Ari. Ay, sir.
Pros. This blue-eyed hag383-80 was hither brought,
And here was left by th’ sailors. Thou, my slave,
As thou report’st thyself, wast then her servant;
And, for383-81 thou wast a spirit too delicate
To act her earthy and abhorr’d commands,
Refusing her grand hests,384-82 she did confine thee,
By help of her more potent ministers,
And in her most unmitigable rage,
Into384-83 a cloven pine; within which rift
Imprison’d thou didst painfully remain
A dozen years; within which space she died,
And left thee there; where thou didst vent thy groans
As fast as mill-wheels strike. Then was this island—
Save for the son that she did litter here,384-84
A freckled whelp, hag-born—not honour’d with
A human shape.
Ari. Yes, Caliban her son.
Pros. Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban,
Whom now I keep in service. Thou best know’st
What torment I did find thee in: thy groans
Did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breasts
Of ever-angry bears. It was a torment
To lay upon the damn’d, which Sycorax
Could not again undo: it was mine art,
When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape
The pine, and let thee out.
Ari. I thank thee, master.
Pros. If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak,
And peg thee in his knotty entrails, till
Thou’st howl’d away twelve Winters.
Ari. Pardon, master:
I will be correspondent384-85 to command,
And do my spriting gently.
Pros. Do so; and after two days
I will discharge thee.
Ari. That’s my noble master!
What shall I do? say what; what shall I do?
Pros. Go make thyself like to a nymph o’ the sea:
Be subject to no sight but mine; invisible
To every eyeball else. Go take this shape,
And hither come in’t: hence, with diligence!—
[Exit Ariel.
Awake, dear heart, awake! thou hast slept well;
Awake!
Mira. [Waking.] The strangeness of your story put
Heaviness in me.
Pros. Shake it off. Come on;
We’ll visit Caliban my slave, who never
Yields us kind answer.
Mira. ’Tis a villain, sir,
I do not love to look on.
Pros. But, as ’tis,
We cannot miss him:385-86 he does make our fire,
Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices
That profit us.—What, ho! slave! Caliban!
Thou earth, thou! speak.
Cal. [Within.] There’s wood enough within.
Pros. Come forth, I say! there’s other business for thee:
Come forth, thou tortoise! when!385-87—
Re-enter Ariel, like a Water-nymph.
Fine apparition! My quaint386-88 Ariel,
Hark in thine ear.
Ari. My lord, it shall be done. [Exit.
Pros. Thou poisonous slave, come forth!
Enter Caliban.
Cal. As wicked386-89 dew as e’er my mother brush’d
With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen
Drop on you both! a south-west blow on ye,
And blister you all o’er!386-90
Pros. For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps,
Side-stitches386-91 that shall pen thy breath up; urchins386-92
Shall, for that vast386-93 of night that they may work,
All exercise on thee; thou shalt be pinch’d
As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging
Than bees that made ’em.
Cal. I must eat my dinner
This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother.
Which thou takest from me. When thou camest here first,
Thou strokedst me, and madest much of me; wouldst give me
Water with berries in’t386-94 and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night: and then I loved thee,
And show’d thee all the qualities o’ the isle,
The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place, and fertile.
Cursèd be that I did so! All the charms
Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!
For I am all the subjects that you have,
Which first was mine own king: and here you sty387-95 me
In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me
The rest o’ the island.
Pros. Abhorrèd slave,
Which any print of goodness wilt not take,
Being capable of all ill! I pitied thee,
Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour
One thing or other: when thou didst not, savage,
Know thine own meaning,387-96 but wouldst gabble like
A thing most brutish, I endow’d thy purposes
With words that made them known. But thy vile race,
Though thou didst learn, had that in’t which good natures
Could not abide to be with; therefore wast thou
Deservedly confined into this rock,
Who hadst deserved more than a prison.
Cal. You taught me language; and my profit on’t
Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid387-97 you
For learning me your language!
Pros. Hag-seed, hence!
Fetch us in fuel; and be quick, thou’rt best,
To answer other business. Shrugg’st thou, malice?
If thou neglect’st, or dost unwillingly
What I command, I’ll rack thee with old388-98 cramps,
Fill all thy bones with achès, make thee roar,
That beasts shall tremble at thy din.
Cal. No, pray thee.—
[Aside.] I must obey: his art is of such power,
It would control my dam’s god, Setebos,
And make a vassal of him.
Pros. So, slave; hence!
[Exit Caliban.
Re-enter Ariel, invisible, playing and singing; Ferdinand following.
