'

The Tempest


Notes



Act I, Scene 1

Line 1:'Director: Line numbers in our script do not correspond to the original text because we gave numbers to sound cues as well.'
Line 2:'Director: Opening of this scene actors are off mike, yelling.'
Line 4:'brisk, alert, nimble'
Line 13:'Perhaps originally "ply the men." An archaic use of this word simply meant to bestir or exercise.'
Line 18:'Roaring waves.'
Line 21:'Gonzalo implies that since the Boatswain looks like a villain meant to be hung, he cannot be meant to drown. If so, perhaps the ship is safe.'
Line 32:'Either cold due to death or due to one final drink, either literally (sailors had a reputation for drunkeness) or as a metaphor for drowning.'
Line 36:' With mouth wide open.'
Line 36:' An old sentence for pirates was hanging, and leaving the body dangling at the oceans low water mark until three tides had passed. Because flesh rots quickly in brine, the resulting decay of the body would leave a gruesome warning to other pirates.'
Line 37:'Director: Hanged is an important operative here, to be stressed, as in opposition to drowning as a fate.'
Line 37:'To swallow.'
Line 39:'Director: This is an example of the public versus private voices of these two characters. Publicly, Antonio professes his loyalty by his willingness to sink with the king. Privately, Sebastian grumbles his true feelings.'
Line 41:'The sense is that Gonzalo really wishes he were on land right now, no matter how miserable that land would normally be. The plants he names are humble, and grow out of poor soil.'
Line 41:'Director: Almost a prayer.'

