Structured Questions and Answers from The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2 by William Shakespeare
Questions Answers from Passages of The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2
Passages from The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2
1. Miranda :
If by your art, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,
But that the sea, mounting to th' welkin's cheek,
Dashes the fire out. O, I have suffer'd
With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel---
1. What does Miranda mean by 'art' in the first line? What has her father done by his 'art'?
Answer
By 'art', Miranda means her father's magical powers. He has raised a storm and almost drowned his enemy's ship.
2. What does she request him to do now? Why?
Answer
Miranda requests her father to bring the state to normal, by making the sea calm because she has a soft heart and is distressed to see the travelers on the ship perishing in the storm.
3. How does she describe the sky and the sea?
Answer
Miranda becomes poetic after witnessing the distress of the passengers on the ship. The sky seemed to be pitch dark like it would rain down boiling hot tar and the sea rose up to the sky as though to strike its face so that all its lights were extinguished.
4. What do the last two lines show about her nature?
Answer
Miranda actually empathizes with the suffering ones. She has a loving heart and cannot bear to see anyone suffer.
5. A little later Miranda says that she would have done something if she were any 'god of power.' What would have she done?
Answer
Miranda says that if she had any divine powers, she would have sunk the sea inside the earth before it had swallowed the ship and the people traveling in it.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
allay; welkin; brave
Answer
Allay: diminish
Welkin: sky, heavens
Brave: fine, splendid
2. Miranda:
You have often
Begun to tell me what I am, but stopp'd,
And left me to a bootless inquisition,
Concluding, 'Stay, not yet.'
1. Who is Miranda addressing? Where are the characters now?
Answer
Miranda is addressing her father Prospero. The characters are on a remote island near Naples.
2. What terrible event had happened a few minutes back?
Answer
A terrible storm arose in which the passengers of Alonso's ship were thrown into the sea.
3. Give the meaning of 'bootless inquisition'.
Answer
The phrase means 'useless inquiry'. Miranda had tried to ask her father several times how he came to the island but he never told her anything.
4. What story does the person address to tell the girl?
Answer
Prospero told her how his brother and King of Naples Alonso plotted against him and banished him and his daughter from his country. They were put in a flimsy boat not even fit for the rats and abandoned to die. But Gonzalo had placed the essentials and Prospero's magic books in the boat and by God's grace, they were saved and finally, they landed on the island.
5. Which 'hour' does Prospero refer to? What does he want Miranda to do now?
Answer
Prospero refers to the maturity that Miranda has attained, i.e., she is now matured enough to understand everything that Prospero is going to narrate at this moment. He wants Miranda to pay her total attention to what he is going to state and explain.
6. What does Prospero ask Miranda immediately after he tells her to be attentive?
Answer
Immediately after telling her to be attentive, Prospero asks Miranda to recall the time and incidents when she was just a child.
7. In what way has the listener decided to avenge the wrong mentioned in the story?
Answer
Prospero the listener created a storm to bring the offenders and members of their family to the island. He wanted them to feel the fear of being abandoned at sea. He also wanted them to realize the enormity of the crime they had done by making them suffer.
8. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
bootless; inquisition; stay
Answer
Bootless - pointless, fruitless
Inquisition - inquiry, questioning
Stay - wait
3. Prospero:
Those being all my study,
The government I cast upon my brother,
And to my state grew stranger, being transported
And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncle---
Dost thou attend me?
1. What does Prospero mean by 'those being all my studies'? Whom does he refer to as false uncle? Why?
Answer
Prospero is referring to his studies in magic which became his sole interest in life, so much so that he left the administration of his Dukedom to his brother. He refers to his brother, Antonio, as the 'false uncle' as he was ruthless towards Miranda too and being an infant at that time had left her to die.
2. What does he say about Milan and its duke at this point of time?
Answer
Prospero says that his state was recognized as the first of all states in Italy and he was considered as the first among dukes and also had no parallel for dignity and knowledge of liberal arts.
3. Explain the meaning of the extract.
Answer
Prospero says that he got so interested in the studies of the occult that he began to take less interest in the administration of his country and left it in the hands of his younger brother. But this trust proved to be misplaced as his brother cheated him.
