
seems to be a somewhat anomalous construction carrying out the " even " notion above :
' I should appear to be most occupied when doing my task, but am really then least
occupied, for the labour is pastime ; her anxieties make my labours pleasures.' IT in
e. N. E. is frequently used to refer to a general singular notion involved in some preced-
ing word rather than to the word itself, cp. note to 1.2 . 100. If one reads the verse
without a consciousness of grammar it will interpret itself ; the oxymoron is quite in
keeping with the style of the whole passage and is sufficiently clear if the reader only
thinks of the senses of the words, the " lest " performing the function of a negative as " less "
frequently does in Shakspere, cp. Wint.T. III.2.57 and Cym. 1.4.23, and " most " that of
an intensive as above in " most poore." The antithesis between " least " and " most " is one
that Shakspere is fond of, cp. " with what I most injoy contented least " Sonn. XXIX.8,
"Most powerto doe most harme, least knowing ill ” L.L.L. II . 1.58, " Love, therefore, and
tongue-tide simplicity, In least speake most " Mids. V. I. 105. For a similar figure to
"most busie lest " cp. "That's lesser than a little [i.e. nothing at all] " Cor. 1.4. 14.
The passage has been a most puzzling one to Shakspere editors ; but of the numerous
emendations proposed not one aptly fits the sense of the context, and the majority of
them are palpably absurd. The curious reader will find a dozen closely printed pages
of them in Furness's Variorum -a century and a half of guesses. Most busyless when
I do it,' Theobald, has been taken into many editions ; ' Most busy, least when I do it,'
with merely a change of pointing, was suggested by Heath and has a considerable fol-
lowing, but " least " coming before " when " and qualifying " do" is very anomalous word
order ; others are ' Most busiest when I do it,' the ' doing it ' being taken as standing for
"sweet thoughts," Holt ; 'Most busy left when idlest ' (' left busy ' is odd English)
Cambridge Text, Ist ed.; ' Most busiest when idlest ' (not unhappy, but lacking the point
of the text) Spedding. Some forty-two such alterations of the passage are recorded in
the Cambridge Text.
107
 THE TEMPEST

15 PRAY YOU, the sub- ACT III SCENE I 15-31

ject " I" is omitted, as is
common in EL. adjurations. ENTER MIRANDA AND PROspero [unseen]
¶ 18 PRAY , SET IT DOWNE :
see note to v. 15 on the use MIRANDA
of IT. 19 Miranda's pretty Alas, now , pray you ,
conceit, with its fireside
suggestion, must have made Worke not so hard : I would the lightning had
Ferdinand's heart leap. Burnt up those logs that you are enjoyn'd to
21
The wily ingenuousness of pile !
the remark depends on the
EL. meaning of SAFE, ' un- Pray, set it downe and rest you : when this
able to disturb us,' cp. " safe burnes,
in a ditch he bides" Macb.
III.4.26. 22 DISCHARGE, 'T will weepe for having wearied you. My
'perform,' a common e. N. E. father
meaning of the word. 24
Is hard at study ; pray now, rest your selfe ;
THAT, ' that one,' cp. note to
II.1.250. 26 CRACKE in Hee's safe for these three houres .
M. E. and e. N. E. means 'to FERDINAND
snap,' cp. "the hoopes of his
O most deere mistris,
barrels cracked and break "
Eden, 1555 (N. E. D. 13). SIN- The sun will set before I shall discharge
EWES, ' muscles,' cp. IV. I. What I must strive to do.
260. 28 In IT WOULD
probably the unstressed pro- MIRANDA
clitic " t " is intended, with If you ' l sit downe
reversal of the rhythm, "'t
would become mé." ¶ 30 An I ' le beare your logges the while : pray , give
EL. use of IS TO in the me that ;
sense of ' belongs to ' (N. E. D.
I 'le carry it to the pile.
'be' 8; cp. "your hand
and heart .. Should, notwith- FERDINAND
standing that your bond of
duty, .. be more To me, your No, precious creature ;
friend, then any" Hen . 8 III. I had rather cracke my sinewes, breake my
2.186) gives to Miranda's backe,
words the meaning ' the task
Then you should such dishonor undergoe ,
has my good will ,' i.e. my
heart would be in it. The While I sit lazy by.
naïve confession is masked
MIRANDA
in artificial language.
It would become me
31 WORME is used in Per-
icles also in the sense of As well as it does you : and I should do it
'creature ,' "the poor worme With much more ease ; for my good will is
doth die for 't" Per. I. I. 102 . to it,
INFECTED was used of per-
And yours it is against.
sons having the pestilence :
that Prospero intends this
sense is shown by his use of VISITATION, which was a technical term in connection
with the plague, cp. " visitor " II. I. II . The references in The Tempest to the plague
are of a kind which would point to the fact that one of its recurrences was fresh in
108
 THE TEMPEST

the popular mind when the play was written: 1603 was the worst of the plague years,
but not until 1610 was London quite free from the pest ; these repeated references,
therefore, turning on the notions " plague," " infection," " visitation," etc., would point
to a date for the composition of the play not later than 1610. 32 WEARILY, the adverb,
not the adjective , cp. II. I. 321 ; it is possibly syncopated to "wear'ly," as "heavily "
is in Macb. IV.3 . 182. 35 CHEEFELY (this spelling was common in Shakspere's day,
see N. E.D.) has the sense
'especially.' 36 'Tis fresh
ACT III SCENE I 31-37
morning with us, too, when
these young lovers of Shak-
PROSPERO spere's are by. The unaf-
ASIDE fected simplicity of Miranda,
Poore worme, thou art infected ! and her immediate alarm at

This visitation shewes it. havingunwittingly disobeyed

her father, give her a win-
MIRANDA someness that makes this
You looke wearily. love-making one of the sweet-
est interests of all Shak-
FERDINAND spere'splays. Its naturalness,
too, gives it a stability that
No, noble mistris ; ' t is fresh morning with me
The Tempest would sorely
When you are by at night. I do beseech you-
lack were it away, furnishing
Cheefely, that I might set it in my prayers . as it does a permanent in-
terest to run on when the rest
What is your name?
of the pageant has faded.
MIRANDA For we feel we know this
Miranda. O my father, artless girl and her young
lover so well that we follow
I have broke your hest to say so ! them back to Naples when
the play is over - follow them
on through a life that cannot go wrong, it has begun so happily. 37 BROKE, this form
of the past participle is common in EL. E., cp. note to Macb. 1.4.3. One of the charac-
teristics of Shakspere's plays is that their representative interests are constantly in-
volving situations that have not come into the action previously represented on the stage ;
here and in v. 58 there is implied a talk between Miranda and her father as to how she
shall behave before Ferdinand, just such a scene as would happen in actual life. The
implication is so natural that we recreate the scene for ourselves as if it had been for-
gotten for the moment and brought back again to us by some chance association.

437 In the speech which follows Ferdinand plays on Miranda's name, cp. " mirando,
admirable, to be wondered at " Florio (" miranda" would be the feminine form) . ADMIR'D
in e. N. E. means ' admirable,' ' wonderful,' a sense of the word now obsolete, cp. Macb.
III. 4. IIO. 38 TOP is used in EL. E. like MN. ' acme,' ' the very pitch of excellence,'
cp. "round And top of soveraignty " Macb. IV. 1.88 . ADMIRATION, ' admirableness ' :
Lord Berners, 1534, speaks of an " example of great admiration " (in N. E. D. 3). T 40
EY'D, ' regarded,' cp. "eie not me, ne me spectes " Alvearie, and "when first your eye
[i.e. face] I eyde " Sonn. CIV. 2. T41 TH' HARMONY : " harmony " seems to be accented
on the second syllable here, though Minsheu gives " hármony" ; the same stress seems
to appear in "The fingers of the powers above do túne The harmóny of this peáce : the
vísión [ three syllables] " etc., Cym. V.5.467, though elsewhere in Shakspere it is " hár-
Such a form of the word may have been produced by the Latin harmonia , like
"heróe," which is frequent in EL. E.; it would be rash, therefore, to infer that the FO.
reading is wrong, strange though it is to our ears and conflicting with the MN. stress of
109
 THE TEMPEST

the word. Of course, " harm'ny " is a possible syncopation and to EL. ears would be
little stranger than " Él'nor," " tyr'nous," " en'my," " mon'ment," which are indubitable
syncopations in e. N. E. 42 DILIGENT seems to be syncopated, cp. I.2.304. SEV-
ERALL, not ‘ a few,' but ' different,' ' various,' an e. N. E. sense not yet quite obsolete.
¶43 ANY seems to be the object of LIK'D, and is used in its e. N. E. sense of ' any one.'
44 FULL means ' exerting
all its influence ' in a num-
ACT III SCENE I 37-48
ber of e. N. E. phrases, “ with
a full arm, eye, mouth," etc.,
see N. E. D. 9, and “ with a full FERDINAND
soule" seems to be one of Admir'd Miranda !
them. SOULE in Shakspere
is often tantamount to MN . E. Indeede the top of admiration ! worth
' satisfaction," consent,'pass- What's deerest to the world ! full many a lady
ing into the notion of ' love'
I have ey'd with best regard , and many a time
itself, cp. " Will you with
free and unrestrained soule Th' harmony of their tongues hath into bond-
Give me this maid ? " Ado
IV. I.25, " Made love to age
Helena And won her soule " Brought my too diligent eare : for severall
Mids. I. I. 108, and " never vertues
did yong man fancy With so Have I lik'd severall women ; never any
eternal and so fixt a soule"
Tro. &Cr.V.2.165. ¶ 45 OW'D, With so full soule , but some defect in her
'possessed,'cp. 1.2.407. ¶ 46
PUT IT TO THE FOILE, Did quarrell with the noblest grace she ow'd
'checked its power ' ; the And put it to the foile : but you, O you ,
expression gave much diffi- So perfect and so peerlesse , are created
culty to early editors, but the
N. E. D. shows it to be an Of everie creatures best !
e. N. E. phrase turning upon
the noun "foile," meaning ' defeat,' cp. " Chabrias .. having put to foile and defaited some
few Thebans " Holland's Plutarch 427 ; " give the foil " is another of the same group of
phrases, N. E. D. ' foil ' sb.2 2 ; we still keep the verb ' foil ' in this sense of ' check,' ' make
of no avail.' BUT YOU, O YOU : the rhythm, running along in short pulses until it
reaches the cæsura, piles up in strong, full waves in "but you, ୪ O you." 47 SO PER-
FECT AND SO peerlesse : FO. I reads " peetlesse " : r and t are very similar letters
in EL. typography, the t having scarcely any ascender above the cross, and are very fre-
quently confused ; "rhe " for "the " is one of the commonest of misprints in EL. texts.
48 OF EVERIE, etc.: Johnson cited the story of Apelles's picture of Venus, Steevens
the fable in Sidney's Arcadia III, p. 385, ed. 1598 (cp. Arcadia, 1590, p. 90 b), of how
man was " made of every creature's best " ; but such an expression as this is too natural
to be a reminiscence.

451 Miranda's GOOD FRIEND linked with her DEERE FATHER gives the thought a
sweet ingenuousness. 52 DEERE should be spelled " deare " in EL. E., but M. E. long
open e before r in such words as " year," etc., had forms in ee in Shakspere's time, cp.
note to Macb. II.3.61 . HOW seems to mean ' of what sort,' with ARE in the sense of
' exist,' and ABROAD meaning ' away from home,' and the syntax to be due to " skillesse,"
' ignorant,' cp. " how would you be If He .. should .. judge you as you are?" Meas.
II.2.75. 53 I AM , ' I'm .' SKILLESSE : the original meaning of " skill " is ' know-
ledge .' BY MY MODESTIE is Julia's maidenly oath in Two Gent. 1.2.41 . 56 IMA-
GINATION , ' fancy,' ' the power of framing new conceptions,' cp. “ And as imagination
110
 THE TEMPEST

bodies forth The forms of things unknowne, the poet's pen Turnes them to shapes [the
original meaning of the word is ' something created '] " Mids. V.I.14. The pure poetic fancy
of the island-bred girl is admirably reflected in her words. 58 SOMETHING TOO
WILDELY is not such a violent expression in EL. E. as in MN. E., for " wildely " in Shak-
spere's time meant ' unrestrainedly,' ' foolishly ' ; the word sounds like Prospero : one
can fancy him saying, ' Now
do not let this young man
ACT III SCENE I 48-67 think that you lack self-
restraint and cultivation be-
MIRANDA cause you have been brought
I do not know up on this wild island.' The
poor girl's pang of compunc-
One of my sexe ; no woman's face remember, tion as she realizes that she
is doing the very thing that
Save, from my glasse, mine owne ; nor have
her father warned her against
I seene
is delightfully human. ¶59
More that I may call men then you, good I THEREIN [ i.e. in respect to
my behaviour] DO FORGET :
friend ,
the sincerity of the thought
And my deere father : how features are is much crippled by attempts
abroad, to escape from the extra syl-
lable before the cæsura by
I am skillesse of ; but, by my modestie , reading 'I do forget ' Pope,
The jewell in my dower, I would not wish etc., or "Therein forget'
Steevens. Ferdinand hastens
Any companion in the world but you ,
to reassure her as modestly
Nor can imagination forme a shape, as he may : ' I am a prince,
Besides your selfe, to like of. But I prattle Miranda, the kind of a per-
father's pre- son people commonly like
Something too wildely, and my of.' I AM , ' I'm,' with stress
cepts on "my condition." CON-
DITION, ' rank,' ' status,' still
I therein do forget.
preserved in ' all sorts and
FERDINAND conditions of men.' 61 I
I am in my condition WOULD NOT SO, i.e. ' I wish
it were not so, and I were still
A prince, Miranda , I do thinke a king— only the prince ' : for syntax
I would not so ! —and would no more endure see 1.2.208. A note of sad-
This wodden slaverie then to suffer ness comes into Ferdinand's
thoughts whenever he thinks
The flesh-flie blow my mouth . Heare my of himself, cp. 1.2.434. 62
soule speake : WODDEN is an e.N.E. form of
'wooden.' TO SUFFER : the
The verie instant that I saw you, did infinitival "to" is omitted in
My heart flie to your service ; there resides, MN. syntax, but in e. N. E.
syntax it is not uncommon :
To make me slave to it ; and for your sake
Wright cites " that we should
Am I this patient logge-man. not hide .. but to show ," etc.,
and "that they might put
their trust in God and not to forget," etc., from the Prayer-book version of Psalm LXXVIII .
4,8. The verse seems to be one of those of four rhythm waves that occasionally appear
in EL. dramatic poetry ; or, possibly, SLAVERIE is three impulses, the falling impulse
before the cæsura being supplied by the pause, as frequently happens in EL. verse.
III
 THE TEMPEST

63 BLOW is, of course, used in its sense of ' depositing eggs,' N.E. D. 28 c, without
the connotation of ' swelling ' as in L. L. L. V.2.409. " Blow-fly" is our common 19th- cen-
tury name for FLESH-FLIE, see N. E. D. s.o. " Héare my soule spéake " seems to be the
stress, marking Ferdinand's formal declaration, " soule " being tantamount to ' love.' ¶67
LOGGE-MAN, like " wodden slaverie," are epithets revealing Ferdinand's real distaste of
his work-protests against
his "Most busie lest, when I
doe it." ACT III SCENE I 67-76

969 EVENT : ' issue ' is the MIRANDA

original meaning of the word. Do you love me?
70 INVERT, ' convert to FERDINAND
the very opposite,' now usual
only in participial construc- O heaven, O earth, beare witnes to this
tions, cp. "to invert the good sound
that in such a person may be
And crowne what I professe with kinde event,
.. unto a worser sense " Day,
1586 (in N. E. D. 2) . 71 Fer- If I speake true ! If hollowly, invert
dinand's declaration is given What best is boaded me to mischiefe ! I
an unusual solemnity by the
verse pause after " I " 472 Beyond all limit of what else i' th ' world
ALL in e. N. E. has the sense
Do love, prize, honor you.
of 'any' after " without" and
MIRANDA
"beyond," cp. Macb. III.2.11 .
LIMIT OF, i.e. ' limit affecting ASIDE
my love of,' the objective I am a foole
genitive. WHAT ELSE, ‘ any-
thing else ' : in 1. O. E. " what " To weepe at what I am glad of.
has an indefinite use corre- PROSPERO
sponding to MN . E. 'some,' Faire encounter
'any,'andthis usage continues
through M. E. into e. N. E., cp. Of two most rare affections ! Heavens raine
"And in conclusion winnes
grace
the king from her With prom-
ise of his sister and what On that which breeds betweene ' em !
else To strengthen and sup- FERDINAND
port King Edward's place" Wherefore weepe you ?
3 Hen.6 III. 1.51 ; also "Phyl.
Mistresse, will you spare that
vale [i.e. veil] ? Eurym. That, or what else to verifie your tale " Maydes Metam. I. I. The
now archaic what you will,' i.e. ' anything you please, ' preserves this ' anything ' meaning.
974 TO WEEPE is normal EL. E. syntax for ' for weeping.' Miranda's words are an aside,
as v.76 shows. FAIRE ENCOUNTER, ' happy meeting' ; " encounter " was more commonly
used in its general sense of ' meeting ' than it is now, and is Shakspere's regular term
for a lovers' interview, cp. "the prince saw afar off in the orchard this amiable incoun-
ter" Ado III. 3.58, and cp. ibid. IV. 1.94. HEAVENS, again the e. N. E. plural without
the article. 76 BREEDS, a common EL. E. word for ' arises,' ' comes into being,' cp.
"sweete, delicious morne, where day is breeding, never borne " Lyric of 1600 (cited in
N.E. D. 12).

¶77 THAT DARE, ' in that I dare ' : the pronoun subject of a dependent clause is often
omitted in M.E. and e . N. E., cp. note to Macb. V.4.9. $ 79 TO WANT, ' for not having,'
cp. "to weepe " v. 74. 80 IT has for its antecedent, not the previous word, " trifling,"
112
 THE TEMPEST

but the general notion in Miranda's mind, viz., love, cp. note to 1.2.100. 82 PLAINE
has its common e. N. E. sense of ' simple and straightforward,' cp. " that my love may ap-
peare plaine and free " Two Gent. V. 4.82 ; this meaning is involved in Cotgrave's "mere,
• right, pure, plaine, with-
out art," and " rond, .. free,
ACT III SCENE I 77-91
blunt, plaine, openhearted,
sincere." Vv. 79-82 are prob-
MIRANDA ably half aside. 84 FEL-
At mine unworthinesse , that dare not offer LOW, ' wife' ; in M.E. and
e. N. E. the word in its sense
What I desire to give , and much lesse take of 'companion ' is used of
What I shall die to want. But this is trifling ; women as well as men, cp.
"the nymphes our fellows"
And all the more it seekes to hide it selfe,
Yong's Diana, 1598 ; so the
The bigger bulke it shewes. Hence , bashfull AuthorizedVersion ofJudges
XI. 37 reads, “ she said ..
cunning !
let me alone two moneths
And prompt me, plaine and holy innocence ! that I may goe up and downe
I am your wife, if you will marrie me ; uponthe mountaines, .. I and
If not , I 'le die your maid : to be your fellow
I'le my fellowes " ( N. E. D. 2b) ;
the Revised Version alters
You may denie me ; but I 'le be your servant ,
" fellowes" to ' companions .'
Whether you will or no . Hence the word passed over
intothe sense of 'wife," help-
FERDINAND meet,' which it has here ; cp.
My mistris, deerest ; "Eve, my fellow, how thynk
the this" in Towneley Mys-
And I thus humble ever.
teries 6, and " it is good for
MIRANDA man to have a fellow " H.
My husband, then? Smith, Sermon, 1592 ( cited in
N. E. D. 4a). 85 SERVANT
FERDINAND is a word for ' lover ' in both
I , with a heart as willing M.E. and e. N. E.: a good il-
lustration of this usage is
As bondage ere of freedome : heere's my found in Ben Jonson's Silent
hand. Woman II.2, "Where the
MIRANDA first question is, how soone
you shall die ? next if her
And mine , with my heart in't : and now fare- present servants love her,
wel next that, if she shall have a
new servant, and how many"
Till halfe an houre hence .
ed. 1640, p. 472. 86 MİS-
FERDINAND TRIS : so Valentine says to
Silvia, " Madam and mistres,
A thousand thousand !
a thousand good morrows
EXEUNT Ferdinand aND MIRANda severaLLY [good-mornings]," and she
gaily replies, " Sir Valentine
and servant, to you two thousand ! " Two Gent. II. I. 102. 87 THEN seems again to
have the sense of ' in turn,' ' when the time comes.' 88 1 , of course, the EL. form of
' aye.' WILLING means ' desirous of,' ' yearning for,' in EL. E., cp. " Not willing any
longer conference " 3Hen.6 II . 2. 171 : the pretty turn of Ferdinand's words is lost in MN.E.
$ 89 BONDAGE : cp. " Never did captive with a freer heart Cast off his chaines of bond-
age" Rich.2 1.3.87.
113
 THE TEMPEST

93 WHO, the connective ACT III SCENE I 92-96

relative, for they.' SUR-
PRIZ'D WITHALL, ' carried PROSPERO
away with it,' cp. "You witch
me in it, Surprize me to the So glad of this as they I cannot be,
very brinke of teares " Timon Who are surpriz'd withall ; but my rejoycing
V.1.158 . Not appreciating At nothing can be more. I'le to my booke,
this sense, one editor is for
reading 'am' instead of "are." For yet ere supper time must I performe
FO.I prints "with all," but the Much businesse appertaining.
separation is probably acci-
dental. For " withall " in its EXIT
common sense of ' with it,' I
cp. Macb. 1.3.57. Prospero's words have a note of sadness in them — the father's solemn
joy in a daughter's happy love ; but he qualifies it with " my rejoycing At nothing can be
more," i.e. ' I could not rejoice at anything more,' ' I shall never be happier than I am
now.' EL. syntax often negatives the nominal notion when the negative of the verbal one
is intended, cp. note to 1.2.488. T94 Having witnessed this nature-magic, Prospero
returns to his book-magic that all may end happily and there be no tragedy here — no
Romeo and Juliet sacrifice.

SCENE II : ANOTHER PART OF THE ISLAND : ENTER CALIBAN

STEPHANO AND TRINCULO
III. ii. I - 9

STEPHANO
The second scene takes up
the Caliban theme where it ELL not me, when the but is out,
was dropped at the end of we will drinke water ; not a drop
Act II. The three are re- before : therefore beare up , and
turning from Stephano's cel- Servant-monster ,
boord ' em .
lar: Trinculo, alarmed at
the rapid consumption of the drinke to me .
sack, is proposing that they
now drink water occasion- TRINCULO
ally. The scene opening is Servant-monster ! the folly of this iland !
characteristic of Shakspere ,
-cp. Macb. 1. 4. 54, -the They say there's but five upon this isle : we
actors coming on the stage in are three of them ; if th ' other two be brain'd
the midst of a discussion
like us, the state totters .
that links them in lifelike
fashion to what has gone be-
fore, and thus avoids the usual gap of dramatic representation. This particular one is
like the opening of Othello where Rodrigo says, "Tush ! never tell me ! " I TELL
NOT ME is a colloquial e. N. E. phrase of protest like MN. E. ' don't talk to me,' and prob-
ably has stress on แ me" as has the MN. phrase, cp. " Tell not me, I know Anthonio Is
sad to thinke upon his merchandize " Merch. 1. 1.39. OUT, ' empty,' ' at an end,' as in
1.2.246 ; the word is strongly stressed, and Stephano's " not a drop before " quite final.
43 BEARE UP, AND BOORD ' EM is another of the nautical expressions which Stephano
has picked up in the forecastle, a deliciously human touch of interest, giving lifelikeness
114
 THE TEMPEST

to the story and individuality to Stephano's humour. Coles glosses " beare up" as "to
sail more before the wind," and that is the modern meaning of the term ; it looks as if
Stephano had muddled his seamanship : " beare down " is the normal preliminary to
boarding. 4 SERVANT in e. N. E. translates serviens as well as servus, and means an
' officer ' or ' minister ' as well as a ' servant.' So the king calls Cranmer " his servant " in
Hen.8 II.4.238 ; cp. "when he had no power, But was a pettie servant [ i.e. officer] to
the state" Cor. 11.3.185 . Cowel says that " servitors of bills [ i.e. tipstaves] are servants
or messengers of the marshall belonging to the King's Bench " ; the official attendants of
the proctor in Oxford and Cambridge, who are in colloquial English termed ' bulldogs,'
are officially known as the proctor's ' servants,' and the king's officers are still called
'servants ' in modern English diplomacy. That Stephano appoints Caliban his official
messenger and his official monster (he has already assumed sovereignty of the isle in
II.2.180) is probably indicated by the pompous tone in which he addresses him : Trin-
culo takes " servant " in the sense of ' prime minister,' and this is the point of his allusion
to the " state" in v.9 ; no such far-fetched explanation, therefore, as that ' they drink a
health to the state ' is necessary to explain his acid humour. It is equally clear that Ben
Jonson is referring to this passage, and making no general fling at ' monsters on the stage'
when he says in his Induction to Bartholomew's Fair, 1614 : 'If there be never a servant-
monster in the fair, who can help it, he says, nor a nest of antiques ? [cp. St. Dir. at III . 3.82] .
He is loth to make nature afraid in his plays [perhaps an allusion to Macbeth II . iv]
like those that beget tales,
tempests, and such like drol-
ACT III SCENE II 10-20
leries [cp. III.3.21 ] ' ; since
a situation calling for the cre-
STEPHANO ation of an official-monster
Drinke, servant-monster, when I bid thee : could not have arisen in any
other play than The Tempest.
thy eies are almost set in thy head. (As tothebearing of this upon
TRINCULO the date of the play, see Intro-
duction.) 8 BRAIN'D : the
Where should they bee set else ? Hee were a fact that Trinculo's word is
brave monster indeede , if they were set in his usually to be found in weak-
taile. minded company, viz., "fee-
ble-brained,""hare-brained,"
STEPHANO " sot- [ i.e. fool- ] brained,"
" dull-brained," etc., gives
My man-monster hath drown'd his tongue in his turn of phrase delicious
sacke : for my part, the sea cannot drowne humour.
mee ; I swam, ere I could recover the shore,
FII THY EIES ARE AL-
five and thirtie leagues off and on. By this MOST SET : this e. N. E.
light, thou shalt bee my lieutenant- monster, phrase for half seas over'
occurs also in Tw. N. V. I.
or my standard .
204, where the clown, speak-
ing of Dicke Surgeon, says,
"O he's drunke, Sir Toby, an houre agone : his eyes were set at eight i' th ' morning." 12
Trinculo's jest is, of course, professional. 17 RECOVER, ' reach by effort,' cp.
forrest is not three leagues off ; If we recover that we are sure enough " Two Gent. V. I. II .
18 ON is followed by a comma in FO. I : Capell placed the period after LIGHT instead
of ON. 19 LIEUTENANT-MONSTER : " lieutenant " comes at the end of one line and
"Monster" at the beginning of the next in FO. I , but it would seem that a hyphen, rather
than the comma usually inserted , belongs between the two words : in FO. I " Servant Mon-
ster" has no hyphen, though capitalized, but " man-Monster " is so printed ; modern editors
115
 THE TEMPEST

miss the humour by taking " monster " as a vocative. Stephano promotes Caliban from
the grade of " servant " (i.e. messenger ) to that of "lieutenant," making this clear by ex-
plaining that the lieutenancy carries with it the rank of ' ensign ' or STANDARD, as the
official was called in Shakspere's time. This qualification of the careful Stephano is
necessary, as "lieutenant " in e. N. E. means both ' locum tenens, ' signifying “ him that
occupyeth the king's or any
other person's place, or rep-
ACT III SCENE II 21-36
resenteth his person," and
also a " military officer next
11 TRINCULO
in command to the captain
Cowel, s.v.
Yourlieutenant, if you list ; hee's no standard .
21 Cowel also makes Trin- STEPHANO
culo's jest clear : " estandard Wee 'l not run, Monsieur Monster.
or standard .. signifies an TRINCULO
ensigne in war. But it is also
used for the standing mea- Nor go, neither ; but you'l lie like dogs , and
sure of the king, to [i.e. ac- yet say nothing neither.
cording to] the scantling [i.e. STEPHANO
the pattern of the royal mea-
sure]...It is notwithout great Moone-calfe , speak once in thy life, if thou
reason called a standard, be-
cause it standeth constant beest a good moone-calfe.
CALIBAN
and immoveable, and hath all
measures coming towards it How does thy honour ? Let me licke thy
for their conformity." Trin-
shooe. I'le not serve him ; he is not valiant .
culo says that Caliban is no
standard because he cannot TRINCULO
stand upright. 22 WEE'L
NOT RUN, i.e. ' we will stand Thou liest, most ignorant monster : I am in
like true men,' a gibe at Trin- case to justle a constable. Why, thou de-
culo's running from the bosh'd fish, thou, was there ever man a coward
storm, and continuing the
that hath drunk so much sacke as I to-day?
on " standard.”
word- play on
23 GO, ' walk,' a sense still Wilt thou tell a monstrous lie , being but halfe
preserved in 'go-cart.' Trin-
a fish and halfe a monster?
culo says they cannot even
walk, let alone run. LIE, CALIBAN
punning again on ' lie, to lie Loe, how he mockes me ! Wilt thou let him,
down,' and ' lie, to tell lies.'
my lord?
Heywood gives us the prov-
erb"lie as fast as a dogge will
licke a dish " II.7. 24 NOTHING probably has here the same sense as in II . I. 172. 25
Stephano feels that he is getting the worst of this word combat, and calls on Caliban to
come to the rescue. 30 " He is not valiant " evidently exasperates Trinculo, who,
assuming that the charge is based upon his drunken condition, declares himself fit as a
fiddle and ready to jostle a night-watchman ; cp. " the most senseless and fit man for the
constable of the watch " Ado III.3.23 , and " a criticke- Nay, a night-watch constable "
L.L.L. III . I. 178. JUSTLE is the normal form of the word up to the 18th century, and
is still represented in our pronunciation of ' jostle.' DEBOSH'D : Trinculo's epithet is
the early- 17th-century form of the word, whose sh later became ch (the first evidence for
the modern sound in N. E.D. s.v.‘debauch ' is dated 1682). The suggestion of slushy
inconsistency in the consonants is especially happy as applied to the sprawling mon-
116
 THE TEMPEST

ster who is " no standard." 33 MONSTROUS : i.e. an entirely monstrous lie from only
half a monster ! -more of Trinculo's logic. One of the most delicious characteristics
of Shakspere's humour is that it is ever in character.

38 Trinculo intends NATURALL in the sense of ' idiot,' cp. " this driveling love is
like a great naturall that runs lolling up and downe to hid his bable in a hole " Rom.&Jul.
II.4.95, and Coles's gloss " natural, a fool born " ; but the point of his jest lies in the
contrast between " monster," " freak of nature,' and " naturall " in its EL. sense of ' a typi-
cal production of nature' : cp. Baret's " monstrously, contrarie to nature, monstrose," and
"the abjectest naturalls have their specificall properties and some wondrous vertues, and
philosophy will not flatter
the noblest or worthiest nat-
ACT III SCENE II 37-51 urals in their venoms or
impurities " Gabriel Harvey,
TRINCULO 1593 (Cent. Dict. ). The same
point is involved in Rosa-
'Lord,' quoth he ! That a monster should be
lind's words in A.Y.L.1.2.51
such a naturall !
ff., " Indeed there is fortune
CALIBAN [i.e. chance] too hard for
Loe , loe, againe ! bite him to death, I prethee. nature, when fortune makes
nature's naturall the cutter
STEPHANO off of nature's witte." 39
LOE, LOE : probably punc-
Trinculo, keepe a good tongue in your head :
tuating sly kicks from Trin-
ifyou prove a mutineere,-the next tree ! The culo. BITE in e. N. E. liter-
poore monster's my subject, and he shall not ally means ' wound,' cp. "the
suffer indignity. spider .. biteth into his head
a mortal wound " Topsell,
CALIBAN
1607 (in N. E. D. 2b) , and fig-
I thanke my no uratively ' gibe at,' cp. " Envie
ble lord . Wilt thou be pleas'd
bite what thou hast here set
to hearken once againe to the suite I made fourth" Verstegan, 1605 (in
to thee ? N.E. D. 14). 40 Stephano
STEPHANO thinks this jesting has gone
far enough, and asserts his
Marry, will I kneele and repeate it ; I will regal authority. 41 MUTI-
stand, and so shall Trinculo. NEERE : like those sailors
ENTER ARIELL INVISIBLE who mutinied in the Bermu-
CALIBAN das ; cp. note to II. I. 187.
44 The main business of
As I told thee before , I am subject to a tirant, the plot against Prospero
a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated begins again where it was
dropped at the end of Scene
me of the island. II of Act II. There it was
a mere hint : Shakspere im-
plies an intervening scene, not represented, where this hint has been developed into a
formal suit to King Stephano. This clever artifice gives more body to Caliban's hateful
plot. 48 There is humorous magnanimity in Stephano's court etiquette as he decides
that Trinculo, as royal companion, may stand beside him : but Trinculo's standing, like
that of the king himself, is, perhaps, a somewhat uncertain matter. FO.I begins to print
the text as poetry with v. 47, but it is probable that Ariel's " Thou lyest," v. 52 , is the
starting-point for the formal verse. Caliban's speeches are all more or less rhythmical,
which fact misled Steevens to print them as poetry.
117
 THE TEMPEST

52 LYEST is a monosyllable in e. N. E. as in M. E., cp. note to Macb. IV.2.83. Cal-

iban's THOU LYEST is so stressed , making a reversal after the pause. His hatred is now
awake, and his taunt of JESTING MONKEY flung at the grimacing bow-legged court buf-
foon is of different stuff from his former helpless appeals to Stephano to protect him
from Trinculo's wit. 56 The
phraseology of Stephano's
declaration of royal protec- ACT III SCENE II 52-69
tion -for SUPPLANT means
' remove ' in EL. E.— and the ARIELL
form of his oath, BY THIS Thou lyest.
HAND, are peculiarly humor-
ous. CALIBAN
61 FO. I prints "If
thy greatnesse will Revenge Thou lyest, thou jesting monkey, thou :
it on him, (for I know thou
I would my valiant master would destroy thee !
dar'st) Butthis thing dare not.
That ' s," etc.; but its print- I do not lye.
ing of anacolutha is confused STEPHANO
(see the note to I. 2. 29) , and
Trinculo, if you trouble him any more in ' s
though WILL as an indepen-
dent verb with its EL. mean- tale , by this hand , I will supplant some of your
ing of ' consent ' makes good teeth .
sense, Stephano's speech
seems clearly to be an inter- TRINCULO
ruption. 63 THING , a term Why, I said nothing.
of opprobrium in EL. E., cp.
STEPHANO
note to I.2.257 . DARE , prop-
erly the subjunctive for the Mum, then, and no more. Proceed .
third person, is often used in
CALIBAN
e.N.E. practically as an indic-
ative ; it is probably the in- I say, by sorcery he got this isle :
direct-discourse idiom that
gives rise to it here, cp. Macb. From me he got it . If thy greatnesse will
IV.3.33. 65 1'LE SERVE Revenge it on him, for I know thou dar'st,
THÉE (and not Prospero). But this thing dare not,-
67 PARTY : still royal lan-
guage ; "party" in e . N. E., as STEPHANO
in MN. legal English, means That's most certaine―
'one oftwo litigants ' ; it also
means ' one of two powers at CALIBAN
war with each other.' 68 Thou shalt be lord of it , and I 'le serve thee.
YEELD,'put in one's power' :
STEPHANO
"heere hee is, and heere I
yeeld him" are the words How now shall this be compast ? Canst thou
with which Falstaff presents bring me to the party?
his prisoner, Sir John Cole-
vile, to Prince John of Lan- CALIBAN
caster in 2Hen.4 IV.3.49, Yea, yea, my lord : I'le yeeld him thee asleepe,
$ 69 WHERE, and then,'
i.e. while he sleeps ; the Wherethou maist knocke a naile into his head .
place adverbs, " where" and
' there," in e. N. E. sometimes designated situations, occasions, and conditions which are
now usually referred to time : these adverbs are thus often equivalent to MN. E. ' when ' and
'then,' cp. " we were awak'd ; .. Where we .. beheld,” etc., v.1.236, and “ some exclamed ..
118
 THE TEMPEST

that I had perverted the whole orthographie of the [ English] tongue, wher in deede it is
not so " Salesbury's Introduction, p. 4 ; " where " with this meaning is here used as a con-
nective relative, cp. Macb. IV. 2.82, and also v.96. KNOCKE A NAILE INTO HIS HEAD :
Miranda's Bible-teaching has at least been sufficient to leave an impress of the horrible
story of Jael and Sisera on
the wretch's mind .
ACT III SCENE II 70-85
471 WHAT A, probably cor-
ARIELL responding to MN . E. 'what,'
Thou liest ; thou canst not. cp. note to Macb. 1.2.46.
PY'DE : the allusion is to
CALIBAN Trinculo's motley. PATCH
What a py'de ninnie's this ! Thou scurvy is a common e. N. E. term for
'fool,' cp. Macb.V.3.15 ; John-
patch ! son objected to the language
I do beseech thy greatnesse , give him blowes as revealing a knowledge of
court life which Caliban is
And take his bottle from him : when that's
not supposed to possess, and
gone, was for giving this verse to
He shall drinke nought but brine ; for I ' le Stephano : but Stephano may
not shew him be supposed to have in-
formed Caliban of Trinculo's
Where the quicke freshes are. professional standing, and
to have explained his pecu-
STEPHANO
liar dress, in the dramatic
Trinculo, run into no further danger : inter- interval between Scene II of
Act II and the beginning of
rupt the monster one word further, and, by this scene. 475 QUICKE ,
this hand , I ' le turne my mercie out o' doores ' running " ; " quicke " in this
and make a stockfish of thee. e. N. E. sense of ' living,'
'quickening,' is also applied
TRINCULO to the air, cp. "the aire is
Why, what did I ? I did nothing. I'le go quick
quick there"
there Per. IV. I. 28.
farther off. FRESHES, ' pools,'' springs,'
cp. "It groweth like a flagge
STEPHANO in low muddy freshes " Capt.
Smith's Map of Virginia,
Didst thou not say he lyed ?
1612 (in N. E. D. 'fresh,' sb. 3).
ARIELL Caliban's promise to show
Thou liest. themthe springs on the island
was probably what led to
STEPHANO
Trinculo's suggestion that
Do I so ? Take thou that. As you like this, they drink water from time
to time to save their sack, to
give me the lye another time. which Caliban here sarcas-
BEATS AND Chokes TRINCULO tically alludes. $ 79 STOCK-
FISH, ' dried cod ' : Stepha-
no's solemn warning with its royal verbiage suddenly falls into homely phraseology ;
the fact that stockfish were beaten before cooking gave rise to the popular expression
"to beat one like a stockfish " ; Cash, in ' Every Man in his Humour' III . 4 , exclaims,
"'Slight, peace ! thou ' lt be beaten like a stockfish," and Cotgrave gives "Je te frot-
teray à double carillon, I will beat thee like a stockfish " (cited by Wright). 80 The
later folios read " go no further," losing the humour in Trinculo's willingness to oblige :
119
 THE TEMPEST

Stephano probably follows him up, not so ready to overlook the insult, and Ariel takes
due advantage of it. BEATS AND CHOKES HIM : the stage direction " beats him "
added by Rowe -there is none in FO. I - is followed by modern editors, but it is evident
from v.89 that Stephano chokes Trinculo : FINGERS does not seem to be used in the
sense of ' fists ' in e. N. E., see N. E.D.

86,87 OUT O' YOUR WITTES, i.e. mad : the phrase is still common ; in e. N. E. " out " has
a negative sense connoting wrong action : we still say ' one's hand is out ' when we think
of becoming unskilful ; " bred out " for ' degenerated,' and " not far out " for ' not much
mistaken,' were common e. N. E. idioms ; so Trinculo's OUT OF .. HEARING means ' not
able to hear correctly ,' cp.
" if I would thinke my hart
ACT III SCENE II 86-94
out of thinking " Ado III.4.
84. 88 MURREN is an-
other name for ' plague,' and TRINCULO
another reference to it in The
I did not give the lie. Out o' your wittes
Tempest. 91 PRETHEE,
STAND FURTHER Off : and hearing too ? a poxo ' your bottle ! this can
thesewords are usually taken sacke and drinking doo. A murren on your
as referring to Trinculo, but
monster , and the divell take your fingers !
Stephano shakes hands with
him in v. 119. Of course he CALIBAN
may have edged up again ; Ha, ha , ha !
but it is also possible that
STEPHANO
Caliban, misunderstanding
Stephano's " forward," gets Now, forward with your tale. Prethee, stand
into unpleasant proximity to further off.
his royal liege's nose and is
told to keep his distance. CALIBAN
93 ENOUGH , ' thoroughly,' Beate him enough : after a little time
soundly,' a M. E. and e. N. E.
sense of the word now ob- I 'le beate him too.
solete in general use, but STEPHANO
preserved in such phrases
as ' sure enough ' ; in Wint. Stand farther. Come , proceede.
T. 11.3.30 Paulina says the
king is " More free [i.e. generous] then he is jealous," and Antigonus answers " That's
enough," meaning not ' she has said enough,' but that the king is exceedingly jealous.
AFTER A LITTLE TIME, ' in a little while,' cp. " In little time" Ven. &Ad. 132.

96 THERE, i.e. ' while he sleeps,' see note to v.69, and the numerous examples in
Schmidt, e.g. " Herne the Hunter .. Doth all the winter time .. Walke round about an
oake with great rag'd hornes, And there he blasts the tree " Merry W. IV.4.28. ¶98
PAUNCH , ' eviscerate,' cp. " to paunch, eviscero " Coles, and " But I , remorseless, panch'd
him " Chapman's Widow's Tears V.3 (cited by Wright). T99 WEZAND, the O. E. name
for 'windpipe,' is still in poetic use ; the word sometimes lost its final d : cp. " weasan, of a
man's throte " Alvearie. 100 BOOKES, i.e. books of magic ; in medieval stories of sor-
cery the magician's books played an important rôle, cp. "The damsel searcheth forthwith
in his breast And there the damned booke she straightway founde, Which circles strange
and shapes of fiendes exprest ; No sooner she some words therein did sound And
opened had some damned leaves unblest, But spirits of th' ayre, earth, sea, came out of
hand, Crying alowde, what is 't you us command " Harrington's version of ' Orlando
Furioso, 1591 (cited by Malone) . IOI SOT in e. N. E. connotes rather the notion of
120
 THE TEMPEST

'fool ' than ' drunkard,' retaining its O. FR. significance, cp. " a sot, or heartlesse [i.e. cow-
ardly] foole, vide Albardon " Percival. NOR .. NOT, the common EL. double-negative
construction. 103 BUT HIS BOOKES, ' his books only,' the e. N. E. purely adverbial
use of " but.” 104 BRAVE UTENSILS, ' fine household stuff,' cp. Coles's gloss,
"utensilia, necessaries, baggage," and Minsheu's " utensels, household necessaries " :
they were the " rich garments, linnens, stuffs and necessaries " of 1.2.164. The fact
that the word is peculiar to
Prospero's vocabulary and
ACT III SCENE II 95 - III strange to Caliban's, fur-
nishes the imagination a peg
CALIBAN to hang a scene on : Cali-
Why, as I told thee, 't is a custome with him ban's native taste for splen-
dour having been struck with
I' th' afternoone to sleepe : there thou maist these things, he has asked
braine him , his master what they were ;
Havingfirst seiz'd his bookes ; or with a logge mere baggage,' Prospero has
answered; the curiosity has
Batter his skull , or paunch him with a stake, been satisfied , but cupidity
Or cut his wezand with thy knife. Remembe r has remained, and later on it
Remember
will furnish the means of
First to possesse his bookes ; for without them trapping the conspirators.
Hee's but a sot, as I am, nor hath not " Utensils " appears to have
here its historic stress, "úten-
One spirit to command : they all do hate him
sils," as in Milton's " And
As rootedly as I. Burne but his bookes : waggons fraught with uten-
He has brave utensils,-for so he calles sils of war" Paradise Re-
gained' III. 336, and in " shee
them ,- entreth to a matron's state
Which, when he has a house , hee'l decke For which those utensils are
withall. borne," Jonson's Hymenæi,
ed. 1640, p . 134. ዋ 105
And that most deeply to consider is WHICH, etc., ' and when he
has a house he will furnish it
The beautie of his daughter ; he himselfe
with them ' : the idiom is a pe-
Cals her a non-pareill : I never saw a woman, culiar e. N. E. use of the rela-
But onely Sycorax my dam and she ; tive pronoun as a connective,
such as is found in Sidney's
But she as farre surpasseth Sycorax
Arcadia, p. 40, " But Kalen-
As great'st does least. dar .. was among the first
that came in to the besiged
deere ; whom [and] when some of the younger sort would have killed [it] with their
swordes he woulde not suffer [ them] ." Another is found, ibid. , p. 168 b, "Therefore did
she trie the uttermost .. how to overthrow him in the foundation of his strength, which
was in the favour of his father : which [and] because she saw [that this was ] strong
both in nature and desert, it required the more cunning how to undermine it." In both of
these citations the antecedent of the relative is involved in the subordinate clause which
follows it. Hanmer's emendation ' deck 't,' which is often followed by modern editors,
is therefore quite superfluous. 106 THAT, ' the thing,' an e. N. E. use of the demon-
strative analogous to that in II . I. 250, and not an instance of the omitted relative, ' that
which is, ' as it is usually explained to be. 108 NON- PAREILL, ' one without a peer,'
is also what Macbeth calls the murderer of Banquo, Macb. III.4. 19. As the word sounds
strange in Caliban's vocabulary, Shakspere, as in the case of " utensils," explains how
Caliban came by the term. The verse is one of six waves, but, as usual, is ' cured ' by
121
 THE TEMPEST

modern editors, beginning with Pope. 109 BUT ONELY, ' save only.' SHE, the
logical nominative for the grammatical accusative, a common e. N. E. idiom and not ' mere
carelessness ' either on Shakspere's part or on the printer's. III GREAT'ST, cp.I.I.63 .

