finished_summaries/sparknotes/The Tempest/section_8_part_0.txt
The Tempest.act iv.scene i
act iv, scene i
{"name": "Act IV, scene i", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20210131162607/https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/tempest/section9/", "summary": "Prospero gives his blessing to Ferdinand and Miranda, warning Ferdinand only that he take care not to break Miranda's \"virgin-knot\" before the wedding has been solemnized . Ferdinand promises to comply. Prospero then calls in Ariel and asks him to summon spirits to perform a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda. Soon, three spirits appear in the shapes of the mythological figures of Iris , Juno , and Ceres . This trio performs a masque celebrating the lovers' engagement. First, Iris enters and asks Ceres to appear at Juno's wish, to celebrate \"a contract of true love.\" Ceres appears, and then Juno enters. Juno and Ceres together bless the couple, with Juno wishing them honor and riches, and Ceres wishing them natural prosperity and plenty. The spectacle awes Ferdinand and he says that he would like to live on the island forever, with Prospero as his father and Miranda as his wife. Juno and Ceres send Iris to fetch some nymphs and reapers to perform a country dance. Just as this dance begins, however, Prospero startles suddenly and then sends the spirits away. Prospero, who had forgotten about Caliban's plot against him, suddenly remembers that the hour nearly has come for Caliban and the conspirators to make their attempt on his life. Our revels now are ended. These our actors,As I foretold you, were all spirits, andAre melted into air, into thin air;And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,The solemn temples, the great globe itself,Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuffAs dreams are made on, and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep. Prospero's apparent anger alarms Ferdinand and Miranda, but Prospero assures the young couple that his consternation is largely a result of his age; he says that a walk will soothe him. Prospero makes a short speech about the masque, saying that the world itself is as insubstantial as a play, and that human beings are \"such stuff / As dreams are made on.\" Ferdinand and Miranda leave Prospero to himself, and the old enchanter immediately summons Ariel, who seems to have made a mistake by not reminding Prospero of Caliban's plot before the beginning of the masque. Prospero now asks Ariel to tell him again what the three conspirators are up to, and Ariel tells him of the men's drunken scheme to steal Prospero's book and kill him. Ariel reports that he used his music to lead these men through rough and prickly briars and then into a filthy pond. Prospero thanks his trusty spirit, and the two set a trap for the three would-be assassins. On a clothesline in Prospero's cell, Prospero and Ariel hang an array of fine apparel for the men to attempt to steal, after which they render themselves invisible. Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano enter, wet from the filthy pond. The fine clothing immediately distracts Stephano and Trinculo. They want to steal it, despite the protests of Caliban, who wants to stick to the plan and kill Prospero. Stephano and Trinculo ignore him. Soon after they touch the clothing, there is \"A noise of hunters\" . A pack of spirits in the shape of hounds, set on by Ariel and Prospero, drives the thieves out.", "analysis": "Analysis The wedding of Ferdinand and Miranda draws near. Thus, Act IV, scene i explores marriage from several different angles. Prospero and Ferdinand's surprisingly coarse discussion of Miranda's virginity at the beginning of the scene serves to emphasize the disparity in knowledge and experience between Miranda and her future husband. Prospero has kept his daughter extremely innocent. As a result, Ferdinand's vulgar description of the pleasures of the wedding-bed reminds the audience  that the end of Miranda's innocence is now imminent. Her wedding-night will come, she will lose her virginity, and she will be in some way changed. This discussion is a blunt reminder that change is inevitable and that Miranda will soon give herself, in an entirely new way, to a man besides her father. Though Prospero somewhat perfunctorily initiates and participates in the sexual discussion, he also seems to be affected by it. In the later parts of the scene, he makes unprecedented comments on the transitory nature of life and on his own old age. Very likely, the prospect of Miranda's marriage and growing up calls these ideas to his mind. After the discussion of sexuality, Prospero introduces the masque, which moves the exploration of marriage to the somewhat more comfortable realms of society and family. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, masques were popular forms of entertainment in England. Masques featured masked actors performing allegorical, often highly ritualized stories drawn from mythology and folklore. Prospero's masque features Juno, the symbol of marriage and family life in Roman mythology, and Ceres, the symbol of agriculture, and thus of nature, growth, prosperity, and rebirth, all notions intimately connected to marriage. The united blessing of the union by Juno and Ceres is a blessing on the couple that wishes them prosperity and wealth while explicitly tying their marriage to notions of social propriety  and harmony with the Earth. In this way, marriage is subtly glorified as both the foundation of society and as part of the natural order of things, given the accord between marriage and nature in Ceres' speech. Interestingly, Juno and Ceres de-emphasize the role of love, personal feeling, and sexuality in marriage, choosing instead to focus on marriage's place in the social and natural orders. When Ceres wonders to Iris where Venus and Cupid, the deities of love and sex, are, she says that she hopes not to see them because their lustful powers caused Pluto, god of the underworld, to kidnap Persephone, Ceres's daughter . Iris assures Ceres that Venus and Cupid are nowhere in sight. Venus and Cupid had hoped to foil the purity of the impending union, \"but in vain\" . Ceres, Juno, and Iris have kept the gods of lust at bay; it seems that, through his masque, Prospero is trying to suppress entirely the lasciviousness of Ferdinand's tone when he discusses Miranda's virginity. In almost all of Shakespeare's comedies, marriage is used as a symbol of a harmonious and healthy social order. In these plays, misunderstandings erupt, conflicts break out, and at the end, love triumphs and marriage sets everything right. The Tempest, a romance, is not exactly a comedy. However, it is deeply concerned with the social order, both in terms of the explicit conflict of the play and in terms of the play's constant exploration of the master-servant dynamic, especially when the dynamic appears unsettled or discordant. One reason Shakespeare might shift the focus of the play to marriage at this point is to prepare the audience for the mending of the disrupted social order that takes place at the end of the story. Calling upon all the social and dramatic associations of marriage, and underscoring them heavily with the solemnity of the masque, Shakespeare creates a sense that, even though the play's major conflict is still unresolved, the world of the play is beginning to heal itself. What is interesting about this technique is that the sense of healing has little to do with anything intrinsic to the characters themselves. Throughout this scene, Ferdinand seems unduly coarse, Miranda merely a threatened innocent, and Prospero somewhat weary and sad. But the fact of marriage itself, as it is presented in the masque, is enough to settle the turbulent waters of the story. After this detailed exploration of marriage, the culmination of Caliban's plot against Prospero occurs merely as a moment of comic relief, exposing the weaknesses of Stephano and Trinculo and giving the conspirators their just desserts. Any hint of sympathy we may have had for Caliban earlier in the play has vanished, partly because Caliban's behavior has been vicious and degraded, but also because Prospero has become more appealing. Prospero has come to seem more fully human because of his poignant feelings for his daughter and his discussion of his old age. As a result, he is far easier to identify with than he was in the first Act. Simply by accenting aspects of character we have already seen, namely Prospero's love for Miranda and the conspirators' absurd incompetence, Shakespeare substantially rehabilitates Prospero in the eyes of the audience. We can cheer wholeheartedly for Prospero in his humorous defeat of Caliban now; this is one of the first really uncomplicated moments in the play. After this moment, Prospero becomes easier to sympathize with as the rest of the story unfolds."}
ACT IV. SCENE I.