4. How did Prospero lose his dukedom and who was responsible for it?
Answer
Prospero lost his kingdom as he entrusted the administration of his state to his brother who plotted against him by influencing some of the powerful people in his country and also with the help of the King of Naples. They banished him and his daughter or rather left them to die.
5. Why does Prospero ask 'Dost thou attend me?'
Answer
Prospero feels that Miranda is tired of the long story and is feeling sleepy. He wants her complete attention, so in order to ensure that she is listening, he asks this question.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
rapt; secret studies; attend
Answer
Rapt: engrossed
Secret studies: unrevealed studies of magic
Attend: pay attention, listen
4. Prospero:
Being once perfected how to grant suits,
How to deny them, who t'advance, and who
To trash for overtopping, new created
The creatures that were mine, I say: or chang'd 'em,
Or else new form'd 'em; having both the key
Of officer and office, set all hearts i'th' state
To what tune pleas'd his ear, that now he was
The ivy which had hid my princely trunk,
And suck'd my verdure out on it-thou attend'st not!
1. Who is Prospero talking about? In what context does this conversation take place?
Answer
Prospero is talking about his brother Antonio, whom he had treated as his own son. In order to take revenge against his brother and other enemies, he creates a storm with the help of his magic powers. It is time, Miranda knew the whole story; hence these words form the significance.
2. Explain the meaning of the extract.
Answer
Prospero remembers that after Antonio, his brother got the reins in his hand, he learned how to grant a petition, how to reject it, whom to promote, whom to keep away from power and generally influenced the officials in his favor. He gained complete control of the officers and took away all the powers of Prospero.
3. What is the figure of speech used to describe the person talking about? Explain.
Answer
The figure of speech used is a metaphor. Antonio is said to be a parasite that covered the host plant, the oak tree (Prospero) sucking out all his sap or power.
4. What does he further say about this person?
Answer
Prospero further says that Antonio became greedy for power encouraged especially by the blind faith his brother had on him. He assumed the power of the lord and got control over the revenue generated and all other relevant matters of the State. He started believing that he was the king and his ambitions soared higher and higher.
5. Where is this person now and how does he happen to be here?
Answer
This person, Antonio is on the island where Prospero and Miranda are living. He has been ship-wrecked and brought to the shore by the magic of Prospero and the supernatural powers of Ariel.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
suit; overtopping; verdure
Answer
Suit - a formal request
Overtopping - becoming too ambitious, be superior to
Verdure - vitality
5. Prospero :
Hear a little further,
And then I'll bring thee to the present business
Which now 's upon 's; without the which this story
Were most impertinent.
Miranda : Wherefore did they not
That hour destroy us?
Prospero : Well demanded, wench:
My tale provokes that question.
1. To whom does the speaker ask to wait? Why?
Answer
Prospero asks his daughter Miranda to wait because he wants her to hear the story of their past with patients without interrupting him. Without his knowledge, she will not be able to understand why the storm was created and the ship was wrecked on purpose.
2. What according to Prospero is the "present business Which now's upon's"?
Answer
The present business refers to Prospero's wish to tell Miranda the reason for raining the storm in the sea.
3. Why does the speaker say 'well-demanded wench'? What reply does he give to this question?
Answer
When Miranda asks Prospero why their enemies had not killed them instead of putting them in a boat, he replies that her question is very apt. He says that they did not dare to do so, as Prospero was loved by his people and they would have come to know and reacted strongly if the two of them were so cruelly treated. By putting them in a damaged boat, the murderers could keep their intention secret and allow them to die.
4. To what is the tale being referred?
Answer
The tale referred to is the story of the banishment of Prospero and Miranda from Milan, conspired by Prospero's brother Antonio, with the help of King of Naples, Alonso.
5. What is the rest of the tale narrated?
Answer
Prospero tells Miranda how the conspirators had put him and her in a boat which even the rats had abandoned, to face the rage of the sea. Fortunately, a kind-hearted Gonzalo had placed some food and water and other essential things in the boat along with his precious magic books and these along with the angelic smile of his daughter gave him the courage to face the challenges and seek for safety.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
impertinent; demand; wench
Answer
Impertinent - irrelevant
Demanded - requested. questioned
Wench - young girl
6. Prospero :
By providence divine;
Some food we had, and some fresh water, that
A noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo,
Out of his charity, who being then appointed
Master of this design, did give us, with
Rich garments, linens, stuffs, and necessaries,
Which since have steaded much; so of his gentleness,
Knowing I lov'd my books, he furnish'd me
From mine own library with volumes that
I prize above my dukedom.