III IT , used as in I.2.309 and Macb.1.4.58 . SO BRAVE A LASSE, ' so fine a girl ' ;
Stephano's word suggesting, as it does in MN. E., a girl of the lower classes, is deliciously
patronizing. The king will ele-
vate this peasant girl to be
ACT III SCENE II III - 127
queen ; in v. 115 , with inimi-
table humour, he salutes the
admiring court with " save STEPHANO
our graces ! " 122 HÁLFE Is it so brave a lasse ?
HOURE is stressed like a
CALIBAN
compound noun and was
probably felt to be such in I , lord ; she will become thy bed , I warrant ,
Shakspere's day, cp. 2Hen.6
And bring thee forth brave brood.
II. I. 64, Lear V. 3. 193 , and
STEPHANO
Cym. I. 1. 176. 123 1 , ' aye.'
125 FULL OF PLEASURE Monster, I will kill this man : his daughter
is a common EL. expression , - save our
17 and I will be king and queene ,
cp. "in unusuall pleasure '
Macb. II. 1. 13. 126 Jo- graces ! -and Trinculo and thy selfe shall be
COND, ' merry' ; the word is
now archaic as applied to vice-royes. Dost thou like the plot, Trinculo ?
persons, cp. Macb . III . 2. 40. TRINCULO
TROULE has a number of Excellent.
meanings in e.N.E., ' to roll,' STEPHANO
' to stroll,' and ' to pass in
rotation ' ; to " troule the Give me thy hand : I am sorry I beate thee ;
bowle" was a common e.N.E.
but while thou liv'st, keepe a good tongue in
expression ; it is probably
this latter association that thy head.
gave rise to its sense of CALIBAN
' singing in rotation ' : per-
Within this halfe houre will he be asleepe :
haps, too, the sense of ' utter-
ance in a round, full voice' Wilt thou destroy him then?
had something to do with it, STEPHANO
cp. "to troll [" troll " is an-
other e. N. E. spelling; the u I, on mine honour.
is due to the two l's, like ARIELL
'bowl'from M. E. bolle] along
ASIDE
his words, volubiliter et ro-
tundé loqui " Coles. Drayton, This will I tell my master.
'Shepherd's Sirena,' speaks CALIBAN
of "trolling a roundelay," and
Quarles, in ' Emblems ' II. 2, Thou mak'st me merry ; I am full of pleasure :
applies the word to singing a
Let us be jocond : will you troule the catch
catch or round (Cent . Dict. ); You taught me but whileare ?
A CATCH was a part-song
so arranged that the treble
started off a melody, and when he had gone on for a couple of bars a " mean " took it up,
the two running on harmoniously, but singing different words ; a bass took up the air
and words when the mean had sung a couple of bars, and the three parts thus comple-
122
 THE TEMPEST

mented one another. It was a favourite form of part-singing in Shakspere's day, cp.
Tw. N. 11.3.60. This " three-man song," as it is often called, was for Stephano, Trin-
culo, and Caliban. 127 YOU TAUGHT ME BUT WHILEARE is another note of ' long
time ' in The Tempest. " Whileare " comes from M.E. " hwile er," ' a short while since.'

128 DO REASON is an e. N. E. idiom meaning ' to do what is desired ,' cp. " To doe my
selfe this reason " Titus I. I. 279. ANY REASON, ' any reasonable thing,' ' any thing within
reason ' ; " reason " in this sense of ' what is reasonable ' is M. E., but survived in e. N.E.;
possibly " any reason " is an e. N. E. phrase like " great reason," meaning ' as there is some
reason for it. Stephano's words explain his royal condescension in stooping to sing a
weavers' catch with Caliban and Trinculo. 130 COUT ' EM : though not in N.E.D.,
there is nevertheless good reason to suppose that " cout" is an e. N. E. popular word mean-
ing 'to deceive,' ' to make a fool of,' and not a misprint for the ' scout ' (spelled " skowt "
bythe printer of FO. I ) which
is printed in place of " cout "
ACT III SCENE II 128-135
by modern editors following
Rowe. The word "colt
STEPHANO means ' to deceive ' or ' gull '
At thy request, monster, I will do reason , any in_e. N. E.,- cp. N. E.D. and
IHen.4 II. 2. 39,-and as l
reason. Come on, Trinculo, let us sing. was lost before t in " malt,"
SINGS " salt," and "fault " in e. N.E.,
and " bowt " and " bout " are
Flout ' em and cout ' em and showt ' em and
16th-century forms of 'bolt,'
flout ' em; "cout" might easilyhave been
a colloquial form of " colt"
Thought is free.
('cout' is a MN. dialect form
CALIBAN
of ' colt,' see N.E.D.) used to
That's not the tune. make the rhyme of a popular
song (ou =M.E. ū and ou =
ARIELL PLaies the tUNE ON A TABOR AND PIPE
ow rhyme in e. N. E.). Again,
STEPHANO the word " cowt " is an e.N.E.
What is this same ? form of ' coot,' a bird which
was associated with stupidity
TRINCULO in Shakspere'stime, cp. "The
doterell .. And also the mad
This is the tune of our catch, plaid by the
coote " Skelton in ' Phyllyp
picture of No-body. Sparowe,' 408 ; "to cout
might easily be a nonce-for-
mation after the analogy of ' to gull.' Despite the FO. punctuation, which has a colon
after " cout ' em," " flout " and " cout " and " skowt " sound very like parts of a ' catch,' a
distinctive feature of which is the repetition of similar sounds ; and the addition of the
second "flout 'em " looks very like the spoiling of the tune to which Caliban calls atten-
tion. 131 THOUGHT IS FREE is a proverbial expression, cp. " liberæ cogitationes,
men may thinke what they wyll : thought is free" Cooper, and " thought is free " Tom
Tel Trothes NewYeare's Gift, N.Sh.S.,p.10. Shakspere uses it also in Tw.N.1.3.73 : " Now,
sir, thought is free " (cited by Wright) ; Skelton's " no man can let me thynke, For thought
hath lybertie, Thought is frank and free [ i.e. the imagination is unrestrained] " ' Phyllyp
Sparowe,' 1199 (cited in part by Furness), probably hits the sense of the song. The catch
itself, which has not been identified, is, of course, pointed at Prospero and Miranda ,
whom they can ' flout and cout and skowt ' in imagination , for thought is free. A TABOR
AND PIPE was a musical instrument of Shakspere's time ' consisting of a " pipe," or small
flageolet, to which a " tabor," or small drum, was attached,' Fr. galoubet. A contemporary
123
 THE TEMPEST

illustration of the pipe and tabor is found in_Strutt's Sports and Pastimes III . vi. 333
(ed. 1898) , another in Gollancz's Glossary to The Tempest in the Larger Temple Shak-
spere. 134 THE PICTURE OF NO-BODY : the allusion is probably to the play of No-
body and Somebody, the historical part of which is the story of Elidure as told by Geof-
frey of Monmouth and summarized in Spenser's Faerie Queene II.x. 44, 45, and the comic
part the embodiment of one of the forms of a wide- spread 16th-century jest, according to
which a person named Nobody does all the good in the world, and a person named Some-
body all the evil, for which he
blames Nobody. The date
ACT III SCENE II 136-152
of this play is about 1606.
A portrait of Nobody stood
STEPHANO
at the beginning of the book,
representing him as a hugely If thou beest a man , shew thy selfe in thy
breeched pair of legs sur-
mounted by a head and arms, likenes : if thou beest a divell , take ' t as thou
but having no body. Ben Jon- list.
son, 'Entertainment,'June 25, TRINCULO
1603 (ed. 1640, p. 98), gives
an earlier portrait in the per- O forgive me my sinnes !
son of Nobody " attyred in a
STEPHANO
paire of breeches which were
made to come up to his neck, He that dies payes all debts : I defie thee.
with his armes out at his
pockets and a cap drowning Mercy upon us !
his face." This Nobody in- CALIBAN
troduces a dance of clowns Art thou affeard ?
who, " as the pipe shall in-
STEPHANO
spire them, meane to skip,"
and closes his speech with No, monster, not I.
"Piper play, and let nobodie
CALIBAN
hence away." Itwas probably
here that Shakspere found Be not affeard ; the isle is full of noyses,
the suggestion for Trinculo's
Sounds and sweet aires, that give delight and
No-body piping the music of
the catch. This is all the hurt not .
more likely, as PICTURE in
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
EL.E. means ' representation'
as well as ' portrait,' cp . "hee Will hum about mine eares, and sometime
is a proper man's picture, but, voices
alas, who can converse with
a dumbe-show?" Merch. I. That, if I then had wak'd after long sleepe,
2.77. Will make me sleepe againe : and then , in
dreaming,
137 TAKE 'T AS THOU
LIST, i.e. do as you please. The clouds methought would open and shew
139 Trinculo's paroxysm riches
of fear is probably occa-
Ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd ,
sioned by an unusually loud
burst from the tabor and pipe. I cride to dreame againe .
ዋ 140 HE THAT DIES
PAYES ALL DEBTS was a proverbial phrase, probably of legal application and of especial
frequency in plague-time when such an acquittance must have been freely referred to by
the debtor's heirs : " the common saying is that death acquits us of all our bonds " Florio's
124
 THE TEMPEST

Montaigne I. vii, and note to Macb. III . 2. 49. Stephano boldly invokes it to a moral
application : ' sin is debt,' and death cancels all debts ; therefore, if the devil take him he
quits his claim. But another burst of diabolical music weakens his courage to " God
have mercy upon us ! " ¶ 142 AFFEARD is, of course, the normal e. N. E. form, now dis-
placed by afraid.' 145 SOUNDS : probably the notion of ' humming noises ' was still
involved inthe word in Shakspere's time, cp. 1.2.338. DELIGHT, ' pleasure ,' cp. III. 1.2.
¶ 146 TWANGLING occurs also inTam.of Shr.II.I.159 : cp., also, " what a mischiefe make
these twanglers here ?" Mother Bombie V.3.23. 147 SOMETIME is another form of
'sometimes,' cp.11.2.9. ¶ 152
CRIDE, 'wanted,' ' demand-
ACT III SCENE II 153-162
ed,' cp. Macb. 1.5.22.

STEPHANO
153 The practical Ste-
This will prove a brave kingdome to me, phano again. 156 BY AND
BY in e. N. E. means ' in a
where I shall have my musicke for nothing.
moment, ' cp. Coles's gloss,
CALIBAN "mox, protenus ," and his "I
will be here by and by, iam
When Prospero is destroy'd. hic adero," which give us a
STEPHANO sense half way between ' im-
mediately ' and the MN. one
That shall be by and by : I remember the ' after a while ' ; the two
storie . senses are not kept clear in
TRINCULO N.E.D.4. THE STORIE, ' your
story,' an instance of the ar-
The sound is going away ; let's follow it, and ticle used almost like a pos-
after do our worke. sessive pronoun, cp. Macb.
1.2.6 : the word " storie " is
STEPHANO
used like MN. E. 'affair,' cp.
Leade, monster, wee ' l follow. I would I "As index to the story we
late talk'd of" Rich.3 II.2.
could see this taborer ; he layes it on.
149. 158 AND AFTER, etc.:
TRINCULO for " after" cp. II.2.10 ; they
Wilt come? I'le follow, Stephano . have immediately started to
attend to Prospero's removal
EXEUNT from the sovereignty of the
island. 160 LEADE, MON-
STER, is probably addressed by Stephano to his " standard " with an assumption of regal
dignity immediately forgot in the curiosity to see the excellent taborer which follows.
161 HE LAYES IT ON : Stephano's admiration of the unseen musician's workmanlike
execution mingles the two senses of the phrase, viz. ' to deal blows thickly ' and ' to be
lavish.' Steevens aptly cited Frampton's translation of Marco Paolo's Travels, 1597,
as a possible suggestion for the taborer : " You shall heare in the ayre the sound of tabers
and other instruments to put the travellers in feare .. by evill sprites that make these
soundes and also do call diverse of the travellers by their names " XXXVI . 32. Stephano
rushes impetuously after the skilful player, leaving Trinculo and Caliban, the one lagging
behind from fear, the other because he knows that it is of no use to follow the island
noises. 162 Trinculo then starts after the vanishing Stephano, calling back to Cali-
ban, WILT COME ? Such a situation explains the text and makes unnecessary the various
alterations and botchings that have been proposed for the passage.

125
 THE TEMPEST

INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO SCENE III

Caliban and his confederates are now left to chase the will-o' -the-wisp taborer until they
reappear in the action at IV. I. 139, and Prospero's spirits turn their attention to Alonso
and the courtiers, who, at the end of II. I , were starting on their vain search for Ferdi-
nand. Discouraged, footsore, and hungry, deceived by the vision of a banquet, mocked
by Ariel's grinning crew, appalled by crashes of thunder, and tormented by the " poison "
of remorse, now at last a-work, the guilty-conscienced Alonso, Anthonio, and Sebastian
are driven mad. Gonzalo and Adrian remain sane and follow their desperate companions
off the stage to hinder them from what their " extasie " may provoke them to.

SCENE III : ANOTHER PART OF THE ISLAND

ENTER ALONSO SEBASTIAN ANTHONIO GONZALLO
ADRIAN FRANCISCO & C.
III. iii. I - 4

GONZALO
In the stage direction appears Y'r lakin, I can goe no further,
the occasional spelling Gon- sir ;
zallo, showing the stress to
be upon the second syllable . My old bones akes : here ' s a
&C. stands, of course, for et maze trod indeede
cetera, the ' others ' being su- B
pernumeraries representing Through fourth rights and me-
servants , attendants, etc. I anders ! By your patience,
BY ' R LAKIN and "byr I needes must rest me.
lady" are e. N. E. oath forms
from "by our ladykin " (the
suffix being like that of " body-kin " and " petti-kin ") and " by our lady." " Berlaking,"
" birlakin," " burlakin," " bylakin," and " belakin," other spellings of the same word, point
to an unstressed first syllable. GOE, ' walk.' 2 AKES, the e . N. E. singular verb with
collective subject, changed, as usual, to ' ache ' by modern editors. " Aches " ( M.E.
aitches), dissyllabic, is the noun form in e. N. E.; " akes " ( M. E. aches), monosyllabic , the
verb form, see the citations from Baret in 1.2.370. The difference is historical, going
all the way back to O. E. acan, infinitive, and O. E. ace, noun. O.E. c (= k) before a
palatal vowel, here e, became M. E. ch, but before a guttural vowel, here a, remained c
( k); so in M. E. and e. N. E. we have " ache," the substantive, corresponding to " ake,"
the verb; MN. E. has generalized the latter form . MAZE : this device of formal garden-
ing is well illustrated by the maze at Hampton Court, planted in the time of William III ;
there is a tradition that one has existed there from the time of Henry VIII . 3 FOURTH
RIGHT as a substantive is illustrated in N. E. D. only from Shakspere and obvious 19th-
century imitations of Shakspere phraseology. The meaning of the word is clear : ' the
straight paths ' ; but there may be a covert allusion in the unusual term to the common
key of many of these early mazes, which consists in the fact that the right side of the
hedge is continuous, and to keep on, never taking the right hand off the hedge, ' forth '
on the ' right,' will lead one to the centre. Four of the 18th-century labyrinths shown in
126
 THE TEMPEST

the Encyclopædia Britannica, including that at Hampton Court, are constructed on this
principle. This allusion may be involved also in " keepe then the path : .. if you give
way Or hedge aside from the direct forth right, .. they [ i.e. honours] all rush by And
leave you hindmost " Tro. &Cr. III.3. 155. " Fourth " is a 16th-century spelling of ' forth,'
see N. E.D. s.v. MEANDERS : cp. "a thing that is full of intricate turnings and windings
is called a meander " Phillips. For TROD in the sense of ' walked through,' cp. V. I.242
and " one encompast with a winding maze That cannot tread the way out readilie " Lucr.
1152. PATIENCE in e. N. E. has the sense of ' sufferance,' ' permission,' cp. " patient suf-
ferance .. clementia " Alvearie, and for "by your patience " as a conventional expression
for 'by your leave," cp. "by your gratious patience " Oth. 1.3.89 and " Anthonio. Will
you not that I go with you?
Sebastian. Byyour patience,
ACT III SCENE III 4-14 no" Tw.N. II. I. I.

ALONSO 4 OLD, not disrespectful,

Old lord , I cannot blame thee, as in MN.E., but merely
'aged,' with, perhaps, a note
Who am my selfe attach'd with wearinesse, of affection, cp. " Him that
To th' dulling of my spirits : sit downe and you term'd, sir, the good old
rest. lord, Gonzallo " V. I. 15. 5
ATTACH'D in e.N.E. often
Even here I will put off my hope and keepe it means 'seized,' ' overpower-
No longer for my flatterer : he is droun'd ed,' N. E. D.3, cp. "to be
touched or attached with
Whom thus we stray to finde, and the sea sicknesse or sorrow, .. at-
mocks tingi dolere ; to be attached
Our frustrate search on land . Well , let him with the falling sicknesse,
corripi vitio comitiali" Al-
goe. vearie. 46 DULLING OF
ANTHONIO MY SPIRITS reflects the
ASIDE TO SEBASTIAN EL. psychology according to
which the vital energies were
I am right glad that he's so out of hope. thought of as spirits residing
Doe not, for one repulse , forgoe the purpose in the arteries, and affecting
That you resolv'd t' effect. the disposition of the indi-
vidual in proportion to their
SEBASTIAN own dullness or nimbleness,
ASIDE TO ANTHONIO cp. note to Macb. v.5.42 .
The next advantage 47 EVEN is emphatic and
HERE temporal -' now, in-
Will we take throughly . deed.' Alonso's notion is not
that of throwing off a flatter-
ing garment of hope, as it seems to be in MN. E. , but that of dismissing a courtier who has
been his flatterer. Coles's gloss, " put off (thrust off), protelo, detrudo," shows that PUT
OFF has in e. N. E. the meaning of ' dismiss ' ; this meaning is implied also in " I do not
send you George because they are speaking of putting off servants " Winthrop's History
of New England (from 1620 to 1649 ) 1.471 . Hen.8 1.2.31 contains the same use of
the word, "The clothiers, all not able to maintaine The many to them longing, have put
off The spinsters, carders, fullers, weavers " (in Cent. Dict.) . 10 FRUSTRATE, an e. N.E.
adjective meaning ' futile,' cp. " his frustrate sport " Stanley, 1651 , and " frustrate mone
[moan] " Maides Metamorphosis III . I (in N. E.D.2). ON LAND : there is a form of this
phrase with unstressed preposition, viz . " a-land ," meaning ‘ ashore ' ; this is sometimes
written " on land," see N. E.D.s.v.: ánd the séa mócks || Oűr frústrate séarch a lánd ”
127
 THE TEMPEST

makes better rhythm than the same series ending with " ön lánd." LET HIM GOE, a
conventional expression for ' cease to grieve for him,' cp. " Jarbas, talk not of Æneas,
let him goe" Nash, ' Dido ' V.2 (in N. E. D.) , and " Men were deceivers ever .. Then sigh
not so, but let them go " Ado II.3.65. 12 The association between PURPOSE and
"plot" is a close one in Shakspere, cp. I.2. 129 , 131. 13 EFFECT in e. N. E. means
'give effect to,' N. E. D. 2 ; so in 2Hen.6 III . I. 170 a proverb " effected." ADVANTAGE,
'chance,'' opportunity,' cp. "when I spy advantage, claime the crowne " 2Hen.6 I. I.242.
14 THROUGHLY and
"thoroughly" are e. N. E.
forms of the same word, de- ACT III SCENE III 14-19
scendingfromthe M.E.forms,
which in turn go back to the ANTHONIO
parallel O. E. purh and puruh ; ASIDE
the word expresses com- Let it be to night ;
pleteness of action in EL. E.,
with a wider range of appli- For now they are oppress'd with travaile , they
cation than it has in MN. E., Will not, nor cannot, use such vigilance
cp. "throughly, perfectly "
Baret . In Shakspere we As when they are fresh.
have " enformed throughly " THEY CONVERSE APART
Merch. IV . I. 173, " throughly SOLEMNE AND STRANGE MUSICKE AND PROSPER
weary" Cym. III . 6. 36, " thor- ON THE TOP INVISIBLE : ENTER SEVERALL STRANGE
oughly woo her " Tam.of Shr. SHAPES BRINGING IN A BANKET AND DANCE ABOUT
I. I. 149, " thoroughly per-
swaded" Cor. I. I.205. IT WITH GENTLE ACTIONS OF SALUTATIONS : AND
INVITING THE KING & C. TO EATE THEY DEPART
915 OPPRESS'D often
SEBASTIAN
means ' overcome ' in e. N. E.,
ASIDE
cp. " with travaile much op-
pressed " A.Y.L. II.4.74, and I say, to night : no more.
oppressed nature sleepes " ALONSO
Lear III.6.104 ; we still use
the word of emotions. The What harmony is this ? my good friends,
MN.form distinction between harke !
TRAVAILE and ' travel ' is
GONZALO
later than Shakspere. In the
FO. the stage directions for Marvellous sweet musicke !
the dumb show are together,
as in the text, and little is gained by altering them ; for the first part of the action,
the last part of the plotting of Sebastian, and the exclamations of Alonso and Gonzalo
are simultaneous. It is clear from the action that the two parts of the direction are sepa-
rated at ENTER, the latter part of it being, as is common, in advance of the action. As
in II. I.296, Sebastian and Anthonio continue their plotting apart while the music is
going on, finishing their talk and joining the others with " I say, to night : no more."
Meanwhile the rest of the party have been listening to the invisible musicians upon whose
music Alonso and Gonzalo comment. They are all together when surprised by the
" drolerie." THEY CONVERSE APART is not in FO. I , but is as clearly necessary to the
action as it is in II . 1.296 . ON THE TOP, i.e. above the stage : cp. "Jupiter standing in
the top (figuring the Heaven) " St. Dir. in Jonson's Hymenæi, " skins the vice o' th' top "
Meas.11.2.136, " from windowes tops [i.e. windows above] Threw dust and rubbish " Rich.2
V.2.5, and " whose judgement in such matters cried in the top of mine [ i.e. was above,
better than, mine] " Ham. II.2.459, seem to contain the phrase in this sense of ' above ' ;
modern editors change "top " to ' above.' BANKET is a common e. N. E. form of ‘ ban-
128
 THE TEMPEST

quet,' the w being lost from the q (= kw) in the unstressed syllable, -cp. note to I. I. 12,-
and denotes a light collation. GENTLE, ' courteous,' a frequent EL. E. sense of the word,
cp. note to 1.2.298. ACTIONS, ' gestures,' N. E. D. 6 a, cp. " Looke with what courteous
action It wafts you " Ham. I.4.60. OF SALUTATIONS : the distributive plural is com-
mon in such phrases in e. N. E.,- cp. note to Macb . III . I. 122,-though awkward in MN. E.;
modern editors make it singular. 17 NO MORE, ' we will not discuss the matter
further now,' as in II . I. 171. ¶ 18 GOOD FRIENDS : the peculiar EL. sentence stress
here is probably due to the fact that the two words were thought of together as a com-
pound noun : such adjective stress is common in e. N. E., cp. " For what coast tries your
ship the moíst déeps " Chapman's Odyssey III.99, " T' upbráid thy kind lórd with a fór-
raine love " Drayton, ' Heroicall Epistles' 55 b (Spenser Soc. , p. 278). 19 MARVEL-
LOUS is probably syncopated to ' mar'lous,' cp. " But I marle what camell it was " Jonson, 11
' Every Man in his Humour ' (ed. 1640) 111. Î , “ I mar'le whether it be a Toledo or no'
ibid. III. I , and " I marv'le a
God's name " " Two Angrie
ACT III SCENE III 20-24
Women ofAbingdon ' (Percy
Soc. p. 123).
ALONSO
20 KEEPERS is used in
Give us kind keepers , heavens ! What were
its e. N. E. sense of ' guar-
these ?
dians,' cp. "keepe " in the
SEBASTIAN King James version of Luke
IV. 10, " Hee shall give his
A living drolerie. Now I will beleeve
angels charge over thee to
That there are unicornes ; that in Arabia keepe thee [ Revised Version,
There is one tree, the phoenix throne, one 'guard thee '] " ; the phrase
here corresponds toHamlet's
phoenix "ministers of grace defend
At this houre reigning there. us ! " 1.4.39 . KINDine. N. E.
is often stronger than in
MN. E. and tantamount to ' loving,' N. E.D.6 ; cp. " do not slander him, for he is kinde'
Rich.3 1.4.247. WHAT WERE THESE ? ' what sort of beings were these? ' cp. " What
are these?" Macb. 1.3.39. 21 LIVING, ' performed by living beings ' : this adjective
is often used in Shakspere with connotations which in MN. E. have to be expressed
by phrases, cp. Schmidt s.v. DROLERIE is the name for a puppet- show in Shakspere's
time, N. E.D.2 a ; it was probably Sebastian's explanation that gave Ben Jonson his
quip for the passage in ' Bartholomew Fair,' see note to III. 2. 5. Sebastian's speech
seems to be addressed to Anthonio. I WILL, probably contracted to ' I'll ' : " Nów
I'll believe." $ 22 UNICORNE : this monstrous horse with a horn jutting out from
his forehead figures conspicuously in the accounts of early voyages, cp. Purchas's Pil-
grimage, 1614, pp. 502, 540, 646, etc.; Purchas says that " onely Ludovicus Verto-
mannus, I. 19, saith he saw a couple of these true unicornes at Mecca, one whereof had
a horne of three cubites, being of the bignesse of a colt of two yeares and a halfe olde ;
the other was much lesse : both sent to the sultan of Mecca for a rare present out of
Ethiopia. Gesner in his booke of foure-footed beasts citeth this testimony: . . but it
cannot seeme otherwise then strange that in this last hundred of yeares, wherein the
world has unveyled her face more then ever before, none of credite, that I have read,
hath affirmed himselfe to have seene this unicorne but in picture " Pilgrimage,' p. 472 .
¶23 PHOENIX : Cooper says that the phoenix is " a certain birde of whose kind is
never but one at once. It liveth above 600 yeres.'" The " sole tree " is named by Florio,
1598 : "Rasin, a tree in Arabia whereof there is but one found, and upon it the phenix
sits " (cited by Malone) . The story is based upon Pliny X. ii, and was known to EL.
literature in Holland's translation ; Purchas disdains to repeat it " because it is a fable " ;
129
 THE TEMPEST

Lyly makes use of it in ' Euphues and his England ' (Arber, p. 312), " For as there is but
one phoenix in the world, so is there but one tree in Arabia wherein she buildeth " ; in
the 'Phoenix and Turtle ' 2, the unique tree is also referred to, " let the bird of loudest
lay On the sole Arabian tree " (the latter citations are from Malone). For the posses-
sive case form without s the x = cs is of course responsible ; cp. note to II . I.133. 24
AT THIS HOURE is an e. N. E. phrase depending upon " houre " in its e. N. E. sense of
' moment of time,' cp. " at
this houre Lies at my mercy
all mine enemies " IV. I.264, ACT III SCENE III 24-34
and "to come at a good
hour" Phr. Gen. ANTHONIO
I 'le beleeve both ;
$ 25 WHAT DOES ELSE
WANT CREDIT, ' if there is And what does else want credit, come to me,
anything else that is not be- And I ' le be sworne ' t is true : travellers nere
lieved in' ; for " what " in
did lye,
this sense of ' any,' cp. note
to III . 1.72 , and for its con- Though fooles at home condemne ' em.
ditional use, cp. " what will
hap more to night, safe scape GONZALO
the king ! " Lear III.6.121 . If in Naples
Shakspere's irony is levelled
at the exaggerations of the I should report this now, would they beleeve
early voyagers, such as one me ?
finds in Purchas, who, with
If I should say, I saw such islanders—
all his aversion to " fables," is
not above recording a " mon- For certes, these are people of the island—
strous story." 27 Gon- Who , though they are of monstrous shape,
zalo speaks to Alonso. ¶28
yet, note ,
BELEEVE ME is followed by
a question-mark in FO . I. Their manners are more gentle-kinde then of
29 ISLANDERS is printed Our humaine generation you shall finde
" islands" in FO . I (corrected
in the subsequent folios), fol- Many, nay, almost any.
lowed by a semicolon. 30
CERTES, 'surely,' now archaic. 31 MONSTROUS often means only ' not human ' in
EL. E., and has no reference to size or shape as it has in MN. E. 32 GENTLE- kinde ,
' courteous,' ' gracious,' seems to be one of the e. N. E. double-adjective idioms, cp.
degenerate and sordid-base " ' Every Man in his Humour ' II. 5 , and " ruthles-balefull death "
Florio's Montaigne I. xlii ; " gentle, kinde " is the punctuation ofthe FO., which is also found
in "heavy, thicke "John III . 3.43 ; " eares deep sweet musik, and harts deep sore wounding"
is the punctuation of the printer Field, 1593 , in Ven. &Ad. 432. The FO.gives our standard
MN. pointing in " pale-dead eyes " Hen.5 IV.2.48. These latter instances clearly show
the stress of the idiom. THEN, etc., ' than you shall find those of many - indeed, of
scarcely any of our human kind ' : GENERATION means ' race,' ' kind,' from the end
of the 15th to the middle of the 18th century (N. E. D. 6) ; for the spelling of HUMAINE,
cp. I.2.284. The syntax is peculiarly EL. E.: the idiom " then of," corresponding to
MN. E. ' than those of,' is analogous to the M. E. and e.N.E. idiom in which " than "
corresponds to MN. E. ' than that,' e.g. " we are made to be no stronger Then faults may
shake our frames" Meas. II.4.132. Similar syntax seems to be involved after " as " in
"with a looke ful of amiable fierceness, as [sc. of one] in whom choller could not take
away the [i.e. his] sweetnes, he came towards the king " Arcadia, p. 22 b. 34 For the
position of MANY and ANY, cp. " It standeth us on hand to have an excellenter raunsome
130
 THE TEMPEST

than we can bring any " Golding (cited in III. I.43) ; for " almost any" corresponding to
MN. E. ' scarcely any ' after a negative cp. " so that no man almost could conceive hope
of living" Arcadia, 210 b.
Gonzalo's biting remark is
ACT III SCENE III 34-42 levelled at the rudeness of
Sebastian and Anthonio.
PROSPERO
ABOVE 35 PRESENT is followed
Honest lord, by a semicolon in FO.1 , see
note to v.29. 36 MUSE,
Thou hast said well ; for some of you there
'ponder on," think of,' proba-
present bly with the notion of amaze-
ment ; for this e. N. E. transi-
Are worse then divels.
tive use, cp. "he hath studied,
ALONSO mused, or provided what he
I cannot too much muse will say" Alvearie ; so there
is no occasion for Keight-
Such shapes , such gesture and such sound ley's anacoluthic emenda-
tion, 'muse - .' ¶37 GES-
expressing,
TURE in e. N. E. signifies
Although they want the use of tongue, a kinde
' carriage, or any graceful
Of excellent dumbe discourse. movement of any part of the
PROSPERO body ' : the word is now re-
stricted to particular move-
ABOVE ments. EXPRESSING , ' mak-
Praise in departing. ing evident, ' cp. " If he be a
FRANCISCO god he will express it upon
thee,mychild " Beaumontand
They vanish'd strangely. Fletcher, ' Cupid's Revenge '
SEBASTIAN I.I (in N. E. D.7). 38 WANT
THE USE OF TONGUE,
No matter, since 'lack knowledge of language,'
They have left their viands behinde ; for wee "use" being employed in its
have stomacks. e. N. E. sense of ' skill,' and
"tongue" in its e. N. E. sense
Wil't please you taste of what is here? of 'language ,' cp. "with soft,
ALONSO lowe tongue" Tam.of Shr.,
Ind., 1. 114. 39 PRAISE IN
Not I.
DEPARTING is an e.N.E. pro-
verbial phrase which seems
to mean 'praise us when we leave you ' or ' suspend judgement.' In 'Two Angrie Women of
Abingdon,' 1599, Mistress Goursey says, "Yet Barnses wife would chafe if that she knew
That I had this good lucke to get a light." Mistress Barnes, who hears her, answers aside
"And so she doth ; but praise your lucke at parting " ed. Dyce, Percy Soc. , p. 122. Lyly
uses it in his Euphues and his England, " Is my good will rejected ? .. I [aye] , but, Phi-
lautus, prayse at the parting [await the end] ; .. fayre weather commeth after foule storme"
Lyly's Works (ed. Bond) II. 130.21 . Heywood calls one of his epigrams " Praise of good
ende"; Ray gives the proverb (p. 104) " Praise a fair day at night " ; Hazlitt, p. 118 (cited
by Wright), " Praise at parting and behold well the end." 40 STRANGELY : the
verse seems to lack a stressed syllable after " strangely," perhaps supplied by the pause
which sometimes takes the place of a stressed impulse in EL. verse ; Abbott's ' stráng-e-ly'
is anomalous in Shakspere. 41 THEY HAVE, probably contracted to ' they 've ' : this
contraction is rarely indicated by the printer in setting EL. poetry.
131
 1
THE TEMPES
T

$ 45 DEW-LAPT: " dew-lapt like Thessalian buls " occurs in Mids. IV. I. 126. ¶46 WAL-
lets of fleSH refers to the great goitres, " very common among those who dwelle
about the Alpes" ; Cotgrave defines goitrons as " wenny bags [cp. Shakspere's " wallet,"
which was the name for any sort of double bag in EL.E. ] that breed under the throats
of the most inhabitants of the Alpes by reason of their continual drinking of water."
SUCH..WHOSE : " such " is frequently used for the antecedent of the relative pronoun
in e. N. E., cp. “ In such formes as heere were presuppos'd Upon thee " Tw.N. V. I.358.
$ 47 HEADS STOOD IN THEIR BRESTS : cp. " and unto these doth Pliny add the Blem-
myæ, with faces in their breasts " ' Pilgrimage,' p. 600, and " As for the tale that these
Blemmyes wanted heads, and had their eyes and mouthes in their breasts, the authors had
eyther no eyes to see the
truth, or more head then they
should to devise lies : as we ACT III SCENE III 43-49
may say of other shapelesse
and monstrous shapes of peo- GONZALO
ple which Pliny and Solinus Faith, sir, you neede not feare . When wee
[marginal reference to Pliny,
1.5 c. 8 & 6 c. 29 ; Solinus , were boyes ,
cap. 39] out of other authors Who would beleeve that there were moun-
report to inhabit these un-
tayneeres
known parts, some wanting
lips , some nostrils , or mouths, Dew-lapt like buls , whose throats had hang-
etc., indeed all wanting truth " ing at ' em
ibid., p.659. On p.830 Pur- Wallets of flesh ? or that there were such men
chas is less sceptical and,
referring to Sir Walter Ra- Whose heads stood in their brests ? which
leigh's report in his Discov- now we finde
ery of Guiana, 1596, p.85
(the probable source of Shak- Each putter out of five for one will bring us
spere's reference) , that he Good warrant of.
had been told of men with
mouths in their breasts living on the Amazon, says that " these things are strange, yet
I dare not esteeme them fabulous ; only .. I suspend till some eye-intelligence of some
of our parts have testified the truth." Shakspere makes Othello tell Desdemona of this
marvel in Oth. 1.3.144. 48 PUTTER OUT OF FIVE FOR ONE is a jesting allusion to
an EL. form of gambling, and is clearly explained by a passage in ' Every Man out of
his Humour' II. 3 (ed. 1640, p.94) , where Puntervolo says, " I doe intend, this yeare of
Jubile coming on, to travaile : and, because I will not altogether goe upon expence, I am
determined to put forth [cp. Shakspere's " put out "] some five thousand pound to be
paid me five for one upon the returne of my selfe, my wife, and my dog from the Turkes
court in Constantinople. If all or either of us miscarry in the journey, 't is gone : if we
be successefull, why there will be five and twenty thousand pound to entertaine time
withall. " Carlo warns him, " If once your money be out [i.e. put up] there ' ll be divers
attempts made against the life of the poore animal." This sort of betting is frequently
alluded to in contemporary literature, and "three to one " is also mentioned as odds ;
Malone cited Moryson's Itinerary, 1617, to the effect that the practice was begun by
noblemen, but drawn into contempt by " bankerouts, stage-players, and men of base con-
dition." " Putter-out " seems to mean ' investor,' or perhaps ' gambler,' made from the
analogy of " putter-on." " Of" in M. E. and e. N. E. is used frequently in the sense of MN . E.
' at' to express a rate : " it is dear of a penny," " it is cheap of twenty pounds," are illus-
trations from Phr. Gen.; Coles has the same phrases ; N. E. D. cites " sold of an excessive
price" Halle's Chronicle, 1548, and " they look very fine of the price " citation dated 1696.
So " Are you of [i.e. rated at] fourescore pounds a yeere ?" Meas. II. I. 204 , “ a dish of some
132
 THE TEMPEST

three pence" Meas. II . 1.95, and " command that of the cities cost The .. conduit run
nothing but clarret wine " 2Hen.6 IV.6.3. Modern editors have variously emended the
passage to escape the apparent confusion of the words : ' on five for one ' Theobald (who
first cited the Jonson passage) ; ' of one for five ' Malone (citing a similar passage from
Davies's Scourge of Folly, " Sir Solus straight will travel as they say, And gives out one
for three when home comes
he") ;' offive forten' Thirlby ;
ACT III SCENE III 49-60 'at five for one ' Daniel.

ALONSO $ 49 STAND TO was in com-

I will stand to and feede, mon use in e. N. E. for begin-
ning any work, cp. Macb.
Although my last : no matter, since I feele 11.3.42. FEEDE was used of
The best is past. Brother, my lord the duke , persons without an ignoble
Stand too and doe as we. sense in Shakspere's time,
cp. Macb. III.4.35. 51 THE
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING : ENter ariell like BEST IS PAST is an e. N.E.
A HARPEY : CLAPS HIS WINGS UPON THe table proverbial expression, the
opposite of the common
AND WITH a quient device the BANQUET VAN- phrase "the best is behind."
ISHES BROTHER, i.e. Sebastian ;
ARIEL MY LORD The Duke, i.e.
Anthonio: thus the royal
You are three men of sinne, whom destiny, family, as it were, eat first
That hath to instrument this lower world (as custom was), drawing off
from the others, and giving
And what is in ' t, the never surfeited sea Ariel his chance to address
the "three men of sinne.”
Hath caus'd to belch up you , and on this
CLAPS, inthe St. Dir. , though
island
still in poetic use, is now
Where man doth not inhabit ; you mongst archaic in the sense of flaps,'
but in e.N.E. it also means
men
'to strike so as to make a
Being most unfit to live. I have made you loud noise.' QUIENT means
mad ; ' ingeniously contrived' in
EL.E., N.E.D.3 : " quyent "
And even with such like valour men hang and is there given as a 16th-cen-
drowne tury form of the word, though
Their proper selves. without citation. The stage
direction shows that stage
carpentering in Shakspere's
time was not so primitive as we are often led to suppose, and that the lack of elaborate
scenery in the EL. drama was rather due to the taste of the day than to inadequate skill
in stage carpentry, a conclusion strengthened by the elaborate arrangement of some of
Jonson's masques ; for the constructive mechanical skill shown in some of these might
easily have been invoked for the regular drama had the public demanded it. 53 MEN
OF SINNE, i.e. ' devils,' as Prospero calls them in v. 36. WHOM .. YOU : in O. E. and
M. E. a noun or pronoun standing for the antecedent is sometimes expressed in the rela-
tive clause ; this syntax survived in e. N. E., cp. V. I.76, and " your brave father, whom,
Though bearing miserie, I desire my life Once more to looke on him " Wint.T. V. I.136.
The idiom serves for emphasis, cp. " Now Antonius, that was a faithfull friend to Cæsar
and a valiant man besides of his hands, him Decius Brutus Albinus entertained out of
the senate house " North's Plutarch, Julius Cæsar, p.789. "You" is followed by a colon
133
 THE TEMPEST

in FO. I , the printer evidently having pointed for an anacoluthon. 54 TO INSTRU-

MENT : in e.N. E. "to " often corresponds to MN. E. ' for,' cp. " to their queene " II . I.75,
and " I have a king here to my flatterer" Rich.2 IV. I.308. LOWER WORLD, i.e. " earth,
sea, and all that in them is " Exodus XXII . II . 55 SURFEITED is probably syncopated
as in Macb. II.2.5 ; cp. " thy capacitie Receiveth as the sea " Tw.N. I. I. 10 , and “ as hungry
as the sea And can digest as much " ibid. II.4. 103. 56 BELCH UP YOU : Ariel's
homely figure is found in Per. II. 1.61 , " What a drunken knave is the sea To cast thee
in our way" ; cp. also ibid. III.2.54. For the word order, cp. " hang up them" Macb.
IV.2.58. AND, ' therefore,' cp. note to 1.2.186. 57 MONGST is not a contracted form
of ' amongst,' set in on account of metrical exigencies, but a historical form of ' among'
with the e. N. E. phonetic t developed after final s. $ 59 AND EVEN WITH SUCH LIKE
VALOUR, i.e. the valour of madness, cp. the madness of Ferdinand in 1.2.12. 60
PROPER in e. N. E. is used like MN. E. ' own,' cp. " Here have I cause in men just blame
to find That in their proper praise too partial be" ' Faerie Queene ' III.2. I ; Burton says,
"divers have been recovered
out of the very act of hang-
ACT III SCENE III 60-66
ing and drowning themselves
and so brought ad sanam
mentem" ' Anat. of Mel.' ALONSO SEBASTIAN AND ANTHONIO DRAW
III. 4. ii. 5. You fooles ! I and my fellowes
Are ministers of fate : the elements ,
The stage direction is not in
FO. I ; many editors put it in Of whom your swords are temper'd, may as
after " mad," but it seems ra- well
ther to belong after " selves."
Modern editors, without ex- Wound the loud windes, or with bemockt-at-
ception, give the direction stabs
the form " Alonso, Sebas-
tian, and the others ": but Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish
there is only one other, One dowle that's in my plumbe : my fellow
Anthonio ; Gonzalo, Adrian, ministers
and Francisco are not in-
cluded in Ariel's invective Are like invulnerable.
and do not hear it ; Gonzalo
is puzzled at Alonso's " strange stare " in v.95, and in v. 106 calls on Adrian and Fran-
cisco to follow the three desperate ones, attributing their madness wholly to remorse of
conscience. Prospero's address, likewise, " And these mine enemies are knit up In their
distractions," v. 89, cannot include Gonzalo, his friend, nor Francisco and Adrian, who
have done him no wrong. ¶61 MINISTERS OF FATE is like the Boethian notion "ex-
ecutrice of werdes " found in Chaucer. THE ELEMENTS, i.e. air, earth, fire, and water,
in mediæval philosophy the constituent elements of material things. 62 OF WHOM :
the pronoun "who" is sometimes used in e. N. E. to refer to animals and things ;
this use occurs in II.2.13 and, perhaps, in II . I. 127 ; so in Merch. II.7.4, " The first [i.e.
casket] of gold who this inscription beares " ; the idiom is rare outside of Shakspere.
TEMPER'D means ' formed by mixing ingredients,' cp. " temper (mingle), misceo "
Coles ; so in Rom. &Jul., " If you could find out but a man to beare a poyson, I would
temper it" III.5.97. MAY AS WELL, ' it is as easily possible for the elements, etc., to
wound,' the verb having its e. N. E. sense of ' possible.' 64 STILL-CLOSING, ' always
coming together" ; " still " is used in its EL. sense of ' always,' and " closing " like " shee'le
close and be her selfe " Macb. III.2 . 14. DIMINISH , 'take away,' ' remove,' cp. " washed
away and diminished all suspicion " Halle's Chronicle, Edward IV, 217 (in N. E. D. 4) , and
"to take away or diminish an opinion," "to diminish a suspicion " Baret. 65 DOWLE
is a M. E. and e. N. E. word meaning ' the filament of a feather ' [rather ' down-feather ' with
134
 THE TEMPEST

collective plural ] , according to N. E. D., which cites " the griffen .. swore by cockis herte
and blode He would him tere every doule " from the pseudo-Chaucerian Plowman's Tale ,
early 15th century, as the first citation ; Wright, Provincial Glossary, cites an instance
from Davies's Scourge of Folly, 1611 , " His hat lookes like a medley hat, For black's the
ground which sparingly appeares ; Then heer's a dowle and there a dabb of fatt." Holy-
oke, 1677, gives " down feathers or dowl, lanugo " ; Coles, Latin Dictionary, also glosses
"young dowl, lanugo " ; but Junius's interpretation of the word, viz. " doule , Chaucero
usurpatur pro deale Pars," which appears in the 1687 edition of Chaucer, and in Skinner,
1668, and in Coles's English Dictionary of Hard Words, shows that the term was not
clearly understood in the latter part of the 17th century. It is now in dialect use in
Shropshire (Jackson), Gloucestershire (' Notes and Queries,' 2d Ser. , VII , 483 ), Northamp-
tonshire ( Baker), etc. PLUMBE for ' plume,' like " spright " for ' sprite,' is an instance
of intrusion ; the b in mb, not being sounded, was sometimes added after e. N. E. m where
it did not belong, cp. " plumbe (prunes), pruna " Janua, 120. The word seems to be used
here in the sense of ' plumage,' as it is in Milton, ' Paradise Lost ' XI . 186, " The bird of Jove
stoopt from his aerie tour Two birds of gayest plume before him drove." 66 LIKE in
its e. N. E. sense of ' equally'
is still in use in poetry. It
ACT III SCENE III 66-75
is not an aphetic form for
' alike,' but a common M.E.
THEIR SWORDS are charmed ande. N. E. word form. FO. I
If you could hurt, hyphenates "like-invulnera-
Your swords are now too massie for your ble," probably mistaking it
for a double adjective.
strengths ,
And will not be uplifted. But remember- The stage direction is not
in FO.I nor in modern edi-
For that's my businesse to you — that you
tions, but is quite as neces-
three sary as that after 1.2.466.
From Millaine did supplant good Prospero ; 66 HURT , ' do injury ' : the
intransitive usage of the verb
Expos'd unto the sea, which hath requit it, is now usually restricted to
Him and his innocent childe : for which foule the meaning to give pain.'
deed 67 MASSIE is in common
e. N. E. usage for ' massive ' ;
The powres, delaying, not forgetting, have STRENGTHS is the usual
Incens'd the seas and shores, yea, all the e. N. E. distributive plural.
68 WILL NOT BE, i.e.'will
creatures , not allow themselves to be.'
Against your peace. 69 BUSINESSE is used in
its sense of ' message,' ' er-
rand,' cp. " my businesse is but tothe court " All'sW.II.2.4. 470 SUPPLANT, remove,' as
in III.2.55. 71 REQUIT is an e. N. E. past-participle form of ' requite ' ; the past-par-
ticiple and past-tense -ed ending of M. E. weak verbs in final t was syncopated and
assimilated to tt, and the double consonant often shortened the preceding vowel ; many of
these forms were still in use in Shakspere's time, cp. " exasperate " Macb. III.6.38,
"have tollerate " Halle's Chronicle, Henry IV, fol. 4 ; " have attempt " Peele, ' Clyomon
and Clamydes ' 127 ; "the main abyss wide interrupt " Milton, ' Paradise Lost ' III.84, and
"But thou hast violat'd [an attempt to harmonize the spelling of the earlier and later
forms] those sound lawes " Poetic Miscellany of the time of James I , ed. Halliwell,
Percy Soc., p. 2. Spenser has " requit " as past tense in ' Faerie Queene ' IV. 3.47. 72
INNOCENT, probably syncopated to inn'cent, as in Macb . I.5.66, etc. $ 73 POWRES ,
monosyllabic, as in Macb. IV.3.185.
135
 THE TEMPEST

$ 76 PRONOUNCE [ ' proclaim,' cp. Macb. V.3.5] .. LINGRING PERDITION : the omis
sion of ' that ' before indirect-discourse constructions is frequent in M. E., and occasionally
occurs in e. N. E., cp. " Froysard, a countreyman of ours, records England all Olivers and
Rowlands bred [ FO.I breed] " IHen.6 1.2.29 ; this ellipsis occurs also before a causal
clause, cp. " The sullen night hath her black curtaines spred, Lowring [sc. that] the day
had tarried up so long " Drayton , ' Barrons Warres ' III . 17 ; so it is better to let the FO.
pointing stand, though modern editors put a colon after " me." ¶77 THEN, the usual EL.
spelling of ' than.' $ 78 AT
ONCE means ' once for all,'
ACT III SCENE III 75-82
cp. "Better it were a brother
dide at once, Then that a sis-
ter .. Should die for ever " Thee of thy sonne, Alonso ,
Meas. 11.4.106 . The latest They have bereft ; and doe pronounce by me
citation in N. E. D. ' at once'
I, is from Spenser, 1579, Lingring perdition , worse then any death
"You deemen Spring is come Can be at once, shall step by step attend
attonce" ; the phrase was
You and your wayes ; whose wraths to guard
originally "at ones," and
meant at one time.' ዋ 79 you from-
WHOSE WRATHS, ‘ and . . Which here, in this most desolate isle, else
their vengeance , ' the connec- fals
tive relative with distributive
plural followed by a singular Upon your heads — is nothing but hearts-
verb. 81 IS NOTHING , sorrow
'there is nothing ' : in e. N. E.
the indefinite subject is some- And a cleere life ensuing.
times omitted in such nega- HE VANISHES IN THUNDER : THEN TO SOFT MU-
tive idioms, cp. "Was never
SICKE Enter the SHAPES Againe and daunce
heard in Manchester before
Of truer love " ' Faire Em ' WITH MOCKES AND MOWES AND CARRYING OUT
II. I. HEARTS- SORROW is THE TABLE
changed to ' heart-sorrow'
by CambridgeText and modern editors generally, but the compound " hearts-ease " (which
in e. N. E. means ' tranquillity of mind,' and is probably the pattern of "hearts-sorrow"
here) shows that the FO.'S word is not a misprint. 82 CLEERE (the ee spelling is
due to the r, cp. note to III . I. 52) , ' innocent, ' cp. Macb. 1.7.18. The DAUNCE WITH
MOCKES AND MOWES is probably what led Ben Jonson to speak of " antiques " in con-
nection with The Tempest. CARRYING OUT THE TABLE : evidently only the banquet
vanishes after v.52.

