SCENE I.-Before the Cell of PROSPERO. Enter PROSPERO in his magic robes; and ARIEL. Pro. Now does my project gather to a head: My charms crack not, my spirits obey, and time Goes upright with his carriage. How's the day? Ari. On the sixth hour; at which time, my lord, You said our work should cease.
I did say so, Say, my spirit,
When first I rais'd the tempest. How fares the king and's followers? Ari. Confin'd together In the same fashion as you gave in charge; Just as you left them: all prisoners, sir, In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell; They cannot budge till your release. The king, His brother, and yours, abide all three distracted, And the remainder mourning over them, Brim-full of sorrow, and dismay; but chiefly Him that you term'd, sir, the good old lord, Gonzalo: His tears run down his beard, like winter's drops From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works them, That if you now beheld them, your affections Would become tender.
Pro. Dost thou think so, spirit?
Ari. Mine would, sir, were I human. Pro.
And mine shall. Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling Of their afflictions, and shall not myself, One of their kind, that relish all as sharply, Passion as they, be kindlier mov'd than thou art? Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick, Yet, with my nobler reason, 'gainst my fury Do I take part. The rarer action is
In virtue, than in vengeance: they being penitent, The sole drift of my purpose doth extend Not a frown farther. Go; release them, Ariel. My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore, And they shall be themselves.
I'll fetch them, sir. [Exit.
Pro. Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and
And ye, that on the sands with printless foot Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him, When he comes back; you demy-puppets, that By moonshine do the green-sward ringlets make, Whereof the ewe not bites; and you, whose pastime Is to make midnight mushrooms; that rejoice To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid (Weak masters though ye be) I have be-dimm'd The noontide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds, And 'twixt the green sea and the azur'd vault Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak With his own bolt: the strong-bas'd promontory Have I made shake; and by the spurs pluck'd up The pine and cedar graves, at my command, Have waked their sleepers; oped, and let them forth By my so potent art. But this rough magic I here abjure; and, when I have requir'd Some heavenly music, (which even now I do) To work mine end upon their senses, that This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And, deeper than did ever plummet sound, I'll drown my book.
gesture, attended by GONZALO; SEBASTIAN and AN- TONIO in like manner, attended by ADRIAN and FRANCISCO: they all enter the circle which PROSPERO had made, and there stand charmed; which PROSPERO observing, speaks.
A solemn air, and the best comforter To an unsettled fancy, cure thy brains,
Now useless, boil'd within thy skull! There stand, For you are spell-stopp'd.--
Noble Gonzalo, honourable man,
Mine eyes, even sociable to the flow of thine, Fall fellowly drops.-The charm dissolves apace; And as the morning steals upon the night, Melting the darkness, so their rising senses Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle Their clearer reason.-O good Gonzalo! My true preserver, and a loyal servant To him thou follow'st, I will pay thy graces Home, both in word and deed.-Most cruelly Didst thou, Alonso, use me and my daughter: Thy brother was a furtherer in the act;- Thou'rt pinch'd for't now, Sebastian.--Flesh and blood, You brother mine, that entertain'd ambition, Expell'd remorse and nature; who, with Sebastian, (Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong) Would here have kill'd your king; I do forgive thee, Unnatural though thou art.-Their understanding Begins to swell, and the approaching tide Will shortly fill the reasonable shores,
[Solemn music. Re-enter ARIEL: after him, ALONSO, with a frantic
That now lie foul and muddy. Not one of them, That yet looks on me, e'er would know me.-Ariel, Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell; [Exit ARIEL. I will dis-case me, and myself present,
As I was sometime Milan.-Quickly, spirit; Thou shalt ere long be free.
ARIEL re-enters singing, and helps to attire PROSPERO. Ari. Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie :
There I couch. When owls do cry,
On the bat's back I do fly,
After summer, merrily:
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
Pro. Why, that's my dainty Ariel! I shall miss thee; But yet thou shalt have freedom :-so, so, so.
To the king's ship, invisible as thou art:
There shalt thou find the mariners asleep
Under the hatches; the master, and the boatswain, Being awake, enforce them to this place,
And presently, I pr'ythee.
Ari. I drink the air before me, and return
Or e'er your pulse twice beat.
Gon. All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement Inhabit here: some heavenly power guide us Out of this fearful country!
Pro. [Attired as Duke.] Behold, sir king, The wronged duke of Milan, Prospero. For more assurance that a living prince Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body; And to thee, and thy company, I bid A hearty welcome.
Whe'r thou beest he, or no, Or some enchanted devil to abuse me, As late I have been, I not know: thy pulse Beats as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee, Th' affliction of my mind amends, with which, I fear, a madness held me. This must crave
Or be not, I'll not swear. Pro.