Ariel’s Song
Come unto these yellow sands,
And then take hands:
Curtsied when you have, and kiss’d
The wild waves whist,388-99
Foot it featly here and there;
And, sweet sprites, the burden bear.
| Hark, hark! | Burden dispersedly. | |
| The watch-dogs bark: | Bow-wow. | |
| Hark, hark! I hear; | Bow-wow. | |
| The strain of strutting chanticleer. | Cock-a-diddle-dow. |
Ferd. Where should this music be? i’ the air, or th’ earth?
It sounds no more: and, sure, it waits upon
Some god o’ the island. Sitting on a bank,
Weeping again the King my father’s wreck,
This music crept by me upon the waters,
Allaying both their fury and my passion389-100
With its sweet air: thence I have follow’d it,
Or it hath drawn me rather. But ’tis gone.
No, it begins again.
Ariel sings.
Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change389-101
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Burden. Ding-Dong.
Hark! now I hear them,—Ding-Dong, bell.
Ferd. The ditty does remember my drown’d father.
This is no mortal business, nor no sound
That the earth owes.389-102 I hear it now above me.
Pros. The fringèd curtains of thine eyes advance,389-103
And say what thou see’st yond.
Mira. What is’t? A spirit?
Lord, how it looks about! Believe me, sir,
It carries a brave389-104 form. But ’tis a spirit.
Pros. No, wench: it eats and sleeps, and hath such senses
As we have, such. This gallant which thou see’st
Was in the wreck; and, but he’s something stain’d
With grief, that’s beauty’s canker,390-105 thou mightst call him
A goodly person: he hath lost his fellows,
And strays about to find ’em.
Mira. I might call him
A thing divine; for nothing natural
I ever saw so noble.390-106
Pros. [Aside.] It goes on,390-107 I see,
As my soul prompts it.—Spirit, fine spirit! I’ll free thee
Within two days for this.
Ferd. Most sure, the goddess
On whom these airs attend!—Vouchsafe my prayer
May know if you remain upon this island;
And that you will some good instruction give
How I may bear me here: my prime request,
Which I do last pronounce, is,—O you wonder!—
If you be maid or no?390-108
Mira. No wonder,390-109 sir;
But certainly a maid.
Ferd. My language!390-110 Heavens!—
I am the best of them that speak this speech,
Were I but where ’tis spoken.
Pros. How! the best?
What wert thou, if the King of Naples heard thee?
Ferd. A single thing,391-111 as I am now, that wonders
To hear thee speak of Naples. He does hear me;
And that he does I weep: myself am Naples;391-112
Who with mine eyes, ne’er since at ebb, beheld
The King my father wreck’d.
Mira. Alack, for mercy!
Ferd. Yes, faith, and all his lords; the Duke of Milan
And his brave son391-113 being twain.
Pros. [Aside.] The Duke of Milan
And his more braver daughter could control thee,391-114
If now t’were fit to do’t. At the first sight
They have changed eyes.—Delicate Ariel,
I’ll set thee free for this!391-115—A word, good sir;
I fear you’ve done yourself some wrong:391-116 a word.
Mira. Why speaks my father so ungently? This
Is the third man that e’er I saw; the first
That e’er I sigh’d for: pity move my father
To be inclined my way!
Ferd. O, if a virgin,
And your affection not gone forth, I’ll make you
The Queen of Naples.
Pros. Soft, sir! one word more.—
[Aside.] They’re both in either’s powers: but this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light.392-117—One word more; I charge thee
That thou attend me: Thou dost here usurp
The name thou owest not; and hast put thyself
Upon this island as a spy, to win it
From me, the lord on’t.
Ferd. No, as I’m a man.
Mira. There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple:
If the ill spirit have so fair a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with’t.
Pros. [To Ferd.] Follow me—
Speak not you for him; he’s a traitor.—Come;
I’ll manacle thy neck and feet together:
Sea-water shalt thou drink; thy food shall be
The fresh-brook muscles, wither’d roots, and husks
Wherein the acorn cradled: follow.
Ferd. No;
I will resist such entertainment, till
Mine enemy has more power.
[He draws, and is charmed from moving.
Mira. O dear father,
Make not too rash a trial of him, for
He’s gentle, and not fearful.392-118
Pros. What, I say,
My fool my tutor!—Put thy sword up, traitor;
Who makest a show, but darest not strike, thy conscience
Is so possess’d with guilt: come from thy ward;393-119
For I can here disarm thee with this stick,
And make thy weapon drop.
Mira. Beseech you, father!—
Pros. Hence! hang not on my garments.
Mira. Sir, have pity;
I’ll be his surety.
Pros. Silence! one word more
Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What!
An advocate for an impostor? hush!
Thou think’st there are no more such shapes as he,
Having seen but him and Caliban: foolish wench!
To th’ most of men this is a Caliban,
And they to him are angels.
Mira. My affections
Are, then, most humble; I have no ambition
To see a goodlier man.
Pros. [To Ferd.] Come on; obey:
Thy nerves393-120 are in their infancy again,
And have no vigour in them.