Act I, Scene 2

Line 1:'Magic is the art of Prospero.'
Line 1:'Welkin is the sky.'
Line 1:'Director: We played this line as having high stakes. Miranda is pleading with her father for the lives of those on the ship. It cuts to her very heart to bear witness to such tragedy. Her plea needs to kick the scene off with high energy. Had I been any god of power amounts to an accusation of Prospero - if she had his power, she would do something about this tragedy.'
Line 1:'Fraughting: that which is aboard a ship is fraughting, boarding, riding on.'
Line 2:'Director: Prospero goes through quite a tortuous emotional journey in this scene. The preceding storm is a manifestation of 12 years of pent-up emotion for him. His original intentions may have been that no one be hurt, but storms, and emotions, often get the better of us. We took the approach that Prosperos own control over his emotions & powers is never a sure thing. Mirandas reaction to the storm catches him off guard & he feels he must reassure her. Her anguish upsets him more than the peril of the passengers does.'
Line 2:'Amazement: bewildered terror.'
Line 8:'Director: Wipe thou thine eyes begins a new thought.'
Line 8:'Perdition: loss'
Line 8:' Betid: happened'
Line 8:' Director: A brief beat, a new thought.'
Line 9:'Bootless inquisition: futile questioning. '
Line 10:'The hours now come: Prospero seems obsessed with time. He mentions hours and minutes and time of day several times throughout the play.'
Line 10:'Director: Here, Prospero begins for the first time ever to reveal to his daughter the great secret and tragedy of his life. We played it that Miranda truly was attentive. Any child hearing their parents great secret for the first time is unlikely to fall asleep, though this scene is often played that way. Far from boring her, Prospero is revealing the secret of her own birth and the great life-changing event of their lives.'
Line 10:'Director: Here, Prospero begins for the first time ever to reveal to his daughter the great secret and tragedy of his life. We played it that Miranda truly was attentive. Any child hearing their parents great secret for the first time is unlikely to fall asleep, though this scene is often played that way. Far from boring her, Prospero is revealing the secret of her own birth and the great life-changing event of their lives.'
Line 10:'Director: This second sentence (I do not think thou canst) Prospero takes to himself. He is trying to find his way, figure out how to begin, how much she knows, what form of the truth he will tell her. He is not completely blameless in this history. At points in the ensuing lines, he is confident in something he has rehearsed over and over in his mind, while in other places he is at a loss to find exactly the right words. The meter and syntax provide great clues to which is which. The smoother flowing sections are those in which Prospero is confident. The meandering, challenging, halting sections represent areas in which he is more agitated, less sure of himself.'
Line 10:'Out: Completely.'
Line 12:'Director: Prospero is almost asking for Mirandas help in telling the story. For 12 years he has thought of little else, but in the moment of voicing it to another person for the first time, he finds it hard to begin.'
Line 12:'If you remember anything before you came here, maybe you remember how you came here as well. '
Line 16:'Director: The repetition of twelve year since underscores the huge amount of time that has passed, how long ago and yet how immediate these events are for Prospero. Plus, he is about to make a huge revelation. '
Line 18:'A joke about the impossibility of Miranda being the illegitimate daughter of someone else. Director: This may be the only place Mirandas mother is mentioned. We took this opportunity for some tenderness to creep into Prospero. There just have not been that many good relationships in his life. Gonzalo is another one.'
Line 20:'Holp: past of help'
Line 21:'Teen: trouble and anxiety'
Line 22:'Perfidious: nasty'
Line 22:'The gist is that Prospero used to be Duke of Milan, but gave the work of running the country to his brother Antonio, though Prospero retained the title and honors belonging to a Duke. This is a similar error to that made by King Lear. Antonio learned how to wield his position of power against Prospero, and replaced him.'
Line 22:'Director: A sort of admission of his own guilt in the events that happened. A degree of self-blame.'
Line 24:'Verdure: life force, power, vitality'
Line 26:'This long sentence can be paraphrased as follows. In not paying attention to the world around me so that I could study mysteries beyond popular understanding, I awoke a bad side of my brother: the boundless trust I bestowed on him awoke an equally boundless disloyalty.'
Line 26:'This is related to a proverb that stated that a good parent often had a bad child. Trust is the mother of deceit, was a proverb of the times. This also brings to mind a line Miranda will soon utter: Good wombs have borne bad sons.'
Line 26:'Director: Again, Prospero seems to accuse himself. What a fool I was to trust him! How naive! As Prospero proceeds here, he becomes more & more carried away by his emotions.'
Line 26:'Sans: without'
Line 26:'The idea is that Antonio told his lie so well that Antonio came to believe it himself, thus making his memory a sinner.'
Line 26:'Director: Prospero has just finished admitting his own guilt for failing to pay attention when he should have. Suddenly, his urgency that Miranda pay attention takes on a new meaning.'
Line 28:'To not divide himself from the role he was playing, Antonio needed to become the duke.'
Line 28:'Absolute Milan: The Duke of Milan both in title and in power.'
Line 28:'Temporal: existing in time as opposed to the immortal setting of words in the books Prospero was studying. Note how Prospero switches here from the past to present tense in his narrative, though he is still discussing what happened twelve years ago.'
Line 28:'Confederates: a verb here for partnering.'
Line 28:'So dry he was for sway: dry means thirsty or empty. Sway means power or influence. This line could be understand at least two ways, then, either of which seems appropriate: Antonio was thirsty for power and perhaps empty of influence, which forced him to confederate with an enemy rather than get support from nobles in Milan.'
Line 30:'The sense here is that Antonio made an agreement to pay homage and tribute to the King of Naples.'
Line 30:'Condition: Contract'
Line 32:'The King of Naples agreed to help overthrow Prospero and gave the dukedom to Antonio, if Antonio would have Milan pay tribute and homage to Naples.'
Line 32:'Inveterate: chronic, ingrained, hardened.'
Line 32:'Director: The impact of events on Miranda enters in at this point. Here, too, the emotions of Prospero take a turn, he is a little more in control of himself. For this part of the story, he takes no blame. He was clearly wronged.'
Line 33:'Hint: occasion.'
Line 34:'Impertinent: irrelevant.'
Line 36:'Bark: ship.'
Line 36:'Director: Past pain breaks through in the bitterness with which he describes their vessel. We chose "boat" over "butt" as being clearer for audiences.'
Line 38:'Cherubin: a little angel.'
Line 38:'Which: Mirandas smile'
Line 38:'Undergoing stomach: Different organs were affiliated with different emotions in Shakespeares day. Here the stomach is associated with fortitude and strength.'
