TEMPEST QUOTES
PROSPERO
Thou dost here usurp/ Upon this island as a spy to win it from me (Ferdinand)
What ho, Slave! / Hag-seed, hence! (Caliban)
They now are in my power,
a third of mine own life/ that for which I live/ my rich gift.
worthily purchas'd. (Ferdinand buys Miranda)
Sit then and talk with her, she is thine own. / my son
A born devil on whose nature nurture can never stick
the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance
MIRANDA
Oh, I have suffer'd with those that I saw suffer
My affections are most humble. I have no ambition to see a goodlier man.
ARIEL
All hail great master
To answer thy best pleasures
CALIBAN
A south-west blow on ye and blister you all o'er!
This island's mine by Sycorax my mother, which thou tak'st from me.
FERDINAND
O, if a virgin, and your affection not gone forth, I'll make you the queen of Naples.
maid or no
most poor matters point to rich ends.
and for your sake am I this patient log-man.
Honour into lust
GONZALO
Here is everything advantageous to life. / How lush and lusty the grass looks! How green!
No sovereignty/ no magistrate
I can go no further
ALONSO
Prithee, peace/ So is the4 dear'st o' th' loss.
I will put off my hope,
I did bass my tresspass.
ANTONIO & SEBASTIAN
S- The fault's your own.
A- I am right glad he's so out of hope.
S- The next advantage will we take thoroughly
will money buy 'em? / no doubt marketable
THEMES
, Loss and Restoration
Prospero's attempt to recover his lost dukedom of Milan drives the plot of the Tempest. But
Prospero isn't the only character in the play to experience loss. Ariel lost his freedom to Sycorax
and now serves Prospero. Caliban, who considers himself the rightful ruler of the island, was
overthrown and enslaved by Prospero. By creating the tempest that shipwrecks Alonso and his
courtiers on the island, Prospero strips them of their position and power, and also causes Alonso
to believe that he has lost his son to the sea.
Through their reactions to these losses, the play's characters reveal their true natures. Reduced
to desperation and despair, Alonso recognizes his error in helping to overthrow Prospero and
gives up his claim to Milan, returning Prospero to power and restoring order between Milan and
Naples. Though he desperately wants to be free, Ariel loyally serves his master Prospero.
Prospero, meanwhile, gives up his magic rather than seeking revenge and frees Ariel before
returning to Milan. In contrast to Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian never show remorse for
overthrowing Prospero and prove to be ambitious killers in their plot to murder and overthrow
Alonso. Stephano and Trinculo, in their buffoonish way, likewise seek power through violence.
And Caliban, as opposed to Ariel, hates Prospero, and gives himself as a slave to Stephano in an
effort to betray and kill Prospero. As Gonzalo observes in the last scene of the play, the
characters "found ... ourselves, when no man was his own" (5.1.206-213).
POWER
From the opening scene of The Tempest during the storm, when the ruling courtiers on the ship
must take orders from their subjects, the sailors and the boatswain, The Tempest examines a
variety of questions about power: Who has it and when? Who's entitled to it? What does the
responsible exercise of power look like? How should power be transferred? The play is full of
examples of power taken by force, and in each case these actions lead to political instability and
further attempts to gain power through violence. Antonio and Alonso's overthrow
of Prospero leads to Antonio and Sebastian's plot to overthrow Alonso, just as Prospero's
overthrow and enslavement of Caliban leads Caliban to seek revenge.
Ultimately, it is only when Prospero breaks the cycle of violence by refusing to take revenge on
Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, or Caliban that the political tensions in the play are calmed and
reconciled. After Prospero's merciful refusal to seek revenge, Alonso and Prospero quickly come
to an understanding and unite their once warring cities through the marriage of their
children. The Tempest suggests that compromise and compassion are more effective political
tools than violence, imprisonment, or even magic.
PROSPERO
Thou dost here usurp/ Upon this island as a spy to win it from me (Ferdinand)
What ho, Slave! / Hag-seed, hence! (Caliban)
They now are in my power,
a third of mine own life/ that for which I live/ my rich gift.
worthily purchas'd. (Ferdinand buys Miranda)
Sit then and talk with her, she is thine own. / my son
A born devil on whose nature nurture can never stick
the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance
MIRANDA
Oh, I have suffer'd with those that I saw suffer
My affections are most humble. I have no ambition to see a goodlier man.
ARIEL
All hail great master
To answer thy best pleasures
CALIBAN
A south-west blow on ye and blister you all o'er!
This island's mine by Sycorax my mother, which thou tak'st from me.
FERDINAND
O, if a virgin, and your affection not gone forth, I'll make you the queen of Naples.
maid or no
most poor matters point to rich ends.
and for your sake am I this patient log-man.
Honour into lust
GONZALO
Here is everything advantageous to life. / How lush and lusty the grass looks! How green!
No sovereignty/ no magistrate
I can go no further
ALONSO
Prithee, peace/ So is the4 dear'st o' th' loss.
I will put off my hope,
I did bass my tresspass.
ANTONIO & SEBASTIAN
S- The fault's your own.
A- I am right glad he's so out of hope.
S- The next advantage will we take thoroughly
will money buy 'em? / no doubt marketable
THEMES
, Loss and Restoration
Prospero's attempt to recover his lost dukedom of Milan drives the plot of the Tempest. But
Prospero isn't the only character in the play to experience loss. Ariel lost his freedom to Sycorax
and now serves Prospero. Caliban, who considers himself the rightful ruler of the island, was
overthrown and enslaved by Prospero. By creating the tempest that shipwrecks Alonso and his
courtiers on the island, Prospero strips them of their position and power, and also causes Alonso
to believe that he has lost his son to the sea.
Through their reactions to these losses, the play's characters reveal their true natures. Reduced
to desperation and despair, Alonso recognizes his error in helping to overthrow Prospero and
gives up his claim to Milan, returning Prospero to power and restoring order between Milan and
Naples. Though he desperately wants to be free, Ariel loyally serves his master Prospero.
Prospero, meanwhile, gives up his magic rather than seeking revenge and frees Ariel before
returning to Milan. In contrast to Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian never show remorse for
overthrowing Prospero and prove to be ambitious killers in their plot to murder and overthrow
Alonso. Stephano and Trinculo, in their buffoonish way, likewise seek power through violence.
And Caliban, as opposed to Ariel, hates Prospero, and gives himself as a slave to Stephano in an
effort to betray and kill Prospero. As Gonzalo observes in the last scene of the play, the
characters "found ... ourselves, when no man was his own" (5.1.206-213).
POWER
From the opening scene of The Tempest during the storm, when the ruling courtiers on the ship
must take orders from their subjects, the sailors and the boatswain, The Tempest examines a
variety of questions about power: Who has it and when? Who's entitled to it? What does the
responsible exercise of power look like? How should power be transferred? The play is full of
examples of power taken by force, and in each case these actions lead to political instability and
further attempts to gain power through violence. Antonio and Alonso's overthrow
of Prospero leads to Antonio and Sebastian's plot to overthrow Alonso, just as Prospero's
overthrow and enslavement of Caliban leads Caliban to seek revenge.
Ultimately, it is only when Prospero breaks the cycle of violence by refusing to take revenge on
Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, or Caliban that the political tensions in the play are calmed and
reconciled. After Prospero's merciful refusal to seek revenge, Alonso and Prospero quickly come
to an understanding and unite their once warring cities through the marriage of their
children. The Tempest suggests that compromise and compassion are more effective political
tools than violence, imprisonment, or even magic.
