act 5, scene 1
ACT V. SCENE I.

_Before the cell of Prospero._

  _Enter PROSPERO in his magic robes, and ARIEL._

_Pros._ 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.

_Pros._                       I did say so,                          5
When first I raised the tempest. Say, my spirit,
How fares the king and's followers?

_Ari._                            Confined 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;                    10
They cannot budge till your release. The king,
His brother, and yours, abide all three distracted,
And the remainder mourning over them,
Brimful of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly
Him that you term'd, sir, "The good old lord, Gonzalo;"             15
His tears run down his beard, like winter's drops
From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works 'em,
That if you now beheld them, your affections
Would become tender.

_Pros._            Dost thou think so, spirit?

_Ari._ Mine would, sir, were I human.

_Pros._                             And mine shall.                 20
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 moved than thou art?
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick,             25
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 further. Go release them, Ariel:                        30
My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore,
And they shall be themselves.

_Ari._                      I'll fetch them, sir.    [_Exit._

_Pros._ Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves;
And ye that on the sands with printless foot
Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him                         35
When he comes back; you demi-puppets that
By moonshine do the green sour 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--                           40
Weak masters though ye be--I have bedimm'd
The noontide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds.
And 'twixt the green sea and the azured vault
Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder
Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak                      45
With his own bolt; the strong-based 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 'em forth
By my so potent art. But this rough magic                           50
I here abjure; and, when I have required
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,                               55
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I'll drown my book.                    [_Solemn music._

  _Re-enter ARIEL before: then ALONSO, with a frantic gesture,
  attended by GONZALO; SEBASTIAN and ANTONIO 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,                  60
For you are spell-stopp'd.
Holy Gonzalo, honourable man,
Mine eyes, even sociable to the show of thine,
Fall fellowly drops. The charm dissolves apace;
And as the morning steals upon the night,                           65
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 sir
To him thou follow'st! I will pay thy graces                        70
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 art pinch'd for't now, Sebastian. Flesh and blood,
You, brother mine, that entertain'd ambition,                       75
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                           80
Will shortly fill the reasonable shore,
That now lies foul and muddy. Not one of them
That yet looks on me, or would know me: Ariel,
Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell:
I will discase me, and myself present                               85
As I was sometime Milan: quickly, spirit;
Thou shalt ere long be free.

_ARIEL sings and helps to attire him._

    Where the bee sucks, there suck I:
    In a cowslip's bell I lie;
    There I couch when owls do cry.                                 90
    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.

_Pros._ Why, that's my dainty Ariel! I shall miss thee;             95
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,                           100
And presently, I prithee.

_Ari._ I drink the air before me, and return
Or ere your pulse twice beat.    [_Exit._

_Gon._ All torment, trouble, wonder and amazement
Inhabits here: some heavenly power guide us                        105
Out of this fearful country!

_Pros._                    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                                  110
A hearty welcome.

_Alon._         Whether thou be'st he or no,
Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me,
As late I have been, I not know: thy pulse
Beats, as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee,
The affliction of my mind amends, with which,                      115
I fear, a madness held me: this must crave--
An if this be at all--a most strange story.
Thy dukedom I resign, and do entreat
Thou pardon me my wrongs. --But how should Prospero
Be living and be here?

_Pros._              First, noble friend,                          120
Let me embrace thine age, whose honour cannot
Be measured or confined.

_Gon._                 Whether this be
Or be not, I'll not swear.

_Pros._                  You do yet taste
Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you
Believe things certain. Welcome, my friends all!                   125
[_Aside to Seb. and Ant._]
    But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded,
I here could pluck his Highness' frown upon you,
And justify you traitors: at this time
I will tell no tales.

_Seb._ [_Aside_]    The devil speaks in him.

_Pros._                                    No.
For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother                     130
Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive
Thy rankest fault,--all of them; and require
My dukedom of thee, which perforce, I know,
Thou must restore.

_Alon._          If thou be'st Prospero,
Give us particulars of thy preservation;                           135
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.

_Pros._              I am woe for't, sir.

_Alon._ Irreparable is the loss; and patience                      140
Says it is past her cure.

_Pros._                 I rather think
You have not sought her help, of whose soft grace
For the like loss I have her sovereign aid,
And rest myself content.

_Alon._                You the like loss!

_Pros._ As great to me as late; and, supportable                   145
To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker
Than you may call to comfort you, for I
Have lost my daughter.