Some subtleties o' the isle, that will not let you Believe things certain.-Welcome, my friends all.- But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded, I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you, [Aside to SEB. and ANT. And justify you traitors: at this time
I will tell no tales. Seb. [Aside.]
The devil speaks in him.
For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive Thy rankest faults; all of them; and require My dukedom of thee, which, perforce, I know Thou must restore.
If thou beest Prospero, Give us particulars of thy preservation : How thou hast met us here, who three hours since Were wreck'd upon this shore; where I have lost, (How sharp the point of this remembrance is!) My dear son Ferdinand. Pro.
I am woe for't, sir. Alon. Irreparable is the loss, and patience Says it is past her cure.
You have not sought her help; of whose soft grace, For the like loss I have her sovereign aid,
Pro. As great to me, as late; and, supportable To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker Than you may call to comfort you, for I Have lost my daughter.
O heavens! that they were living both in Naples, The king and queen there! that they were, I wish Myself were mudded in that oozy bed
Where my son lies. When did you lose your daughter? Pro. In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords At this encounter do so much admire, That they devour their reason, and scarce think Their eyes do offices of truth, their words Are natural breath; but, howsoe'er you have Been justled from your senses, know for certain, That I am Prospero, and that very duke Which was thrust forth of Milan; who most strangely Upon this shore, where you were wreck'd, was landed, To be the lord on't. No more yet of this; For 'tis a chronicle of day by day, Not a relation for a breakfast, nor Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir; This cell's my court: here have I few attendants, And subjects none abroad: pray you, look in. My dukedom since you have given me again, I will requite you with as good a thing; At least, bring forth a wonder, to content ye As much as me my dukedom. PROSPERO draws a curtain, and discovers FERDINAND and MIRANDA playing at chess. Mira. Sweet lord, you play me false. Fer.
I would not for the world.
Mira. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle,
And I would call it fair play.
A vision of the island, one dear son Shall I twice lose.
Fer. Though the seas threaten they are merciful : [Kneels to ALON. Now, all the blessings
I have curs'd them without cause. Alon.
Of a glad father compass thee about! Arise, and say how thou cam'st here. Mira.
O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O, brave new world, That has such people in't!
Pro. 'Tis new to thee. Alon. What is this maid, with whom thou wast at play? Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours: Is she the goddess that hath sever'd us, And brought us thus together?
Fer. Sir, she is mortal; But, by immortal providence, she's mine: I chose her, when I could not ask my father For his advice, nor thought I had one. She Is daughter to this famous duke of Milan, Of whom so often I have heard renown, But never saw before; of whom I have Received a second life, and second father This lady makes him to me.
Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you gods, And on this couple drop a blessed crown,
For it is you that have chalk'd forth the way, Which brought us hither!
Alon. I say, Amen, Gonzalo. Gon. Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue Should become kings of Naples? O! rejoice With gold on lasting pillars. In one voyage Beyond a common joy, and set it down Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis; And Ferdinand, her brother, 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.
Alon. Give me your hands: [To FER. and MIR. That doth not wish you joy! Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart, Gon. Be it so: Amen. Re-enter ARIEL, with the Master and Boatswain amazedly following.
O look, sir! look, sir! here are more of us. I prophesied, if a gallows were on land, This fellow could not drown.-Now, blasphemy, That swear'st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore? Hast thou no mouth by land? What is the news?
Boats. The best news is, that we have safely found Our king, and company: the next, our ship, Which but three glasses since we gave out split, Is tight, and yare, and bravely rigg'd, as when We first put out to sea. Ari.
No, my dearest love, Have I done since I went.
Sir, all this service [Aside.
Pro. My tricksy spirit! [Aside. Alon. These are not natural events; they strengthen From strange to stranger.-Say, how came you hither? Boats. If I did think, sir, I were well awake,
I'd strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep,
And (how we know not) all clapp'd under hatches,
Where, but even now, with strange and several noises
Of roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling chains,
And more diversity of sounds, all horrible,
We were awak'd; straightway, at liberty:
Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld
Our royal, good, and gallant ship; our master
Capering to eye her: on a trice, so please you,
Even in a dream, were we divided from them,
And were brought moping hither.
Ari.
Set Caliban and his companions free;
Untie the spell. [Exit ARIEL.] How fares my gracious sir?
There are yet missing of your company
Some few odd lads, that you remember not.
Re-enter ARIEL, driving in CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and
TRINCULO, in their stolen apparel.
Ste. Every man shift for all the rest, and let no man
take care for himself, for all is but fortune.-Coragio!
bully-monster, coragio!
Trin. If these be true spies which I wear in my
head, here's a goodly sight.
Cal. O Setebos! these be brave spirits, indeed.
How fine my master is! I am afraid
What things are these, my lord Antonio?
Will money buy them?
Ant.
Very like one of them
Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable.
