The Tempest Quotes

What cares these roarers for the name of king? To cabin: silence! Trouble us not!

What cares these roarers for the name of king? To cabin: silence! Trouble us not!

Disruption of natural order and hierarchy during tempest. Themes of rightful authority. Rhetorical questions; imperatives. (What...not!)

A pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, uncharitable dog!

Sebastian abuses boatswain - shows his cruel nature. (A...dog!)

The wills above be done! But I would fain die a dry death

Gonzalo contemplates drowning - reminded of guilt in Prospero's death? Submission to higher powers. (The... death)

O, I have suffered
with those that I saw suffer!

Miranda shows the virtue of compassion. Polyptoton. Exclamation (O... suffer!)

I have done nothing but in care of thee,
Of thee, my dear one; thee, my daughter

Prospero presents himself of kind and living father. Miranda is very much foregrounded. Tricolon. (I... daughter)

The direful spectacle of the wrack, which touch'd
The very virtue of compassion in thee,
I have with such provision in mine Art
So safely ordered, that there is no soul -
No, not so much perdition as an hair
Betid to any creature in the vessel

Prospero reassures Miranda that his art and her compassion are working to the same goals. (The...vessel)

'Tis far off,
And rather like a dream than an assurance

Miranda's memories of her past life are dim. Fits the trope of dreaming. ('Tis... assurance)

What seest thou else
In the dark backward and abysm of time?

Prospero refers to the past - to everything he will explain that happened before their arrival on the island. (What....time?)

Thy father was the Duke of Milan, and
A prince of power.

Prospero describes his past in manly and plosive terms. Third person (Thy... power)

Thy mother was a piece of virtue

Prospero describes his wife, implying what is important for women. (Thy...virtue)

I pray thee, mark me, that a brother should
Be so perfidious!

Antonio is first introduced by Prospero, whose exclamation shows his incredulity at his treachery. (I... perfidious!)

To my state grew stranger, being transported
And rapt in secret studies

Prospero clearly neglected his dukedom. Somewhat sinister sibilance. (To...studies)

Having both the key
Of officer and office, set all hearts i' th' state
To what tunes pleased his ear; that now he was
The ivy which had hid my princely trunk,
And suck'd my verdure out on 't

Antonio's betrayal is described. A confused mixture of metaphors? (Having... on't)

Good wombs have borne bad sons

Comment about Miranda's grandmother (Good...sons)

To cry to th' sea that roar'd to us; to sigh
To th' winds, whose pity, sighing back again,
Did us but loving wrong.

P and M banished on their boat. Communing with the elements. Emotive. Nature personified. The changeable emotions of the sean. (To... wrong.)

Our sea-sorrow

Prospero's term for their ordeal. Part of a series of terms with this prefix (Our... ow)

Be't to fly,
To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride
On the curl'd clouds, to thy strong bidding task
Ariel, and all his quality

Ariel suggests tasks he can perform, associating him with all the elements. Catalogue, with anaphora, and amplification (Be't... quality)

The king's son, Ferdinand,
With hair up-staring

Ferdinand's terror is described during the storm. (The...staring)

Whom I left cooling of the air with sighs,
In an odd angle of the isle, and sitting,
His arms in this sad knot

Ferdinand is described brooding on his own. Shows Ariel as an observer of human feelings. Transferred epithet (Whom...knot)

The time twixt six and now
Must by us both be spent most preciously

Prospero sets out the time scale for his schemes. Dramatic unity of time. (The... preciously)

Thou liest, malignant thing!

Prospero abuses Ariel. Punchy, brutal. Seeming objectification (thou...thing)

Thou wast a spirit too delicate
To act her earthy and abhorr'd commands

Ariel is of a different sphere, a different element, from Sycorax and her magic. Antithesis (Thou... commands)

This damn'd witch Sycorax,
For mischiefs manifold, and sorceries terrible,

Prospero condemns Sycorax and her kind of magic. Alliteration. (This.. terrible)

If thou more murmur'st, I will rend an oak,
And peg thee in his knotty entrails

Prospero's threat to Ariel is no better than Sycorax. Personification adds an idea of violence and torment. (If... entrails)

Caliban, my slave

Prospero claims ownership and dominion over Caliban. (C...ave)

'Tis a villain, sir,
I do not love to look on.

Miranda's compassion only extends so far. Objectification of Caliban, and foregrounding of visual appearance. ('Tis... on)

We cannot miss him: he does make our fire,
Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices
That profit us.

Caliban's exploitation by Prospero and Miranda. Highly selfish. Lots of first person pronouns. Tricolon (We... us)

Thou earth, thou!

Caliban is associated with baseness, and naturalness. Also with his mother. Exclamative address. (Thou...thou)

got by the devil himself
Upon thy wicked dam

Caliban's parentage. In (a)religious terms. (got... dam)

to-night thou shalt have cramps,
Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up.