_Alon._              A daughter?
O heavens, that they were living both in Naples,
The king and queen there! that they were, I wish                   150
Myself were mudded in that oozy bed
Where my son lies. When did you lose you daughter?

_Pros._ In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords
At this encounter do so much admire,
That they devour their reason, and scarce think                    155
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                160
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;                        165
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                       170
As much as me my dukedom.

  _Here Prospero discovers FERDINAND and MIRANDA playing at chess._

_Mir._ Sweet lord, you play me false.

_Fer._                              No, my dear'st love,
I would not for the world.

_Mir._ Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle,
And I would call it fair play.

_Alon._                      If this prove                         175
A vision of the island, one dear son
Shall I twice lose.

_Seb._            A most high miracle!

_Fer._ Though the seas threaten, they are merciful;
I have cursed them without cause.               [_Kneels._

_Alon._                          Now all the blessings
Of a glad father compass thee about!                               180
Arise, and say how thou camest here.

_Mir._                             O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't!

_Pros._                  'Tis new to thee.

_Alon._ What is this maid with whom thou wast at play?             185
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                         190
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                          195
This lady makes him to me.

_Alon._                  I am hers:
But, O, how oddly will it sound that I
Must ask my child forgiveness!

_Pros._                      There, sir, stop:
Let us not burthen our remembrances with
A heaviness that's gone.

_Gon._                 I have inly wept,                           200
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                 205
Should become kings of Naples? O, rejoice
Beyond a common joy! and set it down
With gold on lasting pillars: In one voyage
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis,
And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife                           210
Where he himself was lost, Prospero his dukedom
In a poor isle, and all of us ourselves
When no man was his own.

_Alon._ [_to Fer. and Mir._] Give me your hands:
Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart
That doth not wish you joy!

_Gon._                    Be it so! Amen!                          215

  _Re-enter ARIEL, with the _Master_ and _Boatswain_ amazedly
  following._

O, look, sir, look, sir! here is 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?                      220

_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._ [_Aside to Pros._] Sir, all this service                    225
Have I done since I went.

_Pros._ [_Aside to Ari._] My tricksy spirit!

_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'ld strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep,                    230
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 awaked; straightway, at liberty;                           235
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._ [_Aside to Pros._] Was't well done?                         240

_Pros._ [_Aside to Ari._] Bravely, my diligence. Thou shalt be free.

_Alon._ This is as strange a maze as e'er men trod;
And there is in this business more than nature
Was ever conduct of: some oracle
Must rectify our knowledge.

_Pros._                   Sir, my liege,                           245
Do not infest your mind with beating on
The strangeness of this business; at pick'd leisure
Which shall be shortly, single I'll resolve you,
Which to you shall seem probable, of every
These happen'd accidents; till when, be cheerful,                  250
And think of each thing well.
    [_Aside to Ari._] Come hither, spirit:
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.                           255

  _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.                                             260

_Cal._ O Setebos, these be brave spirits indeed!
How fine my master is! I am afraid
He will chastise me.

_Seb._             Ha, ha!
What things are these, my lord Antonio?
Will money buy 'em?

_Ant._            Very like; one of them                           265
Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable.

_Pros._ 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,                  270
And deal in her command, without 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                        275
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?--                     280
How camest 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!                                     285

_Ste._ O, touch me not;--I am not Stephano, but a cramp.

_Pros._ You'ld be king o' the isle, sirrah?

_Ste._ I should have been a sore one, then.

_Alon._ This is a strange thing as e'er I look'd on.
                                [_Pointing to Caliban._

_Pros._ He is as disproportion'd in his manners                    290
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                       295
Was I, to take this drunkard for a god,
And worship this dull fool!

_Pros._                Go to; away!

_Alon._ Hence, and bestow your luggage where you found it.

_Seb._ Or stole it, rather.    [_Exeunt Cal., Ste., and Trin._

_Pros._ Sir, I invite your Highness and your train                 300
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                               305
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 solemnized;
And thence retire me to my Milan, where                            310
Every third thought shall be my grave.

_Alon._                              I long
To hear the story of your life, which must
Take the ear strangely.

_Pros._               I'll deliver all;
And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales,
And sail so expeditious, that shall catch
Your royal fleet far off. [_Aside to Ari._] My Ariel, chick,       315
That is thy charge: then to the elements
Be free, and fare thou well! Please you, draw near.
    [_Exeunt._


  Notes: V, 1.

