Amy Wright
THE TEMPEST QUOTES
The Tempest – Quotes by Theme
“Men” vs “Monsters”:
• “The third man that e’er I saw” – Miranda about Ferdinand
• “Like / A thing most brutish” – Miranda about Caliban
• “Human care” - Prospero
• “devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick” – about Caliban
• “thy vile race / Though thou didst learn, had that in’t which good natures /
could not abide to be with” – Miranda about Caliban
• “There would this monster make a man. Any strange beast there makes a
man. When they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out
ten to see a dead Indian” – Trinculo’s reaction to Caliban
• “Were I in / England now, as once I was, and had but this fish / Painted, not a
holiday fool there but would give a / Piece of Silver. There would this monster
make a man” – Trinculo
• “Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil / Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!” –
how Prospero describes Caliban
• “This is some monster of the isle with four legs”, - Stephano about Caliban
• Caliban described as “a freckled whelp, hag-born – not honoured with a
human shape”
Prospero’s Threats:
• “If thou neglect’st or dost unwillingly / What I command, I’ll rack thee with old
cramps / Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar / that beasts shall
tremble at thy din” – To Caliban
• “If thou murmur’st, I will rend an oak / And peg thee in his knotty entrails till /
Thou hast howled away twelve winters” – to Ariel
Obedience & Disobedience:
• “I prithee / Remember I have done thee worthy service, / Told thee no lies,
made no mistakings, served / Without or grudge or grumblings. Thou did
promise / To bate me a full year” – Ariel
• “I’ll swear upon that bottle to be thy true / Subject, for the liquor is not earthly”
– Caliban
• “I prattle / Something too wildly and my father’s precepts / I therein do forget”
– Miranda
• “My brave spirit!” – Prospero about Ariel
Colonisation:
• “You taught me language, and my profit on’t / Is I know how to curse. The
red plague rid you / For learning me your language!” – Caliban to Prospero
and Miranda
1
Amy Wright
THE TEMPEST QUOTES
The Tempest – Quotes by Theme
“Men” vs “Monsters”:
• “The third man that e’er I saw” – Miranda about Ferdinand
• “Like / A thing most brutish” – Miranda about Caliban
• “Human care” - Prospero
• “devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick” – about Caliban
• “thy vile race / Though thou didst learn, had that in’t which good natures /
could not abide to be with” – Miranda about Caliban
• “There would this monster make a man. Any strange beast there makes a
man. When they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out
ten to see a dead Indian” – Trinculo’s reaction to Caliban
• “Were I in / England now, as once I was, and had but this fish / Painted, not a
holiday fool there but would give a / Piece of Silver. There would this monster
make a man” – Trinculo
• “Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil / Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!” –
how Prospero describes Caliban
• “This is some monster of the isle with four legs”, - Stephano about Caliban
• Caliban described as “a freckled whelp, hag-born – not honoured with a
human shape”
Prospero’s Threats:
• “If thou neglect’st or dost unwillingly / What I command, I’ll rack thee with old
cramps / Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar / that beasts shall
tremble at thy din” – To Caliban
• “If thou murmur’st, I will rend an oak / And peg thee in his knotty entrails till /
Thou hast howled away twelve winters” – to Ariel
Obedience & Disobedience:
• “I prithee / Remember I have done thee worthy service, / Told thee no lies,
made no mistakings, served / Without or grudge or grumblings. Thou did
promise / To bate me a full year” – Ariel
• “I’ll swear upon that bottle to be thy true / Subject, for the liquor is not earthly”
– Caliban
• “I prattle / Something too wildly and my father’s precepts / I therein do forget”
– Miranda
• “My brave spirit!” – Prospero about Ariel
Colonisation:
• “You taught me language, and my profit on’t / Is I know how to curse. The
red plague rid you / For learning me your language!” – Caliban to Prospero
and Miranda
1
Amy Wright