Line 39:'Director: Essentially, "God only knows."'
Line 39:'Director: Once again, tenderness creeps in. Gonzalo showed them kindness and Prospero has never forgotten it.'
Line 42:'Could just mean he stands up, but has a double meaning in that his fortunes are rising again, after being stranded for years. Director: We took this line less as a stage direction and more metaphorically. In my mind, Prospero has sprung up, paced back & forth, etc during the preceding tale. His agitation would not fit the idea that he has remained seated. So, we took this line more to mean, "Now I come to my point."'
Line 44:'Prescience: my special knowledge'
Line 44:'Director: We took these lines as Prospero working his magic on Miranda. He does not want her awake for his conversation with Ariel. And sleep may help her process all the information he has just imparted.'
Line 46:'Director: Ariel is bent on showing what a great job she has done, since it means her freedom--or so she was led to believe. She has every reason to praise Prospero at this point.'
Line 46:'Director: Here task is a verb.'
Line 46:'Quality: spirits or powers subservient to Ariel.'
Line 47:'To point: in every detail'
Line 48:'Director: This section was a wonderful piece for audio theater as Ariel paints a vivid picture both for Prospero and for the audience. Ariel takes great pleasure in her work at the first.'
Line 48:'Beak: the prow'
Line 48:'Waist: Midship'
Line 48:'Struck bewildered terror by appearing as flames.'
Line 48:'Boresprit and yards: parts of the ship.'
Line 49:'Coil: tumult'
Line 50:'Up staring: standing on end'
Line 53:'Director: There is an urgency here, remembering Miranda & his promise to her.'
Line 54:'Sad knot: folded across himself'
Line 56:'Director: A small reminder, even a dig, at how much work Ariel has performed for Prospero.'
Line 56:'Director: Here, and elsewhere, Ariel reveals a sympathy for the humans that ultimately serves as a reproach to Prospero.'
Line 57:'Again, as elsewhere, the importance of time is emphasized by Prospero. Even the word "Tempest" contains the root "temp," as in "temporal," "temporary," etc.'
Line 59:'Two glasses: two o-clock. The time in this play is between two and six p.m. or so.'
Line 60:'Director: A major shift happens here, as we see the limits of the relationship between Ariel & Prospero. In the earlier section, Ariel did most of the talking, and Prosperos lines were short and to the point.'
Line 64:'Bate: let me off. A year vacation? '
Line 65:'Director: Now, the tables turn. Ariel says very little. We played this with the feel and energy that might come were Prospero physically threatening Ariel, perhaps holding her up against the wall. Ariel is progressively frightened through the scene.'
Line 69:'Grown into a hoop: hunchbacked?'
Line 73:'For one thing she did they would not take her life: She did one thing that prevented them from killing her--she was pregnant with Caliban.'
Line 75:'Director: A reminder that life was worse under Sycorax, and that the last time Ariel refused the commands of someone in power, her suffering was great. The ensuing lines are a threat.'
Line 7575:'Blue eyed: the eyelid, blueness was a sign of pregnancy. Or perhaps just baggy eyed.'
Line :'Director: The rhythm of this simile echoes the rhythm of a millwheel turning - slow, laborious but inevitable. Prospero twists the knife in Ariels past pain.'
Line 75:'Director: While Caliban is often portrayed as a sea-monster of some sort, this line clearly supports the notion that he is a human being. The references to his monstrous shape have more to do with his character and with the clash of cultures between him and the European characters.'
Line 77:'Director: Prospero is not yet ready to relinquish control of the conversation or his power in this situation.'
Line 78:'Director: Clearly, this line must be played reluctantly if Ariel is to have any dimension to her. She realizes her mistake in challenging Prospero. That does not mean she is truly grateful here.'
Line 80:'Director: We felt it necessary to take a beat here, allowing Ariel to shift from reluctant to subdued and then desperate to please.'
Line 80:'Correspondant: obedient '
Line 81:'Two days: Prospero apparently changes his mind during the course of the play, and releases Ariel within hours instead. '
Line 87:'Director: We had interesting discussions about why Prospero chooses, at this moment, to go visit Caliban. Does he need Caliban to get him into the proper vengeful mood, or to take out his anger on him?'
Line 91:' Other business: Yet at the end of the scene Prospero sends Caliban for more firewood, although there is wood enough within. Why is Prospero bothering Caliban now?'
Line 93:'Quaint: elegant, skillful.'
Line 98:'South-west: Considered a pestilence carrying wind.'
Line 100:'Bigger light and lesser light: the sun and the moon.'
Line 101:'Stripes: whipping'
Line 105:' Thourt best: An implied threat, like: You had better...'
Line 105:'Director: We had to picture the scene a little here, allowed for Calibans reluctance to obey, then had Prospero give him a taste of the pain that awaits him, thereby also giving the audience a taste.'
Line 106:'Vassal: servant.'
Line 109:'Director: In this scene, Ariel again shows her sympathy for others. She sings to draw Ferdinand into place, as commanded by Prospero, but she chooses words and a tune that are oddly comforting for Ferdinand in his grief. The words for yellow sands also function as a convocation to spirits of the island.'
Line 117:'Remember: commemorate.',
Line 117:'owes: owns'
Line 119:'Director: One of the challenges for us here, and elsewhere, was to convey the sense of people listening into a scene without revealing their presence to the other characters.'
Line 119:'Fringed curtains: her eyelids'
Line 120:'Director: The fact that it (Ferdinand) moves and looks about is miraculous in and of itself. Everything about Ferdinand is miraculous to Miranda.'
Line 121:'canker: a worm that eats flowers.'
Line 123:'Director: Originally Spirit, fine spirit. We made this change to clarify, in the audio format, whom Prospero was addressing.'
Line 131:'Oops? Antonios son is never again mentioned. Or maybe Antonios son is in another ship, one of those that went on to Naples.'
Line 132:'Control: To contradict, to correct.'
Line 132:'Changed eyes: fallen in love due to an exchange of amorous looks.'
Line 132:'Done yourself some wrong: An overly polite way of saying somebody was lying.'
Line 135:'Light: easy, not valuable'
Line 135:'Director: Prosperos anger here is feigned. He has to test Mirandas feelings.'
Line 135:'Director: Usurp - a loaded word for Prospero.'
Line 138:'Is Prospero intentionally choosing an accusation that will lend his feigned anger some truth? Is this early Method acting? Director note: Traitor - another loaded word for Prospero.'
Line 142:'Gentle and not fearful: could mean noble and not a coward, or harmless and not terrifying. We favor the latter.'
Line 144:'My foot my tutor: my inferior becoming my superior?'
Line 144:'Come from thy ward: drop your combat stance.'
Line 156:'My fathers loss... such a prison: Ferdinand is saying that he will surrender because if he can look on Miranda in prison, he will forget all his woes, and will enjoy a greater freedom than the rest of the world can offer.'