1. To which question of Miranda does Prospero reply in this manner?
Answer
When Miranda asks her father how he managed to escape from the raging sea, he replies in this manner that it was God's grace that saved them.
2. In what way did Gonzalo help Prospero and his daughter?
Answer
Gonzalo, being in charge of the operation of banishing. placed some essential things for survival in the boat along with Prospero's magic books. These helped them to escape and live on the island with some sort of comfort.
3. What wish does Miranda make at this point? Will she wish be fulfilled?
Answer
Miranda wishes to see the man who helped them in their hour of crisis. Yes, her wish is going to be fulfilled very soon as Gonzalo is among the shipwrecked people, who will be presently brought in front of them.
4. What positive outcome does Prospero refer to, as far as Miranda is concerned?
Answer
Prospero says that he has been able to educate Miranda in the proper way as he had enough time on his hands to personally teach and groom her up. In fact, this has enabled Miranda to get a richer education than all other princely ones, who waste their time in vain pursuits or getting trained by less careful teachers.
5. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
providence; design; stuff
Answer
Providence - divine grace
Design - Plan
Stuff – Equipment
7. Prospero :
Know thus far forth:
By accident most strange, bountiful Fortune,
Now my dear lady, hath mine enemies
Brought to this shore; and by my prescience
I find my zenith doth depend upon
A most auspicious star, whose influence
If now I court not, but omit, my fortunes
Will ever after droop.
1. Why does Miranda thank her father? What does she ask him to tell her, just before this extract?
Answer
Miranda thanks her father for educating her in the best way possible and asks him the reason for raising the storm.
2. Explain the meaning of the passage.
Answer
Prospero says that his star is most favorable as generous fate has brought his enemies to the island where he is staying. If he does not take advantage of this god-given opportunity, he will never be able to rise in life. His fortune may decline and his state will ever remain poor.
3. What does Prospero ask Miranda to do soon after this? Why?
Answer
Prospero asks Miranda to ask him no more questions and go to sleep as she must be tired after listening to the whole story.
4. Who does he call at the end of the extract? Why?
Answer
Prospero calls Ariel, the finest spirit who created the storm with his supernatural powers. He wants to listen to a firsthand report of what happened to the ship and the ones inside it. Also, he wants the help of Ariel in fulfilling some more work.
5. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
bountiful; prescience; zenith
Answer
Bountiful - generous
Prescience - foreknowledge, visionary power
Zenith - highest point, peak (here in fortunes)
8. Prospero :
Hast thou, spirit,
Perform'd to point the tempest that I bade thee?
Ariel : To every article.
I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak,
Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
I flam'd amazement. Sometime I'd divide
And burn in many places:
1. Who is the spirit mentioned here? What does Prospero mean by this question?
Answer
Ariel is the spirit of air but he is equally comfortable with water, fire, and earth. He works for Prospero. Here Prospero wants to know whether he has carried out all his orders in detail regarding the raising of the tempest.
2. What does this spirit promise his master a little earlier?
Answer
This spirit tells his master that he has come to carry out all the orders given by him, be it to fly, to swim or enter into a fire or to ride on clouds.
3. What do you know about this spirit?
Answer
Ariel, the spirit of air was imprisoned by a witch Sycorax in the cleft of a tree. Prospero rescued him and ever since the spirit serves the master with utter dedication. He is a pleasant spirit and represents the principle of goodness in the play. He has the qualities of being air-light and swiftness and like the element, loves freedom.
4. How does this spirit describe in the given extract, his antics in frightening Prospero's enemies?
Answer
Ariel gives a lively account of the tempest made by him and how he frightened all the passengers. He entered the King's ship jumping from bow to the center, in every cabin and burned like a flame creating terror and confusion. In different flames, he appeared on the mast, cross masts and bow spirit only to converge and frighten. The lightning and thunder seemed to shake the sea.