_Before PROSPERO'S cell._

  _Enter PROSPERO, FERDINAND, and MIRANDA._

_Pros._ If I have too austerely punish'd you,
Your compensation makes amends; for I
Have given you here a third of mine own life,
Or that for which I live; who once again
I tender to thy hand: all thy vexations                              5
Were but my trials of thy love, and thou
Hast strangely stood the test: here, afore Heaven,
I ratify this my rich gift. O Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,                   10
And make it halt behind her.

_Fer._                     I do believe it
Against an oracle.

_Pros._          Then, as my gift, and thine own acquisition
Worthily purchased, take my daughter: but
If thou dost break her virgin-knot before                           15
All sanctimonious ceremonies may
With full and holy rite be minister'd,
No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall
To make this contract grow; but barren hate,
Sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew                         20
The union of your bed with weeds so loathly
That you shall hate it both: therefore take heed,
As Hymen's lamps shall light you.

_Fer._                          As I hope
For quiet days, fair issue and long life,
With such love as 'tis now, the murkiest den,                       25
The most opportune place, the strong'st suggestion
Our worser Genius can, shall never melt
Mine honour into lust, to take away
The edge of that day's celebration
When I shall think, or Phoebus' steeds are founder'd,               30
Or Night kept chain'd below.

_Pros._                    Fairly spoke.
Sit, then, and talk with her; she is thine own.
What, Ariel! my industrious servant, Ariel!

  _Enter ARIEL._

_Ari._ What would my potent master? here I am.

_Pros._ Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service               35
Did worthily perform; and I must use you
In such another trick. Go bring the rabble,
O'er whom I give thee power, here to this place:
Incite them to quick motion; for I must
Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple                           40
Some vanity of mine art: it is my promise,
And they expect it from me.

_Ari._                    Presently?

_Pros._ Ay, with a twink.

_Ari._ Before you can say, 'come,' and 'go,'
            And breathe twice, and cry, 'so, so,'                   45
            Each one, tripping on his toe,
            Will be here with mop and mow.
            Do you love me, master? no?

_Pros._ Dearly, my delicate Ariel. Do not approach
Till thou dost hear me call.

_Ari._                     Well, I conceive.    [_Exit._            50

_Pros._ Look thou be true; do not give dalliance
Too much the rein: the strongest oaths are straw
To the fire i' the blood: be more abstemious,
Or else, good night your vow!

_Fer._                      I warrant you, sir;
The white cold virgin snow upon my heart                            55
Abates the ardour of my liver.

_Pros._                      Well.
Now come, my Ariel! bring a corollary,
Rather than want a spirit: appear, and pertly!
No tongue! all eyes! be silent.                  [_Soft music._

    _Enter IRIS._

  _Iris._ Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas                 60
    Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats, and pease;
    Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep,
    And flat meads thatch'd with stover, them to keep;
    Thy banks with pioned and twilled brims,
    Which spongy April at thy best betrims,                         65
    To make cold nymphs chaste crowns; and thy broom-groves,
    Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves,
    Being lass-lorn; thy pole-clipt vineyard;
    And thy sea-marge, sterile and rocky-hard,
    Where thou thyself dost air;--the queen o' the sky,             70
    Whose watery arch and messenger am I,
    Bids thee leave these; and with her sovereign grace,
    Here on this grass-plot, in this very place,
    To come and sport:--her peacocks fly amain:
    Approach, rich Ceres, her to entertain.                         75

    _Enter CERES._

  _Cer._ Hail, many-colour'd messenger, that ne'er
    Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter;
    Who, with thy saffron wings, upon my flowers
    Diffusest honey-drops, refreshing showers;
    And with each end of thy blue bow dost crown                    80
    My bosky acres and my unshrubb'd down,
    Rich scarf to my proud earth;--why hath thy queen
    Summon'd me hither, to this short-grass'd green?

  _Iris._ A contract of true love to celebrate;
    And some donation freely to estate                              85
    On the blest lovers.

  _Cer._             Tell me, heavenly bow,
    If Venus or her son, as thou dost know,
    Do now attend the queen? Since they did plot
    The means that dusky Dis my daughter got,
    Her and her blind boy's scandal'd company                       90
    I have forsworn.