  7: _together_] om. Pope.
  9: _all_] _all your_ Pope.
  10: _line-grove_] _lime-grove_ Rowe.
  11: _your_] F1 F2. _you_ F3 F4.
  15: _sir_] om. Pope.
  16: _run_] _runs_ F1.
  _winter's_] _winter_ F4.]
  23: F1 F2 put a comma after _sharply_. F3 F4 omit it.
  24: _Passion_] _Passion'd_ Pope.
  26: _'gainst_] Pope. _gainst_ F1 F2. _against_ F3 F4.
  33: SCENE II. Pope.
  37: _green sour_] _green-sward_ Douce conj.
  46: _strong-based_] Rowe. _strong-bass'd_ Ff.
  58: SCENE III. Pope.
  60: _boil'd_] Pope. _boile_ F1 F2. _boil_ F3 F4.
  62: _Holy_] _Noble_ Collier MS.
  63: _show_] _shew_ Ff. _flow_ Collier MS.
  64: _fellowly_] _fellow_ Pope.
  68: _O_] _O my_ Pope. _O thou_ S. Walker conj.
  69: _sir_] _servant_ Collier MS.
  72: _Didst_] F3 F4. _Did_ F1 F2.
  74: _Sebastian. Flesh and blood,_] _Sebastian, flesh and blood._
    Theobald.
  75: _entertain'd_] _entertaine_ F1.
  76: _who_] Rowe. _whom_ Ff.
  82: _lies_] F3 F4. _ly_ F1 F2.
  83: _or_] _e'er_ Collier MS.
  84: Theobald gives as stage direction "Exit Ariel and returns
    immediately."
  88: _suck_] _lurk_ Theobald.
  90: _couch_] _crowch_ F3 F4.
  [Capell punctuates _There I couch: when owls do cry,_]
  92: _summer_] _sun-set_ Theobald.
  106: _Behold,_] _lo!_ Pope.
  111: _Whether thou be'st_] _Where thou beest_ Ff. _Be'st thou_ Pope.
    _Whe'r thou be'st_ Capell.
  112: _trifle_] _devil_ Collier MS.
  119: _my_] _thy_ Collier MS.
  124: _not_] F3 F4. _nor_ F1 F2.
  132: _fault_] _faults_ F4.
  136: _who_] F2 F3 F4. _whom_ F1.
  145: _and,_] _sir, and_ Capell.
  _supportable_] F1 F2. _insupportable_ F3 F4. _portable_ Steevens.
  148: _my_] _my only_ Hanmer.
  _A daughter_] _Only daughter_ Hanmer. _Daughter_ Capell.
  156: _eyes_] F1. _eye_ F2 F3 F4.
  _their_] _these_ Capell.]
  172: SCENE IV. Pope.
  Here Prospero discovers...] Ff. SCENE opens to the entrance of
    the cell. Here Prospero discovers... Theobald. Cell opens and
    discovers... Capell.]
  172: _dear'st_] _dearest_ Ff.
  179: [Kneels] Theobald.
  191: _advice_] F4. _advise_ F1 F2 F3.
  199, 200: _remembrances with_] _remembrance with_ Pope.
    _remembrances With_ Malone.
  213: _When_] _Where_ Johnson conj.]
  _and_] om. Capell.
  216: SCENE V. Pope.
  _sir, look, sir_] _sir, look_ F3 F4.]
  _is_] _are_ Pope.]
  221: _safely_] _safe_ F3 F4.
  230: _of sleep_] _a-sleep_ Pope.
  234: _more_] Rowe. _mo_ F1 F2. _moe_ F3 F4.
  236: _her_] Theobald (Thirlby conj.). _our_ Ff.
  242-245: Given to Ariel in F2 F3 F4.
  247: _leisure_] F1. _seisure_ F2. _seizure_ F3 F4.
  248: _Which shall be shortly, single_] Pope. _(which shall be
    shortly single)_ Ff.
  253: [Exit Ariel] Capell.
  256: SCENE VI. Pope.
  258: _Coragio_] _corasio_ F1.
  268: _mis-shapen_] _mis-shap'd_ Pope.
  271: _command, without her power._] _command. Without her power,_
    anon. conj.
  _without_] _with all_ Collier MS.
  280: _liquor_] _'lixir_ Theobald.
  282-284: Printed as verse in Ff.
  289: _This is_] F1 F2. _'Tis_ F3 F4.]
  _e'er I_] _I ever_ Hanmer.
  [Pointing to Caliban.] Steevens.]
  299: [Exeunt... Trin.] Capell.
  308: _nuptial_] _nuptiall_ F1. _nuptials_ F2 F3 F4.
  309: See note (XVIII).