483 BRAVELY, ' finely,' ' excellently,' an e. N. E. meaning of the word (N.E. D. 3 ) that is
still to be met with from time to time : the Scotch ' brawly ' has probably something to
do with the retaining of this early sense. FIGURE is now obsolete in this sense of ' rep-
resented character,' an O. FR. meaning of the word, cp. " Figure, representation, resem-
blance, counterfeit " Cotgrave ; so Hamlet speaks of the ghost as " the figure " of his
father. 84 The indefinite article in e. N. E. often connotes rarity, excellence, retaining
something of its original meaning of ' one ' ; cp. Kitely to Cash, his servant, in ' Every
Man in his Humour IV.3, " Be true to me and thou shalt finde mee a master," and "I
told you a thing [i.e. a fine story] yesterday " Tro.& Cr. 1.2 . 185. DEVOURING : N.E.D.
takes the word literally, and cites only this passage as evidence of its absolute use ; but
the stage direction does not say that Ariel eats the banquet. " Devour" seems rather
to have the meaning of ' destroy,' with the notion of ' carrying away violently,' cp. "fire
devouring where it roules " ' Paradise Lost ' XII . 183. Schmidt takes the word in the sense
136
 THE TEMPEST

of ' absorbing the attention,' N. E. D. 7, and as an attributive adjective to " grace," citing
Per.IV.4.25 and Wint.T. III . I.20 ; but N.E. D.7 shows this sense usually in association .
with words expressing passion. 85 BATED is not a contracted form of " abated," but
an independent word still in use in e. N. E.; indeed, it is hard to see how "bate " can be
an aphetic form of " abate " when it is at least half a century older than that word : see
citations in N. E. D. Here it
means ' lessen the force of,'
ACT III SCENE III 83-93 with OF in its e. N. E. sense
of 'from.' Another note of
PROSPERO past action is contained in
ABOVE such references to minute in-
structions from Prospero to
Bravely the figure of this harpie hast thou Ariel. 86 GOOD LIFE,
Perform'd, my Ariell, a grace it had de- 'fine energy of action ' or
'vividness of representation ,'
vouring :
a meaning now more or less
Of my instruction hast thou nothing bated restricted, cp. "Would you
In what thou hadst to say : so with good life have a love song or a song
of good life [i.e. a song full
And observation strange, my meaner minis- of energy] ?" Tw.N. II . 3. 36,
ters and "Those songs which are
Their severall kindes have done. My high made for the high key be
made for more life,the other
charmes work in the low key with more
And these mine enemies are all knit up gravitie and staidnesse " Mor-
ley's Introduction to Music
In their distractions ; they now are in my
(in N. E. D. 4). Steevens cites
powre ; "acted with such exquisite
life" from Chapman's trans-
And in these fits I leave them, while I visit
lation of Homer's Hymn to
Yong Ferdinand, whom they suppose is Apollo, and Henley (in Va-
droun'd , riorum , 1803 ) says that to do
anything with " good life" is
And his and mine lov'd darling. still a provincial expression
EXIT ABOVE in the west of England sig-
nifying to do it ' with the full
bent and energy of the mind.' For the sense of " good," cp. also " good dulnesse " 1.2.185.
$ 87 OBSERVATION , ' attention to detail,' N.E.D.4. For STRANGE , meaning ' mar-
vellous,' cp. IV.I.7. MEANER MINISTERS, ' minor servants.' 88 KINDE in M.E. means
'nature,' and "to do ones kinde " is a M. E. expression meaning ' to act according to one's
nature,' cp. "pe kinde of childhode y dide also Wip my felowis to fiзte and prete "
Hymns Virg., 1430, in N. E. D. 3 c. It was still in use in e. N. E., cp. " the worme will do
his kinde" Ant.& Cl. v.2.264 (cited by Steevens). HIGH , ' potent,' N. E. D. 10, or perhaps
' difficult,' N.E. D.6 c, cp. " such knowledge is .. high, I cannot attain unto it " Psalmes
CXXXIX.6. So Ascham speaks of " hie and hard sciences " ' Scholemaster ' (ed. Arber,
1.32). 89 KNIT UP, ' tied up,' ' entangled,' N. E. D. I , a meaning now archaic. 490
DISTRACTIONS, ' madness,' N.E. D.5, a distributive plural with implied sense of ' pulled
in different directions by conflicting emotions,' N. E. D. 3, cp. Merry17 W. III.5.86, " and in
her invention and Ford's wives distraction they convey'd me.' 91 FIT was the
usual EL. word for a paroxysm of insanity, cp. Macb. III.2.23 . 92 WHOM, an indi-
rect-discourse idiom of e. N. E. through which the logical subject is thought of as the gram-
matical object of a word of saying or thinking. 93 MINE, the e. N. E. substantive form
of the pronoun, used because " darling" is separated from it, cp. note to II. I.254.
137
 THE TEMPEST

$ 94 Gonzalo is now ap- ACT III SCENE III 94-109

.proaching the three as they
stand staring like Macbeth
GONZALO
into vacancy. SOMETHING :
"by all that's holy," as in I' th ' name of something holy, sir, why stand
Hen.8 V.3. 132, is the form
you
we should expect ; the un-
usual adjuration may, how- In this strange stare ?
ever, be due to the excision
ALONSO
of some other oath, like
"i' th' name of God," in order O, it is monstrous , monstrous !
to keep the FO. within the
Me thought the billowes spoke and told me
limits of the law against pro-
of it ;
fane swearing. 95 MON-
STROUS, it must be remem- The windes did sing it to me, and the thunder ,
bered, means ' contrary to
the laws of nature ' in e. N. E. That deepe and dreadfull organ- pipe, pro-
nounc'd
The rhythm of vv. 96-98 is
peculiarly Shaksperian, re- The name of Prosper : it did base my tres-
flecting in its movement the
things described. Alonso , like passe.
Macbeth, as his fit of mad- Therefore my sonne i' th ' ooze is bedded , and
ness comes on, awakens to a
I'le seeke him deeper then ere plummet
fine realization of his kinship
sounded
and sympathy with nature,
and this emotion, like Lear's And with him there lye mudded.
in III.2.1 ff., moves in the
EXIT
rhythms of wind and storm.
T99 BASE : cp. "The sing- SEBASTIAN
ing bullets made his soul re- But one feend at a time,
joice As musicke ; .. and if
the canons bas'd it with their I ' le fight their legions ore.
voice, he seem'd as ravisht ANTHONIO
with an heavenly noise " Da-
vies,'Microcosmos ,' 1605 , p. I'le be thy second .
32 (cited by Reed). The MN. EXEUNT SEBASTIAN AND ANTHONIO
spelling is due to the Italian
GONZALO
basso. 100 THEREFORE ,
17
"forthat,' i.e." my trespasse." All three of them are desperate : their great
AND, ' and so,' as in I.2 . 186.
102 MUDDED : cp. " mud- guilt,
ded, fouled with mud, limo Like poyson given to worke a great time after,
conspersus" Coles. Or per- Now gins to bite the spirits. I doe beseech
haps the word is used as it
is in the gloss, " mudded . . you
stucke in mudde, embourbé" That are of suppler joynts , followthem swiftly
Howell- Cotgrave. The mad- And hinder them from what this extasie
ness of Sebastian and An-
thonio is like that of Ferdi- May now provoke them to.
nand ; they " see more devils ADRIAN
than vast hell can hold."
103 ORE, ' one after an- Follow, I pray you.
other,' cp. II. 1.221 . ¶ 104 EXEUNT OMNES
138
 THE TEMPEST

DESPERATE, ' mad,' a common e. N. E. meaning of the word, cp. ' Bede saith Pilate died
desperate eight years after Christ ' Burton, ' Anat. of Mel.' III.4. ii. 5. THEIR, stressed
to indicate Sebastian and Anthonio, and probably accompanied by a gesture. 105
Steevens aptly cited Leicester's Commonwealth, " I heard him once myself .. maintain
that poyson might be so tempered and given as it should not appear presently [immedi-
ately] , and yet should kill the party afterwards at what time should be apposite." GREAT
TIME : we still use " great " with " while," but " great time " is an e. N. E. idiom that has
been lost since Shakspere's day ; " great reason " and " great yeares " are other similar
idioms now obsolete, see N. E. D. 9. 106 THE SPIRITS, ' their spirits ' : the e. N. E. use
of the article for MN. E. possessive pronoun. YOU , Francisco and Adrian. 108 EX-
TASIE, ' madness,' as in Macb. 111.2.22.

Act III is the mid-point of the drama. In Scene I Ferdinand's love is tested and found
worthy and Miranda's union with him is assured. In Scene II Stephano, Trinculo, and
Caliban are punished by Ariel, though their complete overthrow is left to make, with the
masque scene, an interlude act before the dénouement. In Scene III Alonso, Sebastian,
and Anthonio are likewise punished and driven to distraction. All is now ready for the
final act : but before Prospero shall bring the play to a close, he wishes to bestow upon
the eyes of Ferdinand and Miranda “ some vanity of his art," and we have the interven-
ing Act IV, giving more substance to the fabric of the vision and furnishing an interlude
for the audience : to this is appended the humorous issue of Caliban's conspiracy.

139
 THE TEMPEST

THE FOURTH ACT

SCENE I : BEFORE PROSPERO'S CELL

ENTER PROSPERO FERDINAND AND MIRANDA
I - 12

PROSPERO
F I have too austerely punish'd you,
Your compensation makes amends, for I
Have given you here a third of mine owne life,
Or that for which I live ; who once againe
I tender to thy hand : all thy vexations
Were but my trials of thy love, and thou

Hast strangely stood the test : here, afore heaven ,

I ratifie this my rich guift. O Ferdinand ,
Doe not smile at me that I boast her of,
For thou shalt finde she will out- strip all
TI AUSTERE is now usu-
ally used of persons, ' severe,' praise
or 'harsh' being attributed to And make it halt behinde her.
acts ; the word was confused FERDINAND
with 'stern' in Shakspere's
time. 3 THIRD : Prospero I doe beleeve it
himself defines his life as Against an oracle.
'what he lives for,' and he has
alreadytold us that he 'prizes the knowledge in his volumes above his dukedom ' (1.2.167) ;
in the Epilogue he speaks of getting back his dukedom as his chief ambition. The three
parts of his life, then, are his art, his daughter, and his dukedom, and later on he ex-
presses his loss of his daughter by " every third thought [the word expresses ' care,'
anxiety,' in EL. E. ] shall be my grave " : his dukedom and his art will but partly fill his
life, and the unfilled gap will make him think of death. Theobald, however, was dissatis-
fied with the reading of the FO., and read ' thread,' and Hawkins and Steevens pointed
out that "third " is one of the e. N. E. forms of ' thread ' (though not a common one, for
the early grammarians do not give " thread" and " third" among their " words oflike
sound"). Taking this spelling, Steevens explained that the word was used as in 'Aco-
lastus,' 1540, " one of worldly shame's children, of his countenance and threde of his
body" (but " threde " seems here to be used as Baret defines it, " thred .. the fashion of
countenance, or stature "). Recent editors usually follow this explanation of Steevens,
printing "third " and reading ' thread.' Malone, to show " thread" in its e. N. E. sense of
life principle,' cited " Against all law of kinde, to shred in twaine The golden threede
[another e. N. E. form of the word] that doth us both maintaine " "Tancred and Gismund ' ;
but if "thread" be taken in this e. N. E. psychological sense of ' thread of life,' Prospero
should have followed with the explanation, ' or that by which I live,' i.e. ' pass my life
to posterity,' and not " Or that for which I live." On the whole, then, since "third" in
140
 THE TEMPEST

its normal usage fits so much better the notion of " compensation," explains the follow-
ing clause, and throws light on the curious phraseology of V. 1.311 , there is no sufficient
reason for Theobald's emendation or Steevens's interpretation. T4 WHO, ' and so ..
her,'the connective relative ; for the case of " who," see notes to 1.2 . 102 and 171. ONCE
AGAINE, a long-time note, indicating that before the action of the scene begins Prospero
has given Miranda into Ferdinand's keeping. 5 TENDER TO THY HAND, ' into thy
possession,' N.E. D. 34 a, cp. " I leave him to your hand " Meas. V. I.491 ; this e. N. E.
เ
phrase is still preserved in the correspondence formula, ' yours to hand.' ¶7 STRANGELY,
' unusually well,' ' wonderfully well,' as in III.3.87 ; in Janua it translates mirifice ; so
Holyoke, "mirifice, strangely, wonderfully." AFORE, an e. N. E. form of ' before,' see
N.E.D. 48 GUIFT: the gu is an e. N. E. device to distinguish the guttural from the pala-
tal sound, still retained in ' guilt ' ; " guild " occurs in Macb. II.2.56, q.v. " This my rich
guíft," with its slow sequence of high-stressed impulses, gives a peculiarly solemn rhythm
to the thought ; this is followed by the tumbling rhythm in "O Férdinand " (probably
' Ferd'nand ') , as Prospero's dignity falls to the ground, and the magician is lost in the
fatherhood of the man ; then an appealing rhythm, " Dóe not smile át me," swelling into
a rhythm of confidence in " thát I bóast her óf, For thou shalt fínde," and hanging lov-
ingly on " shé," with the reversal to mark emphasis leaping forward in " will out- strip áll
práise And make it hált behinde her." The whole thought, as with its pulsing emotion it
moves along in harmonious versification, shows clearly Shakspere's matchless command
of rhythm. 9 SMILE ÁT, like " Speake not you fór him " 1.2.460, " I 'le not fight with
thee" Macb. V.7.51 , and " ask'd fór me " ibid. 1.7.30, points to an EL. adverbial stress
for these prepositions that is now strange to English ears. BOAST HER OF is an EL.
phrase, with " boast " in its now archaic sense of ' show,' ' display vaingloriously,' N. E. D. 6,
- cp. Cooper's gloss " ostento, to shew often, to boast or advaunt, to shewe for a bragge or
for glorie," and " of" (" off") as used in ' set off,' ' show off,' etc.; the distinction of the
adverb ' off' from the preposition ' of' is later than 1600 ; in e. N. E. the final fwas proba-
bly usually voiceless like the final s in " his," " was," " is," and both words were sounded
the same, cp. "to " (MN. E. ' to ') the preposition, and " to" (MN . E. ' too ') the adverb in
e. N.E. "Of " seems also to have had in Prospero's mind the notion of ' starting off on
a race,' as " Good brother, Let me request you of, .. Gentle lords, let ' s part " Ant.& Cl.
II.7.126. Keightley was convinced that ' of course, Shakspere wrote " of her," naïvely
adding that the editor of FO. 2 , who printed "off," had ' little or no idea of emendation by
transposition ' ; one recent editor likewise thinks the reading " boast her off" ' infinitely
distressing.' II HALT has its e.N. E. meaning of ' limp.' DOE : one would expect
the subjunctive, ' I would ' ; but cp. I.2.489, II . I.279, and " This bird [i.e. in the embroi-
dery ] hath life [i.e. would be alive] if it could sing " Greene's James IV, Huth Library,
p. 242 , v. 833.

13 The word GUEST in the lines which follow was altered to ' gift' by Rowe, and the
emendation is followed by all modern editors ; but in an absolute construction , such as
is common in EL. E., the word " guest " makes perfect sense, cp. " which still we thank
as love," i.e. ' which we always feel grateful for because it is love,' Macb. I. 6. 12 ; “ Then,
as his host," i.e. ' because I am his host,' ibid. 1.7.14. AND THINE OWNE ACQUISITION
WORTHILY PURCHAS'D may likewise easily be an absolute construction, cp. " and being
ordering of all these [ i.e. ' and while I was ordering,' etc.] , Sir Roger Williams came from
the king with letters " Journal of the Siege of Rouen, Camden Miscellanies, I, p. 13 ; so
"when Jehovah did divide at last Th' inheritance that to the nations fel, And separating
Adam's heires, he gave," etc., Drayton's Harmony of the Church, Percy Soc., p. 7 ; likewise,
"because it [i.e. the fortress] was a passage which commanding all that side of the country
and being lost would stop victual or other supply " Arcadia, 266 b. As the question for
Shakspere scholars is not what Shakspere might have written, but what he did write, it
is perhaps better to follow the FO. reading, " guest," understanding Prospero to speak now
141
 THE TEMPEST

as Ferdinand's host, than to alter " guest " to " guift," even though es is a likely enough
misprint for if. That the printer of FO. I has set a comma between " guest" and " and"
does not much signify, although what little evidence it furnishes makes for " guest." 14
PURCHAS'D, ' acquired.' 16 SANCTIMONIOUS was not restricted in e. N. E. as in
MN.E. to an appearance of sanctity, but could refer, as here, to what was genuinely sacred,
cp. "The sacred orders which our church doth hold, Sanctimonious customes which of
olde Have .. Been instituted " Time's Whistle (about 1615), E. E. T. S., p . 10 (in Cent.
Dict.). 17 FULL, ' complete,' as in MN . E. ' full canonicals,' ' full dress,' ' full mem-
bership,' etc. RIGHT, ' rite ' : the spelling is due to a common e. N. E. form confusion
like that which gives us our modern ' sprite,' ' sprightly ' ; it occurs also in the FO. text
of Mids. IV. I. 137 and I Hen.6 1.2.113 . MINISTRED : verbs ending in n and r have in e. N. E.
syncopated forms like "hap-
ned," "hindred," etc. , often ACT IV SCENE I 13-23
so printed. The two e.N.E.
meanings of the word enter
PROSPERO
into Shakspere's use of it
here, viz. do,' ' perform ' Then, as my guest and thine owne acquisition
(cp. Holyoke's gloss, " minis- Worthily purchas'd , take my daughter : but
tred or done, gestus "), and
' supply or furnish with ' (cp. If thou dost breake her virgin- knot before
"to minister one plenty of All sanctimonious ceremonies may
argumentes " Cooper, and
"a ministring of a thing one With full and holy right be ministred ,
lacketh, suppeditatio " Holy No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall
oke). The royal rites, of
course, cannot be performed To make this contract grow ; but barraine
until they return to Naples. hate,
18 ASPERSION still pre- Sower-ey'd disdaine and discord shall bestrew
served its literal meaning of
'sprinkling ' in the 17th cen- The union of your bed with weedes so loathly
tury, and the phrasing " make That you shall hate it both : therefore take
this contract grow17 seems
to reflect a 44 rite," an ac- heede,
count of which is found in As Hymen's lamps shall light you.
Nicholas Doncaster's Masse
Booke from Wyttonberge, 1554. The prayer is there given " for the hallowing of the
woman's ring at wedding" in the words, " Halow thou, Lord, this ring, which we blesse
in thy holye name : that what woman soever shall weare it may stand fast in thy peace ..
and live and grow . . in thy love." The direction follows : " Then let holy water be
sprinkled upon the ryng." This, with the general notion of ' dews of heaven,' seems to
be involved in Shakspere's words. 20 SOWER- EY'D : " sour " in e. N. E. is frequently
applied to expressions of the face, cp. " To looke upon one sowrelie and grimlie " Al-
vearie. BESTREW : the reference is to the custom of bestrewing the marriage bed with
flowers, rosemary especially. 21 THE UNION OF YOUR BED for ' the bed of your
union ' is an instance of a sort of enallage that Shakspere is especially fond of, see
Schmidt, p. 1423 , for instances. SO LOATHLY, ' in such a loathsome way,' i.e. ' in a way
to make it so loathsome ' ; " loathly " is an O. E. and M. E. adverb still in use at the be-
ginning of the 17th century, N. E.D.I. T22 HATE IT BOTH, ' both hate it.' 23 AS
in e. N. E. often introduces a clause after verbs of saying, thinking, etc., and corresponds
to MN. E. 'that,' N. E. D. 28 ; the colloquial ' I don't know as I shall ' still preserves the
idiom ; it occurs also in Sonn . LXII . 8, and in Tam. of Shr., Ind., 1.69, " we will play our
parts As he shall thinke," etc. The M. E. use of LAMP for ' torch ' seems to have been
familiar to e. N. E. ears, N. E. D. I c, cp. " a lampe, a torch, lampas " Cooper. The plural
142
 THE TEMPEST

is not a mistake, as Elze, 'Notes on El. Dramatists ' ( Halle, 1884), Ser. II , p. 149, assumes,
but a reference to a marriage ceremony such as Shakspere had doubtless seen in Jonson's
Hymenæi ; Jonson's description of this is " Entred Hymen (the god of marriage), .. in his
right hand a torch of Pine Tree. After him a youth .. bearing another light of white
thorne, behind him two others in white, .. betwixt these a personated bride" : in a foot-
note he defends his " two lights " by referring to Catullus's " pineam quate tædam," and
to Pliny's statement that " white thorne is very auspicious for marriage torches." So
in the Hadington masque (ed. 1640, p. 158) : " Hymen, whose hallowed rites Could never
boast of brighter lights." Prospero's warning to Ferdinand was a natural one in Shak-
spere's time, when betrothal was often regarded, as it still is in some parts of rural Eng-
land, as conferring on the
prospective bridegroom the
ACT IV SCENE I 23-3I
privileges of marriage.

FERDINAND 25 WITH SUCH LOVE AS

As I hope 'TIS NOW, i.e. with love such
as it is now,' cp. " thus she
For quiet dayes, faire issue and long life, stood Even with such life of
the murkiest
With such love as ' t is now, the murkiest den,
den , majestie , warme life, As now
it coldly stands [ i.e. with maj-
The most opportune place, the strongst sug-
esty as lifelike as this stat-
gestion ue's] " Wint. T. V. 3.36, and
"such shooes as [i.e. shoes
Our worser genius can , shall never melt
of such a sort that] my toes
Mine honor into lust to take away
look through the over-lea-
The edge of that dayes celebration ther" Tam.of Shr . , Ind. , II . 12 .
In allthese instances " such"
When I shall thinke, or Phoebus ' steeds are
has a quasi-adverbial use de-
founderd, fining the state or condition
Or night kept chain'd below. ofthe noun. Capell emended
"'t is" to 'is.' FO. I places
the comma after " love " instead of " now." DEN is e. N. E. for ' cave ' or ' cavern ,' N. Ê. D.2,
cp. " idol of the den " as a translation of Bacon's " idolum specus," e.g. " But this is a
mere idolum specus, an idol of the cave or den " Cudworth's Intellectual System (in N. E. D.
' idol' 6 b). 26 OPPORTUNE is stressed on the second syllable also in Wint.T. IV. 4.
510, the only other place where it occurs in Shakspere, cp. " Whan sche cauзte oppor-
tune space " Lydgate, ' Chronicle of Troy ' I. v, and "Despise thou no person although thou
purer [ i.e. more famous] be, Of riches or ought els opportune, then is he " Barclay,' Mir-
rour of Good Manners ( 1570) Gj . The word is frequently used of place in M.E. and
e. N. E., N.E. D. I b citing " any place apte or oportune easely to take lande " from Halle's
Chronicle. STRONGST, the usual e. N. E. syncopated superlative. SUGGESTION, ' temp-
tation ,' cp. II. I. 288. 27 WORSER : the double comparative occurs very often in e. N. E.
GENIUS : this medieval conception of the better and worser genius, traceable to Plato's
distinction between piλɛiv and èpāv, is also involved in the " two loves I have of comfort
and dispaire" of Sonn. CXLIV. Burton's words in Anat. III . I.i.2 throw light on the psy-
chology of this and the sonnet passage ; he says, ' Ficinus in his comment on this place
[i.e. passage - Pausanias's distinction of the two Veneres] , following Plato, calls these
two loves two devils [ i.e. daimones ] , or good and bad angels, according to [ i.e. attending
on] us, which are still [ i.e. always] hovering about our souls. The one rears [ i.e. exalts ]
to heaven, the other depresseth us to hell ; the one, good, which stirs us up to the divine
beauty .. the other base.' This distinction was followed by the early fathers, St. Au-
gustine, Origen, etc. Montaigne gives a different application to the same philosophy in
his Essays, Florio II. I : " This supple variation [ i.e. between cowardice and bravery] and
143
 THE TEMPEST

easie yielding contradiction which is seene in us hath made some to imagine that wee had
two soules, and otheres two faculties : whereof every one as best she pleaseth accom-
panieth and doth agitate us, the one towards good, the other towards evil." The familiarity
with the philosophy of his time which Shakspere here shows, though only glancing at it,
is but one of countless similar instances that make ridiculous the common assumption
that he was an unlearned man. CAN, ' knows,' cp. note to I.2.173 ; this Germanic and
O. E. meaning of " can " as an independent verb, ' to know,' ' to possess intellectual mastery
of,' survived into the 17th century, see N. E. D. I ,—but then faded out of English ; ' con,'
a variant form of the original ; ' ken,' a derivative from its Germanic stem, and ' cunning,'
retain, however, some of the original connotation. MELT embodies an association sim-
ilar to that in II . I.280, viz. the weakening of moral character by seductive influences.
29 EDGE, ' zest,' widely used of enjoyment in e. N. E., cp. "faults and contrary suc-
cesses give it edge and grace " Florio's Montaigne (in N. E. D.2 a). CELEBRATION was
used of the sacraments in e. N. E., as it still is of the sacrament of the mass, and as mar-
riage is one of these, the word had a peculiar solemnity in Shakspere's time that has
now somewhat worn away. 30 WHEN, ' on which,' the e. N. E. connective use of the
adverb. OR .. OR, ' either .. or.' FOUNDERD, i.e. gone lame so that they can only limp
along in their course through the heavens. Steevens cites the opposite notion of day
never coming from Homer's
Odyssey, bk. 23, " She th' ex-
ACT IV SCENE I 31-42
tended night Withheld in long
date, nor would let the light
11 PROSPERO
Her wing-hoov'd horse join'
Chapman, v. 376. Fairely spoke.
Sit then and talke with her ; she is thine owne.
31 FAIRELY, ' nobly,' a
sense now obsolete, N. E.D.I , What , Ariell ! my industrious servant , Ariell !
cp. "Was ever booke .. so ENTER ARIELL
fairely bound? " Rom . &Jul.
III.2.83. The r in the word ARIELL
gives the e.N.E. extra syl- What would my potent master ? here I am.
lable, so that the half verse
begins with a reversal, cp. I. PROSPERO
2.5. SPOKE is a normal
Thou and thy meaner fellowes your last
e. N. E. form of the participle , service
cp.noteto Macb. 1.4.3. $ 33
WHAT ! the exclamation of Did worthily performe ; and I must use you
calling prefixed to proper
In such another tricke. Goe bring the rabble,
names, like the MN. collo-
quial ' I say.' 34 WOULD, Ore whom I give thee powre, here to this
'wishes,' the independent place :
use of the auxiliary. 35
Incite them to quicke motion ; for I must
MEANER: cp.III.3.87. 36
AND, ' and so,' cp . I.2.186. Bestow upon the eyes of this yong couple
¶ 37 RABBLE in Shakspere's Some vanity of mine art : it is my promise ,
time had its present oppro-
brious meaning, -" suit of And they expect it from me.
naughtie packes " is Baret's
gloss, but was also often used merely to denote a tumultuous crowd, as here, cp. " at
his heeles a rabble of his companions " Merry W. 111.5.76. 39 MOTION, movement,'
as usual in e. N. E. $ 40 EYES, ' attention,' a meaning now preserved only in certain
phrases, N. E. D. 6, cp. IV. I.59. 41 VANITY : Steevens thought the word meant ‘ illu-
sion,' and cited a passage from the 1.M.E. Romance of Emare ( Ritson's Metrical Romances ,
144
 I
THE TEMPEST

II, vv. 103 ff.), " The emperour sayde on hygh, ' Sertes thys ys a fayry Or ellys a vanyte.' "
Schmidt and others are for the sense ' trifle.' But the Latinized Greek word mateo-
technia appears in EL. dictionaries with the glosses, " the vanitie of any science or craft "
Cooper ; "the vanitie which is in a science or craft " Thomas ; " vanity of any craft or
science " Holyoke, etc.; and Shakspere seems to have prettily conceived of his au-
tumnal masque as an idle exercise of the art of magic, a sort of tour de force of Pros-
pero's. The apology is significant, -may it not be Shakspere's own ? One can easily
fancy him excusing himself to Ben Jonson for not writing masques, maintaining that such
art was a waste of the dramatist's true powers - a matœotechnia, as his learned rival
would call it. At all events, this seems to be the significance of his word. 42 Another
of the long-time notes in The
Tempest, implying a scene
ACT IV SCENE I 42-54 in which Prospero has prom-
ised the happy children a
ARIELL show.
Presently?
T42 PRESENTLY, i.e. ' im-
PROSPERO
mediately,' as in 1.2 . 125.
I, with a twincke. $ 43 TWINCKE, of which
ARIELL 'twinkling' is a diminutive,
is a M. E. and e. N. E. form
Before you can say ' Come ' and ' Goe,' of' twinkle,' cp. " some winke,
11
And breathe twice and cry ' So, so ,' some twinke, some blinke '
Tel-Troth's Message 262,
Each one, tripping on his toe, and "but in a twincke me-
Will be here with mop and mowe. thought a chang'd at once
Doe his habit and his steed "
you love me, master? no ? Peele, ' Honour of the Gar-
PROSPERO ter' (in N. E.D.). Shakspere
uses it also in Tam.of Shr.
Dearely, my delicate Ariell . Doe not approach
II.1.312. For WITH denot-
Till thou dost heare me call .
ing simultaneousness , cp.
ARIELL "with a thought " in v. 164,
and " He would kisse you
Well , I conceive.
twenty with a breath " Hen.8
EXIT ARIELL
1.4.30. 47 WITH MOP AND
PROSPERO MOWE : cp. note to II.2.9.
Looke thou be true ; doe not give dalliance 49 DELICATE, syncopated
to 'del'cate,' ' skilful,' as in I.
Too much the raigne : the strongest oathes 2.272. 50 WELL , 'it is well .'
are straw CONCEIVE, ' understand,' cp.
"In the schoole of nature
To th' fire i' th' blood : be more abstenious ,
we must conceive and then
Or else, good night your vow ! beleeve " Hall, 1605 (cited in
N. E. D. 9 d), and 2Hen.4 II.
2.124. Prospero probably explains to Ariel his plan for the masque. 52 RAIGNE
is a form confusion due to the similarity of meaning between " rein " and " reign " in this
clause. $ 53 TO TH' FIRE, i.e. for the fire in the blood to kindle ; " to burn as straw in
fire" is a very common EL. E. comparison, but Shakspere may also have intended to
suggest brittleness, cp. " oathes are strawes, men's faiths are wafer-cakes, and hold-fast
is the onely dogge, my ducke " Hen.5 II.3.53. Prospero's advice to the lovers is proba-
bly due to some very frank love-making that he catches them in as he turns from Ariel.
ABSTENIOUS is an e. N. E. form of ' abstemious,' due to confusion with " abstain." ¶54
145
 THE TEMPEST

GOOD NIGHT and "farewell " are very frequently used in e. N. E. to imply loss, cp. " then
godnight our part " Tam.of Shr. II . 1.303 . 54 WARRANT, ' assure.' 456 ARDOUR
in e. N. E. still retained its meaning of ' heat ' ; so in Hamlet's bitter words " to flaming
youth let vertue be as waxe And melt in her owne fire. Proclaime no shame When the
compulsive ardour gives the charge, Since frost itself as actively doth burne " III.4.84.
Ferdinand's psychology is based upon the physiology of the time, cp. " for his [i.e. the
liver's] heate is to the stomacke as the heate of the fyre is to the potte or cauldron that
hangeth over it " Vicary's Anatomie, E. E.T. S., p.69. Hence the prevalent mediæval
association of love with the liver, cp. ' Valesius defines this love which is in men to be
an affection of both powers,
appetite and reason : the ra-
ACT IV SCENE I 54-59
tional resides in the brain,
the other in the liver. The
FERDINAND
heart is variously inclined,
sometimes they [i.e. the per- I warrant you , sir ;
sons by love affected] are The white cold virgin snow upon my heart
merry, sometimes sad ' Bur-
ton, III. I. ii. I ; and ' the part Abates the ardour of my liver.
affected [by love] in men is PROSPERO
the liver'ibid., III.2. i. I. The
heart in EL. psychology is Well.
'thekingand sole commander TO ARIELL
of the body ' ; it ' stirs and
commands the humours of Now come, my Ariell ! bring a corolary,
the body ' and so controls the Rather then want a spirit : appear , and pertly !
humours that arise in the TO FERDINAND AND MIRANDA
heated liver. WELL, the EL.
conventional exclamation of No tongue ! all eyes ! be silent.
assent as above. 57 CORO-
LARY : this word in e . N. E. means ' overplus,' cp. " a corollarie, the addition or advantage
above [the word means ' in excess ' in e. N. E., N. E. D.8] measure, the overplus ; also a
small gift bestowed on the people at public feasts " Minsheu ; " corolaire, a corollairie,
a surplusage, overplus, addition to " Cotgrave (in N.E.D.) ; and " corollary, an advan-
tage above the ordinary measure " Phillips ; so Coles ; Sewell gives " corrolary, toe-
gift" (in the Dutch-English part toegift is glossed " overplus "). Cooper, Thomas, Coles,
and Baret gloss corollarium by " overplus," and all mention that it meant " gifts or little
coronets given to those that assist at plays and feasts." It may have been this latter
common definition associating it with players that led to Shakspere's nonce usage of the
word. 58 PERTLY still retained in e . N. E. its M. E. sense of ' briskly,' ' promptly,' cp.
"Paris to the prinse pertly aunsward " ' Destruction of Troy,' E. E. T. S., 6232 (in Cent.
Dict.) ; see also " pertness, briskness " Glossographia ; " pert, brisk or lively" Kersey ;
and "the pert and nimble spirit of mirth " Mids. I. 1.13 (cited by Wright). 59 SIlent,
as befits the audience of a spectral drama ; the spectators are not to comment as they
do on the Pyramus and Thisbe play in Midsommernight's Dreame. Ferdinand disobeys
the injunction, however, and has to be reminded of it in v. 124.

The passage which follows is in its structure and style - rhymed verse with songs and
dances -essentially a masque. Juno and Ceres congratulate the prospective bride and
bridegroom. They are introduced by Iris, as are the goddesses in Samuel Daniel's masque,
The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses, presented in January, 1604, at Hampton Court.
They sing their respective songs of blessing. Then follows an interlude, vv. 118-127.
It was one of the canons of masque composition that the masque proper should be fol-
lowed by an antimasque, usually a dance of persons habited in some such fashion as to
146
 THE TEMPEST

represent a train attendant on the actors in the masque proper. In this case they are
the nymphs with reapers for partners. Iris introduces them in vv. 128-138.
The question arises , Is this intercalated masque a part of The Tempest as originally con-
ceived, or an interpolation ? The Cambridge editors suggest that it is an interpolation.
Mr. Fleay goes a step further, assigning the five-wave rhymed verses to Beaumont, and
fixing as their occasion the performance of the play before the Princess Elizabeth (see
the Introduction, p. ix), 1613 , assuming that its place was originally taken by a dumb
show. It is true that the versification is not entirely happy, but when read as Eliza-
bethan English most of its ungainly stresses disappear ; what are left are easily expli-
cable on the ground that the rhymed narrative lyric, such as was conventionally required
by a masque, is an unusual verse form for Shakspere. One who had written five-wave
verse without rhyme for the better part of his life might find it exceedingly difficult to
rhyme such verse even if he were Shakspere. But if one will examine the associations
in the phraseology- " turphie mountaines " -" medes thetch'd with stover "-" spungie
Aprill " -" pole-clipt vineyard " -" rich scarph to my proud earth " -" short gras'd greene "
" blind-boyes scandal'd company " -" cutting the clouds towards Paphos and her son
dove-drawn with her "-" and be a boy right out "-he will see clearly that such asso-
ciations of idea and such phraseology are as distinctively Shakspere's as though he had
signed each line. The versification would have to be much rougher than it is, even when
read as modern English, to make us doubt the authenticity of the language. As to
the theory of the Cambridge editors that the masque proper was interpolated by some
other writer, is any one willing to suppose that vv. 148-163 are not by Shakspere ? They
are essentially part of the masque. Are we to suppose that Shakspere could have written
these verses himself and yet felt inadequate to the hundred or so which precede them ?
And as to the possibility of the masque having been added to The Tempest either by
Shakspere or by some one else, if the masque, vv. 34–169 , be taken out there is no Act IV
left for the play: the bringing to naught of Caliban's conspiracy is really a scene, and a
short scene at that, of Act V, while the Prospero- Ferdinand dialogue is thirty-three verses
belonging at the beginning of Act V. If dramatic action originally supplied its place, who
will undertake the task of supplying, even in imagination, a missing Act IV for the already
thin fabric of dramatic action contained in The Tempest?

60 CERES : the introduction of this goddess as the chief figure of the masque, and the
antimasque of reapers, are fairly clear evidence that The Tempest was written in the
autumn-" of August weary," in v. 134, would make it September (see Introduction,
p. viii) —as a sort of harvest-home celebration. The first sentence is a long one,— “ leas,”
mountaines," " medes," " bankes," " broome-groves," etc., being the object of "leave."
LEAS is applied to arable land as well as to meadows in e. N. E. (N.E.D.I ) . 61 Fetches
is an e. N. E. spelling of ' vetches,' showing the original f, that, like f in " fat," ' vat,' became
voiced to v in MN . E. Vetch was grown extensively as a forage-plant in Shakspere's
time. 462 TURPHIE : the ph is an occasional e. N. E. form of f after 1 or r, still
preserved in Ralph and Guelph and lost in ' gulf ' only during the last century. Baret
urges the use of f for initial ph in Greek words. " Scarph," v. 82, shows the same form
after r. Shakspere evidently has in mind the downs ; Hentzner, 1598 , p. 86, notes that " in
England there are many hills, without one tree or any spring, which produce a very short
and tender grass and supply plenty of food to sheep : upon these wander numerous flocks "
Harrison's England I.Ixxxiv ; Rathgeb, 1592 , notes that " when it snows or freezes hard
the sheep are driven into yards and fed with fodder [ stover] " ibid. lxxxiii. ¶63 THETtch'd
is an e. N. E. form of ' thatched,' representing M. E. "thecched " ; the word was often used in
e. N. E., like " deck " 1.2. 155, for covering in general, cp. " to cover, to thech, intego " Baret.
STOVER, a general EL. term for forage-plants used as winter fodder, cp. "stover, pabulum"
Coles, and "the braying elephant . . draweth his food [translating pabulum and glossed
in margin " fodder, stover "] to him with his trunk " Janua ; Kersey gives " stover, straw,
147
 THE TEMPEST

or fodder for cattle," noting that it is a " country word." KEEPE, i.e. ' nourish through
the winter,' if the word did not literally mean ' feed,' 'fatten ' ; cp. Baret's and Cooper's
translation of Quum, propter pauperitatem, sues puer pasceret by " whereas, being a boy,
he kept, or fed, hogs for [ i.e. on account of] povertie " Alvearie s.v.; the same meaning
may be involved in "they
are no sheep yet they must
ACT IV SCENE I 60-75
keep themselves " Beaumont
and Fletcher's Scornful
SOFT MUSICK ENTER IRIS
Lady III.2 (in Cent. Dict.).
The inversion is an awkward IRIS
sacrifice to rhyme. ¶64 The
BANKE in e. N. E. is the Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas
rising ground along a body Of wheate, rye, barley, fetches, oates and
of water or stream , not the
pease ;
MN. 'bank,' which in e. N. E.
is the "brim," cp. N.E. D. I. Thy turphie mountaines , where live nibling
PIONED AND SWILLED sheepe,
11
BRIMS : in e. N. E. " pioners' And flat medes thetch'd with stover them
is a common name for the
road-making and trenching to keepe ;
corps-"undermi ners
diggers in an army
, and
" as Cole s Thy bankes with pioned and swilled brims ,

glosses it ; another form of Which spungie Aprill at thy hest betrims ,

the word, viz. ' pioneer,' has To make cold nymphes chast crownes , and
been generalized in MN . E.
with the sense ' early settler.' thy broome-groves ,
Spenser in 'Faerie Queene' Whose shadow the dismissed batchelor loves,
II.x.63 has “ which [ i.e. the Being lasse-lorne ; thy pole-clipt vineyard ,
Scots] to outbarre, with
painefull pyonings From sea And thy sea-marge, stirrile and rockey-hard ,
to sea he [i.e. the second Con- Where thou thy selfe dost ayre ; —the queene
stantine] heaped a mighty o' th ' skie,
mound." Shakspere's "pion-
ed," therefore, may well be a Whose watry arch and messenger am I ,
nonce-form from " pioner," Bidsthee leave these, and with her soveraigne
meaning ' gullied or cut into
trenches as by the work of grace,
pioners,' and describe the Juno descENDS
sharp-cut little ditches made Here on this grasse-plot, in this very place ,
by small rivulets flowing To come and sport : here peacocks flye a-
into the stream. Warburton,
on the other hand, took the maine :
word as a slightly misprinted Approach, rich Ceres, her to entertaine .
form of "pionied ," i.e. ' cov-
ered with peonies ' (" piony"
is a common EL. form of the word, still heard in the vulgar ' piney ' : the only misprint, 1
therefore, would be -ed for -ied). Many modern editors have followed Warburton's inter-
pretation, emending " twilled " of the FO. text to suit it. The objections to it are that peonies
do not grow on river-banks and do not bloom in April ; Mr. Baynes's statement ( Edin-
burgh Review, October, 1872 , cited from Furness's Variorum), that he knew a clergyman
who once lived in Stratford who thought that marsh-marigolds were locally known as
peonies there, is very slight evidence for the existence of ' peony ' as a generally understood
name for the marsh-marigold in the early 17th century, especially as permanent residents of
148
 THE TEMPEST

Warwickshire have stated that they never heard the marigold so called. Moreover, Shak-
spere's notion seems to be not that of flowery banks, but of bare banks which April trims
with flowers. Warburton's emendation not only has had a large following, but has been
improved into ' pansies pied ' and ' bryonied ' ; and has even winged still higher flight of edi-
torial fancy into pinioned [i.e. pennated with flowers, as it is naïvely explained] and quilled
[i.e. having quills] brims.' SWILLED, ' washed out,' ' undercut ' : so Shakspere in Hen.5
III. I. II , a passage that has not been clearly understood , says " let the brow o'rewhelme it
[i.e. the eye] As fearefully as doth a galled [ i.e. furrowed, or ' pioned ,' see N. E. D. 3] rocke
O're-hang and jutty [ ' project over,' Macb. 1.6.6] his confounded [ i.e. consumed, wasted,
N. E. D. I dore] base, Swill'd with [i.e. washed out by] the wild and wastful ocean ” —a pas-
sage that gives us in the large, with swelling lines of storm and stress, the same picture that
we have here in the small, an English river bank in late winter, gullied by rivulets and un-
dercut by eddies and currents. FO.I reads " twilled," but " twilled " has not yet been found
in English with any sense even remotely appropriate to the context ; some scholars infer
that it is the name of an operation of agriculture fitting with ' pioning, ' but now quite lost :
but it is much more likely to be a misprint, for where words do get lost they generally
leave a trace behind them, and of this there is none. Capell was for ' tilled,' but this is quite
too general a word after " pioned " ; Rann read ' lilied ' (pairing with ' pionied ') ; Keight-
ley, willow'd.' The sense of the word " swilled," however, involving the misprinting of
at for an s, as it is used by Shakspere admirably fits the context, pairing with " pioned,"
if we take " pioned " to mean ' trenched ' or ' gullied .' Baret glosses " swilled, washed
much, prolutus " ; the word was in common use for ' rinsing' in e. N. E. Here, and in its
O. E. meaning of ' gargle,' as well as in its sense of ' rinse, there seems to be involved
the notion of circular, boiling, or eddying movement. The Janua speaks of water " swilling
up ofitself." $ 65 SPUNGIE, ' soggy ' : Shakspere, in Macb. 1.7.71 , uses it of the drunken
grooms. 66 COLD, ' void of passion,' an e. N. E. meaning of the word, N.E.D.7 c ;
cp. "hot " in v.98. The adjective, like many others in e. N. E., is now restricted to pred-
icative usage, so that one might say ' she is cold,' but hardly ' a cold nymph.' The
rhythm, " cold nymphes chast crównes," is peculiarly fitting. BROOME-GRÓVES was in
e. N. E. evidently not so closely compounded as it is now. The word " grove " in com-
bination with "broome," or " furze,' which is not a tree, has been much criticized : Heath
changed "broome " to " brown' ; but " grove " in e. N. E. seems to be used of shrubs as
well as of trees, though N. E. D. does not give this sense ; for Cooper translates arbustum
by " grove," and Baret glosses " grove " arbustum. Thomas and Holyoke give as an
equivalent viridarium, which they define as " a place set with plants which be always
green " ; the Glossographia defines a grove as "a copse or spring of wood " ; and Cotgrave
has "bocage, a grove, thicket, or small wood." It thus seems clear that " grove " was
used of bushes and undergrowth in e. N. E. , and that " broome-groves " is quite as normal
a compound as " broomfield " or " broom-pasture." But it is probable that " broome-
groves" does not mean ' thicket of gorse bushes,' as it has been usually understood to
mean, but is an English version of the Latin spartarium ; Coles glosses spartarium "a
place where the shrubbe spartum groweth," and spartum " a kind of broome whereof
they used to make bondes to tie vines " ; Minsheu, under " broome," says that vines are
bound with withes of broom ; Thomas repeats both these glosses ; Holyoke glosses
"broomfield" spartorium (evidently intending spartarium) —he also says broom is used
in binding vines ; Coles has " broomfield, spartarium,” and “ spartarium, a place where
broom grows." If we suppose a classical reference to vine-growing, and an English ver-
sion of spartarium in " broome-groves," we escape the awkwardness (it has been pointed
out by successive editors) of Ceres patronizing something not strictly agricultural, an
awkwardness which seems to be expressly avoided by the poet's making her ask April
(i.e. Flora) to trim the stream banks ; and, moreover, we get a clear sense for " groves "
and an apt connection with " vineyard " which follows. Shakspere may have caught up
the word from Pliny, who uses it in II.8.8. 67 DISMISSED, ' rejected,' N. E. D. 6, has
149
 THE TEMPES

three syllables. The verse seems to be a reminiscence of pa

VIII Eclogue, 178, the " lass lorn " Cuddie sings, " Here will
grove. " The broom is associated with bitterness in " Sweet
yet sowre enough " Spenser's Sonnets XXVI . Staunton tho
to the yellow flower of the broom, and cited ' marriage is an
hose again ' from Burton's Anat. of Mel. III.2 ; but the conn
vague. 68 BEING LASSE-LORNE, ' who is lass-lorn,' th
through which a participle is made to do duty for a relative or t
V.7.60, and "A woodmonger felleth down trees : being laid fla
off the boughs from the body" Comenius's Janua 529. THY
seems to be an imitation of the Latin arbustum, which Coop
vineyarde where vines grow up by trees." " Clipt " in e. N. E.
past-perfect participle seems to be used for a present active,
Macb. 1.6.5. The picture is of the vine tendrils clasping the
verse is one of four and a half waves unless we are to read " Bé
clíppéd," etc. ' Pole yclipt ' and ' vin-e-yard ' have both bee
participle prefix is rare in Shakspere , and ' vin-e-yard ' is not an
time vine-growing in England was, according to Harrison I. 18,
shadow," but it had been commercially profitable in the 15th cen
Ceres haunting the barren sea-shore and sterile promontories i
picture, and the incongruity seems to have been felt by the
the next verse. The comma follows STIRRILE (apparently a
of the word) in FO. I. Brae, Transactions of the Royal Sc
apud Furness's Variorum, was for omitting the hyphen in RC
"hard " in its MN. E. dialect sense of ' fore- shore,' N. E. D. 4, e:
an allusion to the winnowing of grain upon high cliffs. The word in this sense does not
appear in literature earlier than the 19th century, according to N. E. D. , though it might
have been in existence in Shakspere's time. A sense akin to this, however, is found in
"the inhabitants upon the hards and bankes within the fens " (citation dated 1629 in
N. E. D.). To the printer of FO. I " rockey-hard " was evidently a compound adjective, cp.
note to III . 3.32 ; but even with this meaning there may be a reference to the winnowing of
grain, cp. "as in the sacred floors of barns upon corn-winnowers flies The chaff, driven
with an opposite wind when yellow Ceres dites [ i.e. winnows the grain] " Chapman's
translation of the Iliad, V.497. 70 " To air one's self " is e. N. E. idiom for ' prome-
nading' or ' taking the air,' N. E. D. 4. ¶71 WATRY ARCH , cp. " Iris, . . Juno her mes-
senger, i.e. the rainbow " Holyoke. The syncopation is indicated in the FO. printing.
"Watry" in e. N. E. is applied to anything thought of in association with water, cp.
"watry moone" Mids. II . I. 162, " moist starre " Ham. I. I. 118 (QO. 1604), “ watry starre "
Wint.T. I.2. I. "Arch " in e. N. E. has the sense of ' arc,' N. E. D. I , and hence is applied
to the rainbow. $ 72 TO COME AND SPORT : the infinitive with ' to ' was still in
idiomatic usage in e. N. E. after " let," " bid," etc., and even after the auxiliary " could." JUNO
DESCENDS is the direction of FO. I , but GREAT JUNO COMES, v. 102, shows that the
descent here is at the back of the stage : the queen of heaven does not come forward
until later. 974 HERE PEACOCKS was changed by Rowe to ' her peacocks ,' a reading
followed by all subsequent editors ; the word, however, does not seem to be a printer's
error, but rather to be used in its O. E. , M. E. , and e. N. E. sense of ' hither,''to this place,'
N. E. D.7, cp. " Returne him here againe " Meas. V. I.384. Modern grammarians con-
sider this usage of the adverb, retained in ' come here,' as ungrammatical, and recom-
mend 'hither." FLYE AMAINE , ' flock in full numbers,' cp. "The Tunies to avoid it go
alwaies amaine in whole flotes " Holland, 1601 ( N.E.D.I b).