  _Iris._        Of her society
    Be not afraid: I met her Deity
    Cutting the clouds towards Paphos, and her son
    Dove-drawn with her. Here thought they to have done
    Some wanton charm upon this man and maid,                       95
    Whose vows are, that no bed-right shall be paid
    Till Hymen's torch be lighted: but in vain;
    Mars's hot minion is returned again;
    Her waspish-headed son has broke his arrows,
    Swears he will shoot no more, but play with sparrows,          100
    And be a boy right out.

  _Cer._                High'st queen of state,
    Great Juno, comes; I know her by her gait.

    _Enter JUNO._

  _Juno._ How does my bounteous sister? Go with me
    To bless this twain, that they may prosperous be,
    And honour'd in their issue.         [_They sing:_             105

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

  _Cer._  Earth's increase, foison plenty,                         110
            Barns and garners never empty;
            Vines with clustering bunches growing;
            Plants with goodly burthen bowing;
            Spring come to you at the farthest
            In the very end of harvest!                            115
            Scarcity and want shall shun you;
            Ceres' blessing so is on you.

_Fer._ This is a most majestic vision, and
Harmonious charmingly. May I be bold
To think these spirits?

_Pros._               Spirits, which by mine art                   120
I have from their confines call'd to enact
My present fancies.

_Fer._            Let me live here ever;
So rare a wonder'd father and a wife
Makes this place Paradise.

    [_Juno and Ceres whisper, and send Iris on employment._

_Pros._                  Sweet, now, silence!
Juno and Ceres whisper seriously;                                  125
There's something else to do: hush, and be mute,
Or else our spell is marr'd.

  _Iris._ You nymphs, call'd Naiads, of the windring brooks,
            With your sedged crowns and ever-harmless looks,
            Leave your crisp channels, and on this green land      130
            Answer your summons; Juno does command:
            Come, temperate nymphs, and help to celebrate
            A contract of true love; be not too late.

    _Enter certain Nymphs._

            You sunburnt sicklemen, of August weary,
            Come hither from the furrow, and be merry:             135
            Make holiday; your rye-straw hats put on,
            And these fresh nymphs encounter every one
            In country footing.

    _Enter certain Reapers, properly habited: they join with the
    Nymphs in a graceful dance; towards the end whereof PROSPERO
    starts suddenly, and speaks; after which, to a strange, hollow,
    and confused noise, they heavily vanish._

_Pros._ [_Aside_] I had forgot that foul conspiracy
Of the beast Caliban and his confederates                          140
Against my life: the minute of their plot
Is almost come. [_To the Spirits._] Well done! avoid; no more!

_Fer._ This is strange: your father's in some passion
That works him strongly.

_Mir._                 Never till this day
Saw I him touch'd with anger so distemper'd.                       145

_Pros._ You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
As if you were dismay'd: be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:                                150
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,                        155
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. Sir, I am vex'd;
Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled:
Be not disturb'd with my infirmity:                                160
If you be pleased, retire into my cell,
And there repose: a turn or two I'll walk,
To still my beating mind.

_Fer._ _Mir._           We wish your peace.    [_Exeunt._

_Pros._ Come with a thought. I thank thee, Ariel: come.

  _Enter ARIEL._

_Ari._ Thy thoughts I cleave to. What's thy pleasure?              165

_Pros._                                             Spirit,
We must prepare to meet with Caliban.

_Ari._ Ay, my commander: when I presented Ceres,
I thought to have told thee of it; but I fear'd
Lest I might anger thee.

_Pros._ Say again, where didst thou leave these varlets?           170

_Ari._ I told you, sir, they were red-hot with drinking;
So full of valour that they smote the air
For breathing in their faces; beat the ground
For kissing of their feet; yet always bending
Towards their project. Then I beat my tabor;                       175
At which, like unback'd colts, they prick'd their ears,
Advanced their eyelids, lifted up their noses
As they smelt music: so I charm'd their ears,
That, calf-like, they my lowing follow'd through
Tooth'd briers, sharp furzes, pricking goss, and thorns,           180
Which enter'd their frail shins: at last I left them
I' the filthy-mantled pool beyond your cell,
There dancing up to the chins, that the foul lake
O'erstunk their feet.