shmoop
Prospero asks about King Alonso and his attendants. Ariel informs his master that the shipwrecked group is a pitiful sight: the three traitors are distracted and the rest are mourning. Ariel says Prospero's feelings toward the group would become tender at the sight. Even Ariel would cry...if he were human. Hearing Ariel speak so kindly, with mercy befitting a human, Prospero says he'll put his thirst for vengeance aside and be merciful. He sends Ariel to free the traitors and the rest of their crew from their confusion, and draws a magic circle with his staff . As Ariel leaves him, Prospero muses on all that he has done with his potent art of magic, and solemnly says that once this last task is done, he'll break his staff and bury it in the earth, and drown his book in the ocean. In other words, the guy is giving up his magic. Ariel arrives, dragging behind him a frantic Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio, with their attendant lords Adrian and Francisco. They all stand in Prospero's magic circle, charmed, as Prospero addresses each of them. He speaks to Gonzalo first, and tears up as he thanks him for being his "true preserver" and remaining so loyal to whomever he serves. Prospero then chides King Alonso for treating him and Miranda so poorly, and says Sebastian, too, suffers for wronging them. Finally, Prospero comes to his terrible brother Antonio. Prospero reveals that Antonio plotted with Sebastian to murder the King, but forgives them all. Prospero then notes that the group may not recognize him . Prospero then asks Ariel to bring his hat and sword, so they might know that the man before them is the old, genuine Duke of Milan. As Ariel dresses Prospero, the airy spirit sings another pretty little song and Prospero notes, though he will miss Ariel, the spirit will surely soon have his freedom. All Ariel needs to do is bring the sleeping mariners from their ship to this spot. Gonzalo and all the shipwrecked gang look on, unsure whether this is more enchantment, or if it's really Prospero before them. Alonso, stunned, immediately returns Prospero's dukedom and asks for Prospero's forgiveness. Alonso also wants to know how Prospero survived and ended up on this island. Prospero turns then to Gonzalo, praising him again before getting back to Antonio and Sebastian. Prospero says he could say some things that would raise a couple of eyebrows, but out of the kindness of his heart, he will keep them to himself. The pair of traitors is not even a bit ashamed or sorry. Sebastian claims the Devil speaks in Prospero, but Prospero ignores this, and instead wholeheartedly forgives his traitorous brother Antonio. King Alonso brings up the loss of his son, Ferdinand, and Prospero cryptically says he has lost his daughter--they've lost both children on account of the tempest. The story of how all of this came to be, he says, is not the kind of thing that can be discussed over a single sitting, but over the course of long days. In the meantime, they can entertain themselves with other things. Perhaps, for instance, they'd like to take a look in Prospero's humble cell? Prospero draws back the curtain to his home and reveals Ferdinand and Miranda, who happen to be playing chess. Alonso and Ferdinand are pleasantly surprised to find each other alive, and Miranda, faced with so many dudes for the first time, declares "O, wonder! / How many goodly creatures are there here! / How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world / That has such people in't!" Alonso points out that Ferdinand can't have known the girl he's playing chess with for more than three hours, but hears the surprising news that the girl is his new daughter-in-law, three hours or no. Gonzalo, Alonso, and all the other "good" guys are overjoyed with the news. Ariel then enters on cue with the boatswain from the first scene, who happily announces that not only are all the sailors alive, but the ship is good as new. Like magic. Alonso, meanwhile, thinks they should consult an oracle about how on earth all of this very strange stuff has happened, but Prospero tells him to relax. He assures Alonso that he'll explain everything eventually, and for now they should just enjoy the moment. Finally, Prospero tells Ariel to free Caliban and his companions from the whole "being savagely hunted by hounds" spell. Stefano, Trinculo, and Caliban enter, the former two in Prospero's stolen clothes. Alonso claims Stefano as his drunken butler, and Prospero claims Caliban as his own slave-begotten-of-a-witch-and-the-Devil. There's some punning on being in a pickle, and Prospero, in a merciful mood, demands that Caliban take his friends and go to work tidying up the cell, if he wants forgiveness. Caliban laments that he was, as we suspected, a "thrice-double ass" to take this drunkard Stefano for a god. The three exit to prepare Prospero's cell. Prospero invites Alonso and everyone back to his place, where they'll be treated to Prospero's long life story. Prospero promises that in the morning they'll all go on the newly fixed ship to Naples. Once there, Prospero hopes to see the children married, and then head back to Milan, "where every third thought shall be my grave." Alonso glosses over this happy little sentiment by saying he looks forward to Prospero's autobiography. Prospero promises tomorrow will bring them favorable weather . He leaves Ariel the final task of seeing to the weather, and after that the spirit is finally free. Prospero sends everyone into his home, and then speaks directly to the audience. In the play's final speech, Prospero informs the audience that the only thing that can free him from the island prison and send him to Naples is the audience's applause and approval. P.S. Some literary critics think that this speech is Shakespeare the playwright's way of saying "so long" to the theater. If you want to know more about this, go to "Symbolism."