¶76 MANY-COloured messENGER is an imitation of Ovid's " Iris Junonis nuntia

colorata veste induta " Metamorphoses 1.271 ; and SAFFRON WINGS, of Vergil's " croceis
150
 THE TEMPEST

pennis" Æneid IV.700, which Phaer translates "with saffron wings of dropping shours"
and Douglas " with her salfron wingis." 78 MY FLOWRES, i.e. fruit blossoms. ¶80
BLEW, i.e. ' purple,' one of the early meanings of the word. 81 BOSKIE, ' bushy,'
N.E.D. ACRES does not necessarily mean ' cultivated fields ' in e. N. E., cp. " some parcels
of ground should as pastures
bee divided from woody
ACT IV SCENE I 76-91
acres" (citation dated 1635
ENTER CERES in N.E.D. I ) ; this sense of
the word is still preserved in
CERES 'God's acre ' for ' church-
Haile, many-coloured messenger, that nere yard.' UNSHRUB'D , ' not
shrubby,' cp. " neere at hand
Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter ;
were growing divers shrub-
Who with thy saffron wings upon my flowres bed trees" Warner's Albion's
Diffusest hony drops, refreshing showres , England II (in Cent. Dict.).
483 So GRAS' D is e. N.E.
And with each end of thy blew bowe dost for grassy, not a mistake
crowne for ' graz'd.' ¶84 A CON-
TRACT OF TRUE LOVE TO
My boskie acres and my unshrub'd downe ,
CELEBRATE : see Introduc-
Rich scarph to my proud earth ; why hath tion, p. viii. ¶85 ESTATE
thy queene ON,'bestow upon,' an e. N. E.
meaning ofthe word now ob-
Summond me hither to this short gras'd
solete, N. E. D. 3 , cp. “all the
greene ? revennew .. will I estate
upon you " A.Y.L. V.2.12.
IRIS
86 BLES'D : many such ad-
A contract of true love to celebrate ; jectives in -ed were synco-
And some donation freely to estate pated in e. N. E.: e.g. " nak'd "
is a common e. N. E. form of
On the bles'd lovers . ' naked.' 87 AS, either in
its e. N. E. sense of ' if,' as in
CERES
III.2.85, or ' as far as,' cp.
Tell me, heavenly bowe, "as thou art but a man, I dare,
but as thou art a prince, I
If Venus or her sonne, as thou dost know ,
feare thee" I Hen.4 III . 3.165.
Doe now attend the queene ? since they did 88 DOE is the e. N. E. sub-
plot junctive. 89 THE MEANES
THAT, not ' the means by
The meanes that duskie Dis my daughter got,
which , or the means so that,'
Her and her blind-boyes scandal'd company as it is usually explai11 ned to
be ; but " meanes is here
I have forsworne.
used in its e. N. E. sense of
'plot,' cp. Rich.3 v. 3. 248,
GOT meaning ' gained ' ; DUSKIE DIS is the dative : ' the chance that gained for Dis my
daughter.' It is probable that Shakspere read the story in some such form as follows :
"This Ceres, as poetes feigne, had a daughter by Jupiter named Proserpina, whome
Pluto, god of hell, caryed away by stealth as she was walking... Ceres, .. going to
Jupiter, complayned of the unjust dealing of his brother Pluto, and at length obteyned
that hir daughter should returne againe on this condition that while shee was in hell she
tasted no fruite. In the ende, when Ceres hoped well to recover hir daughter, one Asca-
laphus bewrayed that while Proserpina walked in Pluto's orchard she plucked a pome-
granate and tasted one graine of it " Cooper. Shakspere prettily refers to this elopement
151
 THE TEMPEST

in Wint. T. IV. 4. 116. 90 ACT IV SCENE I 91-102

BLIND-BOYES is hyphenated
in FO. I to indicate that the
IRIS
word is a compound noun
with stress on the first sylla- Of her societie
ble. SCANDAL'D , ' disgrace-
Be not afraid : I met her deitie
ful,' an instance of the -ed
suffix to express the notion Cutting the clouds towards Paphos and her
of causation . son
Dove-drawn with her. Here thought they
$ 92 HER DEITIE, ' her god-
ship,'cp. " Humbly complain- to have done
ing to her deitie " Rich.3
Some wanton charme upon this man and
1.1.76.94 WITH HÉR seems
to have been so stressed in maide ,
e. N. E., and not ' with her '
Whose vowes are, that no bed-right shall be
as in MN. E.; cp. 1. 2. 307,391 .
DONE SOME..CHARME is paid
normal EL . E. , " do " having Till Hymen's torch be lighted : but in vaine.
the sense of ' work.' 96 Marses hot minion is return'd againe ;
BED- RIGHT may correspond
to MN.E. ' bed-rite,' cp. note Her waspish headed sonne has broke his
to v. 17 : " pay " is often used arrowes ,
in e. N. E. for the performance
of a ceremony, cp. "let us Swears he will shoote no more but play with
pay .. that masse " Tro. & Cr. sparrows
II.2. 106, and " have paid .. And be a boy right out.
your function " Meas. III.2.
263 ; but " Nor to her bed no CERES
homage doe I owe" Err. III.
Highest queene of state ,
2.43, points to ' right. 498 Great Juno , comes ; I know her by her gate.
MARSES: the M. E. genitive
form of the singular of proper
names ending in s had no suffix, but was exactly like the nominative ; this condition of
inflection still prevailed in Shakspere's time, cp. II. I. 133, and the -es ending was rare
for these words : the genitive of " Mars " elsewhere in FO. I is " Mars his," save in All's W.
II.3.300, where this form also occurs. HOT, ' passionate,' cp. note to v.66 ; the word is
almost equivalent to ' wanton.' MINION, ' pet,' ' sweetheart,' cp. Macb. 1.2.19. 99
WASPISH is an adverb, ' irritably,' and HEADED is used in its EL. sense of ' minded,'
' intentioned,' cp. " Strange things I have in head that will to hand " Macb. III.4.139.
101 RIGHT OUT, with " right " in the sense of ' fully,' and " out " in the sense of ' entirely,'
is an EL. equivalent of ' outright.' HIGHEST : the e. N. E. monosyllabic superlative is
obviously intended. 102 GATE : our MN. ' gait ' is a Scottish spelling of the word
made standard in the 18th century. "Vera incessu patuit dea " seems to have been in
Shakspere's mind : such references to the classics were commonplaces in EL. literature,
and were part of the grammar-school training of Shakspere's time : to call Venus " dove-
drawn," to speak of 'Mars's minion cutting the clouds toward Paphos,' to invoke Ceres
as the protectress of broom-groves and vineyards, and to allude to dusky Dis's elopement
with Proserpine were not great feats of classic learning in Shakspere, -he could probably
have written such notions in passable hexameters, -but mere evidences that his school
training had made some impression on his young mind. When this sort of literary ornament
fitted his theme he could use it as featly as any one. We cannot argue, therefore, that be-
cause this part of the masque has a classically pastoral colouring Shakspere did not write it.
152
 THE TEMPEST

103 SISTER : Ceres, like Juno, was the daughter of Saturn andOps. GOE WITH ME
TO BLESSE : Juno does not propose to go anywhere : " goe with me" is merely used in
its e. N. E. sense of ' act in accord with me,' and " to blesse " is the EL. equivalent of MN . E.
' in blessing.' 104 TWAINE, cp. note to Macb. III . 1.28. 106 MARRIAGE is fol-
lowed by a comma in FO. I , probably a printer's error. BLESSING : e before ss was
lengthened to long e in e. N. E. and ea of ' increase ' was long close e ; " blesse " and “ in-
crease" are therefore perfect rhymes in EL. poetry. 108 STILL, ' always.' 110
There is no stage direction in FO. I to indicate that Ceres takes up the song here, but as
the stage direction of the FO. above is " they sing," and v. I 17 pairs with v. 109, there can
be little doubt that the direction " Ceres " has dropped out of the FO. margin as Theo-
bald assumed. The word
"earth's" breaks the rhythm
ACT IV SCENE I 103-117 of the line : many editors
propose to read ' earth-es ' on
JUNO the analogy of a few rare
How does my bounteous sister ? Goe with me e. N. E. dissyllabic genitives
of monosyllabic nouns, -cp.
To blesse this twaine , that they may pros- แ moons sphere " Mids. II.
perous be 1.7, " nights shade " ibid. IV.
I. 100, and " whales bone "
And honour'd in their issue.
L.L.L. V. 2. 332 , -with IN-
THEY SING
CREASE stressed on the first
JUNO syllable. Again, we may have
to do with the succession of
Honor, riches, marriage blessing,
two stressed impulses noted
Long continuance, and encreasing in Macb. IV. 1. 6. But the
Hourely joyes be still upon you! omission of " Ceres " before
the song may have something
Juno sings her blessings on you. to do with the matter, and
CERES "Ceres. Ceres increase ,"
etc., may have looked like
Earth's increase, foyzon plentie,
a misprint to the printer's
Barnes and garners never empty, reader, who, while about it,
Vines with clustring bunches growing, may have substituted the
English " earth's " for the
Plants with goodly burthen bowing; Latin " Ceres," the genitive
Spring come to you at the farthest without s seeming anomalous
to him ; he thus may have
In the very end of harvest!
produced a double confusion
Scarcity and want shall shun you ; by his correction. FOYZON :
Ceres ' blessing so is on you. see note to II. I. 163 , and cp.
" And yet is not this our
great foison comparable to that of hotter countries " Harrison, I. 18 (Furnivall, III , p. 134),
where the word is used, as here, for ' abundant crops.' III EMPTY rhyming with
PLENTIE is an instance of rhyme on secondarily stressed syllables common in M. E. and
frequently met with in e. N. E. poetry. 113 BOWING, ' bending down ' ; ow ( = MN. E.
au as in 'how') was sounded in Shakspere's time like ow in ' know,' and " growing : bow-
ing" is a perfect rhyme in e. N. E. 114 SPRING COME TO YOU , etc.: that spring and
autumn should overlap and there be no winter seems to have been an EL. form of expression
for a sort of golden age. Spenser uses the notion in ' Faerie Queene ' III.6.42, "There is
continuall spring, and harvest there Continuall, both meeting at one time : For both the
boughes do laughing blossoms beare .. And eke attonce the heavy trees they clime,
which seeme to labour under their fruites lode." Perhaps the notion is traceable to
153
 THE TEMPEST

Amos IX. 13, " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake
the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed." These citations were pointed
out by Staunton. Various clumsy emendations, such as ' shall,' ' rain,' ' offspring,' for
"spring," have been proposed as botches for the passage. If this masque was written
for the betrothal of the Princess Elizabeth and the Elector (see Introduction, p. ix), and
was afterwards produced on their wedding day, the four extra verses, 114-117 , would form
a very pretty apology for the play with its spring and harvest meeting, and Ceres's bless- 1
ing would therefore be still appropriate for the occasion. 116 As the u in Shakspere's
SHUN was still u as in ' full,' not ǝ as in MN. ' shun,' the rhyme " shun you : on you" is
like that ofvv. 110, III. 117
The FO. punctuation, that of SCENE I
ACT IV 118-127
the text, gives SO the sense
of 'to such an extent.'
FERDINAND
118 MAJESTICKE because This is a most majesticke vision, and
of the queenly presence of
Harmonious charmingly. May I be bold
Juno and Ceres. ¶ 119 HAR-
MONIOUS CHARMINGLY , To thinke these spirits ?
'enchantinglymusical,'seems PROSPERO
to be a sort of double adverb,
used like "safely " in 1.2.226, Spirits, which by mine art
rather than a misprint for I have from their confines call'd to enact
'harmoniously charming ' ;
cp. "'T is strange and singu. My present fancies.
lar doub tful l " Jons on's Se- FERDINAND
janus V.5; "the most perfect Let me live here ever ;
circles of it drawne so ir-
So rare a wondred father and a wife
reguller awrye " Dekker,
'Knight's Conjuring ,' ed. Makes this place paradise.
Rimbault, p. 17. BOLD TO PROSPERO
THINKE, ' so bold as to
think ,' an e. N. E. idiom, cp. Sweet, now, silence !
" I am bould to crave your Juno and Ceres whisper seriously ;
patronage herein" More, 1535
(N. E.D.'bold'3). The words There's something else to doe : hush , and be
express a certain deference mute ,
to Prospero's knowledge. Or else our spell is mar'd.
120 The second SPIRITS
is monosyllabic. 121 CON- JUNO AND CERES WHISPER
FINES may have stress on AND SEND IRIS ON EMPLOYMENT
the second syllable in e. N. E.,
cp. "Th' extravagant and erring spirit hyes To his confine " Ham. I.1.154. ENACT, ' put
into action,' the usual EL. meaning. 122 PRESENT, ' of the present time ,' cp. Macb.
1.2.64. 123 WIFE : according to the Cambridge Edition, some copies of the FO. read
"wise," some " wife." Rowe changed " wise," the reading of his copy, to " wife," inde-
pendently. It happens that either word makes sense : Coles glosses sponsa by " a new
married wife," and Ferdinand might easily use the word of Miranda ; it would seem
strange should he omit a reference to her in his happy association of spirits with a para-
dise. The singular verb is not abnormal in EL. E. WONDRED will thus apply to Miranda
in the sense of ' wondrous ' (a playful allusion to her name), and to Prospero in the sense
of ' wonder-working,' a sort of zeugmatic use of the -ed suffix not uncommon in e. N. E.
"Wise" would be rather a tame epithet to apply to Prospero after " rare a wondred. "
The accident of the end of the line falling out in the process of printing and being re-
154
 THE TEMPEST

stored by the compositor is probably responsible for the variants of FO. I , and the intro-
duction of the tall's for f may be due to the fact that " paradise," at the end of the next
verse, rhymes with " wise " in EL. B.,- cp. L.L.L. IV. 3.73 , Pass. Pilgr. 42 (same couplet ),—
and "cowardise " rhymes with " wise " in Chapman's Odyssey II.430,431 . 124 SWEET,
NOW is like the " good, now" of Ham. I. 1.70 cited in the note to 1. 1.3 ; the words are
probably addressed to Miranda, who is whispering to Ferdinand, stress being laid on
SERIOUSLY, i.e. not like lovers. 126 TO DOE, ' to be done,' ' afoot ' ; the M. E. infini-
tive inherited the force of the O. E. passive infinitive, and survived into e. N. E.; one of
these forms is still preserved in MN. E. 'this house is to let.' ON EMPLOYMENT, an
e. N. E. phrase for ' on an er-
ACT IV rand,' cp." tisupon ill imploy-
SCENE I 128-133
ment" Merry W. v.5. 135.
IRIS 128 The antimasque of
You nimphs, cal'd nayades, of the windring nymphs and reapers begins
here. WINDRING : no trace
brooks, of this word has yet been
With your sedg'd crownes and ever-harme- found in EL. literature, but it
may be due to form-confusion
lesse lookes ,
of "winding" with " me-
Leave your crispe channels and on this andering," of which " wind-
greene land ing" is a common e. N. E.
translation. Rowe took it
Answere your summons ; Juno does com- as a misprint for ' winding,'
mand : and is followed by many
editors. Steevens thought
Come, temperate nimphes, and helpe to cele- 'wandring' was intended.
brate But perhaps the misprint is
A contract of true love ; be not too late. for wildring,'an e. N. E. word
meaning'mazy,''bewildering
ENTER CErtaine nIMPHES as a maze does ,' cp. " Cyrus
.. divided the river . . into
320 rills, so that it wilderd and lost itselfe in those many by waies " Purchas's Pilgrim-
age IV.5. 129 SEDG'D, ' sedgy,' ' made of flags or sedges,' is another instance of the
-ed suffix used in the sense of full of.' HARMELESSE in e. N. E. means ' innocent,'
N. E.D. 3, as well as ' innocuous .' 130 CRISPE, ' rippled,' N. E. D. 2, cp. " swift Severnes
flood .. hid his crispe head [ FO. I " crispe-head "] in the hollow banke " IHen.4 1.3.103.
The N.E.D. shows that the word was used in M. E. also of ' rippling water.' LAND : FO.I
prints " greene-land," but the stress does not admit of such a compound ; N. E. D., ' land '
6, takes the word to mean ' expanse of country,' as in " highland," " lowland,' but such a
notion hardly seems possible here. In N. E.D.2 b, however, is a citation from Spenser,
" Herselfe uppon the land she did prostrate," and one from Pope, " He .. rolled .. along
.. the land," where the word is used for ' ground.' It is also possible that " laund,” ‘ a
glade,' was intended, or " lawnd," which is a confusion of ' lawn,' and has sometimes the
form " land," see N. E. D. 131 YOUR SUMMONS, ' my summons of you ' ; the e. N. E.
possessive adjective pronouns are frequently employed as genitives, cp. " Endeavor'd
my advancement " IHen.6 II.5.69 ; so in V. I. 119 " my wrongs " are ' the wrongs done
by me.' The corresponding subjective genitive appears in " Basilius fell to .. cunning,
intreating my aboad [i.e. that I should abide with him] " Sidney's Arcadia, p. 60 ; cp. also
"Anthonio, forgive me your trouble [ i.e. that I am a trouble to you] " Tw. N. II. 1.35.
There is therefore no occasion for botching "your" to ' our.' 133 LATE, ' laggard,'
' slow ,' see N. E. D. I., and cp. " when it is most slowe or late, tardissimè " Alvearie. The
notion is ' laggard ' because not interested in marriage celebrations, ' temperate.'
155
 THE TEMPEST

134 The ea of WEARY was still e in e. N. E. , so that the word was a perfect rhyme
for MERRY. There can be little doubt that this masque was written in September. 135
HETHER is a common e. N. E. spelling of ' hither,' due to a M. E. form of the word not yet
obsolete in Shakspere's time. 136 HOLLY is merely a shortened e. N. E. form of ' holy'
due to lack of stress, and now joined to '-day ' as a compound word. The spelling here,
that of FO. I , is common in the 16th and 17th centuries, see N. E. D. 137 ENCOUNTter,
' accost,' N. E.D.7 , seems to
be the meaning of the word
ACT IV SCENE I 134-145
here. ONE was not yet ' won'
(a mid - 17th - century form)
when The Tempest was writ- You sun-burn'd sicklemen , of August weary,
ten, and therefore rhymed Come hether from the furrow and be merry :
with the preposition ' on ' as in
M.E. 138 COUNTRY FOOT- Make holly day ; your rye-straw hats put on,
ING, i.e. country dance, a sort And these fresh nimphes encounter every one
of Sir Roger de Coverley, as
In country footing.
opposed to the galliards or
corantoes usually danced in ENTER CERtaine reaPERS PROPERLY HABITED :
masques. PROPERLY, i.e. THEY JOYNE WITH THE NIMPHES IN A GRACEFULL
suitably. The abrupt ending DANCE TOWARDS THE end whereOF PROSPERO
of the antimasque, and the STARTS SODAINLY AND SPEAKES : AFTER WHICH
skilful way in which it is
TO A STRANGE HOLLOW AND confused noyse
dovetailed into the dramatic
action, point clearly to its THEY HEAVILY VANISH
being an original part of The PROSPERO
Tempest. 141 MINUTE ASIDE
is used in its EL. sense of
' critical moment,' as in I.2. I had forgot that foule conspiracy
37. 143 THIS'S, etc.: the Of the beast Calliban and his confederates
FO. reads " this is "; but Against my life : the minute of their plot
"this is" was contracted into
"this ' s" in M.E. poetry Is almost come.
(see Chaucer's Prologue, TO THE SPIRITS
Knightes Tale, and Nonnes Well done ! avoid ; no more !
Preestes Tale, ed. Liddell,
Introduction, $ 273, p. xcvi) FERDINAND

and the contraction evidently This's strange : your father's in some passion
survived into e. N. E. It fre-
That workes him strongly.
quently occurs in Ben Jon-
son, and is usually indicated MIRANDA
in the printing of the edition Never till this day
of 1640, e.g. "This's strange"
Saw I him touch'd with anger, so distemper'd .
(prose) Sejanus V.4, p.378 ;
"If't be arrived at that he
knows or none. Agr. This's quick ! What should be his disease ? " ibid. , p. 338 ; " This's
heathen Greek to you?" Alchemist, p. 551 ; "This ' s forraine coyne " (poetry) ibid., p . 558 ;
cp. also " That 't seemde when heaven his modell first began, In him it shew'd perfection
in a man" Drayton, ' Barrons Warres ' III.40 ; Shakspere uses the contraction in " Why,
this ' a heavie chance " Tam.ofShr. 1. 2. 46, and in Lear IV.6. 187. The -sion in PASSION
is dissyllabic, as it frequently is in EL. poetry, cp. note to Macb. 1.2.18 ; there is there-
fore no necessity for Theobald's emendation, most strange,' which is followed by many
editors. ¶ 144 WORKES, not ' works upon,' as in MN. E., which would require the prepo-
sition, but ' agitates,' ' excites,' an e. N. E. transitive sense, preserved in reflexive use in
156
 THE TEMPEST

MN.B. in ' the wine works ' (i.e. ferments), cp. " If I had thought the sight of my poore
image Would thus have wrought you " Wint.T. V.3.57. STRONGLY, like " highly," has
a wide range of emotional association in e. N. E. 145 TOUCH'D, ' roused ,' now con-
fined to the emotion of pity, but in e. N. E. used of any emotion, so " touch'd with mad-
nesse" Meas. V. 1.51 , " with love " Ado III.2.19, " with choler " Hen.5 IV.7.188. SO
DISTEMPER'D : modern editors, by removing the comma of the FO. before " so " (War-
burton's emendation), make the phrase refer to ANGER, a reading which makes good
sense, for " distempered " in e. N. E. means ' immoderate,' N. E. D.5 ; but the word also
may mean ' out of humour,'
'vexed,' N. E. D. 2, and makes
ACT IV SCENE I 146-158
equally good sense as punc-
tuated in FO. I , Miranda hav-
PROSPERO ing seen her father vexed,
but never like this.
You doe looke, my son , in a mov'd sort,
As if you were dismaid : be cheerefull , sir. 146 The verse lacks an
Our revels now are ended. These our actors , initial unstressed impulse
like 1.2.53. Hanmer read
As I foretold you , were all spirits and 'Whyyou' ; Dyce, ' Sure you ' ;
Are melted into ayre, into thin ayre : and Nicholson, ' Nay, you,'
And , like the baselesse fabricke of this vision, but none of these botchings
are happy. The Cambridge
The clowd-capt towres , the gorgeous pallaces , editors suppose that this and
The solemne temples , the great globe it selfe , the following verse are the
link joining the interpolated
Yea, all which it inherit , shall dissolve
masque to Shakspere's writ-
And, like this insubstantiall pageant faded, ing. MOV'D is changed by
Leave not a racke behinde. We are such many to ' movéd,' but "in a
móv'd sórt" is a passable
stuffe e. N. E. rhythm series : " Ín
As dreames are made on, and our little life bést sórt " occurs in the first
chorus of Hen.5 v. " Mov'd "
Is rounded with a sleepe .
in e. N. E. means ' agitated by
any emotion,' not necessarily
anger or pity as in MN. E., cp. " you look As if you held a brow of much distraction ;
Are you mov'd, my lord?" Wint.T. 1.2.148. SORT is widely used in e. N. E. like MN. E.
' way,' cp. " in any such sort" Merry W. 11.2.74, " expresse your selfe in a more com-
fortable sort" Cor. I. 3. I , and " let ' s on our way in silent sort " 3Hen.6 IV.2.28. ¶ 147
DISMAID : Ferdinand is not only amazed at the power of Prospero, but there must also
have occurred to his mind the thought that he and Miranda and their love may be an
illusion of the wonder-working Prospero. It is this thought that Prospero seems to
answer when he says ' Our amusement is over : these actors of ours are spirits and mere
shadows, and this a vision from the world of shadows. As the world goes we are reali-
ties, but yet only shadows after all - but little more substantial than they.' 148
REVELS is the technical term for ' masques ' ; " Revells," says Cowel, " signifie with us
sports of dancing, masking, etc., used in princes courts, the Inns of Court, or other
noblemen's houses, which are commonly performed by night : and there is an officer to
order and supervise them who is intituled Master of the Revells." These OUR ACTORS,
'these actors of ours,' cp. " that their fitnesse " Macb. 1.7.53 . 149 FORETOLD in
M. E. and e. N. E. means ' informed beforehand,' not necessarily ' predicted ,' cp. "a man
is free to foretell or not what points he will insist on " Hobbes, ' Rhetorick,' 1679 ( in
N.E.D.2). AND, ' and so,' as in I.2. 186, i.e. ' That is the reason why I could make them
vanish : I could not do the like with you and Miranda.' 150 INTO THIN AYRE : the
157
 THE TEMPEST

reversal of the rhythm is peculiarly suggestive, and probably follows a gesture of Pros-
pero's. 151 BASELESSE, ' lacking substantial foundation,' now applied usually in a
figurative sense. FABRICKE : the original sense of the word, viz . ' edifice,' ' building,'
is now somewhat unusual. THIS : the Second and subsequent Folios change the word to
'their,' probably by accident. 152 TOWRES is a normal e. N. E. spelling : in some of
these words, viz. " powre," "power," " lowre," " lower," the form with e before the r has
been made standard for the spelling ; in others, like " howre," " hower," " sowre,"" " sower,"
the one without the e. These words are usually dissyllabic in MN. E.; in e. N. E. they
can be either. 153 SOLEMNE has the sense of ' holy' as well as ' awe-inspiring ' in
e. N. E.: Shakspere speaks of " solemne priest " in All's W. II . 3. 286 and in Hen.5 IV. 1.318.
TEMPLE is used in e. N. E. as the name of Christian places of worship, and is widely
synonymous with church : a common Latin gloss of the word church is templum ; so that
Prospero's words are not associated with heathen temples but with holy cathedrals.
$ 154 INHERIT : the sense of ' possess,' ' have to dwell in ,' is strong in the word in
e. N. E.; " inherit eternal life " and " inherit the kingdom prepared for you " preserve this
sense in Biblical language : perhaps Shakspere had the former in mind when he wrote
the passage ; but in Rom.&ful . 1.2.30 he speaks of " inheriting delight," and in Rich.2
II.1.83 of the grave as " inheriting naught but bones." DISSOLVE in e. N. E. means only
'to fade away,' and has not the necessary association with melting away that it now has.
155 LIKE in standard e. N. E., as frequently in MN. E. colloquial idiom, is an adverb
meaning ' as,' see N. E.D.6 and note : to the citations there given may be added " Like
simple sheep .. Do scattering flie about " Greene's Alphonsus of Arragon, v.463 (Huth
Library, XIII , p.349), and “ like a fat soile bringeth forth herbes and weedes " North's
Plutarch, ed. 1595, p.235. PAGEANT, ' play ' : in e. N. E. " pageant " was used of any sort
of theatrical representation, not necessarily of a moving spectacle as now. FADED,
' vanished,' cp. " He stands amazed how he thence should fade " ' Faerie Queene ' I. v. 15.
156 NOT goes with " leave " : in e. N. E. the word is used where it is tantamount to
MN. E. ' not even,' cp. " his melancholy detesting [i.e. forswearing] all company, so as
not the very surgeons or servants durst speake unto him " Arcadia, p. 322 b, " yet would
not suffer his kindness to be overcome, not by justice itself " ibid. 210 b , and " No, not
he himself could have perswaded me, re ipse quidem," etc. , Phr. Gen. Probably Shak-
spere intended such syntax here, ' leave not even a rack behind.' RACKE carries on the
association of a play ; the filmy gauze cloud which floated above the stage is termed
"the rack" in Jonson's Hymenæi, 1606, which Shakspere may have seen (it was per-
formed on the occasion of the marriage of the Earl and Countess of Essex) : " Here the
upper part of the scene, which was all of clouds, and made artificially to swell and ride
like the rack, began to open ; and the ayre clearing, in the top thereof was discovered
[i.e. revealed] Juno sitting on a throne supported by two beautiful peacocks." In this
masque a microcosm or globe " is an important part of the machinery, and the appear-
ance of the actors from clouds is a common device of its action. Shakspere seems to
have this pageant in mind when he says ' this great globe shall dissolve and leave not
even a filmy mist behind to show that it once was.' (It was W. Whiter, ' Specimen of
a Commentary on Shakspeare ,' 1794, who first cited this passage from Jonson in this
connection.) Shakspere, in the opening of Scene XIV of Act IV of Antony and Cleo-
patra, uses this same figure of the rack where Antony and Eros are talking of the fan-
ciful shapes that evening clouds assume : " blacke Vesper's pageants," Antony calls
them, and says, " That which is now a horse, even with a thought the racke dislimes
[ i.e. 'loses its outline,' a coinage of Shakspere's evidently made under the wrong im-
pression that ' limn ' means ' lim-it ' or ' outline ' ] and makes it indistinct." RACKE is
the name for the scud that flies through the sky after a storm : Steevens cites Bacon's
Sylva Sylvarum II . § 115 , " The winds in the upper region (which move the clouds above,
which we call the rack, and are not perceived below) pass without noise " ; Nicholson
supplied another apt citation from Armin's Italian Taylor and his Boy, 1608, " Lookt
158
 THE TEMPEST

like the angry cloudes in blackes, which threaten showers of raine : yet ride upon the
moving racks As it would to the maine " ; Peele uses the word in ' David and Bethsabe '
III.61 , " Where cedars, stirred with anger of the winds .. shake .. with their heads the
heavens, Beating the clouds into their swiftest rack." In Douglas's verses “ the wan
morn hoar .. wyth cloudy gum [ i.e. mist] and rak ourquhelmyt [i.e. overwhelmed] the
air" Prologue to Book VII of his translation of the Eneid. Malone, objecting to "not
a racke " as he read it, i.e. ' not a single rack,' on the ground that " racke " was the name
for masses of cloud, proposed ' wrack,' i.e. ' wreck,' citing Fletcher's Wife for a Month
V.II , " you may snatch him up by parcels like a sea-rack " (but the word here is a name
for ' alga,' 44cp. " wrack (herb), alga " Coles ; Cooper says some call it " reites," and Holy-
oke says some call it reits, others . . grass-wrack " ; Coles, Dict. of Hard Words, has
46
sea-wrack, as sea-weed "). 'Wrack,' despite its flatness and the indefinite article pre-
ceding it, has been followed by some modern editors, and has been given permanence
by being inscribed on the Shakspere monument in Westminster Abbey. 157 ON,
the common EL. usage of the word, corresponding to MN. E. ' of' ; the phrase " made on
occurs in Tro.& Cr. III.3.306. 158 ROUNDED : the meaning of this word has been the
subject of considerable dispute ; the modern reader will have little hesitancy in taking
it in the sense of ' rounded off, ' ' completed,' and WITH A SLEEPE in the sense of ' by
a sleep .' But Shakspere does not elsewhere use the word in this sense, and an EL.
audience would naturally take " rounded with " as meaning ' surrounded by,' which is the
common 17th-century meaning of the phrase, cp. " rounded in with danger " Tro.&Cr.1.3.196.
Nor is such a meaning inapposite, reflecting as it does the beginning as well as the end
of life -life islanded in sleep ; " schoole [i.e. shoal] of time " Macb. 1.7.6, embodies the
same notion, and " Time is come round, And where I did begin there shall I end, My life
has run his compasse " Cæs. V.3.23 ( cited by Schmidt), reflects a similar one. The
rhythm of the whole passage, beginning with "these our actors " and ending with " sleepe,"
reflects the emotion pulses of the thought with admirable fitness : Thése oűr áctors ||
as í fóretóld you || wére áll spírits || and || Are mélted into áyre || Into thin áyre || And
like the baselesse fábricke of this vision || The clówd-capt tówres || the gorgeous pál-
lacés || The solemne témples || the great glóbe it sélfe || Yeá || áll which ít inhérit || sháll
dissólve || Ånd like this ínsubstantiall págeant fáded || Leave not a rácke behind ||
Wé are such stúffe As
dréames are made on || ẩnd
ACT IV SCENE I 158-163 our little life || Is rounded
with a sléepe.
Sir, I am vext ;
Beare with my weakenesse ; my old braine is 158 VEXT is a stronger
word in e. N. E. than in MN.E.,
troubled :
and means ' troubled,' ' har-
Be not disturb'd with my infirmitie : assed,' 'tormented ' ; Baret
If be pleas'd, retire into cell has " vexed or grieved,"
you my "furie vexeth him," and " I
And there repose : a turne or two I ' le walke , see not those evils wherewith
he will be vexed" ; cp . also
To still my beating minde. "he is lunaticke and sore
FERDINAND MIRANDA vexed" Matthew XVII.15 (ed.
We wish your peace. 1613). 160 INFIRMITIE,
EXEUNT 'moral weakness ,' a meaning
now restricted to Biblical
use. 161 CELL : see note to 1.2.20. 162 A TURNE OR TWO is cut off by commas
in FO.I. 163 BEATING : see note to 1.2. 176. This second conspiracy sets Prospero
to thinking of that other plot against his life which was the cause of his exile, and as he
thinks now of a possible revenge, it is little wonder that he should want a moment's quiet.
159
 THE TEMPEST

164 Prospero walks a turn or two in silent thought, planning out his scheme to check-
mate Caliban's plot. His desire for Ariel to help him in carrying out his plans brings
the spirit to his side before he summons him, and he looks up in surprise to find Ariel
beside him, and exclaims, " Come with a thought ! " Taking COME as a participle, not
as an imperative, and WITH A THOUGHT as meaning ' while I was thinking of you,' we
get a clear explanation of Ariel's words which follow, " Thy thoughts I cleave to." In
FO. I v. 164 reads, "Come
with a thought ; I thank thee,
Ariell : come. Enter Ariell." ACT IV SCENE I 164-170
But there seems to be con-
fusion in the arrangement, ENTER ARIEL
as the thanks to Ariel can PROSPERO
only be for his prompt ap-
Come with a thought ! I thank thee, Ariell.
pearance (he hasbeen person-
ARIEL
ating Ceres in the masque,
and has vanished with the Thy thoughts I cleave to. What's thy plea-
other spirits). This seems sure ?
to be the simplest explana-
tion of the passage, but the PROSPERO
line has caused much diffi- Come , spirit,
culty to editors, many of
whom change "thee " to 'you' We must prepare to meet with Caliban.
or ' ye,' and refer Prospero's ARIEL
thanks to Ferdinand and I , my commander : when I presented Ceres,
Miranda. 165 COME in
FO. I follows " Ariell," v. 164, I thought to have told thee of it, but I fear'd
but the word is evidently out
Least I might anger thee.
of place. In FO. I SPIRIT is
in the same line with "We PROSPERO
must prepare," etc. 166
MEET WITH means ' cope Say again, where didst thou leave these var-
lots?
with ' in e. N. E., cp. " I must
goe and meet with danger"
2Hen.4 II . 3. 48, and " assailing, coping, meeting, congressus " Baret. 167 PRESENTED
is the regular EL. E. word for ' acting a part,' cp. "The shallowest thickskin .. Who
Piramus presented " Mids. III.2.13 . ¶169 LEAST is the M. E. and e. N. E. form of
' lest,' with its original long open e (ea). 170 SAY AGAIN : there is probably an
interval here, as Prospero walks back and forth conversing with Ariel. The verse has no
initial unstressed impulse : ' But, say,' 'Well, say,' 'Say yet,' are some of the attempts to
botch it up.

171 RED-HOT, ' passionate,' cp. " to be angrie, to be red hoat " Baret. 174 KISS-
ING OF : the redundant " of," common after participles of transitive verbs in e. N. E., cp.11
Macb. II.3.63 . BENDING, ' proceeding,' N. E. D. 20, -cp. " Thither we bend againe'
All's W. III.2.57,-with probably an implied sense of ' straining,' N. E. D.3. 176 UN-
BACK'T, ' unbroken,' cp. "The colt that's backt and burthend, being yong, Loseth his
pride, and never waxeth strong" Ven.&Ad. 419 ; " back " is still in use for ' breaking to
the saddle,' N. E. D. 10. 177 ADVANC'D, ' raised ,' cp. I.2.408. 178 AS, ' as if,' a
common e. N. E. use of the word. ¶ 180 FIRZES is an e. N. E. spelling of ' furze ,' preserv-
ing the M. E. form firse. GOSSE, not a misprint for ' gorse,' but a regular e. N. E. form
of the word, see N. E.D.s.v. and cp. the 16th-century " fuzz " for ' furze.' The terms
"gorse," "whin," " furze," and " broom " are loosely applied in e. N. E. to the prickly
genesta. 181 FRAILE seems to have had an e. N. E. sense of ' soft,' ' tender,' though
160
 THE TEMPEST

such is not recorded in N. E. D., cp. "Nay, call us ten times fraile, For we are soft as our
complexions are, and credulous to false prints " ( Isabella, who is speaking, has been
playing on the word "fraile"
in the senses of ' weak ' and
ACT IV SCENE I 171-187
'fragile ') Meas. II . 4. 128 ;
Spenser has " compassion
ARIEL
frayle " in ' Faerie Queene'
I toldyou, sir, they were red-hot with drinking ; III.viii.31 . ¶ 182 MANTLED,
a participial adjective mean-
So full of valour that they smote the ayre
ing'coveredwith green scum ,'
For breathing in their faces ; beate the ground cp. " the green mantle of the
For kissing oftheir feete ; yet alwaies bending standing poole " Lear III.4.
138, and " There are a sort
Towards their project. Then I beate my of men whose visages Do
tabor ; creame and mantle like a
standing pond [ i.e. are calm
At which , like unback't colts, they prickt their and still with an oily smooth-
eares , ness] " Merch.I.1.88. FILTHY
their noses seems to be an independent
Advanc'd their eye-lids , lifted up
adjective not connected with
As they smelt musicke : so I charm'd their " mantled " ; Steevens pro-
eares posed ' filth ymantled,' but
such a participle would be
That calfe-like they my lowing follow'd strange even in Spenser.
through ዋ 183 THAT, ' So that.'
Tooth'd briars, sharpe firzes , pricking gosse FOWLE in e. N. E. means
filthy, muddy,' or ' miry,
and thorns , N.E. D., a meaning still pre-
Which entred their fraile shins : at last I left served when we say ' the
roads are foul.' LAKE in
them EL. E. still had its O. E. sense
I' th ' filthy mantled poole beyond your cell, of 'pool ' or ' pond,' N. E. D. 2 ;
N.E.D. cites this meaning
There dancing up to th ' chins , that the fowle last in 1609, but Coles, 1675,
lake glosses "lake " by stagnum
Ore-stunck their feet. (i.e. miry pool) . 184 ORE-
STUNCK : Schmidt takes the
PROSPERO
prefix in its EL. sense of
This was well done, my bird. ' out,' but Ariel probably only
means that their dancing in
Thy shape invisible retaine thou still :
the mire of the pool has cov-
The trumpery in my house, goe bring it ered their feet with filth.
hither, ' Feat,' ' fell,' ' fear,' ' fit ' (i.e.
' dance ' ! ), are some of the
For stale to catch these theeves.
pale casts of conjecture sub-
ARIEL stitutedfor"feet." MY BIRD :
go, I goe. Prospero , with a jesting allu-
sion to the harpy, employs
EXIT a common 17th-century term
of endearment, cp. "Am I
your bird? " Tam.of Shr. V.2.46, and " come, bird, come " Ham. I. 5. 116 ; the word also
means ' youngster,' ' son,' ' young man,' in 1. M. E.; Romeo jests on it in Rom. &Jul.
II.2.183, " I would I were thy bird." 186 IT : the logical subject was often thus
161
 THE TEMPEST

turned into an object by a pronoun in e. N. E. 187 STALE, ' bait,' cp. " Her ivory
front, her pretty chin, Were stales that drew me on to sin " Greene (in Cent. Dict. ) ; the
word was originally applied to a decoy, cp. " a stale in fowling, illecebra " Phr. Gen. The
fact that " steal " in e . N. E. was pronounced like MN. E. 'stale is probably responsible for
Prospero's calling the conspirators thieves.

