Journeys Through Bookland Volume Viii Part 47

[375-33] Shakespeare omits the word _for_ before _me_.

[376-34] _So dry he was for sway_, might now be written as _so thirsty he was for power_.

[376-35] Prospero bewails the fate of his princ.i.p.ality, Milan.

[376-36] The meaning of the last seven lines is that Antonio thought Prospero incapable of ruling, offered to pay the King of Naples an annual tribute, to do him homage and to make Milan subject to Naples.

[376-37] _In lieu_ now means _instead of_, but Shakespeare uses it in the sense of _in return for_.

[376-38] _Presently_ means _immediately_.

[376-39] _Practice_ means _plot_ or _stratagem_.

[376-40] The six lines mean that one midnight, suited to such a plot, a treacherous army having been levied, Antonio opened the gates of Milan, and in the dead of darkness hurried away Prospero and the crying Miranda.

[377-41] In this place _hint_ means _theme_ or _subject_.

[377-42] _Upon's_ is _upon us_.

[377-43] _Impertinent_ in this connection means _out of place_.

[377-44] _Wench_ means _girl_, and at the time of Shakespeare was a term of affection, like _dear girl_.

[377-45] _In few_ may be read as _in a few words_, that is, _to make the story brief_.

[377-46] _Hoist us_ means _hoisted us_, that is _left us_.

[378-47] _Degg'd_ means _sprinkled_.

[378-48] Shakespeare, as was the custom in those days, often used the word _stomach_ for _courage_; an _undergoing stomach_ is a _lasting courage_.

[378-49] _Steaded_ means _aided_. We might say, _which have since stood us in good stead_.

[378-50] Readers of Shakespeare dispute about the meaning of this sentence. We might imagine Prospero to say half to himself "Now _I arise_;" that is, "My turn has come."

[378-51] _Made thee more profit_, that is, _have made you to profit more_, have taught you to better advantage.

[379-52] The _zenith_ is the _highest point_.

[379-53] Prospero means that if he acts now his fortunes will rise to their highest point, but that if he waits, he will lose his opportunity.

[379-54] Prospero, by his magic, throws his daughter into a deep sleep so that he may carry on his plans without her knowledge.

[379-55] This line may be understood to read, _Ariel, and all spirits of his kind_.

[379-56] _Performed to point_ means _performed in every respect_.

[379-57] The _beak_ of a s.h.i.+p is the _prow_, the projecting forward part.

[380-58] The _waist_ of a s.h.i.+p is the middle portion.

[380-59] _Distinctly_ means here _separately_. Ariel caused light globes of flame to appear for a second in different parts of the rigging, and to move about and to join.

[380-60] _Momentary_ means _instantaneous_.

[380-61] _Coil_ means _tumult_ or _confusion_.

[380-62] This clause means _There was not a soul that did not feel such a fever as madmen feel_.

[380-63] In this place _upstaring_ means _sticking up_.

[381-64] For _unstaining_ we would say _unstained_.

[381-65] _Odd angle_ probably means _out-of-the-way place_.

[381-66] Probably Ferdinand sat with his arms folded loosely, his head hanging on his breast.

[381-67] This is a good example of the way Shakespeare sometimes changes the natural order in which the parts of a sentence should be placed.

Naturally the sentence would read: "Say, how hast thou disposed of the mariners of the King's s.h.i.+p, and all the rest of the fleet?"

[381-68] _Bermoothes_ is the old form of the word _Bermudas_. It was supposed that witches haunted the Bermudas and filled the air with tempests, which kept the waters always stormy. _Still-vexed_ means _always stormy_. The present errands of the spirit Ariel are not the first he has executed for Prospero. Dew from the Bermudas was probably wanted for some of his magical rites.

[381-69] To enjoy _The Tempest_, we must lay aside our reason to the extent of believing in charms and in magic, in witchcraft and in Ariel's wonderful powers. Prospero's control of the magic art is part of what he gained from his studies while Antonio was stealing his princ.i.p.ality.

[382-70] _Flote_ is _flood_, therefore _wave_ or _sea_.

[382-71] This means that it was about two o'clock in the afternoon--past the mid-season by about the time it would take the sand to run twice through the hour-gla.s.s.

[382-72] _Remember_ here means _remind_.

[382-73] _Perform'd me_ means _performed for me_.

[382-74] _Say_ no more.

[382-75] "To release me a full year before my time is up," is what Ariel says Prospero has promised.

[383-76] This speech shows how marvelous are some of the things Ariel has already done for Prospero.

[383-77] Prospero is not speaking in earnest when he calls Ariel a "malignant thing." He intends to release Ariel soon.

[383-78] To Shakespeare and other writers of his time, the word _envy_ meant _malice_.

[383-79] _Argier_ is an old name for Algiers.

[383-80] _Blue-eyed_ means that the witch had dark blue circles around her eyes, not that she had real blue eyes.

[383-81] _For_ means _because_.