Prospero asks Ariel how Alonso
and his men are doing. Ariel reports that he has confined them,
spellbound, in a grove of trees. He describes how sorrowful and
frightened they are, and adds that the man Prospero calls “the good old
lord, Gonzalo,” has tears
streaming down his face. Ariel says that if Prospero “beheld them, your
affections / Would become tender”. Prospero, moved by the
human-like compassion of the spirit, pledges to release his hold over
them, saying, “The rarer action is in virtue, than in vengeance”. He sends Ariel to bring the men to appear before him. In this dialogue with Ariel, Prospero for
the first time seems to care what someone else thinks. Ariel’s
compassion for the suitors seems to restore Prospero’s humanity. One can
now look back and speculate as to whether his plan was to reconcile
with his enemies all along, or whether he had planned on revenge until
this conversation with Ariel changed his mind.
Alone on stage, Prospero
invokes the various spirits who have aided him, describing the many
incredible feats he has accomplished with his magic—“graves at my
command have waked their sleepers, oped, and let ‘em forth” and says that after performing this last act he will give up
his powers, breaking his staff and drowning his book of magic.
Here Prospero catalogs his feats of magic,
in the same way that you might imagine Shakespeare, at the end of his
career, would look back on his long career as a playwright and list his
triumphs in the theater.
Ariel leads the courtiers onto the stage, still spellbound by Prospero’s charm. Prospero addresses them - praising Gonzalo for his goodness and loyalty and scolding Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio for their cruelty, treachery, and greed - and then forgives them. Noting that the spell is lifting, Prospero has Ariel
bring him his old clothing so that the courtiers will see him as the
Duke of Milan when they come out of their spell. Then, he orders Ariel
to go fetch the Boatswain and mariners.
By changing into the clothes he wore as
duke, Prospero is not using magic but is still using illusions by
carefully crafting his image. He shows that although he lost power, he
is still the real Duke of Milan. The change of clothes also indicates
that Prospero plans to assert political rather than magical power from
now on.
Prospero releases Alonso and his men from the spell. Alonso,
shocked and confused at seeing Prospero, immediately begs Prospero’s
pardon and relinquishes his claim to Milan. Prospero then embraces Gonzalo, whom he calls “noble friend…whose honor cannot be measured or confined”. The restoration of order, which was upset
when Prospero was overthrown, begins when Alonso apologizes and returns
Milan to Prospero. Gonzalo is finally treated with the respect he
deserves.
Prospero next addresses Antonio and Sebastian, condemning them for overthrowing and exiling him and for plotting against Alonso.
He goes on, however, to forgive them. Antonio and Sebastian do not
respond, and are virtually silent for the rest of the play.
The silence of Antonio and Sebastian is telling. Like Caliban, they are sullen and angry in their powerlessness.
Alonso laments the death of Ferdinand. Prospero responds that he, too, has “lost” a child. Alonso assumes that Miranda has also died. Prospero invites Alonso to look into his cell, however, and reveals Ferdinand and Miranda sitting at a table playing chess. Ferdinand and Alonso rejoice to find each other alive. The word “lost” (and variations of it) is
used numerous times in the Alonso and Prospero’s dialogue.
Miranda
marvels at the handsome men arrayed before her, saying, “How beauteous
mankind is! O brave new world that has such people in’t!”.
Prospero replies, “Tis new to thee”. Ferdinand tells his
father of his recent marriage to Miranda, and Alonso gives his blessing.
Miranda’s words reflect her naiveté—some of
the men she admires are morally corrupt. Prospero’s comment “Tis new to
thee,” implies that Miranda will learn that people aren’t really so
“beauteous” at all.
Gonzalo
observes that this voyage has served to unite people with each other
and with their true selves. He says, “O rejoice beyond a common joy…in
one voyage…Ferdinand…found a wife where he himself was lost; Prospero,
his dukedom, in a poor isle, and all of us ourselves, when no man was
his own”. Gonzalo’s speech focuses again on the
Christian idea that loss leads to redemption. This might explain why the
characters who accepted loss cheerfully or repentantly were
rewarded—the loss was a spiritual test that they passed.
Ariel enters with the mariners. The Boatswain reports that the sailors awakened to find the ship miraculously restored to perfect condition. Next, Prospero asks Ariel to release Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo
from their spell and bring them forward in their stolen absurd clothes.
Prospero relates how the threesome has plotted against him, and he asks
the courtiers if they recognize Stephano and Trinculo. Of Caliban, he
says, “This thing of darkness, I acknowledge mine”. The aspirations of the three conspirators
seem ridiculous as they stand in front of the true king and duke, yet
their ambitions mirrored those of Antonio and Sebastian. It’s unclear
whether Prospero’s comment about Caliban suggests that he sees him as
his property, or that he takes some responsibility for what has happened
to Caliban.
The courtiers and Prospero mock Stephano and Trinculo for their drunken state and foiled ambitions. Prospero orders Caliban
to take the two men to his cell and prepare it for the guests, saying,
“As you look to have my pardon, trim it handsomely”.
Subservient again, Caliban complies, saying “What a thrice-double ass
was I to take this drunkard for a god and worship this dull fool!”. Even Caliban is given the hope of freedom,
or at least pardon, as long as he follows Prospero’s orders faithfully
and well, as Ariel and Ferdinand did. Yet it’s hard not to pity
Caliban’s ignorant naiveté when he curses himself for worshipping
Stephano.
Prospero invites Alonso
and his court to spend the night in his cell, where he promises to tell
the story of his time on the island. In the morning, he says, they will
all return to Naples, where Miranda and Ferdinand will be married. From there, Prospero says, he will return to Milan “where every third thought shall be my grave”. Prospero has restored political order by
regaining his dukedom and by establishing his line through the marriage
of Ferdinand and Miranda. Now when he dies, the dukedom will pass to
Ferdinand.
Prospero gives Ariel the final task of ensuring the ship a safe, speedy voyage back to Italy, then grants Ariel his freedom. Ariel has served Prospero well. Now he gets freedom, his reward for loyalty and for his willingness to surrender his autonomy.
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