¶ 188 BORNE- DEVILL : this adjective use of " borne " to denote that one is born with a
quality is still used in ' natural born fool,' and such phrases as ' born orator' ; "a bőrne-
dévill " is the stress, " a " forming the crest of the second rhythm wave, and " borne "
the low part of the third : though " borne " has more stress than " a," it has less than
"dev-," see Introduction to the Scientific Study of English Poetry, Liddell, p. 260.
Abbott read the first " devill " as monosyllabic, cp. note to 1.2.215 , and " borne" as
'boarn,' cp. note to II . I. 5 , which makes equally good rhythm. 189 NURTURE in e. N. E.
means ' education ,' cp. " it is
a point of nurture or good
manners to salute them that ACT IV SCENE I 188-193
you meete" Alvearie. ON
WHOM, ' and on him,' the PROSPERO
connective relative idiom, so
A devill , a borne-devill , on whose nature
that both clauses go together,
the substantive in both cases Nurture can never sticke ; on whom my paines ,
being omitted. FO.I has a Humanely taken, all , all lost, quite lost ;
colon after " sticke," but it is
And as with age his body ouglier growes ,
probably the light point
equivalent to a MN . comma. So his minde cankers. I will plague them all ,
190 HUMANELY, ‘kindly' ; Even to roaring.
for the form , see note to I.2. TO ARIEL WITHIN
284, and for the meaning, cp.
11 Come, hang them on this line.
"they releeved us humanely'
Cor. I. I. 19 ; the Phr. Gen. ENTER ARIELL LOADEN WITH GLISTERING AP-
glosses " humanely, courte- PARELL & C.
ously " by humaniter. ALL is
changed by some editors to ' are,' but cp. note to " on whom," above. 191 OUGLIER
is a common EL. spelling of ' uglier,' due to a phonetic representation of e. N. E. u ( = MN.E.
oo) by ou. 192 CANKERS, ' grows irritable or malignant,' a frequent sense of " can-
kers " in the 17th century. 193 The direction TO ARIEL WITHIN is not in FO.I.
Modern editors usually bring the following direction, " Enter Ariell," etc., up to this
point, but Prospero's words are probably addressed to Ariel before he leaves the cell.
FO.I reads " Come, hang on them this line," but the preposition seems to be out of
place (though " this line to hang on them " for ' this line to hang them on ' would be
normal e. N. E. idiom, cp. note to III.3.56, and " to hang up them " Macb. IV.2.58). As
LINE is a common 17th-century form of " lind," the name of the ' linden ,' or ' lime tree,'
and as we are told in V. I. 10 that there is a "line-grove " in front of Prospero's cell, the
word may refer to a tree which Prospero indicates. But the jests below, " lose your
haire " and "by lyne and levell," are difficult to explain if " line " has this meaning.
Hanging apparel on a line would naturally suggest a clothes-line : it is hard to see why
a clothes-line should be unpoetic in this connection, but it has come in for a deal of
denunciation from Shakspere editors, nevertheless. A line to hang clothes upon was
commonly made of horse-hair in Shakspere's time : Knight cites the London trade- cry,
"Buy a hair line " (Smith's City of London) ; Dyce cited Lyly's Midas, V, end of Scene II,
"Al my mistres' lynes that she dries her cloathes on are made of mustachio stuff" (Dello,
the barber's boy, is telling what a good trade his master has). Some gesture on Pros-
pero's part, pointing to what was evidently a linden tree, would be necessary to prevent
162
 THE TEMPEST

the audience from taking the word in this ordinary sense ; unfortunately, the reading is
one that could be absolutely determined only by a knowledge of the scene as it was
originally acted on the stage : wanting such knowledge, the reader must take the simplest
and most natural sense that
theword conveys when taken
ACT IV SCENE I 194-209
with the jests which follow.
ENTER CALIBAN STEPHANO AND TRINCULO ALL 194 BLINDE MOLE : Hal-
WET
liwell cites from Topsell,
CALIBAN "These moles have no eares,
Pray you, tread softly, that the blinde mole and yet they heare in the
earth more nimbly and per-
may not
fectly then men can above
Heare a foot-fall : we now are neere his cell . the same ; for at every step
or small noise, and almost
STEPHANO
breathing, they are terrified
Monster, your fairy, which you say is a harm- and run away." ¶ 195 FOOT-
FÁLL is so stressed in e. N. E.,
les fairy, has done little better then plaid the cp. II.2.12 ; the word is not
Jacke with us. hyphenated in FO. I , and all
TRINCULO modern editors take "fall"
as a verb. FO. I prints Cal-
Monster, I do smell all horse-pisse ; at which iban's speech as prose. 196
my nose is in great indignation . HARMLES,'innocent.' 197
PLAID THE JACKE is an
STEPHANO
e. N. E. expression for ' doing
So is mine. Do you heare , monster ? If I a mean trick,' cp. " If you
were not resolved to play the
should take a displeasure against you , looke
Jacks, what need you study
you, - to abuse your betters ? "
TRINCULO Beaumont and Fletcher's
Knight of the Burning Pes-
Thou wert but a lost monster.
tle, Induction (N. E. D. 2b).
CALIBAN "Jacke " is a 16th- and 17th-
Good my lord, give me thy favour stil . century name for a ' rascal ,'
'knave,' giving us the name
Be patient, for the prize I'le bring thee too 'Jack'for knave ' in playing-
Shall hudwinke this mischance : therefore cards. " Has .. us " is a verse
in FO. I , as is " My nose ..
speake softly. great indignation." ¶ 202 The
All's husht as midnight yet. N.E.D. shows that TAKE
TRINCULO A DISPLEASURE is a M.E.
and e. N. E. idiom for ' take
I , but to loose our bottles in the poole, — offence ' (I b) ; Stephano's
words, however, are royally
turned. " Take .. you " is a verse in FO. I. 204 LOST : a short vowel before st is long
in e. N. E., so that " lost " and " loosed " had the same sound : Trinculo probably intends
a pun on ' monster let loose,' having no great opinion of Stephano's displeasure. ¶205
GIVE ME THY FAVOUR STIL, ' pardon me always ,' cp. Macb. I. 3. 149. The verse lacks
an initial syllable : " loord," as Abbott read, is unrhythmical. 207 HUDWINKE : the
17th-century spelling " hud " for ' hood ' is given in N. E. D. as Scottish ; but Stanyhurst
and Holinshed both have " hudwink," cp. N. E. D. , and probably the u simply shows a
shortening of the long u of the word in composition. It means ' cover up from sight,'
163
 THE TEMPEST

cp. "had it pleased him not ACT IV SCENE I 210-228

to hoodwink his own know-
ledge " Hooker, ' Ecclesias-
STEPHANO
tical Polity' (in N. E. D. 2).
209 I, BUT, etc., i.e. ' there There is not onely disgrace and dishonor in
is the rub of this mischance, that, monster , but an infinite losse.
as you call it.'
TRINCULO
210 DISGRACE AND DIS- That's more to me then my wetting : yet this
HONOR : Stephano speaks is your harmlesse fairy, monster.
officially as a king, but in
"infinite losse " feelingly as a STEPHANO
man. T214 O'RE eares,
an e. N. E. variant of ' over I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o're
head and ears,' i.e. drowned. eares for my labour.
215 FOR MY LABOUR, an CALIBAN
e. N. E. phrase corresponding Pre-thee, my king , be quiet . Seest thou heere ,
to MN. E. 'for my pains,'
N.E.D.5. 216 SEEST THOU This is the mouth o' th' cell : no noise , and
HEERE, EL. idiom for ' look enter.
here.' 217 MOUTH O'TH'
CELL: Caliban is now lead- Do that good mischeefe which may make this
ing, Stephano and Trinculo island
following in the rear. 218
DO THAT GOOD MIS- Thine owne for ever, and I , thy Caliban,
CHEEFE : " do" has its com- For aye thy foot-licker.
mon e. N. E. meaning of ' exe- STEPHANO
cute,' ' make effective,' and
" mischeefe " (an e. N. E. nor- Give me thy hand. I do begin to have bloody
mal spelling) means ' injury ' ; thoughts.
Caliban is thinking of the
" mischance" above. MAY is TRINCULO
here used in its e. N. E. sense
O King Stephano ! O peere ! O worthy Ste-
of ' is bound to, ' ' must,' cp. phano ! looke what a wardrobe heere is for
"Who may I rather challenge
for unkindnesse " Macb . III . thee !
4.42, and ibid. III.1.122. ¶221 CALIBAN
GIVE ME THY HAND : Ste-
phano shows a human need of Let it alone, thou foole , it is but trash .
moral support in the ' murder- TRINCULO
ous purposes ,'which he aban- Oh, ho, monster ! wee know what belongs to
dons with suspicious alacrity
for the more peaceful in- a frippery. O King Stephano !
terests of the royal wardrobe.
223 Trinculo, though lagging behind the others, is the first to catch sight of the glis-
tering apparel, which the murderous Caliban and the " bloody-thoughted " Stephano have
not noticed ; for his is the fool's butterfly attention, always vagrant in his search for the
material of a fresh jest. His new jest here is a hint at a verse of the popular ballad,
" Take Thy Old Cloak about Thee " ; it runs : " King Stephen [ Percy MS., King Harry]
was a worthy peere, His breeches [ Percy MS., I trow his hose] cost him but a crowne,
He held them sixpence [ Percy MS., 12 pence ] all too deere, Therefore he called the
taylor Lowne [ Percy MS. , clowne] " Percy Ballads, ed. Schröer, pp. 140, 141 ( Iago
sings part of it in Oth. II.3.92) . The thrifty Stephano will here obtain a whole wardrobe
164
 THE TEMPEST

ACT IV for nothing. 228 Caliban's

SCENE I 229-240 Trinculo answers
"trash
with 'this is no old-clothes
STEPHANO
broker's shop [the e. N. E.
Put off that gowne, Trinculo ; by this hand, meaning of FRIPPERY] ,
I've had some experience
I 'le have that gowne.
there.' He dons a garment
TRINCULO as the others are coming up,
"
Thy grace shall have it. and, as courtier, salutes,
King Stephano ! "
CALIBAN

The dropsie drowne this foole ! what doe you 230 I'LE, of course, has
meane the sentence stress. 231
THY GRACE : still mocking,
To doate thus on such luggage? but keeping out of his liege's
TO STEPHANO reach. 232 THE DROPSIE,
Let's alone 'his greed' : in e. N. E. " drop-
sie" often connotes ' crav-
And doe the murther first : if he awake, ing," avarice,'' ambition,' cp.
From toe to crowne hee ' l fill our skins with "Seas could not quench his
dropsie" Dekker (in N. E.D.
pinches,
3). DROWNE means ' sink,'
Make us strange stuffe . 'send to the bottom,' N. E.D.
STEPHANO 4. 233 TO DOATE .. ON,
'by going crazy over,' with
Be you quiet, monster. Mistris line , is not the EL. infinitive standing
this my jerkin ? now is the jerkin unde under r the
the for a participial phrase, cp.
1.2. 119. LUGGAGE, ' hin-
line : now, jerkin, you are like to lose your drance,' cp. " It [i.e. "ray-
haire and prove a bald jerkin. ment"] is a cumber and hin-
drance [ translating remoræ,
and glossed in the margin " A let or luggage "] to us " Janua 509. LET'S ALONE, ' let
us go alone ' : the verb of motion is often omitted in M. E. and e. N. E. syntax, cp. Macb.
IV.3.136 ; for the ellipsis of " go " after " let," cp. N. E. D. 14 c, which cites " Let us to the
Tyger all to dinner " Err. III . 1.95 , and " Com, let ' s on " Milton's Comus 599. The
stage direction TO STEPHANO is not in FO. I , but Stephano is now Caliban's only hope,
and he urges him to leave the fool and come back to the garments after the murder is
done. Theobald emended " alone " to ‘ along,' and has been followed by many editors ;
but this emendation, besides being quite unnecessary, gives Caliban's words a sort of
jauntiness that is exceedingly jarring to the scene, for Caliban is the only serious plotter
of the group. 235 FROM TOE TO CROWNE, cp. "from the crowne to the toe " Macb.
1.5.43. 236 MAKE ÚS STRange stuffe, like this apparel here. 237 But Ste-
phano will not yield. MONSTER is in parenthesis in FO. I , a frequent method of point-
ing a vocative case in EL. E., and, as is usual in EL. printing, no punctuation follows the
second parenthesis-mark. MISTRIS LINE : either the line tree or, more likely, the hair-
line on which the clothes are hung is looked upon as having borrowed the garments for
the nonce, and is apostrophized by Stephano. Possibly, too, " Mistris Line" had a local
application now lost. 238 JERKINS were close-fitting short coats, sometimes made
of leather or frieze ; this one, from the use of " haire " and " bald " (' nap-worn ' ), seems to
have been of the latter material. UNDER THE LINE, i.e. ' under the line on which the
jerkin is hanging ' and ' at the equator,' N. E. D. 10 b. 239 LOSE YOUR HAIRE : the jest
has been variously explained, and many of the explanations are exceedingly far-fetched :
'lose your air,' i.e. 'cease to hang in the air,' is one of these ; another is that " under
165
 THE TEMPEST

the line" is used in the sense of ' laying a stake at tennis,' and that " lose your haire "
refers to the loss of the hair-line on which the jerkin has been hanging. But such laboured
and literary jests ill suit the character of Stephano ; his language, far from displaying the
intimate acquaintance with classical mythology which one editor assumes for him (he
explains " Mistris Line " as an apostrophizing of the lime tree as the nymph Philyra),
savours rather of the tar and pitch of the forecastle. It may be, therefore, that Stephano
is referring to the sailor's saturnalia performed when crossing the equator, and the mock
shaving to which unpopular members of the ship's company are then subjected. The
custom seems to be an old one, and to have been originally performed on the occasion
of a ship's passing out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic : it is described in Cham-
bers's Book of Days II, p.653. Early voyagers crossed the line on going to the West
Indies, and it is quite possible that sailors in Shakspere's day practised this shaving by
Neptune ; in Hen.8 V.4.41 we have "he should be a brazier by his face, for o' my con-
science, twenty of the dog-dayes now reigne in ' s nose ; all that stand about him are
under the line, they need no other pennance " -where " pennance," again, seems to imply
that the ' crossing-the-line ' ceremony was known in Shakspere's day ; the "gracious
fooling" of passing the equinoctial of Queubus in Tw.N. II.3.26 seems to be another ref-
erence to the same thing. The explanation usually followed -that of Steevens, Edwards
MSS., viz., that the allusion is to ' people who pass the line contracting violent fevers
which make them lose their hair, with, perhaps, an indelicate double entendre ' —un-
doubtedly possible, but hardly intended - seems vague and pointless. " Lose " and " loose "
had the same sound in EL. E. , cp. e.g. Coles's " pair of words which agree in sound,” “ lose,
to forgo, perdo," and " loose, to untye, solvo " (s in ' loose ' was voiced, i.e. represented
the sound). The latter
word means ' to let go' in
ACT IV SCENE I 241-247
EL. E., cp. " Thy hand once
more, I will not loose againe "
Titus II.3.243 ; this meaning, TRINCULO
with "haire " an allusion to
Doe, doe : we steale by lyne and levell, and 't
the hair-line, and " bald " in
its EL. sense of ' worn ' (cp. like your grace.
"bald (thred-bare), tritus, STEPHANO
protritus" Coles) , seems to I thank thee for that jest ; heer's a garment
be the explanation of Ste-
phano's somewhat compli- for ' t : wit shall not goe un-rewarded while I
cated pun .
am king of this country. ' Steale by line and

241 DOE, DOE, ' go it, go levell ' is an excellent passe of pate ; there's
it,' an e. N. E. use of the im- another garment for ' t.
perative as a word of encour-
agement, cp. "I [ i.e. aye] , doe, persever" Mids. III.2.237 (in N. E.D.). Trinculo helps
on the game with his BY LYNE and levell (i.e. according to plumb-line and level),
which is an e.N.E. expression for ' by rule and line,' N.E. D. 4 b, punning, of course, on
the clothes-line. In e. N. E. "levell " seems also used of the equinox : N. E. D. 8 cites
"the level of the yere " from Elyot's Dictionary ; this would connect Trinculo's jest
with Stephano's. Falstaff alludes to similar authorized stealing in I Hen.4 1.2.32, when
he says that his stealing is countenanced by the moon. 243 King Stephano thanks
his fool for his happy jest, and bestows on him a garment from the royal wardrobe -on
second thoughts, it's worth another. 246 PASSE OF PATE seems to mean ' sally of
wit,' cp. " the able-most For pate, prowes, purse " Sylvester (in Cent. Dict.). But Stephano
may be thinking of a fencing-bout, or possibly of " passe de pied," a step in dancing.
The humour with which Stephano is made to pay on the nail for his court fool's jests
is quite characteristic of his thrifty temper.
166
 THE TEMPEST

248 LIME, originally ' any adhesive substance,' then ' bird-lime,' has become a poetic
word in MN. use ; in e. N. E. " lime-fingered " meant ' thieving,' cp. "an hand pitched : a
theevish hand, or as we say, lime fingred, manus piceata " Baret ; Boorde, Introduction , II.4,
makes his Welshman say,
"My fingres be lymed like a
ACT IV SCENE I 248-261
lyme twig," i.e. 'I ' m a born
thief.' 250 ON, ' of,' cp.
TRINCULO 1.2.87. TIME, ' opportunity,"
Monster, come, put some lime upon your fin- a frequent EL. meaning of
the word, cp. Macb. I.3 . 147.
gers, and away with the rest. 251 BARNACLES, the fa-
CALIBAN bled 'barnacle-geese ' ; Shak-
I will have none on ' t : we shall loose our spere was probably thinking
of Hakluyt's narrative, ' Voy-
time, ages,' 1599, II . 1.63 : " There
And all be turn'd to barnacles , or to apes stand certaine trees upon the
shore of the Irish Sea, bear-
With foreheads villanous low.
ing fruit like unto a gourd,
STEPHANO which do fall into the water
and become birds called ber-
Monster, lay to your fingers : helpe to beare nacles [this is the historical
this away where my hogshead of wine is, or spelling: MN . E. ' barnacles'
is phonetic, representing the
I'le turne you out of my kingdome : goe to,
1. M. E. change of e to a be-
carry this. forer and a consonant] ."
TRINCULO Caliban thinks of the trio as
caught by Prospero's magic
And this.
lime, and has a vision of
STEPHANO himself, his king, and the
fool triced up by their noses
I , and this.
to the boughs of a tree like
A NOYSE OF HUNTERS HEARD : ENTER DIVERS unripe barnacle- geese, or as
SPIRITS IN SHAPE OF DOGS AND HOUNDS HUNT- hanging by their tails like a
ING THEM ABOUT PROSPERO AND ARIEL SET- row of grinning monkeys.
TING THEM ON APE in the 17th century is
PROSPERO the generic name of the mon-
key tribe : its present restric-
Hey, Mountaine, hey ! tion to the tailless apes dates
ARIEL from the 18th century, see
N.E.D. 252 VILLANOUS ,
Silver ! there it goes, Silver !
'wretchedly,' the EL. adverb
PROSPERO without ending ; or perhaps
Fury, Fury ! there, Tyrant, there ! harke ! the doubled adjective idiom ;
see note to III.3.32 . PoorCal-
harke ! iban's sensitiveness to his
CALIBAN STEPHANO AND TRINCULO own low forehead makes him
ARE DRIVEN OUT use the exaggerated epithet.
255 GOE TO, ' get out,' the
rough answer to Caliban's implied grovelling entreaty. Caliban is now overburdened and
at the mercy ofthe hunters. NOYSE means ' cry,' ' clamour,' in e. N. E., cp. I.2.63 . 259 ff.
MOUNTAINE : Oresitrophos, which in EL. dictionaries is translated by " Hilbred," is the
name of one of Acteon's dogs ; SILVER is possibly Leucon (" silver" means ' white' in
e. N. E., cp. Macb. II.3.118) ; FURY may possibly represent Actæon's Aello, the name of
167
 THE TEMPEST

one of the three furies ; and TYRANT may have been suggested by Ovid's Harpalus,
'snatcher,' ' robber,' confused with Harpalus, the name of the King of Thrace, cp . Ovid,
Metamorphoses III.206. The coincidence, if it be not more than coincidence, is interest-
ing ; Shakspere may have read the story at school and recalled the names when writ-
ing a similar scene. ዋ 261
HARKE, not ' listen,' but the
hunter's word of encourage- ACT IV SCENE I 259*-267
ment to hounds, N. E. D. 4;
it is still preserved in ' hark, Goe, charge my goblins that they grinde their
away !' and in the verb ' to
hark back.' joynts
With dry convultions , shorten up their sinewes
259 GRINDE in M. E. and With aged cramps, and more pinch - spotted
e. N. E. sometimes means ' to make them
torment,' N. E. D. 3 ; collo-
quial English preserves this Then pard or cat o ' mountaine.
meaning in ' grind, to annoy,' ARIEL
Cent. Dict. This sense of the
word seems always to have Harke, they rore !
been popular rather than lit- PROSPERO
erary, for this passage of
Let them be hunted soundly. At this houre
Shakspere's is the only
known instance of its use Lies at my mercy all mine enemies :
between the 14th and the Shortly shall all my labours end , and thou
18th century. 260 CON-
VULTIONS is an EL. patho- Shalt have the ayre at freedome : for a little
logical term for ' cramps, Follow, and doe me service.
'tetanus,' N.E.D.2a ; convulsio EXEUNT
is the Latin word for cramp, The text returns to the standard numeration.
cp. "convulsio, a convulsion,
or the cramp " Holyoke ; Boorde, Breviary, E. E.T.S. , p.91 , speaks of cramp as coming
from "a hote cause" and " a colde cause " and from " other causes " : " wet " and " dry"
were probably among these other causes, and Shakspere's epithet an accurate medical
description in the light of the knowledge of his time. SINEWES, ' muscles,' cp. III. I. 26.
$ 261 AGED, ' characteristic of age ' : this word well illustrates the great flexibility of
meaning which the suffix -ed gave in EL. E., cp. " aged eloquence," ' eloquence due to
experience,' Two Gent. III . 1.83 , " aged honor," ' honour bestowed upon old age,' All's W.
1.3.216 ; " Aged contusions," ' injuries old age is liable to,' 2Hen.6 v.3.3 ; "aged night,"
' night of old age,' Rich.3 IV.4.16 ; " aged wrinkles," ' wrinkles that come with old age,'
Titus III.1.7. Shakspere's vocabulary is full of this variety. 262 PARD is the EL.
name of the ' leopard,' cp. Coles, "pard, pardus " (pardus is glossed " libbard " in the
Latin part), and " Leopard of pardos in Greeke, which comes of barudh in Hebrew, i.e.
full of spots " Minsheu. CAT O' MOUNTAINE seems to have been used in the same
way, cp. "the black Moore cannot change his hew, nor the cat of the mountaine her spots "
Gifford, 1598 (in N. E. D. I ) . 263 SOUNDLY : cp. note to II.2.84. AT THIS HOURE :
cp. III.3.24. 264 LIES : cp. I.1.17. 266 AT FREEDOME, ' at liberty,' cp. "Where
I have liv'd at honest freedome " Cym. III.3.71 ; the phrase is not found in N. e. d.

Act IV pictures the final success of all Prospero's plans, but its true dramatic purpose
is to frame the betrothal masque ; Ferdinand's reward and Caliban's punishment aptly
give this setting. There only remains for Prospero to use his triumph over all his enemies
as a means of exercising the spirit of noble forgiveness which he gives expression to
in V.I.20 ff.
168
 THE TEMPEST

THE FIFT ACT

SCENE I : BEFORE PROSPERO'S CELL

ENTER PROSPERO IN HIS MAGICKE ROBES AND ARIEL

I- II
PROSPERO

OW does my project gather to a head :

My charmes cracke not ; my spirits obey ; and
Time

Goes upright with his carriage. How's the day?

ARIEL . On the sixt hower ; at which time, my
lord,
You said our worke should cease.
PROSPERO . I did say so ,
T
When first I rais'd the tempest . Say, my spirit,

How fares the king and ' s followers ?

42 CRACKE : the word here
ARIEL seems to be used with the
Confin'd together meaning of ' break down un-
In the same fashion as you gave in charge, der a strain,' an e . N. E. sense
now obsolete save in horse-
Just as you left them ; all prisoners, sir, training. The earliest in-
stance of it in N.E.D. is dated
In the line-grove which weather-fends your
1658,"theyacted high in some
cell ,
things and soon cracked ," but
They cannot boudge till your release. the adjective "cracked" for
'impaired' is common in the
16th century. SPIRITS, ' sprites.' 3 GOES UPRIGHT is e.N.E. for ' walks erect.' CAR-
RIAGE, ' burden,' a M. E. and e. N.E. meaning of the word, cp. " When our backs be broak
they must take up the carriage" Topsell, 1607 (N. E. D. 18). The difficulty of Prospero's
task is artfully exaggerated. 4 ON seems to mean 'close upon,' but this meaning is not
illustrated in N. E. D. 6 d earlier than the 19th century, a fact which is the more surprising
since "going on," approaching,' is good EL. E., and is still in American colloquial usage
in designations of age. SIXT, the O. E.,M. E., and e. N. E. form of the ordinal ; so " eight"
and "fift," cp. Macb. IV. I. 119 ; ' fifth,' ' sixth,' and ' eighth ' are MN. words, due to the
other ordinals in -th. HOWER: see note to II.2.45. 5 SAY SÓ has EL. stress, cp.
"doe só " 1.2.298. 6 SAY is used in EL. E. in the sense of ' tell me,' cp. 1.2.225. The
verse has the extra syllable before the verse pause common in EL. poetry. 7 AND ' S :
the unstressed pronoun is often thus contracted in EL. E., cp. " I know no more but ' s
action" Jonson's Alchemist IV. 3, and " with his fiddle at ' s back " Knight's Conjuring,
ed. Rimbault, p. 24. FOLLOWERS is syncopated. 8 GAVE IN CHARGE, ' ordered,' 11
' commanded,' though this sense is not in N. E. D., cp. " remember what I gave in charge'
I Hen.6 11.3.1 . 9 The verse, if it is properly punctuated in FO. I , lacks a stressed
169
 1

THE TEMPEST

syllable before the cæsura, i.e. the second half verse begins with an unstressed impulse
despite the fact that the first half closed with one. Various expedients have been re-
1
sorted to to cure the deformity : the earlier Variorum editors, 1803 , 1813 , 1821 , silently
altered the text, removing the " sir" from the end of the line to a place after " them " ;
Pope patched the verse by reading " all your " ; Collier, by "all are." It may be, how-
ever, that the printer's reader of the FO. only transferred the semicolon, placing it before
instead of after " all " ; for ALL in EL. E. sometimes means ' in a body,' as a whole ,' cp.
1.2.338 and II. 1.203 , and Florio's Montaigne, I. 38, " there it is all." Thus taken, Ariel's
words describe the situation of the victims : they are huddled together, dazed and help-
less, as Prospero left them (an intervening visit from Prospero being assumed) ; he adds
his more formal report in PRISONERS, SIR (i.e. being prisoners) , etc. TIO LINE-
GROVE, with EL. stress as in "bróome-gróve," IV. 1.66. Modern editors alter the sense
by changing the comma after CELL to a semicolon. II BOUDGE, a common EL.
spelling of the word, repre-
senting the u sound of its
ACT V SCENE I II -20
vowel (' boodge ') , cp. note to
"ouglier," IV. I. 191. YOUR
RELEASE is now an objec- The king,
tive genitive, but here obvi-
His brother, and yours , abide all three dis-
ously a subjective genitive.
tracted
12 BROTHER seems to be And the remainder mourning over them ,
here shortened to ' broth'r,'
Brim full of sorrow and dismay ; but chiefly
as it was in M. E.; there is
no evidence for the form Him that you term'd, sir, ' The good old lord,
'bro'r' which Walker pro- Gonzallo , '
posed. YOURS : the mention
of Sebastian and Anthonio His teares runs downe his beard , like win-
in this way brings their action ter's drops
into intimate relation with
From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly
Prospero. ABIDE . . DIS-
TRACTED, ' continue mad' ; works ' em
for "abide " in this sense, cp.
That if you now beheld them, your affections
"the town abode Frenche"
Berners's Froissart, 1523 (in Would become tender.
N. E.D.); for " distracted,"
PROSPERO
meaning ' insane,' cp. Macb.
11.3.110. 14 BRIM FULL , Dost thou thinke so , spirit?
cp. "brimme full of venime
against God" Tomson, 1579, ARIEL
and "brim full of feare " in
Oth. 11.3.214 (N.E.D.2 b). Mine would, sir, were I humane.
CHIEFLY, especially.' 15
HIM , the logical accusative as object of the implied ' I mean ' instead of the grammatical
nominative, cp. v.76. The SIR is probably parenthetic in the versification, cp . 1.2.260 :
some editors dock it altogether from the text. ¶ 16 HIS, the EL. E. redundant pronoun, cp.
v. 143. RUNS : modern editors change to ' run, ' cp. I. I. 17. DROPS, ' tears ' : the word
was used absolutely in this sense in e. N. E., cp. 1.2.155 and Macb.1.4.35 ; it also means
'pendant.' The picture is that of a beard glistening with wet and looking like the long
thin icicles that hang on a thatch in winter-time. 17 REEDS, ' thatch,' cp. 1.2.213.
STRONGLY WORKS, ' vehemently agitates,' cp. IV. I. 144. 18 AFFECTIONS in EL .
psychology does duty for MN. E. ' emotions,' ' feelings ,' cp. " warre against your owne
affections" L.L.L. 1.1.9.
170
 THE TEMPEST

21 TOUCH .. OF, ' sympathy with,' an e. N. E. idiom preserved in ' one touch of nature,'
by which is meant ' a common human sympathy,' not ' a realistic representation of nature,'
as it is often explained to mean ; cp. also Macb. IV.2.9. 22 MY SELFE, ' I myself,'
cp. 1.2.434. 23 RELLISH ALL AS SHARPELY, ' have appetites just as keen as theirs,'
"all as " being used in its M. E. and e . N. E. adverbial sense of ' entirely as,' ' quite as.' The
modern editors who remove the comma after " sharpely " entirely miss the sense of the pas-
sage. The psychology is as follows : Appetite, which Prospero implies in his word " rellish,"
is " natural, as appetite of food and drink, sensitive or sensual, and voluntary or intel-
lective. The first is natural ;
the second is inseparable
ACT V SCENE I 20-32 from sense, for where sense
is there is pleasure and pain,
PROSPERO and is divided into two
And mine shall. powers, concupiscible and
irascible." Ariel possesses
Hast thou , which art but aire , a touch , a feeling
neither of these appetites and
Of their afflictions , and shall not my selfe , yet shows sympathy with the
One of their kinde , that rellish all as sharpely , pain of his victims ; how
much more should Prospero
Passion as they , be kindlier mov'd then thou show, who not only has the
art? ' natural appetite of their
kinde,' but also the " sen-
Thogh with their high wrongs I am strook sual " appetite, relishing and
to th ' quick , passioning as they. He has,
moreover, the third, or "in-
Yet with my nobler reason gainst my furie
tellective," appetite, which in
Doe I take part : the rarer action is men curbs the other two ;
In vertue then in vengeance : they being peni- and though suffering by
"irascible " appetite- " anger
tent, is a desire of revenge " -yet
The sole drift of my purpose doth extend with his "intellective " appe-
tite or NOBLER REASON,
Not a frowne further. Goe release them,
which is the desire for the
Ariell :
good -omnia appetunt bonum
-he takes part against his
My charmes I'le breake, their sences I'le
FURIE, seeking bonum rather
restore , than yielding to ira. More-
And they shall be themselves. over, his victims are peni-
ARIEL tent, and his anger can now
be nothing but a desire for
I 'le fetch them , sir. evil ; so he will release the
EXIT prisoners. This psychology
isfoundin Burton's Anatomy
of the Soul, 'Anat. of Mel.' I. I.ii. 8, 9, 10, and the passage shows that Shakspere was
fully conversant with the best philosophy of his time. Prospero's self-analysis is mar-
vellously clear in the light of it. 24 PASSION is used in its wide EL. sense of ' suf-
fering,' cp. " dumblie she passions " Ven.&Ad. 1059. T25 HIGH, ' great,' cp. " high " in the
sense of earnest,' Macb. I.5.21 , and " high respect " ibid. III . 6.29 . STROOK, thee.N.E.form
of the past participle of " strike," cp. Macb.IV.3.225. ¶27 RARER ACTION , ' nobler activ-
ity of the soul' ; for " rarer," cp. III . 1.75. 28 VERTUE is thought of as an active quality
dependent upon the will, cp. ' the principal habits [of the will] are virtue and vice ' Burton,
'Anat. of Mel.' I. I.ii.2 , and ' Phædra confessed to her nurse ' that ' she said well and
true, .. but headstrong passion and fury made her do that which was opposite ' because
171
 THE TEMPEST

'reason was overborne by passion.' But Prospero will force his will to make his ' intel-
lective appetite ' take part against his ' sensual appetite ' for vengeance. 29 SOLE
DRIFT, ' only intention " ; " drift " is now restricted to the sense ' drift of opinion or mean-
ing.' The various botchings
proposed for this passage ACT V SCENE I
are hardly worth mentioning. 33-50
Early editors understood
neither its philosophy nor its PROSPERO
language, and so made havoc
Ye elves of hils , brooks, standing lakes and
of the text. 32 The decep-
tions practised by Prospero groves,
were mere illusions of the And ye that on the sands with printlesse foote
senses, see note to v.66.
Doe chase the ebbing Neptune and doe flie
33 The invocation which him
follows is imitated from Ovid, When he comes backe ; you demy-puppets
'Metamorphoses ' VII . 197- that
206 : Shakspere partly fol-
lows the original, and partly By moone-shine doe the greene sowre ring-
Golding's translation of the lets make ,
passage, ed. 1567, p.83 ; his
Whereof the ewe not bites, and you whose
improvements on Golding,
however, show a fine appre-
pastime
ciation of the meaning of the
Latin words. ELVES is the Is to make midnight-mushrumps , that rejoyce
usual 16th-century transla- To heare the solemne curfewe ; by whose
tion of Latin nymphæ, cp.
ayde,
"nymphæ, elves" Cooper ;
Gavin Douglas in his Æneas, Weake masters though ye be, I have be-
VIII. 6, says that "we call dymn'd
nymphs and faunis fairfolkis
The noone-tide sun , call'd forth the mutenous
and elves" ; Baret enters it
twice in his dictionary, " elfe windes ,
or dwarfe " and "elfes or
And 'twixt the greene sea and the azur'd vault
fairies," and glosses "fairy,"
nymphæ, showing the two Set roaring warre : to the dread ratling
distinct uses of the term . thunder
STANDING LAKES : for
"standing water " as the op- Have I given fire and rifted Jove's stowt oke
posite of" running water," cp. With his owne bolt ; the strong bass'd prom-
II. I. 121 , and for "lakes " in ontorie
the sense of ' pools,' cp. IV. 1
1.183 . 34 YE THAT ON Have I made shake and by the spurs pluckt
THE SANDS, i.e. mermaids or
up
nymphs of the sea, cp. "Or The pyne and cedar : graves at my command
like a nimph with long dishev-
eled heare, Daunce on the Have wak'd their sleepers, op'd, and let ' em
sands and yet no footing forth
seene" Ven.& Ad . 147 (cited
byHalliwell). 36 Prospero, By my so potent art.
having invoked the water-
spirits, turns to those of earth. DEMY- PUPPETS : " demy " is used in e. N. E., and occa-
sionally in MN. E., in the sense of ' diminutive, ' not necessarily of ' half,' and " puppet "
172
 THE TEMPEST

originally meant a ' doll,' then a ' manikin,' so that Shakspere's " demy- puppets " are ' di-
minutive images of human beings,' i.e. fairies. 37 MOONE-SHINE, now obsolete save in
the sense of ' nonsense,' is the regular EL. term for ' moonlight ' : in Mids. III . 1.54, Bottome
แ
excitedly exclaims, " A calender, a calender, looke in the almanack, finde out moone-
shine !"-so "'Twas a moon-shine night" Phr. Gen. s.v.'night.' GREENE SOWRE, ' bitter
green ' : the MN. E. order for such epithets requires the colour name next the noun ; this
word order, and that by which monosyllabic precede polysyllabic adjectives (cp. " calling
upon terrible and strange names of Gods " Plutarch's Crassus, p. 606) , evidently were not
clearly established in Shakspere's time. The reference is to "those dark rings in the
grass which they call fairy circles " More, 1653 (N. E. D. s.v. ' fairy ' ) ; cp. ' these are they
that dance on heaths and greens .. and, as Olaus Magnus adds, leave that green circle
which we commonly find in plain fields, which others hold to proceed from a meteor
falling ' Burton, speaking of terrestrial spirits in ' Anat. of Mel.' I. 2.1.2. Their " bitter-
ness 11 is explained in the next clause -the sheep will not eat them. 38 WHEREOF
THE EWE NOT BITES, ' which the ewe does not nibble at ' : " whereof " is the common
e. N. E. syntax through which the relative adverb takes the place of a relative pronoun ;
"bites of" has its EL. meaning of ' nibble at,' cp. " As gentle Shepheard .. Markes which
doe byte their hasty supper best " Spenser, ' Faerie Queene ' I. 1.23 (in N.E.D.5 ) ; "not "
before the verb is a frequent EL. E. word order, cp. "yet this not hurt their friendship "
Jonson's Sejanus III . I ; " But who not love, not anything suspects " Drayton's Heroicall
Epistles, p. 79 ; and " A suddaine storme .. not suffers him to rule " Drayton's Barrons
Warres IV.85. YOU: the interchange of the older M. E. "ye " and the recently adopted
"you" nominative, like " thou " and " you," is common in EL. E., cp. note to 1.2.1. Pros-
pero now invokes the air-spirits. 39 MIDNIGHT-MUSHRUMPS : it is not our modern
' mushroom ' that Shakspere is referring to, but the ' tree-mushroom ,' or " touchwood,"
as Minsheu says it should properly be called, i.e. fox-fire, fomes ignarius. " Mushrump"
was the common EL. term for fungus,' and hence this application, a modern rendering
of which has caused a deal of puzzlement to editors. The form of the word shows the
development of an unhistoric p after m, and was common in e. N. E., though now lost.
Burton says that fiery spirits work by "fire-drakes " (' will-o'-the-wisps '), or ignes fatui ;
Shakspere takes fox-fire as the result of their machinations. THAT REJOYCE, ' so that
ye rejoice,' the EL. " that " with the common e. N. E. omitted subject idiom ; Shakspere
makes the curfew bell, which rang for the covering of human fires, the signal for the fire-
spirits to kindle their ignes fatui. 40 BY WHOSE AYDE : Prospero here invokes the
aerial spirits which ' cause tempests, thunder and lightnings, tear oaks, strike men and
beasts, .. cause whirlwinds, ' as Burton says ; see also note to 1.2.301 ff. Prospero has
lumped the spirits of fire and the spirits of air together, which Burton sharply distin-
guishes from one another ; his demonology probably follows some source where these
two orders were classed together, for he also makes Ariel, whom he calls a spirit of the
air, assume the form of St. Elmo's fire, which is properly the prerogative of a fire-spirit ;
cp. note to 1.2.200. 41 The peculiar use of MASTERS here has caused difficulty.
Hanmer read ' ministers ' ; Kinneas, ' motives.' Shakspere, however, is merely reflecting
the Platonic doctrine of spirits and daimones : " Plato in Critias, and after him his
followers, gave out [ i.e. maintained] that these spirits or devils were .. our lords and
masters, as we are of our cattle " (Burton). The same notion appears in Macb. IV. 1.63 ,
where the witches speak of their masters : but in this instance there seems to be a con-
fusion in making apparitions "masters" ; possibly, however, the apparitions were thought
of as spirits, and as spirits called " masters." Prospero reflects the medieval Christian
demonology, which supposed all magic spirits to be forms of the devil, who in these
thousand various shapes goes about as yet unconfined, but ultimately to be confined to
hell and darkness (Matt. XXV). There seems to be also a reflection in " weake masters "
of Dici non potest quam impotenti ardore in homines dominium . . affectent, cited by
Burton, Anat., 1.2.i.2 ; all through the medieval literature of demonology (and it was
173
 THE TEMPEST

not fable to the wise men of Shakspere's day - Burton believed in it, and so did Bacon)
there is involved the notion that these lords and masters of men have no real power, and
only by the individual's consent to their wickedness can gain real mastery over him.
BEDY MN'D THE noone-tide suN, i.e. by sudden flaws and tempests. 43 GREENE,
a common sea epithet in EL. literature, cp. note to Macb. 11.2.63 ; how common it
is is shown by the stress "gréene sea," as if it were a compound noun. AZUR'D, ‘ azure-
coloured ,' a common EL. adjective, —see the numerous citations in N. E. D. , - and no mistake
for 'azure,' as some modern editors assume. 45 OKE : the modern form of this word
retains the oa spelling ; that of ' smoke ' - cp. Macb.I.2.18 - ignores it. 46 HÍS ÓWNE,
the usual EL. stress, cp. I.2. 167. BASS and " base " are not distinguished by different
forms in e. N. E., cp. note to III.3.99 ; " strong bass'd promontorie " is Ovid's viva saxa.
47 SPURS : the word occurs also in Cym . IV.2.58, "I do note That greefe and patience,
rooted in them both, Mingle their spurres together," and evidently describes the large
lateral roots of an oak, though the word does not appear in EL. dictionaries in this sense,
nor has it yet been noted elsewhere in EL. literature. But there is a word in EL.E.,
" spurn," probably connected with O. E. spurnan, ' to strike with the feet,' ' to stumble
over' ; cp. " their root with long and mighty spurns to grapple with the land " Drayton's
Polyolbion XXII , p. 1104 (cited by Nares). The word " spurn " is also in MN. dialect use
in Shropshire for the lateral roots of a tree ; but Shakspere's form, " spurs," is also
extant in Northamptonshire ( Baker). In Shakspere's day, therefore, it is likely that
there were two forms of the
11
word, " spur" and " spurn,"
ACT V SCENE I 50-57
for these long lateral roots
which one stumbled over.
But this rough magicke
50 BUT THIS : Prospero
I heere abjure, and when I have requir'd
is only invoking the presence Some heavenly musicke , which even now I do,
of the spirits to witness his
abjuration and to furnish the To worke mine end upon their sences — that
heavenly music that is to
This ayrie-charme is for - I ' le breake my
break his spell. There is no
necessity for any verb to staffe,
express his former
purpose, Bury it certaine fadomes in the earth ,
and the latter is expressed And deeper then did ever plummet sound
in v.52. ROUGH , ' violent,'
'swaying by force alone ' ; I 'le drowne my booke.
cp."his nature, never knowne
before But to be rough, unswayable, and free " Cor. V.6.25. The notion of the persuasive
magic of music is already in Prospero's mind. 51 REQUIR'D in EL. E. means merely
' asked for as a favour,'not necessarily as a right, ' cp. Macb. III.4.6. 53 THAT, etc.:
clearly an anacoluthon, though not so marked by modern editors ; FO. I cuts off by
commas, cp. 1.2.29. $ 54 AYRIE-CHARME, charm of the aerial spirits ; the charm
immediately follows in the action after v.57 , and before the music sounds, Prospero
drawing his magic circle with his wand. STAFFE, the magic wand. 55 CERTAINE,
used in its now obsolete sense of ' a certain number' (definite, but not specified) ; cp.
"you abuse the people for certain years " citation dated 1582 in N. E.D. 7 c.

In the following stage direction the word BEFORE is used in its M. E. and e. N. E. sense of
' at the head of a series .' FRANTICKE, ' mad,' ' insane,' not the MN . E. meaning. 58
COMFORTER, ' cordial,' ' restorative,' an e. N. E. meaning now obsolete ; cp. "the same
comforter.. prepared by the apothecaries " citation dated 1563 in N.E. D.3. 59 FANCIE :
madness being a disease of the imagination . CURE : music as a cure for madness was
well known in Shakspere's time ; David driving away evil spirits from Saul, in Samuel XVI ,
174
 THE TEMPEST

was, of course, a common instance ; Elisha calling for the minstrel, in 2 Kings III , was
construed as another ; Asclepiades was reported to have helped frantic persons by this
means, phreneticorum mentes morbo turbatas, —mentes turbatas is Shakspere's " unsetled
fancie" ; any treatise de mania would furnish other examples. THY : Prospero is address-
ing Alonso, who, with Gonzalo, comes in first, according to the stage direction. He
turns to the others in v.73 . Many editors have fallen into confusion by not noticing
this, and have proposed emending "thy " to ' your.' 60 BOILE : in M. E. and e. N. E. the
relative is frequently omitted where in MN. E. it is required to make sense ; cp. Macb.
V.7.7, and "There are many horses found that are taught .. to run upon any man shall
offer to draw a naked sword upon them " Florio's Montaigne 1.48 ; " I have seen one that
was sick of a sleeping disease could not be made wake " Sidney's Arcadia, p. 167 ; " The
way is danger leadeth to thy cell " Drayton's Legend of the Duke of Normandy ; and
"Dame Beauties reply to the Lover late at liberty and now complaineth himself to be
her captive" title of a song
in Robinson's Handefull of
ACT V SCENE I 58-64 Pleasant Delites, Spenser
Soc., p. 15. The idiom has
Solemne musicke
been recognized by gramma-
HEERE ENTERS ARIEL BEFORE : THEN ALONSO rians, but Shakspere editors
WITH A FRANTICKE GESTURE ATtended by GON- usually infer that instances
ZALO : SEBASTIAN AND ANTHONIO IN LIKE MAN- of it are printer's errors be-
causetheydo not make MN.E.
NER ATTENDED BY ADRIAN AND FRANCISCO : THEY sense. Rowe's ' boiled ' is
ALL ENTER THE CIRCLE WHICH PROSPERO HAD followed in most modern
MADE AND THERE STAND CHARM'D : WHICH PROS- texts ; other botches are
PERO OBSERVING SPEAKES 'Fancy ! sure ' for "fancie
cure," 'braines that ' for
A solemne ayre and the best comforter "braines," now useless coil'
To an unsetled fancie cure thy braines, (a biological suggestion ! ) ,
Now uselesse , boile within thy skull ! There boiling in,' ' bound within,
etc. They which are most
stand , staid and patient are furi-
For you are spell -stopt. ously carried headlong bythe
passion of sorrow ; geus,
Holy Gonzallo , honourable man, impatient of sorrow for his
Mine eyes, ev'n sociable to the shew of thine, son's death, drowned him-
self,' says Burton. He de-
Fall fellowly drops. scribes the fury of this vio-
lent sorrow as a grievous
torment causing madness, -distraction he calls it, —and says that it often affects whole
cities : 'How were we affected here in England for our Titus, delicia humani generis, Prince
Henry's immature death ' (see Introduction, p. x). It is this violent passion in Alonso,
rendered more violent by Ariel's agency, that causes his brains to boil within his skull.
The phrase is not uncommon in EL. E. for violent passion : lust ' boils ' in Chaucer, one's
heart ' boils' in Udall, an attempt ' boils ' in Milton, cp. N. E. D. 3 ; and we still say one's
blood boils. In the phraseology of medieval psychology, ' if the brains be hot the animal
spirits will be hot, and thence comes madness ' -"that way madness lies," as Lear says
in III.4.21 . 62 HOLY, ' venerable ' : O. E., M. E., and e. N. E. , " holy " denotes a high degree
of moral purity and excellence, but not necessarily ' sanctified.' 63 SOCIABLE, ' com-
panionable ' : " society " means ' company ' in e . N. E., cp. " society or company, societas,"
"to keep familiar society with .. see to keep company with " Phr. Gen., and see Macb.
III.4.3 ; hence the peculiar meaning of the adjective. SHEW, ' outward appearance' ;
cp. "their virtue only is [i.e. consists entirely in] their show" Sonn. LIV. 9. EV'N
175
 THE TEMPEST

probably goes with "to the shew," cp. note to II.1.235. 64 FALL is a transitive verb
in e. N. E. meaning ' to drop ' or ' shed,' and " to fall tears " is a common idiom, cp. N. E. D.
FELLOWLY, ' sympathetic,' an adjective form ( = fellow-like) current from the 15th to
the 17th century, and still found in dialect English, N. E. D. 2. Early editors changed it
arbitrarily to 'fellow-drops.'
The rhythm here is peculiarly ACT V SCENE I 64-7 I
graphic.