Prospero's threats to Caliban - vindictive cruelty. Lots of hard Ts, hissing Ss. (to-night... up)

This island's mine

Caliban lays claim to the island. Short, unarguable sentence. (This.. mine)

I lov'd thee,
And show'd thee all the qualities o' th' isle.

The early days of Caliban's contact with Prospero. Emotive, somewhat pitiful. Mirrors early contact with explorers and natives in the New World. (I... th'isle)

Whom stripes may move, not kindness!

Prospero juxtaposes violence and humanity, stressing that Caliban only merits the former. (Whom... kindness)

thou didst seek to violate
The honour of my child.

Caliban's crime. Clash of belief systems, very western concept. Sexual excess. (thou.... child)

O ho, o ho! would't had been done!
... I had peopled else
This isle with Calibans.

Caliban's response to the crime of rape. Cruel levity - seems callous and unrepentant. Dynastic considerations. Repetition. (O... Calibans)

You taught me language, and my profit on't
Is, I know how to curse.

Caliban's use of learning to speak - European knowledge, as a corrupting influence? (You... curse)

Full fadom 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-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.

Ariel sings of Alonso's drowning. Haunting, mesmeric. Beautiful and magical and unreal - death portrayed as something magical, touching, hauntingly beautiful. Laced with sea-related words, mixed with a semantic field of death. (Full... knell)

The fringed curtains of thine eyes advance,
And say what thou seest yond.

Dramatic and momentous terms in which Ferdinand is revealed to Miranda. A turning point. The setting up of his grand plan. A command. (The... yond)

What is 't? A spirit?

Miranda first assumes Ferdinand is not mortal. Short, breathless seeming questions (What... spirit?)

I might call him
A thing divine, for nothing natural
I ever saw so noble.

Miranda wonders as to Ferdinand's human status. Is he mortal? A god? The idea that nobility shows itself in physical appearance. Antithesis. Hyperbole. (I... noble)

Most sure the goddess
On whom these airs attend!

Ferdinand mistakes Miranda for a divinity. Recollections of Aeneid. Actually endows her with much more power than she really has. (Most... attend!)

O, if a virgin,
And your affection not gone forth, I'll make you
The Queen of Naples.

Her virginal status is important. A precondition for Ferdinand marrying Miranda. (O... Naples)

This swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light.

Aside: Prospero justifies his harsh treatment of Ferdinand. (This... light)

There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple.

Miranda expressly voices the connection she sees between appearance and character. Connotations of worship and devotion. (There's... temple)

What! I say,
My foot my tutor?

Prospero objectifies Miranda, and clearly conveys the power dynamic of their relationship. (or is it just an act?) Rhetorical question and exclamation. (What!... tutor?)

My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.

Ferdinand suffers from the dreamlike influence that is common to so many characters. Trope (My.... up)

Would I had never
Married my daughter there! for coming thence
My son is lost, and, in my rate, she too,
Who is so far from Italy removed
I ne'er again shall see her.

Alonso regrets the loss of both his children as he moves from political to personal priorities. Urgent exclamative subjunctive. Fatalistic (Would... her)

Sir, you may thank yourself for this great loss,
That would not bless our Europe with your daughter,
But rather loose her to an African

Sebastian tells Alonso that he is to blame. Racial considerations play a part. Antithesis between geographical locations? (Sir, ... African)

The fair soul herself
Weigh'd between loathness and obedience

Claribel's attitude to marriage. Racial considerations, and the woman's position and lack of choice. Pointed use of fair? (The... obedience)

I' th' commonwealth I would by contraries
Execute all things

Gonzalo's plan for ruling the island. Very much based on Montaigne. Communal idyll. (I'... things)

Nature should bring forth,
Of its own kind, all foison, all abundance,

Gonzalo envisages the ideal fertility that is so prevalent in the play. Asyndeton, anaphora, pleonasm (Nature... abundance)

I would with such perfection govern, sir,
T'excel the Golden Age.

Classical reference, seems somewhat incongruous in this contemplation of uncivilised society. He can't lose his cultured European background. (I... Age)

My strong imagination sees a crown
Dropping upon thy head.

Antonio presents to Antonio the idea of kingship. Metaphor, an image that reappears from Caliban and Gonzalo later. Questions of rightful authority, divine right of kings? (My.... head)

Thou dost snore distinctly.
There's meaning in thy snores.

Sebastian begins to cotton on. His his speech deliberatively vague and cryptic? Trope of sleep, dreaming - but the ugly, mundane side. Can only see the external signs - not the dreams. Polyptoton. (Thou...snores)

She that from whom
We were all sea-swallow'd, though some cast again,
And that by destiny to perform an act
Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come,
In yours and my discharge.