Act II, Scene 1

Line 2:'hint: occasion'
Line 2:'Masters of some merchant: The masters of a merchant vessel.'
Line 2:'Director: These two opposing operatives ("sorrow" and "comfort") also represent key themes. Ariel, Miranda, Gonzalo all serve as comforters at one time or another. Ferdinand, Alonso and Prospero all wrestle with their great sorrows.'
Line 4:'Director: Sebastian & Antonio both operate on multiple levels of meaning almost constantly. Their speech is duplicitous, conspiratorial, suggestive, suspicious, guarded. All that most of the other characters are not - save Prospero and perhaps Caliban.'
Line 4:'Porridge: Punning on "peace" as in "peas porridge hot".'
Line 5:'Visitor: The visitor of a parish comforts the sick.'
Line 8:'One: tell. One o-clock. Mark it. Tell: Keep count.'
Line 9:'Entertainer: Gonzalo means it as the sufferer, Sebastian takes it to mean innkeeper.'
Line 10:'A dollar: When the entertainer has offered everything he can, he is paid. Sebastian is also hinting that Gonzalos sympathies are not genuine, but bought and paid for.'
Line 32:'Temperance: Temperance was a womans name at the time. Antonio and Sebastian pun off her character. '
Line 33:'Subtle: could mean either fine, skillful, or tricky and treacherous. A subtle woman could then be taken as a beautiful deceiver, who would betray the man she was with, and it is implied that Gonzalo is among the deceived.'
Line 41:'Tawny: brown'
Line 42:'Eye of green: Connected with gullibility. Referring to Gonzalo, or maybe Alonso if he believes Gonzalos flattery.'
Line 46:'As many vouched rarities are: most rare things are lies. Sebastian implies that this one is too.'
Line 49:'Pocket up: Hide away.'
Line 51:'Director: Note the use of the word "prosper" here. Sebastian is being sarcastic, but Shakespeare is adding another layer of meaning. They "prosper" in that they are in the hands of Prospero.'
Line 54:'Widow Dido: Dido was a widow, but was not usually thought of or referred to as such.'
Line 54:'Director: Say "Widow Dido" out loud a few times and one cannot help but think Antonio mocks Gonzalo or Adrian with a lisping voice.'
Line 57:'This is an error on the part of Gonzalo, and causes the others to mock him.'
Line 60:'Miraculous harp: In old legend, Amphion raised the walls of Tunis with a magical harp. However, Gonzalo has fabricated an entire city with his mistake.'
Line 68:'One possible way of viewing this prattle is that it is, in fact, just prattle because these men are so impossibly bored. They are just a bunch of politicians and know nothing of obtaining the wood, food, and fresh water that they will need to survive, and so have nothing to do on this island but chatter.'
Line 72:'That sort was well fished for: referring to Gonzalos earlier line, saying that it was necessary for him to qualify his statement in order to make that statement less ridiculous. Also refers to the swim that they have all just had.'
Line 74:'Stomach represents mood here. Alonso is not in the mood for Gonzalos comfort.'
Line 75:'Director: These lines were originally given to Francisco, a character who is virtually absent through most of the text. I gave them to Gonzalo to reinforce his role as comforter, the kind and noble aspect of his nature. This is a tough section to deliver with an overly rapid pace. It demands time, which also supports taking it in a tone of consolation.'
Line 75:'The land seemed to rise over the swimming body of Ferdinand to meet the swimmer.'
Line 77:'Director: The ensuing exchange between Sebastian and Alonso is telling. Sebastian honestly blames Alonso for their predicament and is not afraid to confront him on it, but his words are terrifically hurtful.'
Line 77:'The eye has reason to cry that it will not see Claribel, the daughter of Alonso, again.'
Line 79:'Considered her obedience to her father versus her unwillingness to marry.'
Line 83:'Chirurgeonly: Like a surgeon.'
Line 85:'Foul weather: Many have indicated that there is a pun here, but it has not been adequately explained. We chose to simply make Sebastian indicate that foul weather is an understatement for what is going on, both literally and metaphorically.'
Line 89:'Docks and mallows: ugly swamp plants. '
Line 92:'Contraries: opposite to what is done now.'
Line 92:'Traffic: commerce'
Line 92:'Bourn: divisions of land between owners'
Line 95:'Foison: plenty'
Line 95:'But nature... people: Because nature would give everything freely, there would be no want, and with no want, no crime.'
Line 107:'Flatlong: with the flat of the blade. His words hit, but hurt not.'
Line 108:'You would lift... without changing: His meaning here regarding the moon is unclear.'
Line 110:'Batfowling: a sport in which night birds were lured with a light then clubbed. Also can mean to gull a fool. '
Line 112:'Adventure my discretion: I would not use my intelligence for such vain endeavors as talking to you. Or risk my reputation by indulging in weak behavior, such as talking to you.'
Line 122:'Director: Here begins a section that is a kind of dance, as Antonio and Sebastian sound eachother out, their double caution stemming from the fear of the others waking up and their own mistrust of one another as co-conspirators. Such business must be broached with caution, but there is a sense of urgency, since the others may wake up at any moment. The energy and pacing of the scene mimics a bit the "ebb and flow" imagery of the language.'
Line 126:'Noble: Antonio both highlights Sebastians noble family, and for the audience, his lack of noble character.'
Line 128:'Trebles thee over: triples your fortunes.'
Line 129:'Well, I am standing water: Perhaps expressing frustration that he is not going anywhere. Physically, that he is stuck on an island, and socially, in the hierarchy.'
Line 132:'Hereditary sloth: he is confessing laziness, and also suggesting that he is frustrated at being younger than Alonso.'
Line 133:'O if you but knew... invest it: not entirely clear. Perhaps "if only you knew that in describing your situation, you have also suggested how to overcome it!"'
Line 134:'A birth...throes...: A birth that is causing Antonio labor pains; Sebastian is commenting on the difficulty Antonio is having saying what he wants to say.'
Line 135:'This lord of weak memory, who will also not be remembered when he is dead.'
Line 135:'Earthed: Buried'
Line 135:'The sole function of Gonzalo as a counselor is to persuade. Director: The operatives seem to be "almost," "spirit" and "professes," the point being Gonzalo is not quite convincing enough, perhaps as compared to Antonio, who is not just a "spirit" of persuasion but a full-blown expert.'
Line 137:'Once ambition is there, it cannot go any further, or discover anything new.'
Line 141:'The trip takes longer than a man can live.'
Line 141:'She cannot receive mail from Naples because it is too far away, unless the sun were carrying the letter. Even the moon would take too long. '
Line 141:'All that is past was in the hands of destiny, so that we can choose to take the next step.'
Line 143:'Us: The cubits, which are measurements of 18 to 22 inches.'
Line 145:'A chough: a jackdaw, which were occasionally trained to speak.'
Line 147:'Tender: esteem or comply with.'
Line 147:'Feater: more gracefully, nimbly.'
Line 149:'Kibe: a sore on the heel, which would make Antonio put on a slipper, but deposing his brother does not even bother him that much.'
Line 149:'Candied: sugarcoated'
Line 151:'Tell the clock: they will obey us in whatever we say.'
Line 158:'Open-eyed: awake.'
Line 168:'Director: We played here with the notion that Gonzalo might suspect Antonio & Sebastian. After all, he knows Antonios history with Prospero.'
Line 172:'Director: In the live performance from which our recording was made, we placed the intermission here. '

