The Tempest: Reading and Studying Guide
What literary devices can you identify in the language of Iris, Ceres, and Juno? Find at least two different techniques and name each device. Give a brief definition followed by a quotation from the play, line numbers cited, and a brief explanation. (Act 4)
1. Ceres: symbolism- "Earth's increase foison plenty/ barnes and gerners never empty" (4.1.123-124). The symbolism of the harvest gives light to Ceres' blessing upon Ferdinand and Miranda of abundant happiness and wealth. 2. Iris: imagery- "Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheap,/ and flat meads thatched with stover, them to keep" (4.1.69-70). Iris uses imagery to show how well Ceres takes care of the land.
Why does Caliban respond to Trinculo and Stephano with such reverence? (Act 2)
After drinking their wine, Caliban is convinced the Stephano and Trinculo, who he previously suspected to be Prospero's spirits, are gods. Caliban is so desperate to be free of Prospero that he offered to take them to "where crabs grow;/ and [he] with [his] long nails dig [them] pignuts" (2.2.173-174).
After the other men fall asleep, Antonio makes a surprising suggestion to Sebastian. What is this suggestion, and what is Antonio's rationale for it? (Act 2)
Antonio suggests to sebastian that he should kill his brother, Alonzo, King of Naples. Antonio rationalizes this by explaining how Sebastian's niece, the heir, is also "Queen of Tunis; she that dwells/ Ten leagues beyond man's life; dhe from naples/ can have no note" (Shakespeare 2.1.282-284).
We meet Ariel, a magical spirit who works under Prospero's command, and who controlled the storm that took place in Scene 1. Summarize the history between Prospero and Ariel. (Act 1)
Ariel was once imprisoned in a pine tree because she refused "to act [Sycorax's] earthy and abhorred commands" (1.2.326). After 12 years of loneliness and torment, Prospero came along and freed Ariel. Since then, she has been a faithful slave but is now hoping for her freedom.
What in your view does Shakespeare imply by giving the "monster" Caliban some of the most eloquent lines in the play? (Act 3)
By giving Caliban eloquent language, Shakespeare not only implies that Prospero was a a good teacher but that Caliban is not as 'savage' as Prospero makes him out to be. Barbarous beings generally do not have language, so the fact that Caliban was able to not only learn Italian, but excel in it proves that his outward appearance does not fully reflect his spirit.
What unpleasantries do Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban endure on their way to Prospero's home? (Act 4)
Drunk and hungry for revenge, Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban were led by Ariel through "toothed briers, sharp furzes , pricking gorse, and/ thorns" and left them in a "filthy-mantled pool beyond your cell,/ There dancing up to th' chins, that the foul lake/ O'erstunk their feet" (4.1.200-205).
Conflict between masters and slaves is a central topic of The Tempest. How does the exchange between the Boatswain (pronounced "bozun"-the crew member in charge of a ship's sails, rigging, and deck crew) and Gonzalo and Sebastian illustrate this conflict? (Act 1)
Gonzalo and Sebastian both badger Boatswain to which he tells them "to cabin: Silence!/ Trouble [them] not" (Shakespeare 1.1.17-18). Both Sebastian and Gonsalo are unpleased with his answer and they lash back saying, "a pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous,/ incharitable dog!" (Shakespeare 1.1.41-42)
What do we learn about Gonzalo's past involvement with Prospero? (Act 1)
Gonzalo was kind to Prosper. He earned his favor by providing him with food, fresh water along with "rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries/ [and] knowing [Prospero] loved [his] books, he furnished" him with some (1.2.195-198).
Explain Caliban's plan to make Prospero less prosperous. (Act 3)
His plan is "first to possess [Prospero's] books, for without them/ he's but a sot, as [Caliban is]" (3.2.101-102). By doing so, they'd be able to weaken Prospero enough to kill him making Stephano the king of the island and Caliban his slave. Caliban says that Stephano that he can marry Miranda claiming that "she will become they bed [...]/ and bring thee forth brave brood" (3.2.114-115).
What does Caliban state in his opening speech in this scene? (Act 2)
In his opening speech, Caliban states how he wishes for "all the infections that the sun sucks up/ from bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall" (2.2.1-2). He also mentions that he is constantly tormented by Prospero's spirits but they won't bit "unless [Prospero] bid'em" (2.2.7).
How does Ariel facilitate the meeting of Miranda and Ferdinand? (Act 1)
In the song Ferdinand hears Ariel singing, she is planting hints such as when she sings "take hands:/ Curtsied when you have and kissed/ the wild waves whist", as she leads him to Miranda (1.2.453-455). She also makes sure Ferdinand is looking his best to impress Miranda.
What's sweet and what's weird in Ferdinand's expression of his love for Miranda and in hers for him? Leaf through the scene and cherry-pick the best examples. (Act 3)
It is odd that Ferdinand has fallen in love with Miranda without even knowing her name yet, at the same time, it is sweet that just by thinking about her he gains characteristics such as servanthood. It is also sweet that Miranda chooses to rebel against her father rule and "weeps when she sees [Ferdinand] work" and pleads for him to let her do the task for him (3.1.12). Another weird expression of their love for eachother is that they have agreed to marry one another without knowingly receiving a blessing of their marriage from either one of their parents.