Ant describes Claribel and their voyage of destiny from her. Very theatrical imagery. The idea of rewriting future, as a playwright. (She... discharge)

As thou got'st Milan
I'll come by Naples. Draw thy sword: one stroke
Shall free thee from the tribute which thou payest,
And I the King shall love thee.

The decisive moment; they prepare for the task. The real motivations for Antonio. Incongruous mention of love. Parallel sentence structure. Imperative. (As.... thee)

Lo, now, lo!
Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me

Caliban shows his conditioning to fear. Repetition. (Lo... me)

What have we here? a man or a fish?

Trinculo tries to make sense of Caliban. (What... fish?)

Were I but in England now... and had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver.

Trinculo clearly shows his intentions to exploit Caliban for financial gain. Reflects actualities of exploration. Cynicism - Shakespeare's own thoughts? (Were... silver)

He's a present for any emperor that ever trod on neat's-leather.

Stephano is equally mercenary about Cal. (He's... leather)

That's a brave god, and bears celestial liquor: I will kneel to him.

Cal's first response to Step: the confusion of the banal and the mystical. Immediate debasement of self (That's.... him)

Out o' the moon, I do assure thee: I was th' man i' th' moon when time was.

The manipulation of Caliban's innocence/credibility. Actually something settlers made natives believe. (Out... Was)

I'll show thee every fertile inch o' th' island; and I will kiss thy foot: I prithee, be my god.

Caliban promises Stephano just what he did for Prospero. Bathos, juxtaposed with veneration (I'll... God)

Trinculo, the King and all our company else being drown'd, we will inherit here.

Stephano assumes his own leadership of the island - even though he thinks he has no one to rule. Theme of rightful authority (Trinculo... here)

Admir'd Miranda!
Indeed the top of admiration! Worth
What's dearest to the world!

Very hyperbolic praise of Miranda - a pun on her name. Superlatives. Also quite monetary terms. (admir'd...world!)

But you, O you,
So perfect and so peerless, are created
Of every creature's best.

Ferdinand's praise of Miranda. Repetition of her name. Firm plosive alliteration. More hyperbole and superlative. (But... best.)

How features are abroad
I am skilless of; but, by my modesty,
The jewel in my dower, I would not wish
Any companion in the world but you.

Miranda shows innocence modesty - but also somewhat contradicts this, by referring to herself and her modesty as treasure. She appears to have a surprising knowledge of what appeals to men. (How...you.)

For your sake
Am I this patient log-man.

Ferdinand submits to punishment for Miranda. Parallels (antithesis) between him and Caliban. (For...man)

I am your wife if you will marry me.

Miranda effectively proposes to Ferdinand. Lots of personal pronouns stress the close bond between them (I... me)

That a monster should be such a natural!

Trinculo's derisory comment on Caliban's intellect. Questions of nature/nurture - and comparison. Who is natural? Who is unnatural? Who is intelligent and who is idiotic? Is this hypocritical? (That... natural!)

I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island.

Caliban talks of his persecution by Prospero, and his rightful claim to the island. (I... island)

Thou mayst brain him,
Having first seiz'd his books; or with a log
Batter his skull, or paunch him with a stake,
Or cut his wezand with a knife.

Caliban's suggestions for Prospero's annihilation. Very brutal and violent vocabulary. Emphasis on need to take books. Polysyndeton. (Thou... knife.)

She will become thy bed, I warrant,
And bring thee forth brave brood.

Caliban suggests Miranda for Stephano's consort. Objectification? (or not) Certainly dynastic concerns. Alliteration. (She... brood)

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight, and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I wak'd,
I cried to dream again.

Caliban's beautiful speech, in verse. Changes our perception of the character. Poetic. Trope of dreaming, nature, treasures, music. (Be... again)

and the sea mocks
Our frustrate search on land.

Alonso curses the sea, personifying it. Cannot find Ferdinand. (and... land)

Dance about it with gentle actions and salutations; and inviting the king, etc, to eat, they depart.

Stage direction - the spirits lay the table. Harmonious precursor to the antimasque. (Dance...depart)

Who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet, note,
Their manners are more gentle, kind, than of
Our human generation you shall find
Many, nay, almost any.

Gonzalo's wisdom about the spirits who bring the feast. He recognises the failings of humanity, the potential for innate goodness of natural creatures. Doesn't judge by appearance. (Who...any)

Ariel like a harpy; he claps his wings upon the table

Stage direction comparing Ariel to a Harpy. Dramatic gestures. (Ariel...table)

You are three men of sin, whom Destiny... The never-surfeited sea
Hath caused to belch up you

The beginning of Ariel's warning speech. Very dramatic, grandiose. Metonymy. Brutal language. (You ... you)

I have made you mad.

Stark, laconic five word sentence: Ariel's effects on the courtiers' minds. Alliteration? Power.(I... mad)

The elements,
Of whom your swords are temper'd, may as well
Wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd at stabs
Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish
One dowle that's in my plume.