5. Apart from these details, what more does the spirit tell about the storm and its effect on the passengers?
Answer
Ariel says that the storm scared and confused the people inside. They were driven to madness and made desperate efforts to escape. They jumped into the water that was encircled by the fire caused by him. Ferdinand was the first to jump. Ariel also assures Prospero that no one is harmed.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
bade; beak; flam'd
Answer
Bade- ordered
Beak - front part of the ship
Flam'd - excited, inflamed
9. Ariel :
Not a soul
But felt a fever of the mad, and play'd
Some tricks of desperation. All but mariners
Plung'd in the foaming brine and quit the vessel,
Then all afire with me: the king's son Ferdinand,
With hair up-staring—then like reeds, not hair
Was the first man that leapt, cried 'Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here.'
1. Where is Ariel now? Who is he talking to?
Answer
Ariel is now in front of Prospero giving all the details of the storm.
2. What is Ariel talking about?
Answer
Ariel is talking about how well he carried out the orders of Prospero by creating a magical storm to frighten the inmates of Alonso's ship and how he sent them to desperation, making them jump into the sea.
3. Explain the first three lines of the extract.
Answer
There was not a single person on the ship who was unaffected by the terrible sight and sound around them. They were driven into madness and this made them do some desperate efforts to save themselves.
4. Who are the king and the son mentioned here? What did Ferdinand do when the ship was about to sink?
Answer
Alonso is the King of Naples, and his Ferdinand is his son. When the ship was about to sink, Ferdinand jumped from the ship into the sea and swam away.
5. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
play; brine; afire
Answer
Play - show,
display Brine - salt water of the sea
Afire - on fire
10. Ariel :
Not a hair perish'd.
On their sustaining garments not a blemish,
But fresher than before; and as thou bad'st me,
In troops I have dispers'd them 'bout the isle
The king's son have I landed by himself,
Whom I left cooling of the air with sighs
In an odd angle of the isle, and sitting,
His arms in this sad knot.
1. Who is Ariel referring to in the first line? What does he mean by the first line?
Answer
Ariel is referring to the shipwrecked people. He means that no harm has been done to any of them; not even a hair has been damaged.
2. What more does he say about these people?
Answer
Ariel further says that all the passengers are safe and there is not even a stain on their garments, in fact, they are looking fresher than before. As per Prospero's commands they are scattered over the island. Ariel himself brought Ferdinand to safety and now he is sitting in a lonely corner of the island sighing at the misfortune that has taken place.
3. What has happened to the mariners?
Answer
The mariners are put away in the hold of the ship that has safely reached a harbor. Tired of their efforts and due to the magic they are sound asleep at the moment.
4. What intention of Ariel and Prospero is evident at this moment?
Answer
The intention of both of them is not to harm but put a fright into the passengers and bring them to the island.
5. What does Prospero tell Ariel soon after this and how does Ariel react?
Answer
Prospero tells Ariel that he has done his duty extremely well, but there is more work to be done. Ariel loves freedom, so he reminds Prospero of his promise to set him free soon.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
odd; angle; the isle
Answer
Odd - isolated, far away
Angle - corner
Isle - island
Thou dost, and think'st it much to tread the ooze
Of the salt deep,
To run upon the sharp wind of the north,
To do me business in the veins o'th' earth
When it is bak'd with frost.
1. What does Prospero mean by 'Thou dost'?
Answer
Prospero means that Ariel is forgetting how he had been rescued by the magical powers of Prospero from the torture of Sycorax.
2. In what strong words does Prospero scold Ariel soon after this?
Answer
Prospero scolds Ariel by calling him a malignant thing who is so ungrateful as to forget how he had been rescued from the torture which Sycorax, the witch, subjected him to. He asks Ariel whether he thinks of walking in the bottom of the sea, riding upon the sharp wind or doing tasks in the interior of the earth too much, when compared to the torture he was under all those years of imprisonment.
3. What kind of act had Prospero done for Ariel?
Answer
Prospero with his magical powers released Ariel from the curse of Sycorax by helping the spirit come out from the cleft of the pine tree where he was dwelling for twelve years.
4. Do you think Ariel deserves these cruel words?
Answer
Ariel definitely does not deserve these cruel words as he has been a most obedient servant and helping Prospero to do all the difficult tasks assigned to him, especially the task of raising the magic storm. Ariel, a spirit of air, longs for freedom and at this point, Prospero sounds unfair.