Pro. Mark but the badges of these men, my lords,
Then say, if they be true.-This mis-shapen knave,
His mother was a witch; and one so strong
That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs,
And deal in her command with all her power.
These three have robb'd me; and this demi-devil
(For he's a bastard one) had plotted with them
To take my life: two of these fellows you
Must know, and own; this thing of darkness I
Acknowledge mine.
Cal
I shall be pinch'd to death.
Alon. Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?
Seb. He is drunk now: where had he wine?
Alon. And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they
Find this grand liquor that hath gilded 'em?-
How cam'st thou in this pickle?
Trin. I have been in such a pickle, since I saw you
last, that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I shall
not fear fly-blowing.
Seb. Why, how now, Stephano!
Ste. O! touch me not: I am not Stephano, but a cramp.
Pro. You'd be king of the isle, sirrah?
Ste. I should have been a sore one then.
Alon. This is as strange a thing as e'er I look'd on.
[Pointing to Caliban.
Pro. He is as disproportion'd in his manners,
As in his shape.-Go, sirrah, to my cell;
Take with you your companions: as you look
To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.
Cal. Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter,
And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass
Was I, to take this drunkard for a god,
And worship this dull fool?
Alon. Hence, and bestow your luggage where you
found it.
Seb. Or stole it, rather. [Exeunt CAL., STE., and TRIN.
Pro. Sir, I invite your highness, and your train,
To my poor cell, where you shall take your rest
For this one night; which, part of it, I'll waste
With such discourse, as, I not doubt, shall make it
Go quick away; the story of my life,
And the particular accidents gone by,
Since I came to this isle: and in the morn,
I'll bring you to your ship, and so to Naples,
Where I have hope to see the nuptial
Of these our dear-beloved solemniz'd;
And thence retire me to my Milan, where
Every third thought shall be my grave.
Alon.
I long
To hear the story of your life, which must
Take the ear strangely.
SCENE: sometimes in Verona; sometimes in Milan, and on the frontiers of Mantua.
SCENE I.-An open place in Verona.
Enter VALENTINE and PROTEUS. Val. Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus: Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits. Wer't not, affection chains thy tender days To the sweet glances of thy honour'd love, I rather would entreat thy company To see the wonders of the world abroad, Than, living dully sluggardiz'd at home, Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.
But since thou lov'st, love still, and thrive therein, Even as I would, when I to love begin.
Pro. Wilt thou begone? Sweet Valentine, adieu. Think on thy Proteus, when thou haply seest Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel: Wish me partaker in thy happiness,
When thou dost meet good hap; and in thy danger, If ever danger do environ thee, Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers, For I will be thy bead's-man, Valentine.
Val. And on a love-book pray for my success. Pro. Upon some book I love, I'll pray for thee. Val. That's on some shallow story of deep love, How young Leander cross'd the Hellespont. Pro. That's a deep story of a deeper love, For he was more than over shoes in love.
Val. 'Tis true; but you are over boots in love, And yet you never swam the Hellespont.
Pro. Over the boots? nay, give me not the boots. Val. No, I will not, for it boots thee not. Pro.
What? Val. To be in love, where scorn is bought with groans; Coy looks, with heart-sore sighs; one fading moment's mirth,
With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights: If haply won, perhaps, a hapless gain;
If lost, why then a grievous labour won: However, but a folly bought with wit,
Or else a wit by folly vanquished.
Pro. So, by your circumstance you call me fool. Val. So, by your circumstance, I fear, you'll prove.
Pro. "Tis love you cavil at: I am not love. Val. Love is your master, for he masters you; And he that is so yoked by a fool, Methinks, should not be chronicled for wise. Pro. Yet writers say, as in the sweetest bud The eating canker dwells, so eating love Inhabits in the finest wits of all.
Val. And writers say, as the most forward bud Is eaten by the canker ere it blow, Even so by love the young and tender wit Is turn'd to folly; blasting in the bud, Losing his verdure even in the prime, And all the fair effects of future hopes. But wherefore waste I time to counsel thee, That art a votary to fond desire? Once more adieu. My father at the road Expects my coming, there to see me shipp'd.
Pro. And thither will I bring thee, Valentine. Val. Sweet Proteus, no; now let us take our leave. To Milan let me hear from thee by letters, Of thy success in love, and what news else Betideth here in absence of thy friend, And I likewise will visit thee with mine.
Pro. All happiness bechance to thee in Milan. Val. As much to you at home; and so, farewell. [Exit. Pro. He after honour hunts, I after love: He leaves his friends to dignify them more; I leave myself, my friends, and all for love. Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphos'd me; Made me neglect my studies, lose my time, War with good counsel, set the world at nought, Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought.
Speed. Why then, my horns are his horns, whether I wake or sleep.
Pro. A silly answer, and fitting well a sheep. Speed. This proves me still a sheep. Pro. True, and thy master a shepherd.