66 RISING SENCES, etc.: The charme dissolves apace,

the figure here depends for And as the morning steales upon the night,
its point upon an under-
Melting the darkenesse , so their rising sences
standing of Elizabethan psy-
chology such as is found in Begin to chace the ignorant fumes that mantle
Burton's Anatomy of the
Their cleerer reason . O good Gonzallo ,
Soul, ' Anat. of Mel.' I.I.ii.
The 'Sensible Soul ' (the My true preserver , and a loyall sir
'Rational Soul,' divided into To him thou follow'st ! I will pay thy graces
the understanding and the
will, is the other member of Home both in word and deede.
the distinction) consists of
the ' outward senses ' (MN . E. ' sensation ' ) and the ' inner senses,' namely Common Sense,
Phantasy, and Memory. The Common Sense is the moderator of the outward senses,
' and by it we discern all differences of objects ,' the outward senses bringing the species
to be 'censured ' (i.e. to have opinion passed upon them) ; Phantasy, or Imagination,
more fully examines these species and keeps them before the mind, recalling those of
the past and making them over anew ; Memory lays up the species which the senses
have brought before the mind, and records them so that they may be forthcoming when
called for by Phantasy and Reason (cp. Macb.1.7.65) . It was a power of spirits to
'deceive all the senses' Burton, ' Anat. of Mel.' I. 2. i. 2. Ferdinand, in 1.2.486 , analyzes
the working of Prospero's magic by saying that his ' senses are bound up' as in a dream ,
and it is evident that Shakspere conceived of the charm's effect as being a sort of waking
sleep, enlarging it to a view of life in IV. I. 151 ff. Now sleep in this psychology is a
binding up of the outward senses and of the Common Sense, while Phantasy and his com-
mander Reason are left free, ' as appears from those imaginary dreams, natural, divine,
demoniacal,' etc. This binding of the senses proceeds from an inhibition of the spirits
(" my spirits are all bound up," says Ferdinand), the way being stopped by which these
nimble spirits in the arteries" (cp. Macb. 1.7.64 and 1.2.307) should come. This stoppage
is caused by vapours (Shakspere calls them " fumes " here and in Macb.I.7.66) which
fill the nerves by which the spirits must be conveyed ; when these vapours or fumes are
spent the passage is open and the spirits perform their accustomed duties. Waking is
the action [ i.e. activity] and motion [ i.e. movement] of the senses. Prospero's victims
are now awaking ; the fumes have mantled the clearer reason like a mist or cloud, caus-
ing ignorance, and their senses are now rising like the morning sun to dispel those mists.
67 CHACE, ' dispel,' a meaning now archaic. IGNORANT, ' causing ignorance,' illus-
trating an EL. use of the word, cp. Macb. 1.5.58. MANTLE is used in e. N. E. of the cover-
ing of mists, cp. " night's mantle " I Hen.6 II.2. I , 3 Hen.6 IV. 2. 22 , Rom. &Jul. III.2 . 15 , and
"morn's rosy mantle " Ham. I. I.166 ; cp., too, Milton's beautiful figure describing the
light, "And at the voice Of God, as with a mantle, didst invest The rising world of waters
dark and deep" ' Paradise Lost ' III . 10. The explanation ' cover with a scum ' is there-
fore erroneous . $ 68 CLEERER REASON, either ' clearer than their senses ' or ' begin-
ning to become more clear.' "The charme .. reason 11 is really an aside, as is " There
stand, For you are spell-stopt " in vv. 60 , 61. Ó GOOD GONZÁLLO seems to be the stress,
the missing impulse after " reason " being supplied by a pause. ¶69 SIR, ' lord,' a M.E.
176
 THE TEMPEST

sense of the word still extant in e. N. E., cp. " a proud and spangled sir" 'Cynthia's Revells '
III.4 (ed. 1640, p. 184) . 70 GRACES in the M. E. sense of favours,' cp. Macb. 111.5.31 .
471 HOME, thoroughly,' as frequently in EL. E., cp. "trusted home " Macb. 1.3. 120,
"a game play'd home " Wint.T. 1.2.248, and " to know Her estimation home " All's W.
V.3.4 ; the adverb is now
confined to notions of mo-
ACT V SCENE I 71-82
tion, and usually suggests
the noun ' home.'
Most cruelly
Did thou , Alonso , use me and my daughter : 72 DID : the third-person
form and that of the second
Thy brother was a furtherer in the act— person are often confused in
Thou art pinch'd for ' t now, Sebastian . Flesh e. N. E., cp. Macb. V.5.39 ;
and bloud, here the printer set the catch-
word " didst " at the foot of
You, brother mine , that entertaine ambition , the preceding page. USE,
'treat,' a sense now confined
Expell'd remorse and nature ; whom , with
to phrases like ' to use one
Sebastian,
badly.' 73 THY BROTHER :
Whose inward pinches therefore are most Prospero turns to Sebas-
tian. 74 THOU ART, prob-
strong, ably 'thou ' rt,' a common
Would heere have kill'd your king, I do for- contraction. PINCH , in the
sense of 'distress,''torment,'
give thee,
is now confined to such
Unnaturall though thou art. Their under- notions as ' poverty.' FLESH
standing AND BLOUD : Prospero now
addresses Anthonio ; ' though
Begins to swell, and the approching tide you were my flesh and
Will shortly fill the reasonable shore blood,' a peculiar EL. use
That now ly foule and muddy. of the appositive construc-
tion due to the omission of
"being," cp. "As being got, your father then in France " Rich.3 III.7.10. 75 EN-
TERTAINE of FO. I was changed by succeeding FOS. to ' entertained,' a reading fol-
lowed by all modern editors : but the present is much more forcible, since Anthonio still
entertains ambition , which has been the means through which Ariel has wrought his mad-
ness ; ambition is a recognized cause of insanity in EL. psychology, and is called a ' gal-
lant madness ,' cp. ' Anat. of Mel.' I.2 . iii. II ; he is the only one in the company who is not
wholly cured, but remains sullen and sulky until the end of the play ; there is a peculiar
fitness, therefore, in the " entertaine." 76 REMORSE, pity,' ' compassion, ' a common
e. N. E. sense of the word. NATURE, ' human sympathy,' cp. "Stop up .. the passage to
remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose " Macb. I.5.45.
WHOM , the connective relative, ' though you ' ; it is changed to ' who ' by all modern
editors, but the accusative is probably what Shakspere wrote. These instances of antici-
pation in the connective relative of the case of the dominant notion of the context- here
it is "I do forgive thee "-are sometimes found in good EL. E. (see Spies, ' Zur Gesch.
des engl. Pron.,' p. 209), despite their violation of formal grammar. Another occurs in
v. 136, where succeeding FOS. alter " whom " to ' who ,' and another in III.3.53 , where, as
here, the idiom is made clear by repeating the pronoun. The FO. punctuates with comma
after " nature" and colon after " king," indicating an attempt to construe the " I do for-
give thee " as an anacoluthon, the punctuation employed for III.3.53. $ 77 PINCHES,
' pangs ' ; cp. v.74, and "the pinching cares and griefs of mind " Alvearie. Sebastian has
not expelled " nature," and his compunction is evident. 79 Shakspere again shows
177
 THE TEMPEST

intimate acquaintance with EL. psychology : the UNDERSTANDING has been at an ebb,
'for there can be nothing in the understanding that was not first in the sense,' and their
senses have been bound up. A part of the understanding is conscience, the dictamen
rationis,- Burton notes that ' our divines hold that the conscience is rather in the under-
standing than in the will, -and it is Sebastian's compunction, which Prospero notices,
that gives the evidence of his returning understanding. 80 SWELL is frequently used
of the rising tide in EL. E., and Shakspere has a notion like this in 2 Hen.4 11.3.6311, where
he says, "It is with my minde As with the tyde swell'd up unto his height.' 81
REASONABLE SHORE, another of the sea-coast pictures abounding in The Tempest.
REASONABLE , ' belonging to reason,' ' rational,' cp. " reasonable creature " Ado I. 1.71 ;
the 'Reasonable Soul, Burton says, embraces both the understanding and the will , the
one of which is ' the rational power apprehending,' the other ' the rational power moving.'
Similar notions occur in Tro.&Cr., where, in II.2.64, the will and judgement are spoken
of as two shores, and in II.3.260 wisdom is called a shore. SHORE .. LY, the EL. sin-
gular subject and plural verb, changed in FOS. 3 and 4 to 'shore .. lies,' followed by
many editors, including the Cambridge Text, and by Malone to ' shores . . lie,' followed
by other modern editors. But FO. I is right as it stands, the general and singular notion
being in the subject, the par-
ticular and plural in the verb. ACT V SCENE I 82-94
82 NOT One of them,
'there is not one of them,' Not one of them
the EL. idiom by which the That yet lookes on me , or would know me :
subject and copula must be Ariell ,
supplied, cp. 1.2.398 . The
rising tide is only beginning : Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell :
Ariel supplies more music. I will discase me , and my selfe present ,
85 DISCASE is used in
Wint.T. IV. 4. 648 also for As I was sometime , Millaine : quickly, spirit ;
takingoff one's outerraiment, Thou shalt ere long be free.
"discase thee instantly."
ARIELL SINGS AND HELPS TO ATTIRE HIM
PRESENT, ' act the part of,'
as Ariel presented Ceres. Where the bee sucks, there suck 1:
88ff. The song that follows In a cowslip's bell I lie;
was set to music , probably There I cowch when owles doe crie.
in Shakspere's time, by R.
Johnson (see p.53) , and it On the batt's backe I doe flie
likewise is printed in Wil-
son's collection (see facsim- After summer merrily.
ile in Furness's Variorum). Merrily, merrily shall I live now
SUCKS is the regular English Under the blossom that hangs on the bow .
word for taking honey, cp.
e. N. E. " honey-suck," ' honey gathered by bees ' ; "honey-suckle," " any flower from which
bees suck honey' ; " honey-suckers," ' small birds that feed on honey.' Ariel's dainty fare
was objected to by Theobald on the ground that, being a spirit, Ariel could not feed, and
he emended " sucks " to ' lurks ' (this unhappy emendation still remains in musical ver-
sions of the song). But the authorities on spirits in Shakspere's time were not so
positive about their nature as was Theobald : that ' spirits are corporeal, have aerial
bodies, .. and are nourished' was ' a thesis maintained by Origen, Tertullian , Lactantius,
and many learned doctors,' see ' Anat. of Mel.' I.2.i.2 ; Shakspere's psychology is there-
fore quite orthodox. 89 LIE, ' lodge,' ' dwell,' the EL. sense of the word. BELL has
also been objected to, as the cowslip has no ' bell ' : ' Ariel should have said corolla '
(unknown to English in this sense before the middle of the 18th century) . But " bell "
178
 THE TEMPEST

in e. N. E. is the general term for ' flower-cup,' cp. " bid them hither cast Their bels and
flourets " Milton, Lycidas ' 135 ; " Dewdrops on the bells of flowers " Blair, ' Grave,' 1642
(N. E. D. 4). Ariel lodges like the elves, who, in Mids. II. 1.31 , " Creepe into acorne cups
and hide them there." 90 COWCH is e. N. E. for ' lie concealed ,' N.E. D. Shakspere is
fond of associating the owl with midnight tragedy. T91 BATT'S BACKE : the full stress
upon the first word may be due to analogy with ' horseback ' (which is an old genitive ,
'horse's back ') , for we should expect " batt's bácke." The normal stress for an attri-
bute followed by a nominal notion is " ' : when the connection is loose the MN. E. stress
is generally level, ' ' ; but in M. E. and e. N. E. the stress is sometimes ' ", see Chaucer's Pro-
logue, Knightes Tale, and Nonnes Prestes Tale, Introduction , § 253 , and Introduction to
the Scientific Study of Poetry, p . 265. We have already had " king's sónne " 1.2.221 , and
"king's ship " 1.2.226. The bat was reckoned among birds in e. N. E., see N. E.D.; Ben
Jonson speaks of it as "the bird of twilight " in ' New Inn ' III. I ; to think of it as a bird
of passage is therefore not such a violent notion as at first appears. But Shakspere
probably means only that the bat is Ariel's post-horse, and that he chases summer through
the world. The passage has been much discussed : Theobald's emendation, ' sunset'
for " summer," gives nice point to the thought but makes cacophonous rhythm, for the
break between ' sunset ' and " merrily" is exceedingly awkward. It may be that " After
summer merrily" goes with what follows and that the point belongs after "flie " : "Chas-
ingsummermerrily I shalllive
now under,' etc.; Ariel has
ACT V SCENE I 95-103 been confined to the island
for the winter : he will now
PROSPERO follow summer through the
Why, that's my dainty Ariell ! I shall misse world. Against this stands R.
Johnson's scoring, which fol-
thee, lows the FO. text in making
But yet thou shalt have freedome : so , so , so. "After summer " go with
"flie." 494 BOW is an
To the king's ship, invisible as thou art :
early- 17th-century spelling of
There shalt thou finde the marriners asleepe 'bough ' ; the words are given
Under the hatches ; the master and the boat- as having like sound in Coles.
In e.N.E.ou from M. E. ū (the
swaine
vowel in "bough ") rhymed
Being awake, enforce them to this place , with ow, ou, from M.E. ou, and
this probably led to the confu-
And presently, I pre'thee. sion. The diphthongs were
ARIEL subsequently differentiated .
I drinke the aire before me , and returne
$ 95 DAINTY, besides mean-
Or ere your pulse twice beate . ing 'fond of comforts,' de-
EXIT notes 'delicate in health ,' and
there is, perhaps, a laughing
jest in Prospero's words that this spirit of the tempest should loathe the winter-time.
THEE is printed as the beginning of v.96 in FO.I. 96 SO, SO, SO : this triple ejacu-
lation, probably with falling tones, is used by Shakspere to express final but weary acqui-
escence when Lear says to Kent, " draw the curtaines : so, so, wee ' l go to supper i'th'
morning" III.6.89 ; cp. our modern ' yes, yes, yes.' Ariel is helping Prospero to dress,
and the personal contact with the sweet and dainty spirit is making him feel his prospec-
tive loss keenly. 97 INVISIBLE, syncopated as in 1.2.302. 99 MASTER .. AWAKE,
i.e. 'wake them and ,' the EL. absolute construction. 100 ENFORCE, ' drive,' cp. " if we
be enforced by contrary windes " Hakluyt, 1600 (N. E. D. 7). 101 PRESENTLY, ' imme-
diately.' PRE'THEE : the FO.'S printing marks the lack of stress in " pray." ዋ 102
179
 THE TEMPEST

DRINKE : in e. N. E. the word meant ' inhale,' hence the e. N. E. phrase " drink tobacco,"
cp. "his nostrils drinke the aire " Ven.&Ad . 273, and " What he breaths out his breath
drinks up again " Lucr. 1666. Ariel will breathe once and be back again : his quickness
is, of course, exaggerated, —
he returns at v. 216. 103
OR ERE, the e. N. E. doubled ACT V SCENE I 104-120
" ere," cp. I. 2. II.
GONZALO
104 ALL had in M. E. the All torment , trouble , wonder and amazement
meaning of ' all kinds of,'
Inhabits heere : some heavenly power guide us
and this meaning survived
in e. N.E. TROUBLE, ' pain.' Out of this fearefull country!
In e.N.E. WONDER some-
PROSPERO
times means ' monstrosity,'
and AMAZEMENT connotes Behold, sir king,
the notion of ' dazed terror.'
The wronged Duke of Millaine, Prospero :
The King James version
aptly renders the TTónov of For more assurance that a living prince
I Peter III.6 by "not afraid Does now speake to thee, I embrace thy body ;
with any amazement," while
the MN. E. version has to be And to thee and thy company I bid
content with ' put in fear A hearty welcome.
by any terror.' ¶ 105 IN- ALONSO
HABITS, ' dwells,' the usual
EL. meaning, cp. Macb. III. Where thou beest he or no,
4.105 ; here we have again Or some inchanted triffle to abuse me,
the singular verb with the
plural subject, cp. I. I. 17 ; for As late I have beene , I not know : thy pulse
some reason, modern editors Beats as of flesh and blood ; and, since I saw
in this instance allow it to
thee,
stand. 106 SIR KING is
not ironical, but merely ' my Th' affliction of my minde amends , with
lord the king.' 108 MORE, which ,
'further,' a M. E. and e. N. E.
sense of the word . ASSUR- I feare , a madnesse held me : this must crave,
ANCE in MN. E. connotes And if this be at all, a most strange story.
subjective certainty, in e.N.E. Thy dukedome I resigne and doe entreat
it connoted objective cer-
tainty also, and was tanta- Thou pardon me my wrongs. But how shold
mount to ' evidence,' cp. I.2. Prospero
45; "for assurance," there-
fore, meant ' to make sure,' Be living and be heere?
cp. Mids. III . 1.21 and Tam.
of Shr. V.2.65. III WHERE, ' whether, ' a common EL. contraction, cp. note to Macb.
IV.2.73. BEEST , monosyllabic, as usual. 112 INCHANTED TRIFFLE (FO. has "triflle,"
which occurs also in Coles, and was probably due to the fact that fl was a single type.
"Triffle " is either a short-vowel form of the word still surviving from M. E., or due to a
retention of one of the M. B. spellings), ' phantom produced by enchantment ' ; the original
sense of ' trifle ' is ' jest,' ' trick,' ' cheat,' ' fraud,' and this meaning survived into e. N. E.,
cp. " In love, too, with a trifle to abuse me " Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca V. II
(cited by Staunton). ABUSE, ' deceive ' ; cp. " Abuses me to damne me " Ham.II.2.632,
and Macb. II . 1.50. 113 NOT KNOW : cp. v. 38. 115 AFFLICTION : cp. Macbeth's
"affliction of these terrible dreames " III.2. 18. WITH WHICH , ' by which ' : Alonso's
180
 THE TEMPEST

madness was induced by sorrow, see note to v. 60. 116 MUST CRAVE, ' will demand ' :
for " must " expressing a concomitant necessity, cp. " I beare a charmed life which must
not yield" Macb. V.7.41 , and for e. N. E. " crave " meaning ' demand,' cp. Macb. III. I. 34.
117 AND IF, the EL. strong form of ' if.' 118 RESIGNE in e. N. E. is sometimes equiv-
alent to 'renounce claim to ' ;
120-134 cp. " ejuro, to resigne, re-
ACT V SCENE I
nounce" Cooper. 119 MY
WRONGS, the subjective
PROSPERO genitive use of the personal
First, noble frend, pronoun ; cp. " their high
wrongs" v. 25. SHOLD, ' is it
Let me embrace thine age, whose honor can- possible' ; cp. note to 1.2.387.
not
121 EMBRACE, ' salute,'
Be measur'd or confin'd .
'welcome,' with play on no-
GONZALO tion of ' encompassing,' cp.
Whether this be v.214. 122 THIS may
mean ' this man ' ; cp. note to
Or be not, I 'le not sweare. II.1.232. 123 TASTE is
PROSPERO quite generally used in EL. E.
You doe yet taste as in M. E. for ' experience '
in general : we have " taste
Some subtleties o ' th ' isle, that will not let you grief " Ado V. I. 22 and Rich.2
11
III. 2. 176, " taste mercy'
Beleeve things certaine . Wellcome , my friends
Hen.5 IV.7.68, " taste folly "
all ! Lear II.4.294. There may
ASIDE TO SEBASTIAN AND ANTHONIO be a reference in SUBTLE-
But you , my brace of lords , were I so minded, TIES, as Steevens thought,
to the illusionary pastry
I heere could plucke his highnesse frowne devices called " subtleties "
upon you which were part of an EL.
banquet. 124 NOT: the
And justifie you traitors : at this time I FO. prints " nor," but r for t
Will tell no tales. is a common misprint in EL.
SEBASTIAN texts, cp. note to III. I. 47.
ASIDE 125 MY FRIENDS ÁLL
seems to be the stress, i.e.
The divell speakes in him. 'you are all my friends.'
PROSPERO 126 There is a comma
after "all" in FO. I and BUT
No :
may mean ' save.' The ' aside,'
For you , most wicked sir, whom to call bro- etc., was added by Johnson.
ther BRACE : there is humorous
contempt in the word, al-
Would even infect my mouth , I do forgive
most as if Prospero had
Thy rankest fault -all of them ; and require called Sebastian and Antho-
nio a pair of woodcocks.
My dukedome ofthee , which perforce, I know, 127 PLUCKE, ' draw down,'
Thou must restore.
cp. "apostasie, which plucked
this distruction upon him"
Purchas, p . 357 (in Cent. Dict.) . HIGHNESSE : for this possessive form see note to II.1.133 .
128 JUSTIFIE in e. N. E. means ' prove,' N. E. D.5 ; the word has an ugly association
meaning also ' punish.' FO.I prints I at the beginning of v. 129, but this is probably
181
 THE TEMPEST

a printer's error, --see note to v.95, -for " át this time " would be curious stress even in
EL. E. The verse has the frequent extra impulse before the middle pause and the end
pause after it gives the rhythm the significance of a warning. 129 DIVELL, monosyl-
labic, cp. 1.2.215. SPEAKES ÍN HÍM , the e. N. E. adverb stress. NO has been changed
to ' now' by some editors, and omitted altogether by others on the ground that Shak-
spere could not make Prospero answer a palpable aside without offending dramatic pro-
prieties. It is followed by a colon in FO. I. The word, however, is probably the con-
tinuation of Prospero's thought before it was interrupted by his aside to Sebastian and
Anthonio, and introduces the especial exclusion of Anthonio, whom Prospero forgives,
but will not call " even " brother, much less friend : ' No : not all my friends. 130 FOR
is sometimes used both as a connective and as a preposition in the sense of ' as for,' cp.
" For [i.e. but as regards] this
new-maried man ... you must
pardon For Mariana's sake " ACT V SCENE I 134-144
Meas.V. I.405. 131 EVEN
mayqualify "to call brother," ALONSO
-cp. v. 63, -and, taken this If thou beest Prospero ,
way, makes the connection
closer. INFECT, ' poison ,' Give us particulars of thy preservation ;
N. E. D. I b ; it also meant How thou hast met us heere, whom three
'make particeps criminis ' in howres since
EL. E., see N. E.D. 6. 132
FAULT, somewhat stronger Were wrackt upon this shore ; where I have
in EL. than in MN. E., and lost-
often tantamount to ' crime,'
N. E.D. 5. ALL OF THEM : How sharp the point of this remembrance
the broken construction may is !-
possibly connect with " Well My deere sonne Ferdinand.
come .. all," ' rankest ' being
monosyllabic and the rhythm PROSPERO
like that of I. 2. 301. Pros- I am woe for 't, sir.
pero forgives Anthonio, but
ALONSO
will not trust him , and there
is no evidence of a rapproche- Irreparable is the losse, and patience
ment between the brothers
from this time on . Prospero Saies it is past her cure .
does not again address him, PROSPERO
and Anthonio, save for his I rather thinke
sneer at Caliban in v.265, You have not sought her helpe , of whose soft
remains dumb and sullen to
the end.
grace
For the like losse I have her soveraigne aid
135 PARTICULARS, syn-
copated to ' partic'lars ,' the And rest my selfe content.
u not yet having become iu,
cp. 1.2.92 . 136 WHOM : modern editors change to 'who,' but cp. v.76. THREE HOWRES
SINCE, a time note giving unity to the play. 137 WRACKT , the e.N.E. spelling, cp. 1.2.26.
138 POINT OF THIS REMEMBRANCE : Alonso's words have a double meaning, for
" point" means ' cause ,' ' occasion, ' in e. N. E. , cp. Macb. III . 1.86. 139 I AM WOE is a
late M. E. idiom, originally " woe is me " (i.e. to me, the M. E. dative) , which survived into
e. N. E. 142 HER HELPE : there is, of course, a pretty reference to Miranda, now
Alonso's daughter. SOFT GRACE, ' gentle favour ' : " soft " is frequently used in the sense
of ' mild,' ' gentle,' in e. N. E. 143 HER, the common M. E. and e. N. E. redundant pronoun
182
 THE TEMPEST

in a relative clause ; cp. v. 16. In e. N. E. SOVERAIGNE still retained some of its M.E.
sense of ' best remedial agency,' ," most efficacious.' 144 REST MY SELFE : in e. N. E.
this idiom is used with a light force, almost like MN. E. ' am ' ; cp. " we rest your ermites "
เ
Macb.1.6.20. CONTENT in e. N. E. often means ' satisfied in mind,' cp. " Good mother, be
content" Rich. 2 V.2.82 . The medical turn of this graceful speech may be a reminiscence
of a similar event in Shak-
spere's own life, when he
ACT V SCENE I 144-152
'lost his daughter,' Susanna,
to the physician, John Hall,
ALONSO on June 5, 1607.
You the like losse !
145 AS GREAT TO ME AS
PROSPERO LATE, ' quite as great and
quite as recent ' ; cp. II.1.237.
As great to me as late ; and , supportable SUPPORTÁBLE is appar-
To make the deere losse, have I meanes ently an EL. stress : Spenser
much weaker has "insupportable " in the
'Faerie Queene ' 1.7 . II , but
Then you may call to comfort you , for I
in Shakspere the instances in
Have lost my daughter. verse speak for " insuppórta-
ble." "Détestáble " is well
ALONSO established for EL. E., cp .
A daughter ? John III. 4. 29, Rom.&Jul.
IV.5.56, and ibid. V.3.45 ; " Go
Oh heavens , that they were living both in 11
forth, thou détestable sprite
Naples, Heywood's Thyestes, Spen-
ser Soc., 1.45 ; and " So be-
The king and queene there ! that they were,
I wish yond détestable " Middleton,
Mayor of Queenborough
My selfe were mudded in that oozie bed II.3 ; so " ácceptable " was
the standard stress in e. N. E.,
Where my sonne lies . When did you lose and has been displaced only
your daughter? in recent English, see N. E. D.
A number of similar words in
1. M. E. and e. N. E. still retained the original stress with which they were borrowed from
O. FR. Many attempts have been made to escape the unusual form : ' insupportable '
of FOS. 3 and 4 (utter nonsense) is followed by many ; Capell added ' sir' after " late " ;
Steevens's ' portable ' for " supportable," on the authority of Lear III.6.115 , is perhaps
the best of these. 146 DEERE : for spelling, cp. III. 1.52, and for meaning, cp. note
to II.1.135. MEANES : probably Prospero is still referring to Alonso's newly gained
daughter. 147 CALL, a figurative use of " call " in its obsolete sense of ' invoke'
N. E.D. 4 d (not there illustrated later than 1550 , but in use in e . N. E.; cp. " Our preroga-
tive Cals not your counsailes " Wint.T. II. I. 163 , and " to call : to call for : to purchas
or get, arcesso " Baret) . 148 Various attempts have been made to fill out the verse to
its normal complement : ' only daughter,' ' did you say a daughter? ' ' a daughter, I a son,'
' read " daughter " as a trisyllable ' (a historic impossibility), are some of these botches.
But Prospero's dejection and Alonso's surprise supply an emotion pause after each
"daughter." These emotion pauses, supplying the places of verse impulses, like the
syncopated rhythms of music , are frequent in Shakspere. 149 HEAVENS, monosyl-
labic, as usual in e. N. E. NAPLES is misprinted ' Nalpes ' in FO.I. 150 THAT THEY
WERE, ' that they might be so,' an e. N. E. survival of the earlier subjunctive. 151
MUDDED, ' embedded ' ; cp. III.3.102 . 152 MÝ SÓNNE : again the EL. stress on the
descriptive "my."
183
 THE TEMPEST

153 LAST has its now obsolete sense of ' recent.' THESE LORDS : Prospero, not yet
ready for the dénouement, artfully postpones it. 154 ENCOUNTER, ' meeting,' cp. note
to III. 1.74. ADMIRE , ' wonder,' the common e. N. E. meaning of the word. 155 To DE-
VOURE one's REASON is a curious expression even in EL . E. , where the word “ devoure "
is a somewhat general term for ' destroy ' or ' consume ' ; for while amazement could
devour reason, to speak of a
person as destroying his ACT V SCENE I 153-171
reason by doubting the evi-
dence of his senses does not
sound like Shakspere, nor is PROSPERO
it good EL. psychology. " De- In this last tempest. I perceive , these lords
voure," used of ' suppressing At this encounter doe so much admire
passion,' is cited in N. E. D. 6
under date of 1650 ; but the That they devoure their reason and scarce
notion of ' suppressing the thinke
powers of judgement ' hardly Their eies doe offices of truth , their words
seems parallel. " Devorce "
had the general notion of ' re- Are naturall breath : but howsoev'r you have
pudiate ' in EL. E., and this
may have been the word in- Beene justled from your sences, know for
certain
tended here ; cp. " I will di-
vorce these doubts " Mar- That I am Prospero and that very duke
lowe and Nash, ' Dido' III.2
Which was thrust forth of Millaine ; who most
(inN.E.D.5). 156 offices,
'services,' the usual EL. strangely
meaning. THEIR WORDS
Upon this shore, where you were wrackt, was
("truth" is followed by a
colon in FO.I ) : visions are landed ,
explained as affections ofthe To be the lord on ' t. No more yet of this ;
eyes proceeding from a cor-
rupt phantasy, and likewise For ' t is a chronicle of day by day,
' prophesying and the speak- Not a relation for a break -fast nor
ing several languages ' were
thought to proceed from cor- Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir ;
rupt imagination ; cp. 'Anat. This cell's my court : heere have I few at-
of Mel. ' I. 3. I. 159 PROS- tendants ,
PERO : syncopated as in
1.2.72. 160 OF in M.E. And subjects none abroad : pray you, looke in.
and e. N. E. expresses many Mydukedome since you have given me againe ,
of the relations now denoted
by 'from.' WHO , the connec- I will requite you with as good a thing ;
tive relative, and that I ' At least bring forth a wonder , to content ye
162 ON 'T: cp. II. I. 127.
YET in e. N. E. sometimes As much as me my dukedome.
means ' now,' as in ' A poore HERE PROSPERO DISCOVERS FERDINAND
Egyptian yet, the Queen my AND MIRANDA PLAYING AT CHESSE
mistris" Ant.& Cl. v. I. 52,
which modern editors misconstrue and mispunctuate ; cp. also " Give me your honest
trick yet at primero or gleeke " Jonson, Alchemist ' II.3. 167 ABROAD , i.e. ' away from
here," outside my home ' : cp. III.1.52. 170 WONDER, ' miracle,' as in 1.2.427. YE, the
unstressed form of the pronoun ' you.' DISCOVERS, in the following stage direction, has
its now obsolete sense of ' discloses .' CHESSE had been a common game in England for
centuries when Shakspere wrote, cp. Strutt, ' Sports and Pastimes of the English People.'
184
 THE TEMPEST

172 LORD means ' husband ' in EL. E., cp. Oth. IV. 2. 102 ; the word is new on Miranda's
lips, and with delightful archness she couples " sweet " with it. YOU PLAY ME FALSE :
the word " false " in e. N. E. did not necessarily carry with it the meaning ' unfair,' ' unjust,'
but, like MN. German falsch, could mean merely erroneous ' ; the term ' false move ' is
still recognized in chess laws, and the penalty for it in Shakspere's time was the require-
ment to move the king : cp. Encyclopædia Britannica, s.v. Chess. DEAREST, the com-
mon e. N. E. monosyllabic superlative. 174 YES, ' yes, you would,' in e. N. E. is often
used to negative a preceding negative statement : MN. E. idiom repeats the statement in
positive form : cp. 2Hen.4 1.3.36, Cym. 1.4.52. KINGDOMES : Ferdinand has probably
made a "false " move, check-
ing Miranda's king or captur-
ACT V SCENE I 172-181
ing her queen without warn-
ing, and defends himself on
MIRANDA the ground of technical right;
Miranda prettily ends the
Sweet lord , you play me false.
lovers' dispute by her ex-
FERDINAND pression of absolute confi- 4
No, my dearest love, dence. WRANGLE in e. N. E.
is closely associated with
I would not for the world .
cheating, as is shown by the
MIRANDA following glosses : " to wran-
Yes, for a score of kingdomes you should gle, haft [ i.e. use shifts and
dodges] or overthwart [i.e.
wrangle , use trickery] in any matter,
And I would call it faire play. tergiversari in re aliqua"
ALONSO Baret ; "tergiversator, an
hafter, an overthwarter, a
If this prove wrangler" Cooper ; "a bawl-
A vision of the island , one deere sonne ing wrangler" is associated
with "pettifogger" in Come-
Shall I twice loose. nius's Janua 660. Modern
SEBASTIAN editorshave proposed 'wrong
me' for " wrangle." YOU
A most high miracle !
SHOULD, ' it is possible for
FERDINAND you," you could ' ; cp.note to
I.2.387. 175 FAIRE PLAY,
Though the seas threaten , they are mercifull ; a compound word stressed
I have curs'd them without cause.
on the first part in e.N.E.;
KNEELS cp. " according to the faire-
ALONSO play of the world " John V.2.
Now all the blessings 118,and" foule-play " 1. 2.60.
177 HIGH : cp. note to
Of a glad father compasse thee about ! v. 25. 179 The silent inter-
Arise , and say how thou cam'st heere . val in the action as Ferdi-
nand recognizes his father
is eloquent of Shakspere's
power as a dramatist. CAUSE, ' reasonable ground of complaint or accusation,' still sur-
vives in this phrase, though usually in legal shades of meaning. 181 HEERE, ' hither' ;
cp. IV. 1.74.

183 The reality of human beauty which bursts like a revelation on the youth and inno-
cence of Miranda had its larger counterpart in the attitude of Shakspere's time to the
New World of America : " The new world is the fittest name which can be given to this
185
 THE TEMPEST

vast and huge tract .. the con- ACT V SCENE I 181-200

ceitwhereofmoved Mercator
to thinke (which I dare not
MIRANDA
thinke with him) [nor does
Prospero] that the great del- O wonder !
uge of Noah drowned not
How many goodly creatures are there heere?
these parts, because men had
not heere inhabited who with How beauteous mankinde is ! O brave new
a deluge of sinne might pro- world ,
cure that deluge of waters "
is the paragraph with which That has such people in ' t !
Purchas introduced his Book PROSPERO
on America. 185 WHAT,
'Tis new to thee.
the EL. use of the pronoun ,
corresponding to our MN . E. ALONSO
'who'; cp. III.3.20. ዋ 186 What is this maid with whom thou was ' t at
ELD'ST, the monosyllabic
superlative in its e.N.E. sense play?
of longest,' ' of longest dura- Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three
tion ' ; cp. " My yongest boy houres :
and yet my eldest care " Err.
1.1.125. 187 The goddess Is she the goddesse that hath sever'd us,
of the island was what Fer-
dinand first took her for. And brought us thus together?
FERDINAND
188 SIR, probably metri-
cally parenthetical ; cp. 1.2 . Sir, she is mortall ;
260. 189 IMMORTALL
is used in the sense of ' eter- But by immortall providence she's mine :
nal ' in EL. E. , and hence Fer- I chose her when I could not aske my father
dinand's play upon the word.
For his advise, nor thought I had one. She
The boyish independence of
judgement comes out in Fer- Is daughter to this famous Duke of Millaine ,
dinand's defence, ' I have her Of whom so often I have heard renowne ,
and will hold her, even against
But never saw before ; of whom I have
my father.' 192 TO: cp.
II.1.81 . 193 RENOWNE Receiv'd a second life ; and second father
in e. N. E. means ' favorable
This lady makes him to me.
report,' and is more concrete
ALONSO
than in MN.E.; cp. ' Socrates,
. . by the · universall re- I am hers :
nowme [a M. E. and e. N. E.
But, O , how odly will it sound that I
variant form of the word] of
all people, was approved to Must aske my childe forgivenesse !
be the wisest man of all
PROSPERO
Grecia" Elyot's Governour
III.22 (in Cent. Dict .). ¶ 196 There, sir, stop :
HERS, i.e. her second father. Let us not burthen our remembrances with
ዋ 199 REMEMBRANC
ES :
many editors change to the A heavinesse that's gon.
singular for the sake of the
rhythm , but here is probably intended a form like that of " sense " in Macb. V. I.28,
the s being retained in the written form of the plural, but lost in the colloquial spoken
form. 200 HEAVINESSE in e . N. E. means not only ' sadness,' ' grief ' (N. E. D. I e) , but
186
 THE TEMPEST

ACT V SCENE I 200-215 also ' displeasure,' cp. "the

instruments of wrath and
heavinesse"'Faerie Queene '
GONZALO
1.5.6 (in N.E.D. I c), or ' griev-
I have inly wept , ance,' cp. " many heavinesses
and seditious billes " Halle
Or should have spoke ere this. Looke downe, (in N. E. D. b). All these no-
you gods , tions seem to be involved in
And on this couple drop a blessed crowne ! Shakspere's use of the word
here, hence Gonzalo's apol-
For it is you that have chalk'd forth the way ogy that follows.
Which brought us hither.
200 INLY in e. N. E. means
ALONSO
not only inwardly,' but also
I say, Amen, Gonzallo! 'feelingly,' or ' heartily,' cp.
GONZALO "Their fondnesse inly I pitie
[the "glosse" of " E. K.,"
Was Millaine thrust from Millaine , that his 1611 , has " inly, entirely,"
issue showing that this meaning
of the word was fading out
Should become kings of Naples ? O rejoyce
in Shakspere's time] " Spen-
Beyond a common joy, and set it downe ser, Shepherdes Kalender,
With gold on lasting pillers : in one voyage May 38 (in N. E. D. s.v. ) .
203 CHALK FORTH , like
Did Claribell her husband finde at Tunis, MN.E. 'chalk out,' is a com-
And Ferdinand , her brother, found a wife mon e. N. E. phrase for mark-
ing out a line of action,
Where he himselfe was lost, Prospero his N.E.D.4c. 205 MILLAINE :
dukedome cp. I. 2. 109. 207 SET
DOWNE is loosely used for
In a poore isle ; and all of us our selves
'write down' in e. N. E., cp .
When no man was his owne. "And interchangeably set
ALONSO downe their hands to kill the
king at Oxford " Rich.2 v.2.
TO FERDINAND AND MIRANDA 98. 208 LASTING : cp.
Give me your hands : "this stone .. is light and
Let griefe and sorrow still embrace his heart lasting " Grimstone, 1604 ( in
N. E.D.2). 210 FOUND ..
That doth not wish you joy ! our selves : " find " seems
here to be used in the sense
GONZALO
of ' gain or recover the power
Be it so ! Amen ! of,' still retained in ' to find
one's feet' ; " to find one's
self" is apparently the same idiom. 213 HIS OWNE, ' in his senses, ' ' master of him-
self ' ; cp. "I am not my own man, vix sum apud me [ citing Terence, where apud me
means 'sane '] " Phr. Gen.; " for he is not himself (his own man) [ impos sui, non apud
se, is the Latin] who is in such a fume " Janua, 894 ; " he is not with himselfe " occurs in
Titus I. 1.368. That Gonzalo begins ' to be his own man ' again is artfully shown by his
return to his usual stately and artificial language. 214 STILL, ' always.' EMBRACE
the HEART for ' affect the heart,' 'twine about the heart,' is M. E. phraseology ; cp. "the
passyng joy that can [ i.e. began ] his hart embrace " Tundale's Vision ( 15th century) ,
v. 130, and " This aventure [the word means ' misfortune ' in M. E. ] . . the heart of Cyrus
gan somewhat enbrace " Lydgate's Falles of Princes I. I.26 (in N. E.D.3).
187
 THE TEMPEST

AMAZEDLY, ' dazedly,' as usual in EL. E. 216 " O, lóoke, sir, lóoke, sir ! hére is
more of ús " : like the sun bursting from a bank of clouds, the rhythm flies into allegro
movement ; the force of the transition can readily be perceived if one imagines the epi-
sode to begin with the andante movement used in " The bést néwes ís," etc. 217 It is
possible that PROPHESI'D is here syncopated to ' proph'sied, ' but no other instance of
such syncopation occurs in Shakspere. WERE : the notion is almost as definite in EL. E. 1
as 'were standing' is in MN. E.; cp. 1.2.226. 218 COULD NOT has the force of MN.E.
[
'could not possibly.' NOW :
1
one would expect "How" in
its EL. exclamatory sense, ACT V SCENE I 216-226
'How is it?' ' How does it
come that?' N. E. D. 4 ; cp. the ENTER ARIELL WITH THE MASTER AND
similar possible misprint of BOATSWAIne amazedly follOWING
the word in Macb. III. 1.75. O, looke, sir , looke , sir ! here is more of us :
219 GRACE in e. N. E. may
mean ' Providence ' or ' for- I prophesi'd, if a gallowes were on land ,
tune,' cp. " Doe curse the This fellow could not drowne. Now, blas-
grace that with such grace
hath blest them " Two Gent. phemy,
III . I. 146 ; but the word also That swear'st grace ore-boord , not an oath
was used of kings, like our on shore?
MN. 'majesty,' and Gonzalo
may allude to Alonso's hav- Hast thou no mouth by land ? What is the
ing jumped into the sea to news ?
escape the boatswain's pro- BOTESWAINE
fanity. BOORD : for the spell-
ing, see note to 1.2.196. FO. I The best newes is that we have safely found
punctuates with a comma
after"shore." ¶ 221 SAFELY Our king and company ; the next, our ship—
in e. N.B. is often equivalent Which, but three glasses since, we gave out
to ' happily,' cp. " God, and split-
not we, hath safely fought Is tyte and yare and bravely rig'd as when
to-day" 2Hen.4 IV . 2. 121 .
223 GLASSES : evidently We first put out to sea.
hour-glasses ; cp. 1. 2. 240. ARIELL
There is the same use of
ASIDE TO PROSPERO
"pilot's glass " in All's W.
II.1.168. The glass is usu- Sir, all this service
ally a half-hour glass at sea, Have I done since I went.
cp.citation from Smith's Sea-
man's Grammar, " Glasses, PROSPERO
which are but half-hours,"
ASIDE TO ARIEL
and much has been made of
Shakspere's supposed igno- My tricksey spirit !
rance of the fact ; but a sea
dictionary of 1711 distinctly says, " Glasses are the hour, four hour, and minute glasses
us'd at sea," and it is quite likely that "glass " was habitually used for hour as well as
half-hour in Shakspere's time. 224 TYTE, ' quick,' ' nimble ," and " tight " were confused
in e. N. E., cp. " Tite, s . t. [ i.e. sea term ] , a ship is said to be tite or tight when she is so
staunch as to let in but very little water" Kersey. YARE has its sense of ' prepared,' not
'quick,' as in I. 1.3 ; Coles enters in his English Dictionary, "yare, Sf. [i.e. Suffolk term ] ,
nimble, smart," and " yare, o. [i.e. old word], ready." AS in e. N. E. does duty for the cor-
relative " as .. as " ; and so here : ' as tyte and yare and bravely rig'd as it was when,' etc.
188
 THE TEMPEST

227 EVENTS is " evens " in some copies of FO. I , and was probably corrected in the
course of printing. STRENGTHEN seems here to be used in the sense of ' grow.' 230
OF SLEEPE is one of the early forms of " on sleep,"the original of asleep ' ; ' of' frequently
appears in e. N. E. where MN . E. idiom requires ' on ' ; cp. "he had more hair of his tail than
I have of my face " Merch. II.2 . 103 , and " of foot " for " on foot," i.e. ' afoot,' in Cov-
erdale's version of Mark, VI.33 ; similarly, the colloquial ' house o' fire ' is a development
from "house of fire," the original of ' house a-fire,' see N. E. D. 55. 232 SEVERALL,
'various kinds of,' cp. III.1.42.
233 GINGLING (an e. N. E.
ACT V SCENE I 227-240 form of the word) in M.E.
and EL.E.connotes the noise
ALONSO made by chains ' ; cp. " jing-
These are not naturall events ; they strengthen ling of fetters had no merrie
sound" Weaver, 1601 ( in
From strange to stranger. Say, how came N.E.D.) ; ' jangling,' the word
you hither?. now used for this sound, is a
variant of the same form.
BOTESWAINE
234 MO is properly the
M.E. substantive form of
If I did thinke , sir, I were well awake,
' more,' but in e. N. E. was
I'ld strive to tell you. We were dead of sleepe, also used attributively, as
And how we know not - all clapt under here. 236 WHERE , ' and
then ,' the connective relative
hatches ; adverb with temporal sense,
Where but even now with strange and sev- cp. III.2.69 ; some modern
erall noyses editors emend to ' when.'
ALL OUR TRIM : modern
Of roring, shreeking, howling, gingling editors emend the text to
chaines , ' all her trim ' ; but " trim " in
EL. E. means ' dress,' espe-
And mo diversitie of sounds , all horrible,
cially holiday dress ' ; cp.
We were awak'd ; straight way, at liberty ; "proud pide Aprill, drest in
all his trim" Sonn. XCVIII.2 .
Where we, in all our trim, freshly beheld
FRESHLY, moreover, points
Our royall, good and gallant ship , our master to the peculiarly Shakspe-
Capring to eye her : on a trice, so please you, rian notion, ' freshly dressed,
Even in a dreame, were we divided from them freshly beheld.' The " ca-
pring" of the master like-
And were brought moaping hither. wise points to " our trim,"
and that the sailors should
awake in their ' shore togs,' or holiday dress, is a touch of tricksy Ariel's handiwork.
The modern botching of the text robs the play of one of its prettiest dramatic features :
Shakspere definitely provides that the king and his court shall not appear upon the
stage wet and bedraggled from their wreck, for such an appearance would add a ludi-
crous element most unhappy in a drama to be presented to a court audience as the frame-
work of a masque. Likewise, while the " Enter mariners wet," I. I.54, is a realistic
touch to suggest the tempest, to have the master and boatswain wet and bedraggled
when they appear in the last act would mar the beauty of the climax. Even Stephano
and Trinculo are not allowed to present themselves here in their mud and filth, but gay
attire is provided for them. The last scene thus brings together a gay New World : the
court in wedding dress, "fresher than before," the boatswain and shipmaster " in their
trim," Stephano and Trinculo bright in their stolen apparel ; only Caliban projects like
a grinning gargoyle from the gay group, a reminder of sin and bestiality even in the midst
189
 THE TEMPEST

of the garden of beauty, the note of discord enhancing the main harmony, giving human
interest to the ideal. Shakspere's stage magic, the dainty Ariel of his genius, easily and
naturally secures this end ; but to alter " in all our trim " to ' in all her trim ' is to tinker
art into banality. 238 TO EYE HER : cp. III . I.40 ; the e. N. E. infinitive is often equiva-
lent to a MN . E. participle, and may be used so here, i.e. ' dancing with glee from look-
ing her over.' ON, ' in,' a frequent use of the preposition in e. N. E.; cp. " on the moment "
Timon I. I.79, and " on the instant " Oth. 1.2.38. 239 DIVIDED, ' separated,' used of
persons in e. N. E., an idiom now archaic. EVEN IN A DREAME : the boatswain, looking
back on the events of the past few hours, —the coming of the storm , the wreck, the deep
sleep of the exhausted crew,
the strange awakening in
ACT V SCENE I 240-251
gala attire, with the good ship
tight in the harbour, and her
convoy inthe offing standing ARIELL
away for Naples, and now ASIDE TO PROSPERO
this sudden appearance be- Was 't well done ?
fore the king, all in a breath, PROSPERO
as it seems to him, —can only
think of these illogical hap- ASIDE TO ARIELL
penings as being a dream. Bravely, my diligence, thou shalt be free.
240 MOAPING, not ' griev- ALONSO
ing for their friends,' but
'bewildered,' ' spell-struck ' ; This is as strange a maze as ere men trod ;
"mope" in e. N. E. connotes And there is in this businesse more then nature
any dulling ofthe perception : Was ever conduct of : some oracle
Hamlet says his mother's
senses "mope" in III.4.81 ; Must rectifie our knowledge .
Coles glosses " mope, obstu- PROSPERO
pesco, mutum et ignavum in-
cedere." The oa indicates Sir, my leige,
the long open o of M. E. Doe not infest your minde with beating on