_Pros._             This was well done, my bird.
Thy shape invisible retain thou still:                             185
The trumpery in my house, go bring it hither,
For stale to catch these thieves.

_Ari._                          I go, I go.    [_Exit._

_Pros._ A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick; on whom my pains,
Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost;                         190
And as with age his body uglier grows,
So his mind cankers. I will plague them all,
Even to roaring.

  _Re-enter ARIEL, loaden with glistering apparel, &c._

Come, hang them on this line.

  _PROSPERO and ARIEL remain, invisible. Enter CALIBAN, STEPHANO,
  and TRINCULO, all wet._

_Cal._ Pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may not
Hear a foot fall: we now are near his cell.                        195

_Ste._ Monster, your fairy, which you say is a harmless
fairy, has done little better than played the Jack with us.

_Trin._ Monster, I do smell all horse-piss; at which my
nose is in great indignation.

_Ste._ So is mine. Do you hear, monster? If I should               200
take a displeasure against you, look you,--

_Trin._ Thou wert but a lost monster.

_Cal._ Good my lord, give me thy favour still.
Be patient, for the prize I'll bring thee to
Shall hoodwink this mischance: therefore speak softly.             205
All's hush'd as midnight yet.

_Trin._ Ay, but to lose our bottles in the pool,--

_Ste._ There is not only disgrace and dishonour in that,
monster, but an infinite loss.

_Trin._ That's more to me than my wetting: yet this is             210
your harmless fairy, monster.

_Ste._ I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o'er ears for
my labour.

_Cal._ Prithee, my king, be quiet. See'st thou here,
This is the mouth o' the cell: no noise, and enter.                215
Do that good mischief which may make this island
Thine own for ever, and I, thy Caliban,
For aye thy foot-licker.

_Ste._ Give me thy hand. I do begin to have bloody
thoughts.                                                          220

_Trin._ O King Stephano! O peer! O worthy Stephano!
look what a wardrobe here is for thee!

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

_Trin._ O, ho, monster! we know what belongs to a frippery.
O King Stephano!                                                   225

_Ste._ Put off that gown, Trinculo; by this hand, I'll
have that gown.

_Trin._ Thy Grace shall have it.

_Cal._ The dropsy drown this fool! what do you mean
To dote thus on such luggage? Let's alone,                         230
And do the murder first: if he awake,
From toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches,
Make us strange stuff.

_Ste._ Be you quiet, monster. Mistress line, is not this
my jerkin? Now is the jerkin under the line: now, jerkin,          235
you are like to lose your hair, and prove a bald jerkin.

_Trin._ Do, do: we steal by line and level, an't like your
Grace.

_Ste._ I thank thee for that jest; here's a garment for't:
wit shall not go unrewarded while I am king of this country.       240
'Steal by line and level' is an excellent pass of pate;
there's another garment for't.

_Trin._ Monster, come, put some lime upon your fingers,
and away with the rest.

_Cal._ I will have none on't: we shall lose our time,              245
And all be turn'd to barnacles, or to apes
With foreheads villanous low.

_Ste._ Monster, lay-to your fingers: help to bear this
away where my hogshead of wine is, or I'll turn you out
of my kingdom: go to, carry this.                                  250

_Trin._ And this.

_Ste._ Ay, and this.

  _A noise of hunters heard. Enter divers Spirits, in shape of
  dogs and hounds, and hunt them about, PROSPERO and ARIEL setting
  them on._

_Pros._ Hey, Mountain, hey!

_Ari._ Silver! there it goes, Silver!

_Pros._ Fury, fury! there, Tyrant, there! hark, hark!              255
                        [_Cal., Ste., and Trin. are driven out._

Go charge my goblins that they grind their joints
With dry convulsions; shorten up their sinews
With aged cramps; and more pinch-spotted make them
Then pard or cat o' mountain.