5. What opinion do you form about Prospero with reference to these words?
Answer
These harsh words of Prospero reveal the colonial mentality of the powerful rulers, who dominate others by refusing freedom, making them serve without realizing others have their rights too.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
ooze; business; bak'd
Answer
Ooze - the soft mud of the ocean floor
Business - task, deed
Bak'd - solidified, harden
12. Prospero :
This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child,
And here was left by th' sailors. Thou, my slave,
As thou report'st thyself, was then her servant,
And for thou wast a spirit too delicate
To act her earthy and abhorr'd commands,
Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee
1. Who is the blue-eyed hag mentioned? Where is 'here'?
Answer
Sycorax is the blue-eyed witch who was dumped in the island by some sailors. Here is the island on which Prospero and Miranda are living.
2. Who is addressed as 'thou, my slave'? Why?
Answer
Ariel is addressed in this way. Ever since Prospero released him from the curse of Sycorax, Ariel is working for the master magician.
3. Who was being addressed by Prospero before this extract? Why did the addressee not like the earlier work?
Answer
Ariel was being addressed to by Prospero before this extract. He did not like the earlier work because earlier he had been working for the witch Sycorax.
4. What did the 'blue-eyed hag' do to this person?
Answer
The 'blue-eyed have or Sycorax had confined Ariel in a cloven pine for a dozen years, and she died without releasing him.
5. How did Prospero help this person?
Answer
Prospero with his magical powers released him from torture and employed him to do work for him.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
earthy; abhorr'd; hests
Answer
Earthy - coarse, gross
Abhorr'd - disgusting, hateful
Hests - orders, commands
13. Prospero :
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 arrived and heard thee, that made gape
The pine and let thee out.
1. Who is referred to as a dull thing? What was said about him just before this?
Answer
The dull thing is Caliban, the son of Sycorax. It was said that he was the son of the witch Sycorax, originally meant to be a spotted dog but given human shape.
2. Where is the dull thing now and what does he do?
Answer
The dull thing is now on the island along with Prospero. He is enslaved by Prospero and does menial jobs for him, like fetching fuel.
3. What was the condition of Ariel when Prospero saw him?
Answer
Ariel was in agony, imprisoned in the hollow of a pine tree, howling in distress that made the wolves howl and even penetrated the hearts of angry bears.
4. What does Prospero threaten to do if Ariel complains?
Answer
Prospero threatens that he will split an oak tree and fix him in the twisted trunk and leave him there to groan for another twelve years.
5. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
dull; torment; art
Answer
Dull - melancholic
Torment - torture
Art - magic
14. Prospero :
For this be sure tonight thou shalt have cramps,
Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up. Urchins
Shall, forth that vast of night that they may work,
All exercise on thee. Thou shalt be pinch'd
As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging
Than bees that made 'em.
1. To whom are these words addressed? Why?
Answer
These words are addressed to Caliban because he had been showering curses on Prospero and Miranda, wishing some poisonous dew would fall on them. He also wishes that southwest wind should fall on them and cause blisters all over their body.
2. What are the threats made by the speaker?
Answer
Prospero threatens that for these curses, he would have cramps, constriction around chest which will choke his breathing. Goblins will pester him at night and he will have stings worse than those of honey bees.
3. Is Prospero justified in making these threats?
Answer
At first, we feel Prospero is exceedingly harsh on Caliban, whom he has tied to a rock. Later we come to know that Caliban has evil intentions towards Miranda and even had tried to violate her modesty. Together with this, Caliban uses abusive words at both father and daughter. So, Prospero is justified in using these cruel words and methods as this is the only way to control the son of a cruel witch.
4. How does the person reply to this?
Answer
Caliban replies that Prospero has taken over the island that was his rightful property and tied him to rock without allowing him liberty to roam around and eat what he likes. This is in utter contrast to his treatment when he first treated him as his child.
5. According to Caliban and Prospero, in what way had Prospero treated the other one earlier?
Answer
Caliban says that he was treated initially, with tender care. Prospero used to give him water and berries and also taught him about stars. In return Caliban showed him all the places on the island, the good and the bad; and in return, he was exploited by the master.