Ferd. So they are:
My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.
My father’s loss, the weakness which I feel,
The wreck of all my friends, and this man’s threats
To whom I am subdued, are light to me,
Might I but through my prison once a day
Behold this maid: all corners else o’ the Earth
Let liberty make use of; space enough
Have I in such a prison.
Pros. [Aside.] It works.—[To Ferd.] Come on.—
Thou hast done well, fine Ariel!—Follow me.—
[To Ariel.] Hark, what thou else shalt do me.
Mira. Be of comfort;
My father’s of a better nature, sir,
Than he appears by speech: this is unwonted
Which now came from him.
Pros. [To Ariel.] Thou shalt be as free
As mountain winds: but then exactly do
All points of my command.
Ari. To th’ syllable.
Pros. Come, follow.—Speak not for him.
[Exeunt.
ACT II
Scene I.—Another part of the Island.
Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Adrian, Francisco, and Others.
Gonzalo speaks.
Beseech you, sir, be merry: you have cause—
So have we all—of joy; for our escape
Is much beyond our loss. Our hint of woe
Is common; every day some sailor’s wife,
The master of some merchant,394-1 and the merchant,
Have just our theme of woe: but for the miracle—
I mean our preservation—few in millions
Can speak like us: then wisely, good sir, weigh
Our sorrow with our comfort.
Alon. Pr’ythee, peace.
Sebas. He receives comfort like cold porridge.
Anto. The visitor395-2 will not give him o’er so.
Sebas. Look, he’s winding up the watch of his wit; by-and-by it will strike.
Gonza. Sir,—
Sebas. One:—tell.395-3
Gonza.—When every grief is entertained that’s offer’d,
Comes to the entertainer—
Sebas. A dollar.
Gonza. Dolour395-4 comes to him, indeed; you have spoken truer than you purposed.
Sebas. You have taken it wiselier than I meant you should.
Gonza. Therefore, my lord,—
Anto. Fie, what a spendthrift is he of his tongue!
Alon. I pr’ythee, spare me.
Gonza. Well, I have done: but yet—
Sebas. He will be talking.
Anto. Which, of he or Adrian,395-5 for a good wager, first begins to crow?
Sebas. The old cock.395-6
Anto. The cockerel.
Sebas. Done! The wager?
Anto. A laughter.
Sebas. A match!395-7
Adri. Though this island seem to be desert,—
Sebas. Ha, ha, ha!—So, you’re paid.396-8
Adri.—uninhabitable, and almost inaccessible,—
Sebas. Yet—
Adri.—yet—
Anto. He could not miss’t.
Adri.—it must needs be of subtle, tender, and delicate temperance.396-9
Anto. Temperance was a delicate wench.396-10
Sebas. Ay, and a subtle; as he most learnedly delivered.
Adri. The air breathes upon us here most sweetly.
Sebas. As if it had lungs, and rotten ones.
Anto. Or as ’twere perfumed by a fen.
Gonza. Here is everything advantageous to life.
Anto. True; save means to live.
Sebas. Of that there’s none, or little.
Gonza. How lush396-11 and lusty the grass looks! how green!
Anto. The ground, indeed, is tawny.
Sebas. With an eye396-12 of green in’t.
Anto. He misses not much.
Sebas. No: he doth but mistake the truth totally.
Gonza. But the rarity of it is,—which is indeed almost beyond credit,—
Sebas. As many vouch’d rarities are.
Gonza.—that our garments, being, as they were, drenched in the sea, are now as fresh as when we put them on first in Afric, at the marriage of the King’s fair daughter Claribel to the King of Tunis.
Sebas. ’Twas a sweet marriage, and we prosper well in our return.
Adri. Tunis was never graced before with such a paragon to397-13 their Queen.
Gonza. Not since widow Dido’s time.397-14
Anto. Widow? a pox o’ that! How came that widow in? Widow Dido!
Sebas. What if he had said widower Æneas too? Good Lord, how you take it!
Adri. Widow Dido, said you? you make me study of that: she was of Carthage, not of Tunis.
Gonza. This Tunis, sir, was Carthage.
Adri. Carthage!
Gonza. I assure you, Carthage.
Anto. His word is more than the miraculous harp.397-15
Sebas. He hath raised the wall and houses too.
Anto. What impossible matter will he make easy next?
Sebas. I think he will carry this island home in his pocket, and give it his son for an apple.
Anto. And, sowing the kernels of it in the sea, bring forth more islands.
Alon. Ah!
Anto. Why, in good time.
Gonza. Sir, we were talking that our garments seem now as fresh as when we were at Tunis at the marriage of your daughter, who is now Queen.
Anto. And the rarest that e’er came there.
Sebas. Bate, I beseech you, widow Dido.