_Ari._                      Hark, they roar!

_Pros._ Let them be hunted soundly. At this hour                   260
Lie at my mercy all mine enemies:
Shortly shall all my labours end, and thou
Shalt have the air at freedom: for a little
Follow, and do me service.    [_Exeunt._


  Notes: IV, 1.

  3: _a third_] _a thread_ Theobald. _the thread_ Williams conj.
  4: _who_] _whom_ Pope.
  7: _test_] F1. _rest_ F2 F3 F4.
  9: _off_] F2 F3 F4. _of_ F1.
  11: _do_] om. Pope.
  13: _gift_] Rowe. _guest_ Ff.
  14: _but_] F1. om. F2 F3 F4.
  25: _'tis_] _is_ Capell.
  30: _Phoebus'_] _Phoebus_ F1. _Phoedus_ F2 F3. _Phoeduus_ F4.
  34: SCENE II. Pope.
  41: _vanity_] _rarity_ S. Walker conj.
  48: _no_?] _no_. Rowe.
  53: _abstemious_] _abstenious_ F1.
  60: SCENE III. A MASQUE. Pope.]
  _thy_] F1. _the_ F2 F3 F4.
  64: _pioned_] _pionied_ Warburton. _peonied_ Steevens.
  _twilled_] _tulip'd_ Rowe. _tilled_ Capell (Holt conj.). _lilied_
    Steevens.]
  66: _broom-groves_] _brown groves_ Hanmer.
  68: _pole-clipt_] _pale-clipt_ Hanmer.
  72: After this line Ff. have the stage direction, '_Juno descends._'
  74: _her_] Rowe. _here_ Ff.
  83: _short-grass'd_] F3 F4. _short gras'd_ F1 F2. _short-grass_ Pope.
  96: _bed-right_] _bed-rite_ Singer.
  101: _High'st_] _High_ Pope.
  102: Enter JUNO] om. Ff.
  110: Cer.] Theobald. om. Ff.
  _foison_] F1 _and foison_ F2 F3 F4.
  114: _Spring_] _Rain_ Collier MS.
  119: _charmingly_] _charming lay_ Hanmer. _charming lays_ Warburton.
    _Harmoniously charming_ Steevens conj.
  121: _from their_] F1. _from all their_ F2 F3 F4.
  123: _wife_] F1 (var.). Rowe. _wise_ F1 (var.) F2 F3 F4.
  124: _Makes_] _make_ Pope.
  _sweet, now, silence_] _now, silence, sweet_ Hanmer.
  124: In Ff. the stage direction [Juno, &c. follows line 127.
    Capell made the change.
  128: _windring_] _winding_ Rowe. _wand'ring_ Steevens.
  129: _sedged_] _sedge_ Collier MS.
  136: _holiday_] _holly day_ F1 F2 F3. _holy-day_ F4.
  139: SCENE IV. Pope.
  143: _This is_] _This'_ (for This 's) S. Walker conj.]
  _strange_] _most strange_ Hanmer.
  145: Ff put a comma after _anger_. Warburton omitted it.
  146: _do_] om. Pope. See note (XVI).
  151: _this_] F1. _their_ F2 F3 F4. _th' air visions_ Warburton.
  156: _rack_] F3 F4. _racke_ F1 F2. _track_ Hanmer. _wreck_ Dyce
    (Malone conj.).
  163: _your_] F1 F2 F3. _you_ F4.
  164: _I thank thee, Ariel: come._] _I thank you:--Ariel, come._
    Theobald.
  169: _Lest_] F4. _Least_ F1 F2 F3.
  170: _Say again_] _Well, say again_ Capell.
  180: _furzes_] Rowe. _firzes_ Ff.
  181: _shins_] _skins_ Warburton conj. (note, V. 1. p. 87).
  182: _filthy-mantled_] _filthy mantled_ Ff. _filth-ymantled_
    Steevens conj.
  184: _feet_] _fear_ Spedding conj.
  190: _all, all_] _are all_ Malone conj.
  193: _them on_ Rowe. _on them_ Ff.
  Prospero ... invisible. Theobald, Capell. om. Ff.
  194: SCENE V. Pope.
  230: _Let's alone_] _Let's along_ Theobald. _Let it alone_ Hanmer.
    _Let 't alone_ Collier. See note (XVII).
  246: _to apes_] om. _to_ Pope.
  255: Stage direction added by Theobald.
  256: _they_] F1 F3 F4. _thou_ F2.
  261: _Lie_] Rowe. _lies_ Ff.