Prospero says that he had treated the other with kindness and even gave him a place in his own cave but he tried to molest Miranda and hence Prospero's attitude changed towards Caliban.
6. What orders does Prospero give at the end of the scene?
Answer
Prospero orders Caliban to fetch wood and be quick in completing the task.
7. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
urchin; vast; pinch
Answer
Urchin - goblin
Vast - long period of time
Pinch - prick
15. Miranda :
Which any print of goodness wilt not take,
Being capable of all ill! I pitied thee,
Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour
One thing or other. When thou didst not, savage,
Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like
A thing most brutish, I endow'd thy purposes
With words that made them known.
1. Bring out the context of the extract.
Answer
Miranda says to Caliban that he is so evil-minded that he cannot be molded to anything good. She had spent much time in teaching him a civil language when he was no better than a beast and when he used to utter sounds resembling cries of animals. She taught him to express himself in an intelligible language but because of the evil nature he has inherited, no matter how much he learned, no good person would even like to stand near him.
2. What does the speaker say about 'vile race' later?
Answer
The speaker is referring to the subhuman level of the ancestry of Caliban. Being the Son of a witch and a demi-devil, he cannot adopt the finer ways of humans. The devil in him will not allow him to have better ways.
3. What is the result of Caliban learning language?
Answer
According to Caliban, learning language has enabled him to shower curses on the one who taught him the language.
4. Why does Caliban obey Prospero at the end?
Answer
Caliban decides to obey as Prospero's magic powers are superior to those of Setebos, his mother's god and he will not stand any chance to escape from Prospero.
5. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
print; gabble; brutish
Answer
Print - imprint, image
Gabble - talk rapidly in an incomprehensible way
Brutish - like a beast or animal
16. Ferdinand :
Where should this music be?—' th' air or th' earth?
It sounds no more; and sure it waits upon
Some god o'th' island. Sitting on a bank,
Weeping again the king my father's wreck,
This music crept by me upon the waters,
Allaying both their fury and my passion
With its sweet air. Thence I have follow'd it,
Or it hath drawn me rather; but 'tis gone.
No, it begins again.
1. Who is Ferdinand? Where is he?
Answer
Ferdinand is the son of Alonso, King of Naples. He has survived a shipwreck and is now on the island where Prospero lives.
2. Why does he lament his state?
Answer
He laments as he has lost everything, his father, other co-passengers, and the ship he was traveling on. He is all alone on an uninhabited island with nobody to turn for help.
3. Where is the music coming from? Who is singing it?
Answer
The music is floating in the air of the island. It is sung by Ariel.
4. At the end of this extract, the music begins again. What is its theme?
Answer
Through the music Ariel conveys to Ferdinand that his father is no more, his body is lying at the bottom of the sea, his bones have been transformed into coral, his eyes into pearls; the sea has made his body into something rich and strange and the spirits who dwell in the sea are ringing his death-knell every hour.
5. What does Miranda say about the appearance of Ferdinand, a little later?
Answer
For the first time seeing a human other than her father, Miranda is surprised to see Ferdinand and says that he must be some heavenly spirit as he looks so divine and noble.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
waits; wrack; air
Answer
Waits - attends, accompanies
Wrack - loss
Air - melody, tune
17. Ferdinand :
Most sure, the goddess
On whom these airs attend. Vouchsafe my prayer
May know if you remain upon this island,
And that you will some good instruction give
How I may bear me here. My prime request,
Which I do last pronounce, is- you wonder! -
If you be maid or no?
1. Whom does the speaker call goddess? Why?
Answer
The speaker calls Miranda, a goddess as she is beautiful and ethereal, and she is the first being he has seen on the island which he earlier thought to be uninhabited.
2. What does he want the 'goddess' to tell him?
Answer
He wants the goddess to tell him whether she dwells on the island, and also asks her to instruct about how he should behave there. He also requests her to tell him whether she is a maiden, an unmarried woman.
3. How does Ferdinand introduce himself?
Answer
Ferdinand introduces himself by saying that he is the present King of Naples as his father died in a shipwreck. He further adds that his father's courtiers were also killed along with him.
4. Why does Prospero say a little later that he will set Ariel free?
Answer
Prospero says that Ariel obeyed his orders very well and he appreciates Ariel's efforts. He further says that he will set Ariel at liberty so that he will be as free as the mountain breezes, but till then he will have to carry out his orders in every little detail.
5. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
vouchsafe; prime; wonder
Vouchsafe - allow, grant
Prime - chief, foremost
Wonder - miracle
18. Prospero :
Soft, sir, one word more.
(Aside) They are both in either's powers, but this swift
business
I must uneasy make lest too light winning
Make the prize light. -One word more: I charge thee
That thou attend me. Thou dost here usurp
The name thou ow'st not, and hast put thyself
Upon this island as a spy, to win it
From me, the lord on't.
1. What does the speaker mean by "either's powers"?
Answer
Both Ferdinand and Miranda are attracted to each other and seem to be absorbed in themselves. Each is in the power of the other.
2. What is the 'swift business' and what does the speaker plan to do? Why?
Answer
The 'swift business' is Miranda and Ferdinand falling in love at first sight. The speaker is planning to bring some obstacles in their way, as he believes that anything gotten easily will soon lose its charm.
3. What does the speaker accuse Ferdinand of?
Answer
Prospero accuses Ferdinand of being an imposter, trying to spy on him and win the island from him.
4. Why does he plan to punish Ferdinand?
Answer
Prospero says he will punish Ferdinand for being a traitor. He will manacle his neck and feet together and will give him only seawater to drink and shellfish, dried roots and husks to eat.
5. How does Ferdinand react to the threats? What happens to him?
Answer
Ferdinand draws his sword, saying that he will fight until the enemy proves stronger than him. But he cannot move from his stance as Prospero uses his magic to arrest him.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
light; uneasy; usurp
Answer
Light - easy, effortless
Uneasy - hard, difficult
Usurp - unfairly take away
19. Ferdinand :
So they are.
My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.
My father's loss, the weakness which I feel,
The wreck of all my friends, nor this man's threats,
To whom I am subdued, are but light to me,
Might I but through my prison once a day
Behold this maid. All corners else o'th' earth
Let liberty make use of-space enough
Have I in such a prison.
1. Where are Prospero and Ferdinand? Mention two of the commands given by Prospero that Ferdinand has to obey.
Answer
Prospero and Ferdinand are on a lonely island where the latter is captivated by the former. The two commands given by Prospero that Ferdinand has to obey are:
(a) To carry and pile up logs of wood.
(b) To be obedient always to his commands by following them.
2. To what comment of Prospero does Ferdinand say, "so they are"?
Answer
Prospero dominates Ferdinand with his magic and tells Ferdinand that his muscles are as feeble as they used to be in his childhood and that there is no strength left in his muscles now; to this comment of Prospero, Ferdinand says "So they are;" or that his muscles have indeed lost their power.
3. Explain: "Thy nerves are in their infancy again."
Answer
Prospero is treating Ferdinand harshly: as he is under trial, Prospero thus speaks to him that all his muscles are limp and lifeless.
4. What is the bad experiences Ferdinand is referring to?
Answer
Ferdinand says his spirits seem to be oppressed as in a dream. His father's death, his physical weakness, the loss of his friends and now the threats of his capturer are the bad experiences he is talking about.
5. What are "but light" to Ferdinand?
Answer
Every loss and all the threats of Prospero are light for Ferdinand, and he is ready to face it all.
6. What will bring down his suffering, according to him?
Answer
The sight of Miranda every day through his prison window will bring down the intensity of all his sufferings.
7. Who is "this maid" referred? What had shocked the maid a little while ago?
Answer
The "maid" referred to is Miranda. She is shocked to find that her own father can be so cruel to someone.
8. What does "this maid" tell Ferdinand about her father?
Answer
Miranda tells Ferdinand that her father is not normally so harsh in words and actions and he is a kind-hearted person.
9. What does Ferdinand mean when he says "Let liberty make use of-space enough"?
Answer
Ferdinand will have enough space in such a prison where he will have a chance at least once every day to see beautiful Miranda.
10. What does Prospero tell Ariel at the end of the scene? How does Ariel reply?
Answer
Prospero tells Ariel that he will be as free as the mountain winds if he does exactly what he is told to do. Ariel replies that he will follow his master to the finest detail.
11. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
light; subdued; liberty
Answer
Light - easy, of little value
Subdued - overcome
Liberty - freedom