Speed. Nay, that I can deny by a circumstance. Pro. It shall go hard, but I'll prove it by another. Speed. The shepherd seeks the sheep, and not the sheep the shepherd; but I seek my master, and my master seeks not me: therefore, I am no sheep.
Pro. The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd, the shepherd for food follows not the sheep; thou for wages followest thy master, thy master for follows not thee: therefore, thou art a sheep.
Speed. Such another proof will make me cry "baa." Pro. But, dost thou hear? gav'st thou my letter to Julia?
Speed. Ay, sir: I, a lost mutton, gave your letter to her, a laced mutton; and she, a laced mutton, gave me, a lost mutton, nothing for my labour.
Pro. Here's too small a pasture for such store of
Speed. If the ground be overcharg'd, you were best stick her.
Pro. Nay, in that you are a stray, 'twere best pound you.
Speed. Nay, sir, less than a pound shall serve me for carrying your letter.
Pro. You mistake: I mean the pound, the pinfold. Speed. From a pound to a pin ? fold it over and over, 'Tis threefold too little for carrying a letter to your lover.
Pro. But what said she? did she nod? Speed. I.
Pro. Nod, I? why that's noddy. Speed. You mistook, sir: I say she did nod, and you ask me, if she did nod? and I say I.
Pro. And that set together, is noddy.
Speed. Now you have taken the pains to set it together, take it for your pains.
Pro. No, no; you shall have it for bearing the letter. Speed. Well, I perceive I must be fain to bear with
Pro. Beshrew but you have a quick wit. Speed. And yet it cannot overtake your slow purse. Pro. Come, come; open the matter in brief: what said she?
Speed. Open your purse, that the money, and the matter, may be both at once deliver'd.
Pro. Well, sir, here is for your pains. What said [Giving him money. Speed. Truly, sir, I think you'll hardly win her. Pro. Why? Couldst thou perceive so much from her? Speed. Sir, I could perceive nothing at all from her better;
No, not so much as a ducat for delivering your letter; And being so hard to me that brought to her your mind, I fear she'll prove as hard to you in telling you her mind.
Give her no token but stones, for she's as hard as steel. Pro. What! said she nothing?
Speed. No, not so much as "take this for thy pains." To testify your bounty, I thank you, you have testern'd me; in requital whereof, henceforth carry your letters yourself. And so, sir, I'll com- mend you to my master. [Exit. Pro. Go, go, be gone, to save your ship from wreck,
Luc. Please you, repeat their names, I'll show my
According to my shallow simple skill.
Jul. What think'st thou of the fair Sir Eglamour? Luc. As of a knight well-spoken, neat and fine; But, were I you, he never should be mine.
Jul. What think'st thou of the rich Mercutio? Luc. Well, of his wealth; but of himself, so, so. Jul. What think'st thou of the gentle Proteus? Luc. Lord, lord! to see what folly reigns in us! Jul. How now! what means this passion at his name? Luc. Pardon, dear madam: 'tis a passing shame, That I, unworthy body as I am,
Should censure thus a loving gentleman.
Jul. Why not on Proteus, as of all the rest? Luc. Then thus,-of many good I think him best. Jul. Your reason?
Luc. I have no other but a woman's reason: I think him so, because I think him so. Jul. And wouldst thou have me cast my love on him? Luc. Ay, if you thought your love not cast away. Jul. Why, he, of all the rest, hath never mov'd me. Luc. Yet he, of all the rest, I think, best loves ye. Jul. His little speaking shows his love but small. Luc. Fire that's closest kept burns most of all. Jul. They do not love, that do not show their love. Luc. O! they love least, that let men know their love. Jul. I would I knew his mind. Luc.
Peruse this paper, madam. Jul. "To Julia." Say, from whom? [Gives a letter. That the contents will show. Jul. Say, say. who gave it thee? Luc. Sir Valentine's page; and sent, I think, from
He would have given it you, but I, being in the way, Did in your name receive it: pardon the fault, I pray. Jul. Now, by my modesty, a goodly broker! Dare you presume to harbour wanton lines? To whisper and conspire against my youth? Now, trust me, 'tis an office of great worth, And you an officer fit for the place. There, take the paper: see it be return'd, [ Gives it back. Or else return no more into my sight. Luc. To plead for love deserves more fee than hate. Jul. Will you be gone?
Luc. That you may ruminate. [Exit. Jul. And yet, I would I had o'erlook'd the letter. It were a shame to call her back again, And pray her to a fault for which I chid her. What fool is she, that knows I am a maid, And would not force the letter to my view, Since maids, in modesty, say "No," to that Which they would have the profferer construe, "Ay." Fie, fie! how wayward is this foolish love, That like a testy babe will scratch the nurse, And presently, all humbled, kiss the rod.
« ПредишнаНапред » |