Pro. But was not this nigh shore ? Why, that's my spirit ! Close by, my master. Pro. But are they, Ariel, safe ? Not a hair perish'd; On their sustaining garments not a blemish, His arms in this sad knot. Pro. Of the king's ship, The mariners, say, how thou hast dispos'd, Ari. Safely in harbour Whom, with a charm join'd to their suffer'd labour, 6 sustaining-] i. e. their garments that bore them up and supported them; or their garments which bore, without being injured, the drenching of the sea. 7 From the still-vex'd Bermoothes,] The epithet here applied to the Bermudas, will be best understood by those who have seen the chafing of the sea over the rugged rocks by which they are surrounded, and which render access to them so dangerous. It was in our poet's time the current opinion, that Bermudas was inhabited by monsters, and devils.-Setebos, the god of Caliban's dam, was an American devil, worshipped by the giants of Patagonia. HENLEY. Pro. Ariel, thy charge Exactly is perform'd; but there's more work : Pro. At least two glasses: Past the mid season. Must by us both be spent most preciously. Ari. Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains, Let me remember thee what thou hast promis'd, Which is not yet perform'd me. Pro. What is't thou canst demand ? How now? moody ? My liberty. Pro. Before the time be out? no more. I pray thee Remember, I have done thee worthy service; promise To bate me a full year. Dost thou forget 9 Dost thou forget-) That the character and conduct of Prospero may be understood, something must be known of the system of enchantment, which supplied all the marvellous found in the romances of the middle ages. This system seems to be founded on the opinion that the fallen spirits, having different degrees of guilt, had different habitations allotted them at their expulsion, some being confined in hell, some (as Hooker, who delivers the opinion of our poet's age, expresses it,) dispersed in air, some on earth, some in water, others in caves, dens, or minerals under the earth. Of these, some were more malignant and mischievous than others. The earthy spirits seem to have been thought the most depraved, and the aerial the less vitiated. Thus Prospero observes of Ariel : --Thou wast a spirit too delicate To act her earthy and abhorr'd commands. Over these spirits a power might be obtained by certain rites performed or charms learned. This power was called The black Art, or Knowledge of Enchantment. The enchanter being, (as king James observes in his Demonology) one who commands the devil, From what a torment I did free thee ? Pro. Thou dost; and think'st No. It much, to tread the ooze of the salt deep; Ari. I do not, sir. Pro. Thou liest, malignant thing! Hast thou forgot The foul witch Sycorax, who, with age, and envy, Was grown into a hoop? hast thou forgot her? Ari. No, sir. Pro. Thou hast: Where was she born? speak; tell me. Ari. Sir, in Argier.1 O, was she so? I must, Once in a month, recount what thou hast been, Which thou forget'st. This damn'd witch, Sycorax, For mischiefs manifold, and sorceries terrible To enter human hearing, from Argier, Thou know'st was banish'd; for one thing she did, They would not take her life: Is not this true ? Ari. Ay, sir. Pro. This blue-ey'd hag was hither brought with child, whereas the witch serves him. The art was held by all, though not equally criminal, yet unlawful, and therefore Casaubon, speaking of one who had commerce with spirits, blames him, though he imagines him one of the best kind, who dealt with them by way of command. Thus Prospero repents of his art in the last scene. The spirits were always considered as in some measure enslaved to the enchanter, at least for a time, and as serving with unwillingness; therefore Ariel so often begs for liberty; and Caliban observes, that the spirits serve Prospero with no good will, but hate him rootedly. I giers. JOHNSON. in Argier.] Argier is the ancient English name for Al And here was left by the sailors: Thou, my slave, A freckled whelp, hag-born,) not honour'd with Ari. Yes; Caliban her son. Pro. 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 arriv'd, and heard thee, that made gape The pine, and let thee out. Ari. I thank thee, master. Pro. If thou more murmur'st, I will rend an oak, And peg thee in his knotty entrails, till Thou hast howl'd away twelve winters. Ari. Pardon, master : I will be correspondent to command, And do my spiriting gently. Pro. I will discharge thee. Do so; and after two days That's my noble master! What shall I do? say what? what shall I do? Pro. Go make thyself like to a nymph o' the sea ;2 Be subject to no sight but mine; invisible [Exit ARIEL. Awake, dear heart, awake! thou hast slept well; Awake! Mira. The strangeness of your story put Heaviness in me. Pro. Shake it off: Come on; We'll visit Caliban, my slave, who never Yields us kind answer. Mira. I do not love to look on. 'Tis a villain, sir, But, as 'tis, We cannot miss him : he does make our fire, That profit us. What ho! slave! Caliban! Thou earth, thou! speak. Cal. [Within] There's wood enough within. for thee : Come forth, thou tortoise! when? 2- to a nymph o' the sea ;] There does not appear to sufficient cause why Ariel should assume this new shape, as he was to be invisible to all eyes but those of Prospero. STEEVENS. 3 The strangeness-] Why should a wonderful story produce sleep? I believe experience will prove, that any violent agitation of the mind easily subsides in slumber, especially when, as in Prospero's relation, the last images are pleasing. JOHNSON. The poet seems to have been apprehensive that the audience, as well as Miranda, would sleep over this long but necessary tale, and therefore strives to break it. First, by making Prospero divest himself of his magic robe and wand: then by waking her attention no less than six times by verbal interruption: then by varying the action when he rises and bids her continue sitting: and lastly, by carrying on the business of the fable while Miranda sleeps, by which she is continued on the stage till the poet has occasion for her again. WARNER. * We cannot miss him:] That is, we cannot do without him. |