241 BRAVELY : cp . III.3. The strangenesse of this businesse ; at pickt

83 ; "brave" is the equiva- leisure,
lent of the Italian bravo ;
cp. " Oh, brave, Master ! I Which shall be shortly, single I'le resolve
worship your nose for this " you ,
Marlowe's Jew of Malta II.2 Which to you shall seeme probable, of every
(in N. E.D. c) . DILIGENCE ,
i.e. speedy service personi- These happen'd accidents ; till when, be
fied, cp. 1.2.304 : it is the cheerefull
clever, not the industrious, And thinke of each thing well .
Ariel that Prospero com-
mends ; cp. "This speedy and quicke appearance argues proofe Of your accustom'd dili-
gence to me" I Hen.6 V.3.8. 242 Alonso echoes Gonzalo's thought in III.3.2. ¶244
CONDUCT , ' conductor,' ' leader ' ; Romeo invokes death in the words, "Come bitter con-
duct, come unsavoury guide, Thou desperate pilot " V.3.116 ; cp. , too, " I have also been
a conduct to several pilgrims " Bunyan, 1684 (in N. E. D. 3 ). ORACLE, ' divine explana-
tion,' cp. IV. 1. 12. 246 INFEST, ' trouble,' ' harass ' ; cp. "he sought all manner of
ways to infest the emperor" Foxe, 1684 (in N. E. D. I ) . BEATING : cp. note to 1.2.176.
247 PICKT LEISURE, ' I shall choose an opportunity, . . and,' etc.: " pickt " in e. N. E.
has the sense ' got with care,' - cp. " to picke, draw out, to get, elicio " Alvearie, —and
"leisure" is used, as in " kindst leisure " Macb. II . I. 24, to mean ' opportunity ' ; similarly,
190
 THE TEMPEST

"sovereign leisure," " best leisure," " good leisure," " patient leisure," are also common
EL. idioms. 248 " Which shall be shortly single " is in parenthesis in FO. I , but this
seems to be an error. It is true that SINGLE means ' simple ' in e. N. E., and Prospero
may have the notion of a tangled skein which he will resolve ; but it is more likely that
the adverb " single," meaning ' one by one,' is intended, since " every [ i.e. all ] These hap-
pen'd accidents" goes so aptly with " resolve," and " each thing" seems to carry out the
notion of detail. The use of " single " as an adverb can be explained either from the
standpoint of EL. syntax or from that of EL. phonology. For in e . N. E. words like " only,"
" alone," " right," are often grammatically used as adjectives while logically functioning
as adverbs, e.g. "by the onely mere grace of our Lorde Jesus Christ," i.e. ' only the abso-
lute grace,' etc., Golding's Calvin, Galatians , p. 220, and "this is the right conceipt of
young men," i.e. ' this is just the notion of,' or ' this is properly the notion of,' etc. , Sid-
ney's Arcadia, p. 93. On the other hand, final -e sometimes represents final -y in e. N. E.,
cp. "propinquus, hard be, neere hand" Cooper, " their wiggle tailes " for ' wiggly tails'
' Shepherdes Kalender,' February 7th, and " and yet he could .. rap out so manie ugle [i.e.
ugly] oathes " Ascham's Scholemaster, ed. Arber, p. 57 ; " humilite," " trinite," "hon-
este," are similar e. N. E. spellings ; " double," which is a regular e. N. E. adverb mean-
ing ' doubly,' - cp. Macb. IV.1.83 , -may also have influenced the form of ' singly.' The
frequent interchange of " prethee " and " prithee " in FO. I points to a similar interchange
between unstressed e and
ACT V secondarily stressed i (i.e.y)
SCENE I 251-255 in EL.E. RESOLVE in e.N.E.
ASIDE TO ARIELL means ' to answer questions
so as to remove doubt,' cp.
Come hither, spirit : " I am now going to resolve
Set Caliban and his companions free ; him" Meas. III.1.194. 249
"Which to you shall seeme
Untye the spell . probable " is in parenthesis
EXIT ARIELL in FO.I: The clause has
How fares my gracious sir? caused much difficulty, be-
cause when read as MN . E. it
There are yet missing of your companie
is pointless. But WHICH is
Some few odde lads that you remember not. a double relative in EL. E.;
cp. " More then the mis-
tresse of, Which comes to me in name of fault, I must not At all acknowledge " Wint.T.
III.2.60, and " Although the same do not agree at all .. with which yourselfe have seemed
best to like" ' Gorboduc ' 1.2 . 319. "Which " may therefore stand for MN. E. ' what,' and
the meaning of the clause be, ' I will resolve you [i.e. ' for you ,' the usual e . N. E. construc-
tion with " resolve " ] that which shall turn out to be explicable in this series of events.'
SEEME in e. N.E. sometimes means ' turn out to be,' ' prove to be ' ; cp. note to Macb.
1.2.25. PROBABLE, ' capable of being proved ' ; cp. " It is doubtless probable that women
are nature's pride " Ford's Honor Triumphant (in Cent. Dict.) . There is much in Pros-
pero's story that he cannot promise to resolve. EVERY THESE, ' all of these severally,'
N. E.D.2 ; cp. " Every your most noted species of persons " Jonson, ' Cynthia's Revells '
II.3 . 250 HAPPEN'D , the common e. N. E. participle for a MN . E. relative clause ; cp.
note to I.2.231 , and " As a creature supposed enemie to the Gods " Purchas's Pilgrimage
III.1.233. 251 WELL is slightly different from the MN. E. word, and nearly equivalent
to 'for the best' ; cp. " may you see things wel done there " Macb. II.4.37.

The stage direction which follows is punctuated by the FO. " Caliban, Stephano, and Trin-
culo " but Caliban has refused to wearthe gay apparel, -cp. IV.1.248, -and can hardlyhave
appeared dressed in it, see note to v. 236. 256 Stephano bursts upon the stage with a per-
version of " Every man for himself and the devil for us all," as Wilson's Rhetoric, 1580,
191
 THE TEMPEST

has it, or " Every man for ACT V SCENE I 256-276

himself and God for us all,"
as Heywood, III. ix, puts it : ENTER ARIELL DRIVING IN CALIBAN STEPHANO
Stephano implies that there AND TRINCULO IN THEIR STOLNE APPARELL
is neither God nor devil-
"all is but fortune." 258 STEPHANO
BULLY-MONSTER is Ste-
phano's perversion of " bully- Every man shift for all the rest, and let no
rook," an EL. E. phrase for man take care for himselfe ; for all is but for-
'boon companion.' CORA-
tune. Coragio, bully-monster, Corasio !
GIO is an EL. hortatory ex-
clamation, occurring also in TRINCULO
All'sW.11.5.97 . CORASIO is
If these be true spies which. I weare in my
probably an intended drunk-
en pronunciation of "cora- head, here's a goodly sight .
gio," though s before a palatal CALIBAN
vowel often has the sound of
sh in EL.E. 259 TRUE, O Setebos , these be brave spirits indeede !
'honest,' as below. 264 How fine my master is ! I am afraid
THINGS, ' creatures ' ; cp. I. He will chastise me.
2.257. 265 LIKE, ' likely,'
as frequently in EL.E. ¶ 266 SEBASTIAN
PLAINE, ' nothing but ' ; cp. Ha, ha !
"a plaine knave " Lear il.
2.118. 267 BADGES may What things are these, my lord Anthonio ?
here be used in the sense of Will money buy ' em?
'livery,' cp. L.L.L. V.2.764 : ANTHONIO
"Their ..faces..badg'd with
blood " Macb . II.3.107 , seems Very like ; one of them
to point to the grooms as Is a plaine fish , and, no doubt, marketable .
wearing the livery of murder.
268 TRUE, ' honest,' i.e. PROSPERO
they cannot be honest ser- Marke but the badges of these men, my lords,
vants, wearing, as they do, Then say if they be true.
this obviously stolen apparel. This misshapen
THIS MISSHAPEN (FO. I knave
"mishapen") : Prospero now His mother was a witch, and one so strong
turns from the two dishonest
servants to Caliban. The That could controle the moone , make flowes
word is stressed " missháp- and ebs ,
en" elsewhere in Shakspere ;
And deale in her command without her power.
perhaps ' mísshap'd ' was
intended, as in " Untill my These three have rob'd me ; and this demy-
mísshap'd trunke " 3Hen.6 divell-
III.2.170. KNAVE HIS as a
genitive is not anomalous in For he's a bastard one - had plotted with
EL. E., though it is usually them
restricted to nouns ending in
-s, as in IV.I.98 ; cp. " Marke To take my life. Two of these fellowes you
each flower his name " Rob- Must know and owne ; this thing of darke-
inson's Handefull of Pleas-
nesse I
ant Delites, p. 3. FO. I punc-
tuates "true: This mishapen Acknowledge mine.
192
 THE TEMPEST

knave ; " seeming to construe " knave " as the object of " marke." 269 ONE SO
STRONG : the MN. word order is ' so strong a one.' "Strong" has its e. N. E. sense of
'potent ' ; cp. "the fiend is strong within him " Err. IV. 4. 110. 270 THAT COULD , ' that
she could,' the omitted subject, as in II . I.220. 271 DEALE IN HER COMMAND, etc.,
'could go beyond the limits of witchcraft and make use of, or traffic in [ N. E. D. 15] , the
moon's powers.' " Her command " may be either ' her authority '-cp. "Your power and
your command is taken off [ i.e. away] " Oth. V.2.331 - or " her" may be the objective
genitive, ' command over her' ; cp. note on " my wrongs " V. I. 119. WITHOUT in e. N. E.
often means ' outside of,' ' beyond the limits of' ; cp. " Not I, it is a worke without my
power " Chapman, ' Bussy D'Ambois , ' Works, II . 65 (cited by Wright) ; "O, now I appre-
hend you ; your phrase was without me [ i.e. beyond my understanding] before " Jonson ,
'Cynthia's Revells ' 1. 4 , ed . 1640, p. 168 (cited by Staunton) ; and " the ages that succeed
.. shall . . reckon it an act without your sex " ' Sejanus ' II . I (in Cent. Dict.). For the
difference between the normal powers of a witch and of a magician, cp. ' The parties by
whom the devil deals may be reduced to these two : such as command him, in shew at
least, as conjurers and magicians ; or such as are commanded, as witches that deal ex
parte implicitè or explicitè, as the king hath well defined [ King James, Dæmonol., I. I. c. 3 ] '
Burton, ' Of Witches and Magicians, ' in ' Anat. of Mel.' 1.2.1.3. Burton also says that
theology has determined that the devil and his spirits have no power over stars or heavens :
that 'carminibus cælo possunt deducere lunam ' (Virgil, Ecl., VIII , 70), ' sistere aquam
fluviis et vertere sidera retro ' (Æn. IV, 487) , etc., are all false, poetic fictions like Horace's
Canidia. But Shakspere nevertheless makes use of them here. 273 BASTARD ONE,
i.e. ' mongrel or hybrid devil ' : the e. N. E. adjective " bastard " is used like MN. E. ' hybrid ' ;
Hinde, 1641 , calls mules " a bastard brood " N. E. D. b 2, Cooper glosses cnicos by ' bas-
tard saffron. The allusion is to the current belief that monstrous births were due to the
commerce between the devil and witches, cp. 1.2.319. 275 KNOW in M. E. means
' acknowledge,' ' confess,' a
meaning still extant in e.N.E.,
ACT V SCENE I 276-281
-cp. Macb. IV. 3. 165, -and
there seems to be a shade of
CALIBAN that meaning here. DARKE-
I shall be pincht to death. NESSE : Minsheu gives the
Greek name for 'bastard,'
ALONSO
OKÓTLOÇ, " quasi in tenebris ..
Is not this Stephano , my drunken butler ? generatus, a σKÓTоs, i.e. tene-
SEBASTIAN bræ,caligo,"evidentlyremem-
bering σκότιον δέ ξ γείνατο
He is drunke now : where had he wine? µýτnp, II. 6.24, which Chap-
ALONSO man renders by 'base-born .'
It is an interesting coinci-
And Trinculo is reeling ripe : where should dence that Shakspere should
they have hit on the same notion.

Finde this grand liquor that hath gilded ' em? 276 Caliban's exclama-
How cam'st thou in this pickle ? tion, showing an animal fear
of Prospero's stern expres-
sion, with no comprehension of his bitter words, is a striking note in the context. $ 278
DRUNKE NOW, i.e. here on the island , where there is no liquor. 279 REELING RIPE :
"ripe" is a frequent component of e. N. E. adjectives like this, e.g. " rope-ripe," " weep-
ing-ripe," " crying-ripe," "tumbling-ripe." 280 GRAND LIQUOR: the alchemist's prep-
aration, which changed baser metals into gold, was sometimes thought of as a stone,-
the philosopher's stone, -sometimes as a liquid or powder or vapour, and was known as
the ' elixir.' The term " grand elixir " is recorded in N. E.D. for the 18th century, and
193
 THE TEMPEST

was probably known in the ACT V SCENE I 282-299

17th ; as "liquor" is a gen-
eral term for ' liquid,' - Ker-
TRINCULO
sey defines the elixir as
'a very precious liquor,'- I have bin in such a pickle since I saw you
"grand liquor" here is prob- last that, I feare me, will never out of my
ably a punning reference to
the elixir, especially as GILD bones : I shall not feare fly-blowing.
is also a 17th-century term of SEBASTIAN
alchemy to indicate ' impreg-
nation with gold ' (N. E.D.2) , Why, how now, Stephano ?
as well as a term for ' mak-
STEPHANO
ing drunk ' ; cp. "Duke. Is
she not drunk too ? Con. A O, touch me not ; I am not Stephano, but a
little gilded o'er" Fletcher's cramp .
Chances IV.3 (in N.E.D.7).
This latter sense is due to PROSPERO
the e. N. E. association of You'ld be king o' the isle , sirha ?
redness with gold, see note
STEPHANO
to Macb. II.2.56. 281 IN
A PICKLE also seems to I should have been a sore one then.
have been used of being
drunk ; "but they proceed ALONSO
till one drops downe dead POINTING TO CALIBAN
drunke, And all the rest in
a sweet pickle brought " This is a strange thing as ere I look'd on.
'Time's Whistle,' E. E. T. S., PROSPERO
p.60 (in Cent. Dict.).
He is as disproportion'd in his manners
282 PICKLE suggests to As in his shape. Goe, sirha, to my cell ;
Trinculo the slime of the pool, Take with you your companions ; as you looke
and he puns on the word in
its sense of ' meat preserva- To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.
tive.' 285 WHY is printed CALIBAN
'Who'in some copies of FO.I.
Sebastian handles Stephano I, that I will ; and I ' le be wise hereafter
to make sure that he is real. What a thrice double
And seeke for grace.
288 SORE, ' severe,' an asse
e. N. E. sense of the word :
cp. III.I.II ; the same pun Was I , to take this drunkard for a god
occurs in 2Hen.6 IV.7.9. And worship this dull foole !
289 AS: cp. note to v. 224,
and"a delicate odour as ever PROSPERO
hit my nostril" Per. III.2.61 .
Goe to ; away !
297 GOE TO ; AWAY :
Prospero's words are proba- ALONSO
bly occasioned by Caliban's TO TRINCULO AND STEPHANO
grovelling at his feet in order
Hence, and bestow your luggage where you
to make peace with him. The
stage direction is not in FO. I, found it.
but Alonso's curt words are SEBASTIAN
evidently directed to a like
attempt on the part of Ste- Or stole it, rather.
194

1
I
 THE TEMPEST

ACT V SCENE I 300-318 phano and Trinculo to pla-

cate him. 298 BESTOW,
'stow away.' LUGGAGE : cp.
PROSPERO
IV . I.231. H
Sir, I invite your highnesse and your traine
To my poore cell, where you shall take your 302 WASTE in e. N. E.
means 'spend,'' consume,' not
rest
necessarily without profit as
For this one night ; which, part of it , I'le in MN. E.; cp. " I wasted time,
and now doth time waste me"
waste
Rich.2 v.5.49 ; so "in the
With such discourse as , I not doubt, shall chronicle of wasted time "
make it Sonn. CVI. I , means only ' in
the past.' 304 GOE, here
Goe quicke away : the story of my life used in the e. N. E. sense of
And the particular accidents gon by ' pass,' N. E.D. 73 , now ar-
chaic ; cp. v.200 ; so GON BY,
Since I came to this isle ; and in the morne 11
v. 305, cp. "the time goes by
I ' le bring you to your ship and so to Naples, Tw.N.V.4.398 . 308 NUP-
TIALL is now plural, but , like
Where I have hope to see the nuptiall
"funeral," has both singular
Of these our deere-belov'd solemnized ; and plural in e. N. E. $ 309
And thence retire me to my Millaine, where SOLEMNIZED , ' performed ' :
Theseus speaks of his nup-
Every third thought shall be my grave. tials with Hippolyta as " our
ALONSO solemnities" Mids. I. I. II ;

I long the word is here stressed

"solémnized," as in L.L.L.II.
To heare the story of your life , which must 1.42 (cited by Boswell). 311
Take the eare strangely. EVERY THIRD THOUGHT :
cp. IV.1.3. 313 STRANGE-
PROSPERO
LY is misprinted " starngely"
I'le deliver all 1
in FO.I. DELIVER, ' report' ;
And promise you calme seas , auspicious gales cp. II. 1.45. 315 THAT,
'that you ' ; cp. v. 270. 316
And saile so expeditious that shall catch FARRE OFF , ' far away,'
Your royal fleete farre off. N.E.D.I. 318 FARE THOU
ASIDE TO ARIELL WELL: the personal form of
the phrase with "thou" for
My Ariel, chicke, subject, as well as the M. E.
That is thy charge : then to the elements impersonal form with "thee "
Be free, and fare thou well ! for object, occurs in e. N. E.,
see N.E.D.9. DRAW NEERE,
Please you, draw neere. i.e. 'enter my poor cell.' The
EXEUNT OMNES EXEUNT OMNES is, of
course, the formal mark of
the end of the play, and does not include Prospero. An ' exeunt ' is usually thus placed
before the epilogue in EL. plays, e.g. Preston's Cambises, Lyly's Gallathea, etc. The
"exeunt omnes 11 cannot therefore be used as an argument that the Epilogue to The
Tempest is a later addition to the original text. Sometimes the play ended with a song,
in which case the actors remained on the stage and took part, as , e.g., in Lyly passim.

195
 THE TEMPEST

The Epilogue has been thought by many editors to be a spurious addition ; but it is quite
in the style and spirit of contemporary play-endings, and there is no external evidence
to lead us to suppose that it was not written by the author, as is usually the case with
such epilogues. Its rhythm is neither ' miserable ' nor un- Shaksperian, and it shows the
delicate imagination and dainty fancy conspicuous in the rest of The Tempest. In occa-
sional and formal verse like this Shakspere is not altogether successful : the prologues
and epilogues to his various plays and the masque in The Tempest all show a certain
constraint of form and manner. The real difficulty, if there be one, lies in the fact that
Prospero in the Epilogue im-
plies that he is to remain be-
hind in the island unless the EPILOGUE
favouring winds of his au-
dience will waft him to Na- SPOKEN BY PROSPERO
ples, while in v. 307 he speaks
as if he intended going to
Naples with the wedding Now my charmes are all ore- throwne,
party, which, indeed, seems
And what strength I have ' s mine owne,
to be a sort of dramatic ne-
cessity if he is to be in time Which is most faint; now, ' t is true,
forthe nuptials of Ferdinand I must be heere confinde by you,
and Miranda. TI NOW MY
CHARMES can be either ' now Or sent to Naples, -let me not,
that,' etc., the conclusion of Since I have my dukedome got
the sentence beginning with
"let" below in v. 5 , or the And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
adverb of time referring to In this bare island by your spell;
"overthrown," for the EL.ad- But release me from my bands
verb was not confined to a
place immediately before the With the helpe of your good hands :
verb, as in MN . E. The FO. Gentle breath of yours my sailes
punctuation, unfortunately, is
not decisive for either con- Must fill, or else my project failes,
struction, but favours the for- Which was to please . Now I want
mer. Jonson seems to have
Spirits to enforce, art to inchant,
been thinking of this verse
and of"project," below, when And my ending is despaire,
he wrote his epilogue to 'The Unlesse I be reliev'd by praier,
Devil is an Ass ,' 1616 : "Thus
Which pierces so that it assaults
the projector here is over-
thrown: But I have now a Mercy it selfe and frees all faults.
project of mine owne." 2
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
FO.I has aperiod after OWNE
and a colon after FAINT. Let your indulgence set me free.
3 WHICH, and it is.' EXIT
FAINT, ' weak,' ' feeble,' ' wanting in vigour,' N.E.D.4 : a similar shade of meaning is pre-
served in ' faint heart." 45 " Naples, Let " is the FO. punctuation, pointing to " now,"
v. I , in the sense of ' now that.' T8 BARE ISLAND may also be in allusion to the now
empty stage, which in the EL. theatre was surrounded by the audience. SPELL also may
be in reference to the quiet which succeeds between the end of the play and the applause
from the audience. 49 BANDS, a M. E. and e. N. E. form of ' bonds.' 10 GOOD has
its e. N. E. sense of ' propitious.' HANDS, ' hand-clapping ' ; cp. " Give me your hands "
Mids. V. I.444 ; thus the noise would dissolve the spell ; cp. IV. I.59 and 128. Ben Jon-
son, in his Induction to ' Bartholomew Fair,' has a similar notion : " In witness whereof,
196
 THE TEMPEST

as you have preposterously put to your seals already, which is your money, you will now
add the other part of your suffrage, which is your hands." II BREATH, ' flattery,'
' approval ' ; cp. "mouth honor, breath" Macb. V.3.27. 12 PROJECT is used of the
contrivance of a masque ; cp. "Amo. What say you to a masque? Hed. Nothing better,
if the project were new and rare" 'Cynthia's Revells ' IV.5. Kersey defines it as " contriv-
ance." The word seems also to have been used of voyages ; cp. " this mad feckle crew
were upon new projects again " Dampier, 'Voyages ' 1.507 (in Cent. Dict.). 13 WANT :
the change of a to o after initial w not having taken place in Shakspere's time, the word
was a perfect rhyme to " inchant. " 14 SPIRITS, monosyllabic, with reversal : so also
"árt to inchánt." ENFORCE, ' compel.' 16 RELIEV'D has here its e. N. E. meaning ' suc-
coured, ' as in II . 1. 121. PRAIER, ' entreaty,' ' supplication ' : the word is gracefully turned
to imply a submission to the will of the audience and an acquiescence in their judgement
of the play. 17 PIERCES, ' penetrates ' ; cp. II.I.242 ; " to pierce the ear" or "the head "
was a common e. N. E. expression for ' to gain the attention.' 20 FREE, ' banish,' ' drive
away ' ; cp. " Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives " Macb. 111.6.35 .

197
INDEX TO THE NOTES

ON THE TEMPEST
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

The first number refers to the page, the second to the note; where but one
reference is given it is the page number that is indicated.

a, representation of, see A-hold, close to the wind, Aspersion, sprinkling, 142.
Spelling ; connotes excel- 8.53 18
lence, rarity, 136.84 ; one, All, all kinds of, 180.104 ; Assist, aid the work of, 5.
92.3 any, 112.72 ; every, 22.105, 14
Abide, continue, 170.12 48.353, 61.491 ; in a body, Assurance, fact, certainty,
Abisme, bottomless gulf, 45.328, 79.203 ; wholly, 16.45 ; evidence, 180.108
16.50 18.74, 171.23 Astrology, 15.36, 30.181
Abroad, away from home, Amaine, in full numbers, At once, once for all, 136.78
110.52, 184.167 150.74 Attached, seized, overpow-
Absolute, free from doubt, Amazedly, dazedly, 188 ered , 127.5
23.109 st. dir. Attend, listen to, 58.453
Abstract nouns. See Syn- Amazement, bewilderment, Austere, used of acts as
tax 13.14, 31.198, 180.104 well as of persons, 140.I
Abuse, deceive, 180.112 Amen, used as charm , 98. Avise,to make one observe,
Aches, dissyllabic, 50.370 102 28.169
Acres, uncultivated land, And, therefore, and so, 30. Ayre oneself, to, to take the
151.81 186, 134.56, 138.100, 144. air, 150.70
Act, execute, 39.273 36, 157.149 ; indeed, 52. Azured, azure-coloured,
Action, activity, 171.27 ; 388 ; if, 77.182 174.43
gesture, 128 st. dir. And if, strong form of if,
Adder, serpent, 93.13 181.117 b, unhistoric after m, 134.65
Adjectives. See Inflection, Angle, a spot lying out of Backward, placed at the
Syntax the way, 34.223 rear, 98.99 ; what lies be-
Admiration, admirableness, Angry, irritable, 41.289 hind one, 16.50
109.38 Anon, immediately, 101 . Bad, asked of, 31.194
Admire, wonder, 184.154 153 Badges, livery, 192.267
Admired, wonderful , 109.37 Answer, attend to, obey, Baked, caked, 37.256
Admit, permit, 75.149 50.367 ; satisfy, 31.190 Bald, worn, threadbare,
Advance, raise, 54.408, 160. Anthonio, character of, 79. 165.239
177 199 Ballad of King Stephen,
Advantage, chance, 128.13 Any, any one, 110.43 164.223
Adverbs. See Inflection, Ape, monkey, 167.251 Bands, bonds, 196.9
Syntax Apparision, illusion, 44.317 Banke, sea-shore, 52.389
Affeard, normal form of Arch, arc, 150.71 Banket, a light collation,
afraid, 125.142 Ardour, heat, 146.56 128 st. dir.
Affections, desires , 60.481 ; Argier, Algiers, 37.261 Barnacles, barnacle-geese,
emotions, 170.18 Ariel, nature of, 39.272,273, 167.251
Affricke, Africa, 68.69 41.301 Bases, foot of a cliff, 71.120
After, afterward, 93.10, Article. See Printing, Syn- Bastard, hybrid, 193.273
125.158 tax Bat, reckoned among birds,
Againe, in opposition to, As, as far as, 151.87 ; as if, 179.91
52.390 67.48, 160.178 ; as it is Bate, leave out of count,
Aged, characteristic of age, that, 84.238 ; redundant, 70.100 ; reduce , 37.250,
168.261 18.70 137.85
201
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Bat-fowling, an English Bottome, dregs, 82.227 Canker, grow irritable, 162 .

sport, 77.187 Bowed, bowing, inclined, 192
Bat-fowling, swindling, 78. 71.120, 153.113 Cannot tell, do not know,
188 Bowgh-wowgh, 52.382 98.92
Beare, conduct one's self, Brave, fine, splendid, 12.6, Capable of, susceptible to,
55.425 ; have, 51.381 , 100. 54.411,56.437 ; bravo, 190. 48.353
127 241 Carkasse, stranded hulk,
Beare off, ward off, turn Bravely, finely, 136.83 26.146
off, 93.18 Breath, flattery, 197.11 Carriage, burden, 169.3
Beating, pulsing, 29.176, Breathes, of gently moving Carries, presents, 54.411
159.163 ; used of the mind, air, 66.46 Cases. See Syntax
190.246 Breeds, comes into being, Cast, vomit forth, 85.251
Beest, monosyllabic, 180 . 112.76 Catches, 122.126
III Broom-groves, 149.66 Cat o' mountaine , leopard,
Before, at the head of a Brother, monosyllabic (?), 168.262
series, 174 st. dir. 170.12 Cause, reasonable ground
Being, monosyllabic , 21.97 Browne, dark, dusky , II . for, 185.179
Bell, flower-cup, 178.89 68 Celebration, used of mar-
Bending, proceeding, 160. Bully-monster, 192.258 riage, 144.29
174 Bumbard, leather drinking- Cell, cottage, 13.20, 159.161
Best, greatest, highest, 31 . vessel, 93.22 Ceres, 147.60, 150.69
190 Burthen, undersong, 51.381 Certaine, a certain num-
Bestow, stow away, 195. Busines, commotion , 54. ber, 174.55
298 406 ; eagerness, 58.450 ; Certainly, I assure you, 55.
Betid, befallen, 15.31 message, errand, 135.69 ; 428
Beware, be aware, 90.304 tasks, 43.315, 50.367 Certes, surely, 130.30
Biblical references, 46.335, Buss, a small vessel used Chalk forth, mark out, 187.
96.60, 96.63 , 118.69, 153. in herring-fishing, 26.146 203
114, 158.154 But, if not, 102.172, 107.5 ; Change eyes, exchange am-
Bind, stop the flow of, 60. if only, 20.91 ; only, 61 . orous glances , 57.441
486 489, 121.103 ; otherwise Changing, perverting the
Bird, term of endearment, than, 23.119 ; without, 84. meaning of words, 77.186
161.184 243 Chaps, jaws, 98.93
Bite, gibe at, 117.39 ; nibble, By, judging by, 62.497, Charge, task, 35.237
173.38 166.241 Charmes, any kind of spell,
Blasphemous, slanderous, By and by, immediately, 64. 47.339
7.44 13 ; in a moment, 125.156 Chase, dispel, 176.67
Blessed, fortunate, 17.61 By'r lakin, by Our Lady, Chat, chatter, 86.266
Blew, leaden colour of skin, 126.1 Cheefely, especially, 109.
39.269 ; purple, 151.80 By your patience, by your 35, 170.14
Blow, to deposit eggs, 112. leave, 126.3 Cheeke, jaw, 82.229
63 Cheerely, term of encour-
Boast, display vainglori- Cabines, staterooms , 5.14 agement among sailors,
ously, 141.9 Caliban, nature of, 43.316, 4.5
Boatswain, 3.2 44.319, 48.353, 49.359, 92, Cherish, caress, 82.224
Bold, fierce, 32.205 102.167 ; name of, 43.316 Cherubin, a guard of angels ,
Borespritt, bowsprit, 31.200 Call, call by name, 98.105 ; 26.152
Borne, boundary, 75.152 invoke, 183.147 Chess , 184.170
Borne, adjective use of, Can, can possibly, 36.245, Chirurgeonly, in the man-
162.188 188.218 ; know , under- ner of a surgeon, 73.140
Boskie, bushy, 151.81 stand, 29.173 , 143.27 Chop, variant of chap, 10.60
Boson, boatswain, 5.12 ; see Candied, sugared over, 87. Chough, jackdaw, 86.266
Stress 279 Clap, flap, 133.51
202
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Classical references, 147. Convultions, cramps, 168. Deitie, her, her godship,
60ff. (see Ceres) ; Ac- 260 152.92
tæon, 167.259 ; Amphion, Coragio, hortatory excla- Delicate, charming, 66.41 ;
69.86 ; Cadmus, 69.92 ; mation, 192.258 dainty, 98.97 ; given to
Ganymede, 100.127 ; Ovid, Corolary, overplus, gifts pleasure , 66.43 ; ingenious,
150.76, 172.33 ; Phoenix , given to players, 146.57 57.441 , 98.97
129.23 ; Vergil, 150.76, Correspondent, submissive, Delight, pastime, 106.2 ;
152.102 41.297 pleasure, 125.145
Clipt, entwined, 150.68 Counsellor, a member ofthe Deliver, report, 67.44, 195.
Closing, coming together, king's council , 6.22 313
134.64 Country footing, country- Demand, ask, 25.139
Cockadidle-dowe, 52.386 dance, 156.138 Demonology: demoniacal
Cold, devoid of passion , Courses, points on the possession, 97.86 ; fairies,
149.66 compass-card, 8.53 45.327, 172.33 ; famil-
Collected, used of control Cout, to deceive, 123.130 iars of witches , 36.244 ;
of other powers as well as Cowch, crouch, lie con- folklore : hedgehog, 45.
the intellectual, 13.13 cealed, 179.90 326 ; magic, 14.25, 18.77,
Colour, specious logic, 25 . Coyle, confusion , uproar, 30.186, 114.94, 120.100 ;
143 32.207 man in the moon, 101.150 ;
Come away, come, appear, Crabs, wild apples, 103.171 monsters, 44.319 ; nymphs,
30.187 Crack, crash, 32.203 41.301 ; spirits, nature and
Come on, come on your Cracke, snap, break under powers of, 39.273, 41.301,
wayes, exclamation of en- strain, 108.26, 169.2 42.302, 178.88 ; witches,
couragement , 102.167 Crave, demand, 181.116 39.271 , 41.291 , 45.325
Comforter, cordial , restora- Creature, used with conno- Demy, diminutive, 172.36
tive, 174.58 tation of admiration, 12.7 Den, cave, 143.25
Common, general , 63.4 Cride, cried aloud, raised Depend, wait anxiously for,
Complexion, general appear- an alarm, 91.319 ; wanted, 30.181
ance, 6.32 demanded, 125.152 Desert, uninhabited, 66.35
Composed, made entirely Crispe, rippled, 155.130 Designe, enterprise, plot,
of, 107.9 Crossing the line, 165.239 28.163
Conceive, understand, 145.50 Cry, clamour, outcry, 7.39, Desperate, mad, 138.104
Condition, agreement, con- 13.8. Devoure, destroy , consume ,
tract, 23.117 , cp . 24.120 ; Cubit, a foot and a half, 86. 136.84, 184.155
rank, status, 111.59 259 Dewe, pronunciation of, 44.
Conduct, leader, conductor, Curtsy, render obeisance 321
190.244 to, 51.378 Dignity, worth, 18.73
Consent, agreement, 79.203 Cutt, a punt or scow, 26.146 Diligence, speedy service,
Constable, night-watchman, 42.304, 190.241
116.30 Dainty, fond of comfort, Diminish, remove, 134.64
Constant, steady, settled, 179.95 Discase, remove outer gar-
100.125 Dare, as indicative, 118.63 ments, 178.85
Content, consent, acquies- Dative. See Syntax Discharge, perform, 108.22 ;
cence, 86.269 ; satisfied in Dead, depth, 24.130 act a part, 85.254
mind, 183.144 Dear, deere, affecting one Discovers, discloses, 184.
Contractions . See Stress intimately, 73.135, 183.146 170
Contrarie, in its, 21.93 Deare, injure, 25.141 Discovery, what is revealed,
Contraries, by,in a way op- Deck'd, garnished, covered 84.243
posite to what might have over with, 27.155 Dish, drinking-bowl, 104.
been expected, 74.147 Deepe, significant, impor- 187
Controll, dispute a claim, tant, 86.266 Dismissed, rejected, 149.67
overpower, 50.373 ; re- Deere lady, bountiful pro- Dissolve, fade away, 158.
buke, 57.439 tectress , 30.179 154
203
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Distempered, vexed, 157. Draw, to drink, 102.157 fowle, 93.22 ; glut, 10.63 ;
145 Drie, thirsty, 23.112 guest, 141.13 ; he, 40.282 ;
Distinctly, articulately, 81 . Drift, intention, 172.29 here, 150.74 ; him, 23.107 ;
217 ; separately, 31.200 Drinke, inhale, 179.102 his, etc., 89.299 ; if heed
Distracted, insane, 170.12 Drink, in, intoxicated, 102. me, 81.220 ; I' th' state,
Distractions, madness, 137. 172 20.84 ; lightning, 32.201 ;
90 Drolerie, puppet show, masters, 173.41 ; no, 182.
Ditty, the theme of a song, 129.21 129; of, 141.9 ; our trim,
54.405 Drop, descend, 45.323, 80. 189.236 ; pioned, 148.64 ;
Divel, devil, monosyllabic, 209 scamels, 103.176 ; seeme,
33.215, 182.129 Drops, tears, 27.155 , 170.16 32.205 ; set off, 106.2 ;
Divided, separated : used Dropsie, avarice, 165.232 should, 72.131 ; sinner of
of persons, 190.239 Drowne, sink, 165.232 his memory, etc., 21.102 ;
Do, execute, 62.499, 164. Drowning mark, 6.31 sole drift, 172.29 ; soule,
218 ; work, 152.94 Dulnesse, drowsiness, 30. 15.29 ; spring, 153.114 ;
Docks, medical virtue of, 185 st. dir., 47.351 ; sucks,
74.144 178.88 ; summer, 179.91 ;
Doe, a hortatory exclama- Earth, clod, 43.314 sustaining, 34.218 ; tender,
tion, 166.241 Earthy, coarse, dull, 39.273 86.270; thee, 160.164 ;
Doit, a Dutch coin, 94.34 Ebbing, of waning influence, thine, 42.302 ; third, 140.3 ;
Dollar, a Dutch coin, 64.19 82.226 thy, 174.59 ; 't is, 143.25 ;
Dolour, resentment, 64.19 -ed, expresses causation, trebbles, 81.221 ; twilled,
Double meaning implied : 152.90 ; full of, 151.81 , 83, 148.64 ; verily, 91.321 ; wet,
bat-fowling, 78.188 ; busi- 155.129 ; wide usage of, 72.127 ; where, 189.236 ;
nes, 54.406; delicate, 66.43, 168.261 whom, 182.136 ; windring,
98.97 ; dollar, dolour, 64. Edge, zest, 144.29 155.128 ; with, 16.44 ; you,
19 ; embrace, 181.121 ; eye, Effect, give effect to, 128.13 133.53 ; of rhythm , 24.122,
67.55; fished for, 70.104 ; Eldst, of longest duration, 25.141 , 91.321 , 111.59 , 121 .
flatlong, 77.182 ; foule 186.186 108, 156.143 , 157.146, 160.
weather, 73.141 ; gild, 193. Elements, 134.61 170, 169.9, 170.15 , 183.148
280; greefe and greve, 64. Elision, of final vowels be- Employment, on, on an er-
16; greene, 67.55; ground, fore words beginning with rand, 155.126
67.55; key, 20.83 ; laugh- a vowel, 27.158, 107.5 ; t', Enact, put into action, 154.
ter, 65.33 ; lay it on, 125. before infinitive , 19.80 121
161 ; lie, 116.23 ; light, 58. Else, besides, 21.99 , 61.491 Enchanted, inchanted, pro-
451 ; line, 165.238, 166. Elves, nymphs, 172.33 duced by enchantment,
241 ; liquor, 193.280 ; lyes, 'Em them, not colloquial, 180.112
68.68 ; lose and loose, 165. 46.329 Enclitic forms. See Stress
239; lost and loosed, 163. Embrace, twine about, 187. Encounter, meeting, 112.74 ,
204 ; make a man, 94.33 ; 214; welcome, 181.121 184.154 ; accost, 156.137
misses, 67.56; naturall, Emendations : againe, 52. Enforce, drive, 179.100
117.38 ; pickle, 194.282 ; 390 ; all, 162.190 ; and Engine, machine or instru-
plantation, 74.143 ; point, princesse, etc., 17.59 ; ment, 75.161
182.138 ; rarity, 68.58 ; alone, 165.233 ; beare the Enough, soundly, 120.93
sleepe, 80.216 ; sore, 194. burden, 51.381 ; blew ey'd, Entertainer, host, 64.17
288 ; sort, 70.104 ; stan- 39.269; boile, 175.60 ; most Entertainment, employ-
dard, 116.21 ; subtle, 67. busie lest, 107.15 ; come, ment, 59.465
44; temperance, 66.42 ; 160.165 ; cout, 123.130 ; Envy, malice, malignity, 37.
wondred, 154.123 deck'd, 27.155 ; decke, 121. 258
Double negative. See Syn- 105; feet, 161.184 ; enter- Estate, bestow, 151.85
tax taine, 177.75 ; fellowly, Even, contrary to what one
Dowle, filament of a feather, 176.64;filthy mantled, 161 . might suppose, 107.14 ; in-
134.65 182 ; five for one, 132.48 ; deed, 127.7
204

f
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Even now, just now, 91.311 Fellowly, sympathetic, 176. Fraught, to load a ship, 13.
Event, issue, 23.117, 112 . 64 13
69 Fell together, collapsed, 79. Free, banish, drive away,
Ever, at any time, once, 28. 203 197.20
169 Fen, filth, excrement, 44. Freedome, liberty , 105.190,
Every these, all of these 321 , 67.48 168.266
separately, 191.249 Ferdinand, character of, Frekelled, flecked, blotched
Exactly, completely, 35.238 105, 112.67 ; heir of Mil- with red spots, 40.283
Execute, do, 75.148 ; go laine, 56.437, 70.111 Freshes, pools, springs, I 19.
through with ceremony, Figure, represented char- 75
22.104 acter, 136.83 Frippery, old-clothes bro-
Executor, performer, 107.13 Fine, noble, 100.126 ker's shop, 165.228
Exercise, practise upon, 45. Fish'd for, obtained by ar- From, away from, 59.471 ;
328 tifice : (?) a card-playing out of, passed from , 18.65
Express, make evident, 131. term , 70.104 From toe to crowne, 165.
37 Firme, confident, 32.207 235
Extasie, madness, 139.108 First, at first, 47.342 Frustrate, futile, 127.10
Extirpate, expel, 24.125 Fit, fitting, 57.440 Full, complete, 142.17 ; ex-
Eye, sight, face, 72.126 ; re- Fit, paroxysm of ague, 97. erting all its influence, I10.
gard, 109.40 ; tinge, 67.55 78; of insanity, 137.91 44 ; very, 13.20
Eye, setting of, staring, 82. Flam'd, conveyed by flam- Furlong, a square measure,
229 ing, 31.198 acre, 10.67
Eyes, attention, 144.40 Flesh-flie, blow-fly, 112.63
Eyes set, drunk, 115.11 Flote, wave, billow, 35.234 Gaberdine, a rough cloak or
Foile, put it to the, checked coat, 95.42
Fable of the body and the its power, 110.46 Gallowes, villainous, 6.32
members, 59.469 Folk-lore. See Demonol- Genitive. See Inflection ,
Fabricke, edifice, building, ogy Syntax
158.151 For, against, 8.50 ; as for, Gentle, courteous, 128 st.
Face, show, appearance, 18.73, 35.232, 88.287 ; be- dir.; nobly born, 59.468
22.104, 80.206 cause, 39.272 ; during, 45. Gentle-kinde, gracious , 130.
Fade, decay, 52.399 ; van- 327 ; in order to prevent, 32
ish, 158.155 19.81 Gentlenesse , kindness , cour-
Fadom, variant of fathom, Foretold, informed before- tesy, 28.165
52.396 hand, 157.149 Gently, courteously, 41.298
Faire, happy, 112.74 Forme, appearance, 54.411 Gerundive construction.
Fairely, nobly, 144.31 Forth, from this point on, See Syntax
Fairies. See Demonology 30.177 Gesture, carriage, 131.37
Fall, drop, shed, 176.64 ; let Foule, fowle, misshapen, Gild, make drunk, 193.280
fall, 89.296 93.22 ; muddy, miry, 161 . Gingling, jangling, 189.233
Fall too't, get to work, 4.3 183; tainted, 73.141 Give in charge, order, com-
False, erroneous, 185.172 Found ourselves, recovered mand, 169.8
Falsehood, treachery , 21.93 our power, 187.210 Give it way, give rein to it,
Falsely, wickedly, 68.67 Foundred, gone lame, 144. 30.186
Fault, crime, 182.132 30 Give me favour, pardon me,
Feat, becoming, 87.273 Fourth rights, straight 163.205
Feather, wing, 44.321 paths, 126.3 Give ore, give up, 7.42 ;
Featly, gracefully, 51.380 Foyzon, abundance, 153. desert, 64.11
Feavor of the madde, a, an IIO ; nourishment, 75.163 Glass, hour-glass, 35.240,
access of insanity, 33.209 Fraile, soft, tender, 160.181 188.223
Feede, used of persons, 133. Francisco, 71.113 Gloss, lustrous colour, 68.
49 Franticke, insane, 174 st. 63
Fellow, wife, 113.84 dir. Glut, swallow down, 10.63
205
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Goe, pass, 195.304 ; walk, Have, take, 4.9, 6.30, 14.25 Immortal, eternal, 186.189
116.23, 126.1 , 169.3 ; a Hayre, an infinitesimal Impertinent, irrelevant, 25.
word of remonstrance : get measure of weight, 15.29 138
thee gone, 42.304 ; get out, Headed, minded , 152.99 In, by, 106.2 ; by reason of,
167.255; go along, 41.301 Heare, obey, 30.184 . 40.276
Goe with, act in accord Hearke in thine eare, 44.318 In few, in short, 26.144
with, 153.103 Hearken, listen favourably In good time, indeed, 69.94
Gonzalo, character of, 63.1 , to, 24.122 In lieu of, in return for, 24.
70.105 Heart, purpose, 102.170 123
Good, used in address, 4.3, Heart, find in one's, feel in- Indeed, on the contrary, 67.
5.16, 78.188 ; noble, vir- clined, 102.170 54
tuous, 49.359 ; propitious, Hearts-sorrow , 136.81 Indian, 94.36
30.185, 196.10 Heav'd, removed, 17.62 Infect, poison, 182.131 ;
Good life, energy of action ; Heavens, monosyllabic , 183. taint, 32.208
vividness of representa- 149 ; used for God, 17.59 Infected, used of the plague,
tion, 137.86 Heavinesse , displeasure , 108.31
Good night, used to imply 186.200 ; torpor, 42.307 Infections, 92.1
loss, 145.54 Helpe, cure, 98.102 Infest, trouble, harass, 190 .
Goose, stupid coward, 101 . Here, heere, hither, 150.74, 246
141 185.181 ; in the matter be- Infirmitie, moral weakness ,
Grace, favour, 177.70, 182. fore us, 83.234 ; now, 127.7 159.160
142 ; providence or for- High, great, 171.25 ; potent, Inflection : NOUNS - plu-
tune, 188.219 137.88 ral of nouns in -s, 29.
Grand, authoritative, 39.274 Hint, occasion, opportunity, 173, 43.315 , 50.367, 68.63 ,
Grand liquor, elixir vitæ, 25.134 ; cause, 63.3 186.199 ; cherubin, used as
193.280 Hisits. See Inflection singular form, 26.152 ; fa-
Grassed, grassy, 151.83 His owne, master of him- dom, a plural form , 52.
Grave, influential, powerful, self, 187.213 396; yere (= ' year '), a
30.189 Holpe, past participle of plural, 17.53 ; genitive of
Great, used for things and help, 18.63 nouns in -s, 72.133 , 152.98 ,
persons of importance, 14. Holy, venerable, 175.62 181.127 , 192.268 ; PRO-
21, 35.237 Home, thoroughly, 177.71 NOUNS personal : yeac-
Greefe, hardship, suffering, Hony-combe, cells of a hon- cusative ; possessive : sub-
72.127 eycomb, 46.329 stantive form of, 45.323,
Greene, credulous, gullible, Hot, passionate, 152.98 137.93 ; his genitive of
67.55 Houre, howr, appointed it, 41.295, 71.120, 93.22 ;
Grinde, torment, 168.259 time, 15.36 ; moment of it genitive of it, 75.163 ;
Ground, background, 67.55 time, 130.24, 168.263 yours, in attributive usage,
Grove, thicket, 149.66 How, of what sort , 110.52 85.254; ADJECTIVES
Grudge, discontent, 37.249 Hoyst, lower or launch a comparison of : mo, 72.
boat, 26.148 133 , 189.234 ; double com-
Ha, interjection of indig- Hudwinke, cover up from parative, 13.19, 57.439,
nant inquiry-eh ? 96.61 sight, 163.207 143.27 ; superlative, syn-
Hands, hand-clapping, 196. Humane, human, 40.284 copation of, 10.63, 73.135,
10 Humanely, kindly, 162.190 122.III , 185.172 , 186.186 ;
Hard, (?) firm ground, 150. Hurt, do injury, 135.66 numerical adjectives : sixt,
69 169.4 ; ADVERBS -com-
Harke, hunting term , 168. I, aye, yes, 38.268 parative of adverbs in
261 Ignorant, causing igno- -ly, 65.21 ; VERBS - stem-
Harmlesse, innocent, 155. rance , 176.67 forms : stroak, 46.332 ;
129, 163.196 Ill, evil, 58.457 swom, 100.138 ; weak pret-
Harmonious charmingly, Image, representation , 16.43 erits of strong verbs, 91 .
154.119 Imagination, 110.56 319; past tense of weak
206
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

