Gonza. I'll warrant him for drowning, 12 though the ship were no stronger than a nut-shell, and as leaky as an unstanch wench.13 Beats. Lay her a-hold, a-hold! set her two courses ! 14 off to sea again; lay her off! Re-enter Mariners, wet. Mariners. All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost! Boats. What, must our mouths be cold? [Exeunt. Gonza. The King and Prince at prayers! let us assist them, For our case is as theirs. Sebas. I'm out of patience. Anto. We're merely 15 cheated of our lives by drunkards. This wide-chopp'd rascal-would thou mightst lie drown ing, The washing of ten tides! 12 As to, or as regards, drowning. A not uncommon use of for. - Gonzalo has in mind the old proverb, "He that is born to be hanged will never be drowned." 13 The meaning of this may be gathered from a passage in Fletcher's Mad Lover: Chilias says to the Priestess, "Be quiet, and be stanch too; no inundations." 14 A ship's courses are her largest lower sails; so called," says Holt, "because they contribute most to give her way through the water, and thus enable her to feel the helm, and steer her course better than when they are not set or spread to the wind." Captain Glascock, another sailor critic, comments thus: "The ship's head is to be put leeward, and the vessel to be drawn off the land under that canvas nautically denominated the two courses." To lay a ship a-hold is to bring her to lie as near the wind as she can, in order to keep clear of the land, and get her out to sea. So Admiral Smith, in his Sailors' Wordbook: "A hold: A term of our early navigators, for bringing a ship close to the wind, so as to hold or keep to it." " 15 Merely, here, is utterly or absolutely. A frequent usage. So in Hamlet, i. 2: "Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely." Gonza. He'll be hang'd yet, Though every drop of water swear against it, And gape at widest to glut him.16 A confused noise within. Mercy on us! split! - Farewell, my wife and children! - Farewell, bro ther! We split, we split, we split! Anto. Let's all sink wi' th' King.17 Sebas. Let's take leave of him. We split, we [Exit Boatswain. [Exit. [Exit. Gonza. Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground; ling, heath, broom, furze, any thing.18 The wills above be done! but I would fain die a dry death. 19 [Exit. 16 Glut for englut; that is, swallow up.— Widest is here a monosyllable The same with many words that are commonly two syllables. 17 This double elision of with and the, so as to draw the two into one syllable, is quite frequent, especially in the Poet's later plays. So before in this scene: "Bring her to try wi' th' main course." Single elisions for the same purpose, such as by th', for th', to th', &c., are still more frequent. So in the first speech of the next scene: "Mounting to th' welkin's cheek." 18 Ling, heath, broom, and furze were names of plants growing on British barrens. So in Harrison's description of Britain, prefixed to Holinshed: 'Brome, heth, firze, brakes, whinnes, ling, &c." 19 The first scene of The Tempest is a very striking instance of the great accuracy of Shakespeare's knowledge in a professional science, the most difficult to attain without the help of experience. He must have acquired it by conversation with some of the most skilful seamen of that time. The succession of events is strictly observed in the natural progress of the distress described; the expedients adopted are the most proper that could have been devised for a chance of safety: and it is neither to the want of skill of the seamen or the bad qualities of the ship, but solely to the power of Prospero, that the shipwreck is to be attributed. The words of command are not only strictly proper, but are only such as point the object to be attained, and no superfluous ones of detail. Shakespeare's ship was too well manned to make it necessary to tell the seamen how they were to do it, as well as what they were to do. - LORD MULGRAVE. SCENE II. The Island: before the Cell of PROSPERO. Enter PROSPERO and MIRANDA. Mira. If by your art, my dearest father, you have The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch, With those that I saw suffer! a brave 2 vessel, Have sunk the sea within the earth, or e'er 3 It should the good ship so have swallow'd, and Pros. Be collected; No more amazement : 5 tell your piteous heart Mira. Pros. O, woe the day! No harm. I have done nothing but in care of thee, 1 Welkin is sky. We have other like expressions; as, "the cloudy cheeks of heaven," in Richard the Second, and "the wide cheeks o' the air," in Coriolanus. The hyperbole of waves rolling sky-high occurs repeatedly. 2 Brave is fine or splendid; like the Scottish braw. Repeatedly so in this play, as also elsewhere. 3 Or e'er is before or sooner than. So in Ecclesiastes, xii. 6: Or ever the silver cord be loosed." 4 Fraught is an old form of freight. Present usage would require fraughted. In Shakespeare's time, the active and passive forms were very often used indiscriminately. So, here, "fraughting souls" is freighted souls, or souls on freight. 5 The sense of amazement was much stronger than it is now. Here it is anguish or distress of mind. Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, - who Mira. More to know Did never meddle 7 with my thoughts. Pros. 'Tis time I should inform thee further. Lend thy hand, And pluck my magic garment from me.—So : Lie there, my art.8 [Lays down his robe. I have with such prevision in mine art Which thou heard'st cry, which thou saw'st sink. Sit down; Mira. You have often Begun to tell me what I am; but stopp'd, And left me to a bootless inquisition, Concluding, Stay, not yet. Pros. The hour's now come; The very minute bids thee ope thine ear: Obey, and be attentive. Canst thou remember 6 This doubling of comparatives occurs continually in all the writers of Shakespeare's time. The same with superlatives. 7 To meddle is, properly, to mix, to mingle. 8 Lord Burleigh, at night when he put off his gown, used to say, "Lie there, Lord Treasurer "; and, bidding adieu to all State affairs, disposed himself to his quiet rest.— FULLER'S Holy State. 9 The sense is here left incomplete, and purposely, no doubt. Prospero has many like changes of construction in this part of the scene. A time before we came unto this cell? I do not think thou canst, for then thou wast not Mira. Certainly, sir, I can. Pros. By what? by any other house or person? Of any thing the image tell me that Hath kept with the remembrance. Mira. 'Tis far off, And rather like a dream than an assurance But how is it Pros. Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. If thou remember'st aught ere thou camest here, Mira. But that I do not. Pros. Twelve year since, Miranda, twelve year 13 since, Thy father was the Duke of Milan, and A prince of power. Mira. Sir, are not you my father? Pros. Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and She said thou wast my daughter; and thy father Was Duke of Milan; thou his only heir, A princess, no worse issued. O the Heavens ! 10 Not fully three years old. We have a like use of out in iv. 1: 'But, play with sparrows, and be a boy right out." 11 Abysm is an old form of abyss; from the old French abisme. 12 "If thou remember'st aught ere thou camest here, thou mayst also remember how thou camest here." 13 In words denoting time, space, and quantity, the singular form was often used with the plural sense. So we have mile and pound for miles and pounds. In this line, the first year is two syllables, the second one. Often so with various other words, such as hour, fire, &c. |