Act IV, scene i
Prospero gives his blessing to Ferdinand and Miranda, warning Ferdinand only that he take care not to break Miranda's "virgin-knot" before the wedding has been solemnized . Ferdinand promises to comply. Prospero then calls in Ariel and asks him to summon spirits to perform a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda. Soon, three spirits appear in the shapes of the mythological figures of Iris , Juno , and Ceres . This trio performs a masque celebrating the lovers' engagement. First, Iris enters and asks Ceres to appear at Juno's wish, to celebrate "a contract of true love." Ceres appears, and then Juno enters. Juno and Ceres together bless the couple, with Juno wishing them honor and riches, and Ceres wishing them natural prosperity and plenty. The spectacle awes Ferdinand and he says that he would like to live on the island forever, with Prospero as his father and Miranda as his wife. Juno and Ceres send Iris to fetch some nymphs and reapers to perform a country dance. Just as this dance begins, however, Prospero startles suddenly and then sends the spirits away. Prospero, who had forgotten about Caliban's plot against him, suddenly remembers that the hour nearly has come for Caliban and the conspirators to make their attempt on his life. Our revels now are ended. These our actors,As I foretold you, were all spirits, andAre melted into air, into thin air;And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,The solemn temples, the great globe itself,Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuffAs dreams are made on, and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep. Prospero's apparent anger alarms Ferdinand and Miranda, but Prospero assures the young couple that his consternation is largely a result of his age; he says that a walk will soothe him. Prospero makes a short speech about the masque, saying that the world itself is as insubstantial as a play, and that human beings are "such stuff / As dreams are made on." Ferdinand and Miranda leave Prospero to himself, and the old enchanter immediately summons Ariel, who seems to have made a mistake by not reminding Prospero of Caliban's plot before the beginning of the masque. Prospero now asks Ariel to tell him again what the three conspirators are up to, and Ariel tells him of the men's drunken scheme to steal Prospero's book and kill him. Ariel reports that he used his music to lead these men through rough and prickly briars and then into a filthy pond. Prospero thanks his trusty spirit, and the two set a trap for the three would-be assassins. On a clothesline in Prospero's cell, Prospero and Ariel hang an array of fine apparel for the men to attempt to steal, after which they render themselves invisible. Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano enter, wet from the filthy pond. The fine clothing immediately distracts Stephano and Trinculo. They want to steal it, despite the protests of Caliban, who wants to stick to the plan and kill Prospero. Stephano and Trinculo ignore him. Soon after they touch the clothing, there is "A noise of hunters" . A pack of spirits in the shape of hounds, set on by Ariel and Prospero, drives the thieves out.
Analysis The wedding of Ferdinand and Miranda draws near. Thus, Act IV, scene i explores marriage from several different angles. Prospero and Ferdinand's surprisingly coarse discussion of Miranda's virginity at the beginning of the scene serves to emphasize the disparity in knowledge and experience between Miranda and her future husband. Prospero has kept his daughter extremely innocent. As a result, Ferdinand's vulgar description of the pleasures of the wedding-bed reminds the audience  that the end of Miranda's innocence is now imminent. Her wedding-night will come, she will lose her virginity, and she will be in some way changed. This discussion is a blunt reminder that change is inevitable and that Miranda will soon give herself, in an entirely new way, to a man besides her father. Though Prospero somewhat perfunctorily initiates and participates in the sexual discussion, he also seems to be affected by it. In the later parts of the scene, he makes unprecedented comments on the transitory nature of life and on his own old age. Very likely, the prospect of Miranda's marriage and growing up calls these ideas to his mind. After the discussion of sexuality, Prospero introduces the masque, which moves the exploration of marriage to the somewhat more comfortable realms of society and family. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, masques were popular forms of entertainment in England. Masques featured masked actors performing allegorical, often highly ritualized stories drawn from mythology and folklore. Prospero's masque features Juno, the symbol of marriage and family life in Roman mythology, and Ceres, the symbol of agriculture, and thus of nature, growth, prosperity, and rebirth, all notions intimately connected to marriage. The united blessing of the union by Juno and Ceres is a blessing on the couple that wishes them prosperity and wealth while explicitly tying their marriage to notions of social propriety  and harmony with the Earth. In this way, marriage is subtly glorified as both the foundation of society and as part of the natural order of things, given the accord between marriage and nature in Ceres' speech. Interestingly, Juno and Ceres de-emphasize the role of love, personal feeling, and sexuality in marriage, choosing instead to focus on marriage's place in the social and natural orders. When Ceres wonders to Iris where Venus and Cupid, the deities of love and sex, are, she says that she hopes not to see them because their lustful powers caused Pluto, god of the underworld, to kidnap Persephone, Ceres's daughter . Iris assures Ceres that Venus and Cupid are nowhere in sight. Venus and Cupid had hoped to foil the purity of the impending union, "but in vain" . Ceres, Juno, and Iris have kept the gods of lust at bay; it seems that, through his masque, Prospero is trying to suppress entirely the lasciviousness of Ferdinand's tone when he discusses Miranda's virginity. In almost all of Shakespeare's comedies, marriage is used as a symbol of a harmonious and healthy social order. In these plays, misunderstandings erupt, conflicts break out, and at the end, love triumphs and marriage sets everything right. The Tempest, a romance, is not exactly a comedy. However, it is deeply concerned with the social order, both in terms of the explicit conflict of the play and in terms of the play's constant exploration of the master-servant dynamic, especially when the dynamic appears unsettled or discordant. One reason Shakespeare might shift the focus of the play to marriage at this point is to prepare the audience for the mending of the disrupted social order that takes place at the end of the story. Calling upon all the social and dramatic associations of marriage, and underscoring them heavily with the solemnity of the masque, Shakespeare creates a sense that, even though the play's major conflict is still unresolved, the world of the play is beginning to heal itself. What is interesting about this technique is that the sense of healing has little to do with anything intrinsic to the characters themselves. Throughout this scene, Ferdinand seems unduly coarse, Miranda merely a threatened innocent, and Prospero somewhat weary and sad. But the fact of marriage itself, as it is presented in the masque, is enough to settle the turbulent waters of the story. After this detailed exploration of marriage, the culmination of Caliban's plot against Prospero occurs merely as a moment of comic relief, exposing the weaknesses of Stephano and Trinculo and giving the conspirators their just desserts. Any hint of sympathy we may have had for Caliban earlier in the play has vanished, partly because Caliban's behavior has been vicious and degraded, but also because Prospero has become more appealing. Prospero has come to seem more fully human because of his poignant feelings for his daughter and his discussion of his old age. As a result, he is far easier to identify with than he was in the first Act. Simply by accenting aspects of character we have already seen, namely Prospero's love for Miranda and the conspirators' absurd incompetence, Shakespeare substantially rehabilitates Prospero in the eyes of the audience. We can cheer wholeheartedly for Prospero in his humorous defeat of Caliban now; this is one of the first really uncomplicated moments in the play. After this moment, Prospero becomes easier to sympathize with as the rest of the story unfolds.