verbs in -t, 15.31 , 33.211 , Know, acknowledge, con- Living, alive, 99.122 ; per-
135.71 ; past part. of fess, 193.275 ; disclose, formed by living beings,
strong verbs without -n, make known, 48.356, 55. 129.21
109.37 ; pluperf. tense 423 Loathly, loathsome, 142.21
with was, 37.259 ; be, 3d Knit, entangled, 137.89 Long heath, Erica vulgaris,
pers. plu. indic., 86.262 , 87. Knot, folded arms, 34.224 * 11.68
279, 106.1 ; 3d pers. for Kybe, chilblain, 87.276 Loose, to let go, 71.125, 165.
2d of aux. vbs. , 39.271 , 46. 239
333 ; infinitive : pure infin. Labour, pains, 164.215 Lord, husband, 185.172 ;
after go, 78.192 ; infin. Lake, pool, pond, 161.183, used as an ejaculation, 54.
with to after ' let,' ' bid,' 172.33 410
'would,' etc., 111.62 Lame, paralyzed, 94.35 Lorded, empowered to col-
Influence, ethereal fluid, 30. Lamp, torch, 142.23 lect revenue, having do-
181 Land, (?) lawn, 155.130 minion, 21.97
Infused, imbued, steeped in, Last, recent, 184.153 Luggage, hindrance, 165.
26.154 Lasting, durable, 187.208 233, 195.298
Inhabits, dwells, 180.105 Late, laggard, slow, 155.133 Lush, juicy, succulent, 67.52
Inherit, possess, have to Laugh, deride, mock at, 78. Lusty, vigorous, 67.52
dwell in, 104.179, 158.154 192. Lyest, monosyllabic, 118.52
Inly, feelingly, heartily, 187. Laughter, a setting of eggs,
200 65.33 ; laugh, 65.33 Magic. See Demonology
Inquisition, the act of in- Law terms and phrase- Maine-course, mainsail, 7.38
quiry, 15.35 ology : answer, 31.190 ; Make, cause, 29.172
Interpolation , 63.10, 147, borne, 75.152 ; condition, Made into, transform, 21.
156.138, 157.146, 196 24.120 ; death acquits of 102
Into, after confine, 40.277, all claims, 124.140 ; lorded, Make use of, derive advan-
49.361 ; unto, 21.100 21.97 ; premises, 24.123 ; tage from, 61.492
Invert, convert to the very substitution, 22.103 -meale, adverb suffix, 92.3
opposite, 112.70 Lay off, pay off, 8.54 Mall, pet name for Mary,
Inveterate, embittered, ma- Lay on, deal blows thickly, 95.50
lignant, 24.122 125.161 Mallows, medical virtue of,
Is, rests, remains, 34.226 ; Learning, teaching, 50.365 74.144
is to, belongs to, 108.30 Leisure, opportunity, 190. Mantle, covering of mist,
Iteration, 24.131 , 63.6 247 176.67
Levell, equinox, 166.241 Mantled, covered with green
Jacke, rascal, knave, 163 . Let him goe, conventional scum, 161.182
197 phrase for ' cease to grieve Mariner, seaman , 4.3
Jerkin, close-fitting short for him,' 127.10 Marmazet, monkey, 103.174
coat, 165.238 Let loose, let go, 95.38 Marre, hinder, 5.13
Jocond, merry, 122.126 Lie, lodge, dwell, 178.89 Marriage rites, 142.18,20,23
Joyn'd, added, 35.231 Liest, monosyllabic , 37.257 Massie, massive, 135.67
Justify, prove, punish, 181 . Life, lifetime, 84.247 Masques, 146
128 Lift out, oust, 77.184 Master, captain, officer of
Light, easy, cheap, 58.451 ship, 3.2, 63.5 ; superinten-
k, intervocalic, loss of, in Like, as, 158.155 ; equally, dent, 28.163
mistakings, 36.248 135.66 ; likely, 192.265 Match, bet, 66.34
Keepe, abide, 16.44, 86.259 Lime-fingered, thievish, 167. Matter, business task, 107.
Keepers, guardians, 129.20 248 3; serious statement , 83 .
Key, a wrest, key- note, 20. Line, equator, 165.238 ; 230
83 clothes- line, lime-tree, 162. May, denoting obligation,
Kinde, nature, 137.88 193 164.218 ; denoting possi-
Kinde, courteous, 43.309 ; Littour, bring forth young, bility, 23.118, 47.345, 71 .
loving, 129.20 make its bed, 40.282 113, 134.62
207
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Meander, a thing full of in- mayd, 55.427 ; (?) mis- Motion, movement, 144.39
tricate turnings, 126.3 shapen for misshap'd, 192. Mount, raise, 93.11
Meaner, minor, 137.87 , 144. 268 ; Nalpes for Naples, Mouths be cold, euphemism
35 183.149 ; (?) now for how, for death, 9.56
Meanes, opportunity, 151.89 188.218 ; (?) orepris'd for Moved, agitated by any
Meaning, sense, 81.218 ore-peized, 20.92 ; peetlesse emotion, 157.146
Measure, traverse, 86.259 for peerlesse, 110.47 ; rfor Much, take too, 97.82
Medical references : docks t, 181.124 ; roalties for Mudded, embedded in mud,
and mallows, virtue of, 74. roialties, 23.110 ; starngely 183.151 ; fouled with mud,
144 ; infection, 108.31 ( see for strangely, 195.313 ; ( ?) 138.102
Plague) to for doth, 21.102 ; who Murren, plague, 120.88
Medle, to mingle with, to for why in some copies of Muse, ponder on, think of,
take an interest in, 14.22 FO., 194.285 ; (?) windring 131.36
Meerly, wholly, quite, 9.59 forwildring, 155.128 ; wise Mushrumps, fox-fire, Fomes
Meet with, cope with, 160. for wife in some copies of ignarius, 173.39
166 FO., 154.123 ; with for wi’ Music, cure for madness,
Melt, liquefy, 87.279 , 143. th', 23.112 ; of punctua- 174.59
27 ; vanish, 87.279 , 157.149 tion : (?) apostrophe repre- Must expresses concomi-
Merchant, merchant vessel, senting definite article lost, tant necessity, 181.116
63.5 ; trader, supercargo, 7.38, 33.210 ; comma for
63.5 period, 9.59, ( ?) 61.490 , Naturall, idiot, 117.38 ; typi-
Might, power of destiny, 80. 115.18 ; comma inserted, cal production of nature,
204 ; was possible, 23.118, (?) 24.123, 59.471 , 153. II7.38
61.490 ; mightst, wast 106 ; comma misplaced, Naturall, belonging to the
obliged to, 55.415 143.25, 153.106 ; period for natural world, 55.418
Minde, notice, 93.17 comma, 13.15 , 21.102 ; for Nature, disposition, 62.496 ;
Minion, sweetheart, 152.98 semicolon, 32.201 ; semi- human sympathy, 177.76
Minister, do, perform, 142. colon for comma, 131.35 ; Neapolitans, 99.123
17 st. dir., 66.36 Needes, necessarily, 23.108
Ministers, attendant spirits, Misse, do without, 43.311 ; Nerves, muscles, sinews,
40.275 ; servants, 137.87 leave out, 67.56 60.484
Minute, critical moment, Mistris, sweetheart, 113.86 No more, say no more, 36.
156.141 ; 60th part of a de- Mo, more, 72.133 246
gree ofthe ascendant, 15.36 Moaping, bewildered, spell- Non-pareill, without peer,
Miranda, character of, 47. bound, 190.240 121.108
351 ff., 108.30, 109.36 , 110. Moe, grimace, 93.9 Nooke, a retired bay, 34.227
51 , 56 ; name of, 109. 37 Mole, hearing of, 163.194 Not, not even, 158.156
Mischiefe, mischeef, disas- Moneth, month, 38.262 Note, news, information, 84.
ter, 38.264 ; injury, 164.218 Mongst, historical form of 248
Miserable, pitiable, 6.36 among, 134.57 Nothing, nonsense, 76.172,
Misprints, in the First Folio Monsters, 91.314 116.24
of The Tempest : (?) arise Monstrous, contrary to the Noyse, clamour, shrieking,
for avise, 28.169 ; butt for law of nature, 138.95 ; not 10.63 , 167.255
buss or cutt, 26.146 ; ( ?) human, 130.31 Noyse-maker, chatterer,
deare for dare, 25.140 ; Moodie, petulant, 36.244 talker, 7.48
(?) devoure for devorce, Moone-calf, a monstrous or Nurture, education, 162.189
184.155 ; evens for events abortive birth, 99.115 Nymphs. See Demonology
in some copies of FO., Moone-shine, moonlight, 173.
189.227 ; exit for exeunt, 37 Observation, attention to de-
10.66 ; (?) guest for guift, More, further, 180.108 tail , 137.87
141.13 ; island for island- Morsell, 88.286 Occasion, necessity, 80.207
ers, 130.29 ; (?) keepe for Most, majority, 60.480 ; Occupation, business, 75.
sleepe, 86.259 ; made for very, 101.156, 107.3 154
208
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Odde, remote, 34.223 Owl, associated with trag- Pioned, undermined, 148.64
Of at to express rate, 132. edy, 179.90 Pitteous, feeling pity, 13.14
48 ; from, 13.19 , 137.85, Plague, references to, 108.
184.160 ; off, 141.9 ; on, Pageant, play, theatrical 31 , 120.88
189.230 ; redundant, 160. representation , 158.155 Plaine, nothing but, 192.
174 Painfull, toilsome, 106.1 266 ; straightforward, 113.
Of sleep, on sleep, 189.230 Pains, labour, toil, 36.242 82
Office, occupation, 7.41 ; Painted, represented on a Plantation, colonization ,
service, 43.312, 184.156 banner, advertised , 94.31 74.143
Oh, ah, 12.5 Paralell, peer, 18.74 Play the Jacke, do a mean
Oh ho, exclamation of ex- Pard, leopard, 168.262 trick, 163.197
ultant derision , 47.349 Parentheses , 63.2 Play the men, do your duty,
Old, aged, 127.4 ; used as an Participles. See Inflection, 5.10
intensive, 50.369 Syntax Plucke, draw down, 181.127
Omission of subject, predi- Party, one of two powers Plumbe, plumage, 134.65
cate, etc. See Syntax at war, 118.67 Plural . See Inflection,
Omit, neglect, 30.183 , 78. Passe of pate, sally of wit, Syntax
194 166.246 Pocket up, keep silent about,
On, close upon, 169.4 ; oc- Passion, suffering, strong 68.67
casioned by, 49.363, 72. emotion, 52.392, 171.24 Point, cause, occasion, 182.
127 ; of, 20.87 , 58.456, 159. Past tense. See Inflection, 138
157, 167.250, 184.162 Syntax Point, to, ad punctum, 31.
On land, written form of Patch, fool, 119.71 194
a-land, 127.10 Patience, sufferance, per- Poison, 139.105
On the top, above, 128 st. mission, 126.3 Poore-John, salt fish, 94.28
dir. Paunch, eviscerate, 120.98 Porredge, broth, pottage,
Onely, solely, 83.235 Peece, masterpiece, 17.56 63.10
Ooze, bottom of the sea, 37. Perdition, loss , 15.29 Porridge, cold, 63.10
252 Perfect, unmixed, unalloyed, Post, messenger, 84.248
Opportune, used of place, 6.32 Powres, monosyllabic, 135.
143.26 Perfected, taught, 19.79 73
Oppressed, overcome, 128. Performed, effected, brought Praise in departing, with-
15 to pass, 31.194 hold judgement until the
Or .. or, either .. or, 20.82, Perish, injure, 34.217 end, 131.39
144.30 Personal endings. See In- Prayers, dissyllabic, 9.57
Or ere, doubled ere, 13.11 , flection, Syntax Preciously, carefully, 36.
180.103 Persuasion, a profession, 241
Ore, one after another, 138. 83.235 Predicate. See Syntax
103 Pertly, briskly, 146.58 Premises, conditions, 24.
O're eares , over head and Phoenix, description of, 129. 123
ears, 164.214 23 Present, affair in hand, 6.24 ;
Ore-priz'd, more than paid Phonology. See Sounds of the present time, 154.
the price for, 20.92 Pickle, in, drunk, 194.281 122
Ore-stunck, covered with Pickt, got with care, 190.247 Present, act a part, 160.167,
foulness, 161.184 Picture, any representation , 178.85
Out, at an end, 114.1 ; com- 124.134 Presently, immediately, 24.
pletely, fully, 15.41 , 152. Pierce, penetrate, 197.17 ; 125, 145.42 , 179.101
101 ; connoting wrong used of vision, 84.242 Prethee, I pray thee, 36.246
action, 120.87 Pignut, earthnut, 103.172 Prime, of the first rank, 18 .
Out of, on account of, 22.103 Pike, spear, 75.161 72
Over-topping, outstripping, Pinch, bite of an animal, Print, imprint, impression ,
19.81 45.328 ; pang, torment, 48.352
Owe, own, 58.454, 110.45 177.74, 77 Printing: anacolutha (see
209
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Punctuation) ; apostrophe sensory, 70.107 ; attendant Raven, popular associations

for definite article, 7.38, spirits, 40.275 ; spirits in with, 44.321
10.66, 87.278, 96.63 ; con- the blood, 42.307, 79.202, Reare, raise, 89.295
tractions, 9.58 ; parenthe- 127.6 ; sleep, 60.486, 79. Reason, reasonable thing,
ses, 50.367 ; printer's phil- 199 ; visions, 184.156 123.128
ology, 22.106, 26.153 Punctuation : anacolutha , Reason, to do, to do what
Prize, price, pay for, 20.92 15.29, 23.109, 174.53 ; is desired, 123.128
Proclaime, announce, 82. close, 82.229 ; colon a Reasonable, rational, 178.81
229 light point, 40.285, 51.377, Recover, cure, 96.72, 98.
Profess, make profession of, 55.413, 104.180, 162.189 ; 101 ; reachbyeffort, 115.17
83.235 comma, 58.457 ; exclama- Red-hot, passionate, 160.
Profit, advancement in tions, 74.145, 86.268, 86. 171
learning, 29.172 ; help, 43. 270 ; hyphens : dark-back- Red plague, bubonic plague,
313 ward, 16.50 ; sty-me, 47. 49.364
Project, plot, 89.299 ; con- 342 ; interrogation - point, Reeds, thatch, 33.213, 170.
trivance of a masque, 197. 34.225 ; loose punctuation , 17
12 79.203 ; quotations , 86. Reeling-ripe, drunk, 193.
Pronounce, proclaim, 136. 260 ; vocative case, 165 . 279
76 237. See also Misprints, Refuse, refuse to do, 39.274
Pronouns. See Inflection, Printing Releeve, relieve, to succour,
Syntax Puns. See Double Mean- 71.121, 94.35
Proper, own, 134.60 ings Remaine, abide, dwell, 55.
Properly, suitably, 156.138 Puppet, doll, 172.36 423
Prospero, II Purchase, acquire, 142.14 Remember, mention com-
Proverbs and proverbial Purpose,
Purpose, something re- mendingly, 54.405 ; remind,
expressions : an ass will quested or proposed to 36.243
eat nettles, 74.144 ; to beat another, 48.357, 82.224 ; Remembrance, memory, 83.
one like a stockfish, 119. closely associated with 232
79; the best is past, 133. plot, 128.12 Remorse, pity, compassion ,
51 ; he that dies pays all Put in, instilled into, 42.306 177.76
debts, 124.140 ; every man Put off, dismiss, 127.7 Remove,put an end to, 97.81
for himself, 191.256 ; He- Put to, confide to, 18.69 Renowne, favourable report,
roum filii noxæ, 21.93-95 ; Putter-out, investor or 186.193
hethat is born to be hanged, gambler, 132.48 Report, statement, 68.67
6.32 ; old liquor able to Report, say, 39.271
make a cat speak, 98.89 ; Queint, quient, cunning, in- Require, ask for, demand as
praise in departing, 131 . genious, 44.317, 133.51 a right, 174.51
39; as proper a man, etc., Quicke, running, 119.75 Resigne, renounce claim to,
96.63 ; do not trust to Quality, natural advantage, 181.118
standing water, 81.221 ; 46.337 ; profession or pro- Resolve, remove doubt, 191 .
he that would sup with fessional skill, 31.193 248
the devil must have a long Rest my selfe, am, 183.144
spoon, 99.107 ; thought is Race, nature, 48.358 Revels, masques, 157.148
free, 123.131 Racke, scud, 158.156 Rhyme, on secondarily
Provision, foresight, 14.28 Raise, arouse (of an emo- stressed syllables, 153.III ,
Psychology, 170.18,171.23 , tion), 27.156 154.116
171.28, 175.60, 176.66, 177. Rapt in, carried away by, Rhythm : adapted to
79; courage, 27.157 ; ele- 18.77 thought, 71.113 , 79.198, 80.
ments, 43.314 ; genius, Rarer, nobler, 171.27 204, 110.46, 138.95, 141.8,
143.27 ; madness, 134.60, Rarity, freak, strangeness, 149.66, 159.158, 188.216 ;
138.102 ; laughter, 76.175 ; 68.58 cadence rhythm, 95.56 ;
love, 146.56 ; melancholy, Rate, estimation , 20.92 ; crescendo rhythm, 18.72,
42.307 ; Platonic, 58.458 ; opinion, 70.109 23.114, 28.160, 157.146,
210
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

162.188 ; emotion pauses, Seest, monosyllabic, 16.49 Sot, fool, 120.101

131.40, 183.148 ; prose Sense, attention, 70.107 Soule, satisfaction , consent,
rhythm, 9.55, 117.48 ; re- Servant, lover, 113.85 ; of- love, 110.44, 112.63
versal of, 19.79, 75.148, ficer, 115.4 Sound, to (of music), 52.388
160, 144.31 , 157.150, 197. Set a marke, affix a sign Sounds, humming noises,
14 manual to, 25.141 125.145
Rid, get out of the way, 49. Severall, different, various, Sounds and their represen-
364 110.42, 189.232 tation in e. N. E.: a =
Right, fully, 152.101 Shake, expel with violence, MN. E. e before pal. cons.,
Right out, outright, 152.101 98.90 14.26, 182.137 ; a = ai be-
Ringlets (in the grass), 173. Shallow, stupid, 101.154 fore l, m, n, 4.6 ; ingate, 152.
37 Shape, masculine beauty, 102 ; in waste, 31.197 ; a
Roar. See Rore 60.478 after w not yet o, 197.13 ;
Roarers, rioters, 5.18 Shew, appearance, 175.63 ; a before I and cons., 95.50 ;
Rob, take away, 102.163 pageant, 92.5 ai MN . E. a in maister,
Rocke, cliff, 103.176 Should, is fated to, 80.207 ; etc., 73.139 ; ai in un-
Rockey-hard, (?) fore-shore, is possible, 96.70, 181.119, stressedsyllables : sodaine,
150.69 185.174 ; must be, 98.94 90.306 ; travaile, 128.15 ;
Roialties, regalia, preroga- Shrowd, take shelter, 95.45 ai = MN. E. ei, 145.52 ; b,
tive, 23.110 Siege, latrina, foricæ, 99. unhistoric after m, 134.65 ;
Rore, uproar, 12.2 115 d = MN. E. th, 52.396 ; d,
Rore, weep violently, 50. Sight, power of vision, 32. unhistoric after 1, 48.358 ;
370 203 e = MN. E. a in than, 136.
Rough, violent, 174.50 Sinewes, muscles, 108.26, 77; before palatal cons.,
Rounded, surrounded, 159. 168.261 147.63 ; before r and cons.,
158 Single, sincere, 56.432 ; 167.251 ; MN. E. ea in
simple, 191.248 lest, 107.15 ; ea = MN . E.
Sacke, white wine of the Sinke, perish, be lost, 7.43 ; è in creadulous , 101.156 ; in
south of Europe, 100.131 cause to droop, 79.201 lest, 160.169 ; = einfeavor,
Safe, unable to disturb, 108. -sion, dissyllabic, 156.143 33.209 ; in heard, 91.316 ;
21 Sir, lord, 176.69 , 180.106 ē (ea) not yet i, 33.209,77.
Safely, happily, 188.221 Skillesse, ignorant, 110.53 184, 156.134 ; e = MN.E.
Sanctimonious, sacred , 142. Sleepy, proper to sleep, 80. i in enclined, 58.447 ; in
16 211 hether, 156.135 ; ee (i) -
Say, tell, 34.225, 169.5 ; say So, expressing acquies- MN. E ea before r : cleere,
what, 41.300 cence, 14.24, 179.96 ; in 136.82 ; deere, 73.135, 110.
Scamel, godwit, 103.176 such a way, 142.21 ; repre- 52, 183.146 ; ee = MN . E.
Scandaled, disgraceful, 152. senting previous notion, ea in steed, 28.165 ; ee =
90 77.187 MN. E. ie, 17.56, 109.35 ,
Scaped, escaped, 99.123 So, so, so, 179.96 164.218 ; ě lengthened be-
Schreene, shade to temper Sociable, companionable, fore ss, 153.106 ; f, ini-
light, 23.107 175.63 tial, = MN. E. v, 147.61 ;
Sebastian, character of, 63. Sodaine, quick, 90.306 f, represented by ph: phil-
10, 72.128, 79.199, 81.223, Soft, stop, 58.449 ; mild, berts, 103.175 ; turphie,
182.129 gentle, 182.142 147.62 ; f, voiceless , 141.9,
Secret, occult, 18.77 Solemne, holy, 158.153 147.61 ; gn = MN. E. n,
Secure, free from care, 90. Solemnized, performed, 195. 145.52 ; gh, unhistoric, 52.
310 309 382 , 105.190, 142.17 ; gu =
Sedged, sedgy, 155.129 Sometime, sometimes, 31 . MN. E. guttural g, 141.8 ; i
Seed, son, descendant, 50. 198, 125.147 = MN. E. e, 78.195 ; i =
365 Sore, severe, 194.288 MN.E. y, 22.104 ; ir =
Seeme, prove to be, 191. Sort, (?) limitation, lot, for- MN. E. ur, 160.180 ; ( ?) i
249 tune, 70.103 ; way, 157.146 short in triffle, 180.112 ; i,
211
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

sound of, in e.N.E., 72.127 ; ent, 133.51 ; too (to), 4.3, Stephano, character of, 101.
l, unhistoric in salvage, 96. 25.135, 72.128 143 , 114.3 , 125.153
60; (?) n for m, 11.68 ; o Sovereigne, best remedial Stickes, wood for burning,
= MN. E. oa in flote, 35. agency, 182.143 102.167
234 ; in oke, 174.45 ; in Sovereignties, names of, as Still, always, 34.229, 134.
rore, 12.2 ; o = MN . E. ou titles : Millaine, 23.109 ; 64, 153.108, 187.214
in borne, 75.152 ; o = Naples, 56.433 Stinking pitch, 12.3
MN. E. u in sodaine, 90. Sower-eyed, grim, 142.20 Stockfish, dried hake, 119 .
306 ; oa MN . E. o in Spare, keep quiet, 65.25 79
moaping, 190.240 ; in snoar- Speak, proclaim , 80.207 Stomacke, courage, 27.157
ing, 90.300 ; o in one still o, Speake to, exhort, urge on, Stover, fodder, 147.63
156.137 ; o lengthened be- 4.3 Strange, marvellous, 137.87
ford rd, rn, rth, etc., 26.144, Spelling. See Sounds Strangely, unusually well,
31.196, 100.132 , 188.219 ; Spheare, orbit, 77.184 141.7
o short in holy, 156.136 ; Spirit, monosyllable , 197 . Stress (see Versification) :
(?) in wodden, 111.62 ; ou 14 ; a person in a particu- sentence stress - contrac-
= MN. E. ǝ in boudge, lar sphere of activity, 83. tions due to lack of stress :
170.II ; in ouglier, 162.191 ; 235 when ' s when his , 102.
ou before I in troule, 122. Spirits. See Demonol- 163 ; and's = and his, 169.
126 ; ou in cout, 123.130 ; ogy 7; too 't to it, 4.3 ; in't
ow ( M.E. u), sound of, Split, be wrecked, 10.64 = in it, 42.304 ; did ' t =
153.113, 179.94; ow (= Spoke, normal form of past did it, 91.312 ; for 't = for
M. E. ou), 16.47, 25.139, participle of speak, 144.31 it, 177.74 ; upon's = upon
169.4 ; p, unhistoric after Sprights, temper, 51.381 us, 25.137 ; I'm = I am,
m, 173.39 ; r, syllabic, 12.5, Spryting, performing the 58.456, 110.53, III.59 ;
17.53, 22.106, 144.31 ; re duties of an attendant thou 'rt thou art, 177.
= MN. E. er, 158.152 ; spirit, 41.298 74; thou wert, 50.366 ;
s, voiceless, 10.68, 71.125, Spungie, soggy, 149.65 that's that is, 88.282 ;
72.133, 88.291 , 141.9 ; = Spurs, lateral roots, 174.47 this's = this is, 156.143 ;
MN.E.c, 6.22 ; = MN.E. Staffe, magic wand, 174.54 you're you were, 72.
t in -sion, 44.317 ; sch = Stage carpentry, 133.51 128 ; I've I have, 35.
MN. E. sc, 23.107 ; sh = Stage directions : entry and 232 ; thou ' st, 41.296 ;
MN. E. ch, 116.30 ; ss = reëntry, 6.36 ; exeunt they 've, 131.41 ; I'll, 129.
MN.E.rs in gosse, 160.180 ; placed before epilogue , 21 ; 't would, 108.28 ;
th = MN. E. t, 4.9, 34.229 ; 195.318 ; in advance of ac- prethee, 179.101 ; sen-
u = MN . E. o in justle, 116. tion, 128 ; omitted in FO. I , tence stress of attributive
30 ; u MN . E. oo in chuse, 28.169, 78.192 , 81.223 , 89. notions-adjectives : good
30.186 ; in hudwinke, 163. 299, 106, 119.80, 128, 134 , friend, 129.18 ; gréene séa,
207 ; eu spelled ew in blew, 135, 153.110, 162.193 , 165. 174.43 ; nó harme, I3.15 ;
39.269 ; w, loss of, in un- 233, 181.126 thrée yeares, 15.41 ; twó
stressed syllables, 5.12, 95. Stale, bait, 162.187 daies, 41.298 ; genitive
48 ; miscellaneous : abhom- Standard, royal measure, case : bátt's bácke, 179.91 ;
inable, 102.173 ; abstenious, ensign, 116.21 king's ship, 35.236 ; king's
145.53 ; base, 138.99 ; bass, Standing water, water sönne, 34.221 ; possessive
174.46 ; bin (been), 13.10 ; dammed up, 81.221 , 172.33 adjectives : his owne, 174.
born and borne, 40.283 ; Stand to, begin, 133.49 46; mine owne, 28.167, 47.
foyzon, 75.163 , 153.110 ; Staring, standing on end, 342 ; mý friends, 181.125 ;
human and humane, 40. 33.213 mý sonne, 183.152 ; théir
284; humanely, 162.190 ; State, rank and appurte- ówne, 82.228 ; of double
littour, 40.282 ; marmazet, nances of a prince, 18.76 ; adjectives, 130.32 ; sen-
103.174; mettal for mettle, administration, 20.84 tence stress of adverb-no-
77.183 ; min (mine), 47. Steed ( stead ), serve, 28. tions : smile át, 141.9 ;
342 ; moneth, 38.262 ; qui- 165 crêpt bý mě, 52.391 ; pűt in
212
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

mé, 42.307 ; speaks in him, Suggestion, temptation, 88. Syntax : NOUNS - subject
182.129 ; light on yoủ, 47. 288, 143.26 omitted, 20.84, 33.214 , 60.
340 ; doe só, 41.298 ; say Suites, petitions, 19.79 473, 63.1 , 72.131 , 81.220,
só, 169.5 ; would só, 77. Supplant, remove, 118.56, 88.280, 112.77, 136.81 ,
187 ; bé with , 49.360 ; pút 135.70 173.39, 178.82, 193.270 ;
thyswordup, 59.469 ; word Sure, adverbial use of, 91 . apposition, partitive con-
stress -simple words : 315 struction instead of, 65.
confine (noun), 154.121 ; Surprized, carried away, 28; number : distributive
harmóny, 109.41 ; húmane, 114.93 plural, 58.450, 68.63 , 128
47.346; Gonzállo, 126 st. Sustaining, abiding, endur- st. dir., 135.67, 137.90 ;
dir., 176.68 ; impórtune, 72. ing, 34.218 cherubin, 26.152 ; nuptial,
128 ; Millaine, 23.109 , 187. Swabber, a petty officer on 195.308 ; case : nom . for
205 ; opportune, 143.26 ; shipboard, 95.48 acc., 122.109 ; object with
revénew, 21.98 ; súbdüde, Swearing, forms of,, 101.154, redundant of, 21.100 ; acc.
61.489 ; supportable, 183 . 110.53, 118.56, 126.1 , 138 . for nom., 170.15 ; geni-
145 ; űtensil, 121.104 ; com- 94 tive, objective , I 12.72 ; sub-
pound words : blind-boyes, Sweete, soothing, softening, jective in my wrongs, 181 .
152.90; broome-groves, 51.381 119 ; dative of interest, 61.
149.66 ; fáire-play, 185. Swell, used of rising tide, 495 ; ethical, 18.67, 36.244,
175 ; fárewell, 104.182 ; 178.80 37.255 ; ADjectives - –
foot-fáll, 93.12, 163.195 ; Swift, rash, quick, 58.450 doubled, 130.32 ; used sub-
fowle-play, 17.60 ; fresh- Swilled, washed out, under- stantively, 33.209 ; used ad-
brooke, 59.463 ; hálfe- cut, 148.64 verbially, 191.248 ; any,
houre, 122.122 ; line-gróve, Swom, past tense of swim, used substantively, 130.34 ;
170.10 ; midnight, 24.128 ; 100.138 ARTICLE - definite, omit-
schóolemastér, •
29.172 ; Sycorax, 37.257, 44.321 ted, 10.63, 112.74 ; = pos-
whéreon, 24.127 Syllable, minute detail, 62 . sessive pronoun, 13.8, 24.
Strike, pass the hand gently 500 127, 82.224, 125.156, 139.
over, 46.333 ; make a sound Syncopation (loss of me- 106 ; used with vocative,
by percussion, 40.281 dial unstressed syllable) : 17.59 ; PRONOUNS - per-
Strong, connoting a high confederates, 23.110 ; coro- sonal, absolute use of,
degree of, 31.192 ; potent, net,23.114 ; delicate, 66.43, 40.285 ; interchange of 2d
193.269 145.49; destiny, 85.252 ; pers. forms, 12.1 ; re-
Strongly, vehemently, 170. diligence, 42.304 ; diligent, dundant, 170.16, 182.143 ;
17 ; wide range of associa- 110.42 ; felony, 75.160 ; it for she, 122.111 ; it pro-
tion of, 156.144 followers, 169.7 ; harmony, leptically used, 21.100 ;
Strook, past participle of 109.41 ; innocent, 135.72 ; with general sense, 25.134,
strike, 171.25 inveterate, 24.122 ; invisi- 43.309, 107.15 , 112.80 ;
Study, object of pursuit, 18. ble, 42.302 , 179.97 ; mar- with me, by my agency, 33.
74 vellous, 129.19 ; ministered, 212 ; possessive, used for
Stuffs, household stuff, 28. 142.17 ; ministers, 24.131 ; property, etc. , 42.302 ; rela-
164 particulars, 182.135 ; per- tive, antecedent in relative
Subdued, reduced, 61.489 petuall, 88.285 ; popular, clause, 133.53 ; with such
Subject. See Syntax 20.92 ;prerogative, 22.105 ; asantecedent, 132.46 ; con-
Substitute, deputy, 22.103 prophesied, 188.217 ; Pros- nective, 27.156, 35.231 , 46.
Subtle, crafty, 67.44 ; nice, pero, 13.20, 184.159 ; qual- 332, 70.110, 114.93, 121 .
exact, 66.41 ity, 31.193 ; roialtie, 22. 105, 136.79,141.4 ; omitted,
Subtleties, devices, 181.123 104 ; slaverie, 111.62 ; sor- 175.60 ; subject of abso-
Such, the same, 55.413, 143. ceries, 38.264 ; sovereignty, lute construction, 28.162 ;
25 ; such a, a certain, 21 . 75.156 ; surfeited, 134.55 ; which, masc. and fem., 47.
102 terrible, 38.264 ; temporall, 342 ; whichofhe or Adrian,
Suck, take honey, 178.88 23.110 ; watry, 150.71 ; 65.28 ; which with def. art.,
Suffer, perish, 12.6 wearily, 109.32 25.137 ; which what,
213
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

191.249 ; who for whom, 27.156 ; enallage, 142.21 ; since, because, 40.282 ; so
19.80 ; who with neut. an- and = and that, 93.15 ; as that, 20.85, 161.183
tecedent, 12.7, 134.62 ; in- with verbs ofknowing, etc., Then, e. N. E. form of than,
terrogative : what, mere in- 142.23 ; that not used be- 5.21 , 46.330, 73.134 ; at
terrogative particle, 9.56, fore indirect discourse, that time, 33.212, 40.281 ;
54.409 ; what = who, 15. 136.76 ; MISCELLANE- if that is to be the case, 62.
34, 56.431 ; demonstra- OUS CONSTRUCTIONS- 499 ; in turn, when the
tive : this substantively absolute constructions, time comes, 100.137, 113.
used, 83.232, 181.122 ; 141.13 , 150.68 , 177.74 , 179. 87
that used substantively , 99; indirect discourse, 136. There, and then, 120.96
84.250, 121.106 ; myself as 76, 142.23 ; negative con- Therefore, for that, 138.100
subject, 56.434, 171.22 ; structions, 55.419, 61.488, They, indefinite pronoun,
VERBS - predicate omitted 120.101 ; respective con- meaning ' people,' 94.34
in negations, 26.147,33.208, structions, 15.32 ; zeugma- Thine, thy property, family,
34.219, 111.61 ; predicate tic constructions, 61.488, attendants, etc., 42.302
omitted in other notions , 106.2 ; WORD ORDER - 5 . Thing, creature, 100.126,
53.399 ; verb of motion 21 , 14.19, 33.212, 59.460, 192.264 ; a term of oppro-
omitted, 165.233 ; singular 71.117, 74.145, 78.188, 79. brium, 37.257, 40.285, 118.
predicate with plural sub- 201 , 83.235, 87.270, 130. 63
ject, 5.17, 168.264, 170.16, 34, 134.56, 142.22, 180. Think much, grumble at,
180.105 ; predicate in 3d 113, 193.269 37.252
person with 2d person sub- This, this person, 83.232 ;
ject, 177.72 ; mood : in- Tabor and pipe, 123 st. dir. such a, 42.303
dicative for subjunctive , in Take a displeasure, take of Thoughts, anxieties, 78.192,
apodosis of unfulfilled con- fence, 163.202 107.14 ; purposes, 14.22
dition, 50.366, 61.488, 141 . Take hands, join hands in Throughly, form of thor-
II ; tense : historical pres- pairs, 51.377 oughly, 128.14 ; perfectly,
ent and past, in same nar- Take it, construe it, 69.80 utterly, 128.14
rative, 32.205 ; person : Take it as thou list, do as Throwes, gives birth throes,
50.366, 195.318 ; infini- you please, 124.137 83.231
tive : after such, 21.102, 76. Talk, say, converse, 70.96 Thunderstroke, stroke of
168 ; future participle, Talking, babbling, 65.27 lightning, 80.204, 99.117
85.252, 155.126 ; = parti- Taste, experience, 181.123 Thus, in the same way, 88.
cipial phrase, 89.296, 112 . Teene, grief, sorrow, 18.64 284; this, 83.231
74 , 112.79, 153.103 , 190 . Tell, count, note the time, Tilth, tilled land, 75.152
238 ; subord. clause, 23. 64.15 ; describe, 16.43 Time, fitting time, 73.138 ;
119 ; = Latin supine, 38. Tell not me, colloquial opportunity, 90.302, 167.
264 ; participle : past = phrase of protest, 114.I 250
present active , 150.68 ; = Tell the clocke, phrase for Time, phrases measuring
relative clause, 35.231 , guilty acquiescence, 88.289 distance by, 84.247
150.68, 191.250 ; auxil- Temperance, temperament, Time analysis, 182.136
iaries : could = could pos- 66.42 ; a personal name, To, according to, to the full
sibly, 188.218 ; should de- 66.43 extent of, 31.192 ; for, 68.
notes possibility, 52.387 ; Tempered, formed by mix- 75, 134.54 ; in comparison
ADVERBS - adverbs of ing ingredients, 134.62 with, 60.480, 76.179 ; in
place corresponding to Temples, churches, 158.153 order to, 50.367
MN. E. time adverbs, 118. Tend, wait upon, 4.6, 16.47 Tongue, language, 131.38
69, 189.236 ; used for rela- Tender, have regard for, con- Top, acme, pitch of excel-
tive pronoun, 144.30, 173. sider the interests of, 86. lence, 109.38
38 ; used with substantive 270 Touched, roused : used ofany
verb, 91.321 , 109.32 ; as = Tense. See Inflection, emotion, 157.145
as .. as, 188.224 ; CON- Syntax Touch of, sympathy with,
- 171.21
JUNCTIONS — asyndeton, That, that person, 84.250 ;
214
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

Trafficke, commerce, 75. Urchins, fairies, hobgoblins, Vext, troubled, harassed,

148 45.326 tormented, 34.229 , 159.158
Transported, applied to any Urchin-shewes, goblin pro- Vild, vile, 48.358
altering or transforming cessions, 92.5 Villanous, wretchedly, 167.
agency : removed to a far Use, employment, 75.151 ; 252
country, 18.76 skill, 131.38 ; treat, 47. Vine-growing in England,
Trash, to, to check : a hunt- 345, 177.72 150.68
ing-term, 19.81 Utensils, household stuff, Visit, look after, 43.308
Trebble, used to denote su- 121.104 Visitation, term used in
perlative increase, 81.221 connection with the plague,
Trenchering, table furniture, v, intervocalic, loss of, in 108.31
plates, 104.187 devil, 33.215 ; in poverty, Visitor, one whose duty it
Tricks, excesses in conduct, 75.150 was to console the af-
33.210 Vanity, tour de force, 144. flicted, 64.II
Triffle, phantom, 180.112 41 Voucht, guaranteed, war-
Trim, gala dress, 189.236 Vast of night, dead of night, ranted, 68.60
Trinculo, character of, 93. 45.327
18 ff., 101.147 Veine, channel or cavity, 37. w, loss of, 5.12, 95.48
Trod, walked through, 126.3 255 Waigh, consider, reflect, 72.
Troops, groups, 34.220 Vent, utter, 40.280 130
Trouble, pain, 180.104 Verdure, vigour, 20.87 Wallet, a double bag, 132.
Troule, pass in rotation, sing Versification (see Rhyme, 45
in rotation, utter in full Rhythm, Stress , Syncopa- Wallets of flesh, goitres,
voice, 122.126 tions) : division of verse, 132.45
True, honest, 192.259, 268 42.304, 43.309, 79.196, 160. Ward, position of defence
Try, lie to with mainsail 165, 163.197, 202, 179.95. in fencing, 59.471
set, 7.38 181.128 ; extra - metrical Warrant, assure, 146.54 ;
Tunis , 69.83 words and phrases, 37.260, stand surety for, 16.46
Twaine, masculine form of 38.268, 170.15 , 186, 188 ; Waspish, irritably, 152.99
two, 153.104 extra unstressed impulse at Waste, spend, consume,
Twangling, applied to musi- beginning, 22.103, 106 ; ex- 195.302
cal instruments, 125.146 tra impulse before the ca- Watch, clock, 64.12 ; watch
Twenty, used indefinitelyfor sura, 22.105, 24.122, 25. over, 79.198
a large number, 87.278 141 , III.59, 169.6, 181 . Watry, applied to anything
Twincke, twinkle, 145.43 128 ; four-wave verses, thought of in association .
Tyte, tight, seaworthy, 188. 49.362, 52.396, 111.62, 150 . with moisture, 150.71
224 68 (with extra impulse at Waytes, serenaders, 52.
end); half verse comple- 388
u, written w before a con- ments both preceding and Weather, storm, tempest, 7.
sonant, 95.45 succeeding half verses, 27. 41
Unbacked, unbroken , 160. 158 ; uncompleted verse, Well, it is well, 145.50, 146.
176 37.253 ; light end pause, 56 ; it is for the best, 191.
Undergoing, enduring, 27. 12.1 , 13.10 ; loss of un- 251
157 stressed impulse at be- Wench, girl, 25.139 , 55.412 ;
Uneasie, difficult, 58.451 ginning of verse, 20.88 , opprobrious usage, 66.43
Unicorne, description of, 157.146, 160.170, 163. Wet, moisten with tears,
129.22 205 ; in middle of verse, 72.127
Unshrub'd, not shrubby, 32.206, 41.301 , 42.304, 47. Wezand, windpipe, 120.99
151.81 339, 111.62 , 169.9 ; six- What, any, 112.72 , 130.25 ;
Unwonted, unusual , 62.497 wave verses, 28.165 , 91 . exclamation of calling pre-
Up, completely, 60.486 321 , 121.108 fixed to proper names, 144.
Upon, in consequence of, Very, an intensive adjective, 33 ; what sort of, 129.20 ;
107.II 99.113 who, 186.185
215
 INDEX TO THE NOTES ON THE TEMPEST

What a, what, 119.71 Winke, used as a measure about a state of tranquil-

When, exclamation of im- of distance, 84.242 lity, 6.23
patience, 43.316 Witches. See Demonology Worme, creature, 108.31
When time was, once upon With, by, by means of, 20. Would, wishes, 144.34
a time, 101.148 91,35.231,99.117 , 180.115 ; Wracke, wreck, 14.26
Where, and then, 118.69 ; denotes simultaneous ac- Wrangle, cheat, 185.174
whether, 180.III tion, 145.43 Wrong, to do one's self, to
Whiles, whilst, 80.217 Withall, with it, 114.93 be much mistaken, 57.443
Whist, quiet, 51.379 With me, by my agency,
Wicked, poisonous , nox- 33.212 Yare, lively, 4.2, 6.37 ; ready,
ious, 44.321 Without, apart from, 25. prepared, 188.224
Wide-mouthed, insolent, 10. 137 ; beyond the limits of, Ye, unstressed form of you,
60 193.271 184.170
Wildely, unrestrainedly, Woe, used as adjective, 182. Yeeld, bring forth, 83.231 ;
foolishly, III.58 139 put in one's power, 118.68 ;
Will, consent, 118.61 ; Wonder, miracle, prodigy, give, return, 43.309
pleasure, 11.69 55.427, 184.170 ; monstros- Yet, at least, 5.20 ; now,
Willing, desirous of, yearn- ity, 180.104 184.162
ing for, 113.88 Wondred, wondrous, won-
Windring ( (?) = wildring), der-working, 154.123 Zenith, the culmination of a
mazy, 155.128 Worke, agitate, excite, 156. star's influence, 30.181
Wink, shut the eyes, 80. 144, 170.17 Zeugmatic construction.
216, 88.285 Worke the peace, bring See Syntax

216
THIS VOLUME OF THE ELIZABETHAN SHAKSPERE WAS
BEGUN ON THE TWENTY- EIGHTH DAY OF OCTOBER,
NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWO, AND FINISHED ON
THE SEVENTH DAY OF DECEMBER, NINETEEN
HUNDRED AND THREE

val why toover

Toyo a pic

MATVA
152007
THE ·Εξεύρον αὐτοῖς
γραμμάτων τίσυν
DE -Mousθ' απάντων
μνήμην
μουσουήτος
μάτιν ερ IMPA
VIN
NE
PRESS

THIS IS NUMBER1/30
OF TWO
HUNDRED AND FORTY COPIES
AND WAS SUBSCRIBED FOR BY Princetno Universti citrary