ActII, Scene 2

Line 2:'Inch-meal: Inch by inch.'
Line 2:'Urchin-shows: Goblin magic. Urchin means hedgehogs, who were often supposed to be goblins in disguise.'
Line 2:'Firebrand: the will-o-the-wisp'
Line 2:'Mow: make faces'
Line 4:'Bombard: a vessel to carry liquor.'
Line 4:'Poor John was a term for cheap dried fish. Director: Trinculos references to Caliban as "fish" or "fishlike" have more to do with his smell, and, perhaps, the seaweed that is tangled in his hair, than whether he is some other creature, not human.'
Line 4:'Painted: on a sign to alert people to the monster inside.'
Line 4:'Doit: a small coin.'
Line 4:'Dead Indian: Native Americans were often captured and taken to England as part of an exhibition. They often died as a result.'
Line 6:'Gaberdine: cloak.'
Line 10:'Director: Although Caliban spends most of his time with Stephano and Trinculo, Shakespeare makes an important distinction between them. Caliban mainly speaks in verse, while Stephano and Trinculo mainly speak in prose.'
Line 10:'Stephano refers to his own funeral, since he expects to die on this island.'
Line 12:'As proper a man...give ground: Stephano is fond of twisting quotes, but I am uncertain about this one. It could refer to a man on crutches, meaning that "No man on crutches could scare him into running away."'
Line 13:'Ague: a feverish disease often resulting in quivering or trembling.'
Line 13:'Neats leather: expensive shoe leather.'
Line 16:'Director: Not take too much for him = No price is too high!'
Line 17:'Trembling: Caliban mistakes trembling due to unsteady drunkenness to trembling in anger, or perhaps trembling due to possession by Prospero.'
Line 20:'Chaps: jaws'
Line 23:'Backward voice: Yeah, Shakespeare is being crude here. Gotta love it.'
Line 25:'A proverb of the time, quoted elsewhere in Shakespeare, was "He must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil."'
Line 27:'Siege: Stool, defecation, excrement.'
Line 27:'Moon-calf: a misshapen birth, a monstrosity.'
Line 28:'Director: "I hope I am not seeing a ghost."'
Line 31:'Butt of sack: A tub of Spanish wine.'
Line 31:'Director: The recurrent "b" sounds afford ample opportunity for accenting Stephanos increasing inebriation.'
Line 35:'Kiss the book: Drink from the bottle.'
Line 39:'Stephano tricks Caliban into believing he is supernatural.'
Line 40:' The man in the moon was supposedly trapped there for trying to collect firewood on the Sabbath.'
Line 55:'Pig-nuts: Bunium flexuosum. Google it if you are really that curious!'
Line 55:'Marmoset: A little monkey.'
Line 55:'Scamels: Not used anywhere else in English.'
Line 59:'Director: Interestingly, Ariels freedom song near the end of the play ("Where the bee sucks") echoes the rhythm and meter of Calibans freedom song.'
Line 59:'Trenchering: clothing or housing.'
Line 59:'Cacaliban: The extra syllable could be for rhythm in the song, or stuttering due to drunkenness.'