Simile expressing the pointlessness of trying to wound Ariel is compared to the elements. Man pitted against nature. (The....plume)

Exposed unto the sea, which hath requit it,
Him and his innocent child

What Antonio did to Prospero, in the words of Ariel. The sea is personified as a force of judgment, justice, vengeance. Guilt/innocence. (Exposed...child)

O, it is monstrous, monstrous!
Methought the billows spoke, and told me of it.

Alonso's guilt-racked reaction to the reminder of his deed. Hearing accusation in the waves, in nature. Exclamation and repetition. (O...it)

The thunder,
That deep and dreadful organ-pipe, pronounc'd
The name of Prosper; it did bass my trespass.
Therefor my son i' th' ooze lies bedded; and
I'll seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded,
And with him there lie mudded.

Alonso elaborates on his accusation by nature, all of which reminds him of his crime. Musical imagery, plays on words. Claims responsibility for Ferdinand's death. Wishes to die with him. Hyperbole. Imagery and language stands in marked contrast to Ariel's description of Alonso's drowning. Dull, deadening Ds. (The... mudded)

Have given you a third of my own life

Prospero hands over Miranda, like a present. She only seems to exist as part of him. Personal pronouns. (Have... life)

My gift, and thine own acquisition
Worthily purchas'd, take my daughter

Miranda described by Prospero in very monetary terms; like a transaction between him and Ferdinand. She gets no say, despite being present. (my... daughter)

If thou dost break her virgin-knot before
All sanctimonious ceremonies may
With full and holy rite be minister'd...
Barren hate,
Sour-ey'd disdain and discord shall bestrew
The union of your bed with weeds so loathly,
That you shall hate it both.

Warnings to Ferdinand to maintain chastity. Very unpleasant semantic fields. Contrast of religious vocabulary and unpleasant words. D alliteration. (If.... minister'd... Barren... both)

Some vanity of mine art: it is my promise,
And they expect it from me.

Prospero realises he must provide this for F and M. A more benign, trifling exhibition of his magic. (Some... me)

The white cold virgin snow upon my heart
Abates the ardour of my liver.

Ferdinand swears he has no thoughts of intimacy with M. Very overly romantic image - referring to M's hand on his heart? Bodily/spiritual. (The...liver)

Tell me, heavenly bow,
If Venus or her son, as thou dost know,
Do now attend the queen?

Ceres asks Iris if Venus is with Miranda. Classical religious symbolism / metonymy. Increases the spiritual, mystical atmosphere that pervades the play, mixing Christian, classical and pagan religious influences. Poetic/recessive style. (Tell... queen?)

Mars's hot minion is return'd again;
Her waspish headed son has broke his arrows,
Swears he will shoot no more, but play with sparrows

The victory of the couple's chastity over Cupid's temptations. (Mars's... sparrows)

Honour, riches, marriage-blessing,
Long continuance, and increasing,
Hourly joys be still upon you!
Juno sings her blessings on you.

The conclusion of the goddess' blessing - like a song, a hymn. Juno's syndetic catalogue. Positive semantic field. (Honour... you)

Spring come to you at the farthest
In the very end of harvest!
Scarcity and want shall shun you;
Ceres' blessing so is on you.

Ceres' gives her blessing - fertility, abundance. Like the golden age. (Spring... you)

like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

Prospero's famous speech about the ephemerality of everything. Semantic field of drama and theatre; dreams. Insubstantial, transitory. Rich and beautiful. Asyndeton. (like... sleep.)

A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick

Prospero condemns Caliban as incorrigable. Repetition and juxtaposition. (A... stick)

Let it alone, thou fool; it is but trash.

Caliban shows his wisdom. Becomes disparaging in his desperation to keep his companions focused on their goal. (Let... trash)

At this hour
Lies at my mercy all mine enemies:

Prospero relishes in the immense power he holds over his enemies. Signals the climax of the play, with its emphasis on grasping the moment. Alliteration. (At... enemies:)

That if you now beheld them, your affections
Would become tender./
Dost thou think so, spirit?/
Mine would, sir, were I human.

Prospero and Ariel discuss their attitudes towards forgiveness and sympathy. The words on the line endings are all very significant - especially the last two, that create a telling contrast between spirit and human - and what it means to be human. (That... human.)

Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
Of their afflictions, and shall not myself,
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,
Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art?

Prospero is deeply moved by Ariel's capacity for pity. Very sensitive, emotional. Compassion is foregrounded. (Hast... art?)

Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury
Do I take part: the rarer action is
In virtue than in vengeance

Prospero's decision to forgive. His self-knowledge: building himself into a better person. Learning and improving, shown by comparisons. Juxtaposition with alliteration. (Yet... vengeance)