What is Trinculo's assessment of Caliban, and how does it reflect the characteristics of a Harlequin? (Act 2)
Like a Harlequin, Trinculo is quite clever but, being a jester, doesn't earn a lot of income. Trinculo is smart because he thinks back to his time in england where beasts like Caliban were in freakshows and "not a holiday/ fool there but would give a piece of silver: there/ would this monster make a man" (2.2.29-31).
Consider Prospero's famous epilogue from two points of view: in the literal sense and the figurative sense. If the speech is simply the words of Prospero, how does it bring the story to a close? If the speech comes from Shakespeare himself, a playwright and actor at the end of his final play, what is his message?
Literal: Prospero broke his staff and gives up his magic to say goodbye to the audience and end the play. Figurative: Through Prospero, Shakespeare is saying his final farewell to the theatre.
What do Miranda's first lines suggest about her character? (Act 1)
Miranda's first lines suggest that she is a very kind and caring person. She wants her father, Prospero, to cause no harm to the strangers caught in the storm because "the cry did knock/ against [her] very heart" (Shakespeare 1.2.8-9)
It appears that Prospero wants his daughter and Ferdinand to fall in love. Other than the fact that he's a dad with a teenage daughter, why does Prospero cast a spell over Ferdinand to render him powerless and then imprison him? (Act 1)
Prospero casts a spell over Ferdinand and accuses him of being a traitor because he "must uneasy make, lest too light winning/ make the prize light" (1.2.544-545).
Some scholars interpret Prospero's "Our revels..." speech as a message to the audience from Shakespeare himself. Considering that The Tempest is widely considered to be Shakespeare's final play, explain this interpretation. (Act 4)
Prospero constantly refers back to, in his speech, that in time everything "shall dissolve/ and, like this insubstantial pageant faded,/ leave not a rack behind" (4.1.171-173). This relates to the fact that like a curtain closes at the end of a play, that he too will close the curtain to his playwriting career.
What does Prospero demand of Ferdinand in exchange for the "gift" of Miranda? What does this suggest about Elizabethan attitudes toward marriage? (Act 4)
Prospero demands that if Ferdinand "dost break her virgin-knot before" the wedding, that "no sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall/ to make this contract grow; but barren hate/ sour-eyed disdain, and discord shall bestrew" (4.1.16-21). Prospero's demand reflects the ideas of the Elizabethan era in that sex before marriage was a sin; Prospero wanted them to have a 'clean' marriage.
What is Prospero's message to each of these characters: Gonzalo, Alonso, and Antonio? (Act 5)
Prospero told Gonzalo that he is a "honorable man,/ [Prosper's] eyes, e'en sociable to the show of [Gonzalo's],/ fall fellowly drops" (5.1.71-73). He confronted Alonso about how he used "[Prospero and his] daughter./ [his] brother was a furtherer in the act" (5.1.81-82). Lastly he told Antonio that he 'entertained ambition,/ expelled remorse and nature" (5.1.85-86).
Summarize the "backstory" revealed in the conversation between Prospero and Miranda. (Act 1)
Prospero was once the duke of Milan, however he was more interested in studying liberal arts and practicing magic than reporting to his responsibilities. His brother, Antonio, gained power through this but wanted more. He payed off Alonzo, King of Naples, to banish Prospero and his daughter and to make an army to defeat Milan.
Identify the moment in which Prospero decides the fate of his captives. What influences him to act as he does? (Act 5)
The act opens with Prospero lavishing in the climax of his revenge and he asks Ariel how his prisoners are doing. To which Ariel replies saying that they are were he'd left them but mentioned how "if [Prosper] now beheld them, [his] affections/ would become tender" (5.1.23-24).These words from Ariel influenced Prospero to forgive the men.
The expression "I have been in such a pickle," which has come to mean "I've been in a difficult predicament," originates in this play. How are these words, in a more literal sense, appropriate to Trinculo's situation? (Act 5)
These expressions originate from Trinculo being drunk and stranded with vengeful Caliban and Stephano whom is hungry for power.
How does Alonso react to Ariels's message? (Act 3)
Upon hearing Ariel's message,Alonzo becomes consumed by his guilt over his actions concerning Prospero. He thinks his son, Ferdinand is dead as a consequence for his actions and decides to seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded,/ and with him there lie mudded", or in other words, kill himself (3.3.122-123).
A complex history exists between Caliban and his human keepers, Prospero and Miranda. Describe this history as Caliban tells it, from their first interactions through the present. (Act 1)
When Prospero first arrived to the island, he taught Caliban language and, in return, Caliban showed him "the fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and/ fertile" (1.2.404-405). Consequently, Prospero took the island and enslaved Caliban. Caliban is also accused of trying to rape Miranda, causing a hateful relationship between Caliban and his human keepers.