Act III, Scene 1

Line 1:'Director: Ferdinand gives himself a pep talk here.'
Line 1:'There be some sports... rich ends: These lines discuss how hard and debasing work is made bearable by the love of that work, the nobleness of the task, or the riches to be gained by that work.'
Line 1:'Quickens: enlivens'
Line 1:'Crabbed: crabby, cantankerous'
Line 1:'Sore injunction: severe threat of punishment'
Line 1:'Such baseness... executor: Such low work was never done by so noble a worker.'
Line 1:'Most busiest when I do it: These refreshing thoughts are strongest when I am working.'
Line 2:'Referring to the resin that comes from heated logs.'
Line 10:'Hest: command.'
Line 11:'Foil: contrast.'
Line 12:'Features: of the body. What people of the rest of the world look like.'
Line 12:'Skilless of: ignorant of.'
Line 13:'Fresh-fly: a fly attracted to fresh meat. Blow: sully and spoil.'
Line 15:'Kind event: a good result'
Line 15:'Hollowly: falsely '
Line 15:'Change the best of my future fortunes to bad.'
Line 19:'Director: Mirandas speech here is infused with suggestive language, perhaps reflecting her newfound duplicity towards Prospero as well as her newfound attraction to Ferdinand. '
Line 24:'A thousand thousand: That number of farewells.'
Line 25:'I am not as glad as they are, since it is new and unplanned to them, but nothing could make me happier than this.'

Act III, Scene 2

Line 1:'Bear up and board em: A sailors term for "drink up!"'
Line 2:'Director: As this scene begins, Trinculos status has changed. Caliban appears to be getting all the attention, and Trinculo is jealous.'
Line 3:'Eyes set in thy head: eyes sunken deeply due to drink?'
Line 6:'Standard: a pun if Caliban is so drunk that he is having trouble standing.'
Line 7:'In punning response to Trinculo implying Caliban will not stand (Stephano takes this to mean as in the face of danger), Stephano states that Caliban will not run, either.'
Line 8:'A pun off "stand" and "run." "Say nothing" refers to the trivial nature of their speech.'
Line 11:'In condition enough to fight with policeman. '
Line 11:'Debauched. This spelling may indicate drunken slurring. '
Line 13:'Natural: An idiot. Punning on the fact that monsters are supposed to be supernatural, or unnatural.'
Line 15:'The next tree: Stephano is threatening to hang Trinculo as a mutineer.'
Line 15:'Director: An important choice of words, "indignity." Stephano seems more attuned to Calibans need for respect than Prospero is.'
Line 22:'Supplant: displace.'
Line 24:'Mum: silence.'
Line 25:'This thing: Trinculo.'
Line 28:'Compassed: accomplished'
Line 32:'Pied: Many colored.'
Line 32:'Patch: A clown.'
Line 32:'Quick freshes: Quick freshwater springs.'
Line 33:'A stock fish was beaten before boiling to soften it. '
Line 41:'Murrain: a plague.'
Line 49:'Paunch: stab in the stomach'
Line 49:'Wezand: windpipe'
Line 49:'Sot: powerless moron'
Line 49:'Director: note Calibans repetition of the need to destroy the books. Even drunk, he knows where Prosperos power lies.'
Line 49:'Utensils: household goods.'
Line 49:'Nonpareil: unsurpassed beauty'
Line 49:'Director: The number and difficulty of sibillants ("Sycorax" "surpasseth" "greatest" "least") in this section gives the impression that Caliban is perhaps sallivating over Miranda.'
Line 52:'Viceroys: a high government official'
Line 58:'Troll the catch: sing the song.'
Line 58:'While-ere: Just a while ago.'
Line 60:'Flout- To mock.'
Line 65:'Take it as thou list: appear however you want. This seeming challenge is actually more cowardly. '
Line 70:'Director: This highly poetic section emphasizes Calibans love of his island.'
Line 76:'Taborer: playing the tabor, a small drum.'