Anto. O, widow Dido! ay, widow Dido.
Gonza. Is not, sir, my doublet as fresh as the first day I wore it, at your daughter’s marriage?
Alon. You cram these words into mine ears against
The stomach of my sense.398-16 Would I had never
Married my daughter there! for, coming thence,
My son is lost; and, in my rate,398-17 she too,
Who is so far from Italy removed,
I ne’er again shall see her. O thou mine heir
Of Naples and of Milan, what strange fish
Hath made his meal on thee?
Fran. Sir, he may live:
I saw him beat the surges under him,
And ride upon their backs; he trod the water,
Whose enmity he flung aside, and breasted
The surge most swoln that met him: his bold head
’Bove the contentious waves he kept, and oar’d
Himself with his good arms in lusty stroke
To th’ shore, that o’er his398-18 wave-worn basis bow’d,
As398-19 stooping to relieve him: I not doubt
He came alive to land.
Alon. No, no; he’s gone.
Sebas. Sir, you may thank yourself for this great loss,
That would not bless our Europe with your daughter,
But rather lose her to an African;
Where she at least is banish’d from your eye,
Who399-20 hath cause to wet the grief on’t.
Alon. Pr’ythee, peace.
Sebas. You were kneel’d to, and importuned otherwise,
By all of us; and the fair soul herself
Weigh’d, between loathness and obedience, at
Which end the beam should bow.399-21 We’ve lost your son,
I fear, for ever: Milan and Naples have
More widows in them of this business’ making
Than we bring men to comfort them: the fault’s
Your own.
Alon. So is the dear’st399-22 o’ the loss.
Gonza. My lord Sebastian,
The truth you speak doth lack some gentleness,
And time to speak it in: you rub the sore,
When you should bring the plaster.
Sebas. Very well.
Auto. And most chirurgeonly.399-23
Gonza. It is foul weather in us all, good sir,
When you are cloudy.400-24
Sebas. Foul weather!
Anto. Very foul.
Gonza. Had I plantation400-25 of this isle, my lord,—
Anto. He’d sow’t with nettle-seed.
Sebas. Or docks, or mallows.
Gonza.—And were the King on’t, what would I do?
Sebas. ’Scape being drunk for want of wine.
Gonza. I’ the commonwealth I would by contraries
Execute all things; for no kind of traffic
Would I admit; no name of magistrate;
Letters should not be known; riches, poverty,
And use of service, none; contract, succession,400-26
Bourn,400-27 bound of land, tilth,400-28 vineyard, none;
No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil;
No occupation; all men idle, all,
And women too, but innocent and pure;
No sovereignty:—
Sebas. Yet he would be king on’t.
Anto. The latter end of his commonwealth forgets the beginning.
Gonza. All things in common Nature should produce
Without sweat or endeavour: treason, felony,
Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine,401-29
Would I not have; but Nature should bring forth,
Of its own kind, all foison,401-30 all abundance,
To feed my innocent people.
Sebas. No marrying ’mong his subjects?
Anto. None, man; all idle.
Gonza. I would with such perfection govern, sir,
T’ excel the golden age.401-31
Sebas. God save his Majesty!
Anto. Long live Gonzalo!
Gonza. And—do you mark me, sir?—
Alon. Pr’ythee, no more: thou dost talk nothing to me.
Gonza. I do well believe your Highness; and did it to minister occasion to these gentlemen, who are of such sensible401-32 and nimble lungs, that they always use to laugh at nothing.
Anto. ’Twas you we laugh’d at.
Gonza. Who in this kind of merry fooling am nothing to you:401-33 so you may continue, and laugh at nothing still.
Anto. What a blow was there given!
Sebas. An it had not fallen flat-long.401-34
Gonza. You are gentlemen of brave mettle; you would lift the Moon out of her sphere, if she would402-35 continue in it five weeks without changing.
Enter Ariel, invisible, playing solemn music.
Sebas. We would so, and then go a-bat-fowling.402-36
Anto. Nay, good my lord, be not angry.
Gonza. No, I warrant you; I will not adventure402-37 my discretion so weakly. Will you laugh me asleep? for I am very heavy.
Anto. Go sleep, and hear us not.
[All sleep402-38 but Alon., Sebas., and Anto.
Alon. What, all so soon asleep! I wish mine eyes
Would, with themselves, shut up my thoughts: I find
They are inclined to do so.
Sebas. Please you, sir,
Do not omit402-39 the heavy offer of it:
It seldom visits sorrow; when it doth,
It is a comforter.
Anto. We two, my lord,
Will guard your person while you take your rest,
And watch your safety.
Alon. Thank you.—Wondrous heavy.403-40
[Alonso sleeps. Exit Ariel.
Sebas. What a strange drowsiness possesses them!