Act III, Scene 3

Line 1:'Lakin- ladykin, the Holy Virgin Mary'
Line 1:'Forth-rights and meanders: paths that go sometimes straight and sometimes winding.'
Line 2:'Frustrate: doomed to failure.'
Line 3:'Director: Antonio here threatens Sebastian.'
Line 4:'Throughly: thoroughly.'
Line 11:'Keepers: guardian angels.'
Line 12:'Drollery: puppet show.'
Line 12:'Phoenix throne: These are travelers tales that Sebastian could now believe were true. The phoenix is a mythical bird that periodically is incinerated and reborn.'
Line 13:'What else wants credit: what else is difficult to believe.'
Line 14:'Certes: certainly.'
Line 16:'Muse: wonder'
Line 17:'Alluding to an old expression saying not to praise the host until the party had ended.'
Line 19:'Viands: food. '
Line 21:'Dew-lapped: pendulous skin from the throat. '
Line 21:'These were common travelers tales in Shakespeares day.'
Line 21:'Putter-out of five for one: those who made money by investing in voyages.'
Line 24:'Hath to instrument: The sense is that destiny runs this world, or that this world is the tool of destiny.'
Line 26:'I have made you mad with the false courage that causes people to kill themselves.'
Line 26:'Still-closing: always closing after something penetrates it.'
Line 26:'Dowle: small feather.'
Line 26:'Lingering perdition: this complex sentence basically says that the powers that be took Ferdinand from Alonso, and condemned the rest to punishment worse than death, because of their role in the plot against Prospero. This punishment will follow them unless they feel sorry for their misdeeds and correct their lives.'
Line 27:'Observation strange: exceptional carefulness.'
Line 27:'Meaner: lesser'
Line 30:'Of it: Of my sin.'
Line 30:'Bass: speak in a deep rumble.'
Line 34:'Ecstasy: madness.'

Act IV, Scene 1

Line 1:'Perhaps Prospero is thinking of his dead wife, or perhaps his life is divided into Miranda, his Art, and his dukedom, or perhaps he has raised Miranda for a third of his lifetime, making Prospero 45 years old.'
Line 1:'Strangely: wonderfully, exceptionally.'
Line 2:'I do believe it... oracle: Even if an oracle told me otherwise, I would believe it.'
Line 3:'Sanctimonious: holy'
Line 3:'Aspersion: grace'
Line 3:'Hymen was the God of marriage. If his torches smoked, the marriage would be troubled. If his torches burned clearly, the marriage would be a happy one.'
Line 4:'The gist is that Ferdinand would never be tempted to take the edge of pleasurable anticipation from the evening of his wedding, which will come so slowly he will think the sun has broken down in the sky, or night has been chained to prevent it from coming.'
Line 5:'Shakespeare patting himself on the head a bit here? Well, if anyone has earned the right to congratulate himself, I guess Will has.'
Line 8:'The rabble: Ariels subservient spirits.'
Line 8:'Vanity: A bagatelle. Trifle.'
Line 10:'Twink: in a twinkling, as fast as an eye can twinkle.'
Line 11:'Mop and mow: make gestures and faces.'
Line 13:'Conceive: understand.'
Line 16:'Abstemious: abstaining.'
Line 17:'Of my liver: The organ associated with passion.'
Line 18:'Corollary: a surplus. A lot.'
Line 19:'Iris: goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods.'
Line 19:'Ceres: goddess of farming and agriculture.'
Line 19:'Leas: Fields of agriculture.'
Line 19:'Vetch: a type of cultivated plant.'
Line 19:'Stover: hay.'
Line 19:'Pioned and twilled: The meanings of these uncommon words are disputed.'
Line 19:'Broom: a type of plant'
Line 19:'Poll-clipt: pruned around poles, like a vineyard.'
Line 19:'Sea-marge: where sea meets land.'
Line 19:'Queen of the sky: Juno, queen of the Gods, whose emblem was the peacock.'
Line 19:'Watery arch: rainbow'
Line 20:'Bosky: wooded.'
Line 20:'Down: a hill or highland.'
Line 21:'Estate: bestow'
Line 22:'Son: Cupid, a blind boy with bow and arrow.'
Line 22:'Dis: Pluto, god of the underworld, who stole Ceres daughter for his queen.'
Line 23:'Paphos: the resort of Venus.'
Line 23:'Mars hot minion: Venus and Mars were lovers.'
Line 27:'In... harvest: May spring come to you directly after autumn, without a winter.'
Line 34:'The presentation of spirits ends with autumn and reapers, a somewhat disturbing vision of death at the end of a celebration of a new life together, which perhaps calls Prospero to remember the threat to his own life by Caliban. These reapers are not commonly associated with Greek mythology as the rest of the characters, suggesting Shakespeare put them there with something in mind.'
Line 36:'Director: This sudden recollection sets Prosperos mind on mortality, as reflected in the "revels" speech. '
Line 40:'These our actors... rounded with a sleep: This famous speech makes clear Prosperos obsession with time, the inevitable changing of the world, and his own death.'
Line 40:'Moved sort: perplexed state.'
Line 40:'Rack: a thin cloud.'
Line 46:'Juno: In the original text, Ariel presents Ceres.'
Line 47:'Varlets: scoundrels.'
Line 48:'Bending towards their project: Always pursuing their purpose-- the death of Prospero.'
Line 48:'Unbacked: never having been ridden.'
Line 48:'Furzes: Ulex europćus'
Line 48:'Goss: gorse'
Line 48:'Filthy mantled: coated with slime.'
Line 49:'Trumpery: showy clothing.'
Line 49:'Stale: a decoy, bait'
Line 56:'Jack: Jack O Lantern, the will-o-the-wisp.'
Line 58:'Director: Once again, Caliban and Trinculos positions shift. Now, Caliban has fallen into ill favor.'
Line 60:'Hoodwink this mischance: Make you blind to these misfortunes.'
Line 64:'Over ears for my labour: swimming with water over his ears.'
Line 69:'frippery: Second-hand clothing store'
Line 72:'Dropsy: A disease in which fluid accumulates in the body.'
Line 73:'Jerkin: A type of jacket.'
Line 73:'Some believed that crossing the equators line would cause them to lose their hair due to disease. '
Line 74:'By line and level: according to the law.'
Line 75:'Pass of pate: jab of wit.'
Line 76:'Lime: a sticky substance. Sticky fingers paraphrase theft.'
Line 88:'Pard: Leopard'
Line 88:'Cat of mountain: A wildcat.'

Act V, Scene 1

Line 1:'Time goes...: Times burden is light now, so he can walk upright.'
Line 3:'I did say so, when first I raised the tempest: Yeah, I said that. So what? I have more to do, and that means so do you.'
Line 4:'Weather fends: protects your cell from weather.'
Line 6:'Director: In showing sympathy for Prosperos enemies, Ariel acts as his conscience here. As a result, Prospero makes a decision about how far his vengeance should go, and, consequently, a decision to say farewell to his magic.'
Line 7:'High wrongs: The extreme injuries they did Prospero.'
Line 7:'To the quick: to the core.'
Line 10:'Demipuppets: little puppets.'
Line 10:'Green sour ringlets: Fairy rings of mushrooms.'
Line 10:'Curfew: The crowing of the cock, after which spirits could no longer be abroad.'
Line 10:'Rough magic: rough because it is so forceful, or unsubtle compared to what Prospero is gaining?'
Line 12:'A solemn air, and the best comforter: Prospero is referring to the music.'
Line 12:'Even sociable: My eyes are glad to see yours.'
Line 12:'Reasonable shore: the shore of reason.'
Line 16:'Presently: immediately.'
Line 17:'Drink the air: moves so fast she seems to be swallowing the space in front of her.'
Line 24:'Subtleties: illusions.'
Line 30:'Patience: Prospero is certainly entitled to speak of patience, having waited twelve years for this conversation.'
Line 34:'Admire: wonder at.'
Line 35:'Play me false: Miranda is accusing Ferdinand of cheating.'
Line 37:'For a score... fair play: The sense here is Ferdinand cheats to win this game, and even for twenty kingdoms, Miranda would still call it fair.'
Line 39:'Sebastian saying this suggests some turnaround in his character. The pretext for his murdering his brother has been proven false, since it would only have made Ferdinand the rightful king.'
Line 48:'Chalked forth the way: like a line through a maze.'
Line 52:'Blasphemy: The boatswain himself. It is interesting that despite Gonzalo dubbing him "Blasphemy," the Boatswain never swears, though Antonio and Sebastian do give him occasion.'
Line 57:'In all our trim: they and the ship were unscathed.'
Line 57:'Capering to eye her: dancing with joy to see his ship.'
Line 61:'Picked leisure: a time of convenience.'
Line 62:'Shift for all the rest: An inversion of "every man for himself." '
Line 62:'Corragio: courage.'
Line 63:'True spies: honest viewers, e.g. his eyes.'
Line 64:'How fine...: Prospero is dressed as a duke.'
Line 65:'Ha ha!... Under threat of being revealed as a conspirator in the death of his brother, and having discovered that the premise for that plot was false, one can imagine a certain hollowness to this forced laughter.'
Line 67:'Mark but the badges on these men...: Badges telling the servants rank and master.'
Line 71:'Reeling ripe: Drunk to the point of reeling.'
Line 72:'Pickle: He is being well preserved by the alcohol, and so will be free from the flies that are attracted to meat.'
Line 76:'Sore one: Smarting, sorry, severe.'
Line 82:'Or stole it rather: Look who is being sanctimonious!'
Epilogue:'Please you...: This line is usually the last in the main body of the play. We found it more suitable to place it in the Epilogue.'
Epilogue:'Gentle breath: the breeze caused by hands clapping, or perhaps of cheers.'
Epilogue:'Prayer: the petition he delivers now.'
Notes by Cynthia McGean and Peter Pressman . Thanks to the Oxford English Dictionary, The Arden Edition, and the Riverside Collection. August, 2004.