cliffnotes
This scene opens with Ariel revealing to Prospero that Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio are remorseful, worried, and desperate. Gonzalo is worried and grief-stricken at his king's pain. Prospero reassures Ariel that he will be compassionate in dealing with his enemies and asks that Ariel bring the group to him. While he is waiting for the king and his party to appear, Prospero soliloquizes about what he has accomplished with magic and, at the soliloquy's end, promises that he will now give up his magic, bury his magic staff, and drown his magic book at sea. Almost immediately, Ariel enters with the royal party, who appear to be in a trance, and places them within the magic circle that Prospero had earlier drawn. With a few chanted words, the spell is removed. Prospero, clothed in the garments of the duke of Milan -- his rightful position -- appears before them. In a gesture of reconciliation, Prospero embraces Alonso, who is filled with remorse and immediately gives up Prospero's dukedom. Gonzalo is also embraced in turn, and then Prospero turns to Sebastian and Antonio. Prospero tells them that he will not charge them as traitors, at this time. Antonio is forgiven and required to renounce his claims on Prospero's dukedom. While Alonso continues to mourn the loss of his son, Prospero relates that he too has lost his child, his daughter. But he means that he has lost her in marriage and pulls back a curtain to reveal Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess. Ferdinand explains to his father that he is betrothed to Miranda and that this event occurred while he thought his father dead. Alonso quickly welcomes Miranda and says he will be a second father to his son's affianced. At the sight of the couple, Gonzalo begins to cry and thanks God for having worked such a miracle. Ariel enters with the master of the boat and boatswain. Although the ship lay in harbor and in perfect shape, the puzzled men cannot explain how any of this has occurred. Alonso is also mystified, but Prospero tells him not to trouble his mind with such concerns. Next, Ariel leads in Caliban, Stefano, and Trinculo, who are still drunk. Prospero explains that these men have robbed him and plotted to murder him. Caliban immediately repents and promises to seek grace. The three conspirators, who have sobered somewhat since confronted with Prospero and the king, are sent to decorate Prospero's cell. Prospero invites his guests to spend the night with him, where he will tell them of his adventures and of his life during these past 12 years. Ariel's last duty to Prospero is to provide calm seas when they sail the next morning.
This final scene indicates the extent of Prospero's forgiveness and provides an example of humanity toward one's enemies. Before he confronts his enemies, Prospero tells Ariel that "The rarer action is / In virtue than in vengeance" . That is, it is better to forgive than to hate one's enemies. This is the example that Prospero provides in reuniting everyone in this final scene. When he emerges from his trance, Alonso moves quickly to embrace Prospero, and just as quickly, he renounces his claims to Prospero's dukedom. This is the behavior the audience expects of Ferdinand's father, and it is what Prospero requires to resolve this conflict. Ferdinand is an honorable young man, filled with love and charity, and it is reasonable to expect that he learned these values from his father, even if his father has, on occasion, forgotten them. Alonso is honestly delighted in Ferdinand's engagement and welcomes Miranda with authentic grace. It is to be predicted that he is happy at recovering his son, but he is also clearly pleased to have gained a daughter. These spontaneous actions reveal that Alonso is as humane and honest as Prospero. It is equally clear that Antonio and Sebastian each lack the humanity of their respective brothers. No apology is forthcoming from Antonio, and Sebastian thinks that Prospero is very likely the devil. Antonio never directly addresses Prospero, not even to justify his previous actions. And although both Prospero and Miranda might have died when cast out on to the sea some 12 years earlier, Antonio has no words for his niece. In spite of the obvious absence of regret from his brother, Prospero is true to his promise and seeks no revenge against Antonio. There is no reason to assume that shame restrains Antonio from speaking, and in all likelihood, he only regrets having been caught. Although Prospero warns his brother that he might still charge him with treason in the future, this warning is unlikely to restrain such a recalcitrant as Antonio. Prospero's humanity is clearly obvious in his treatment of Antonio, whom he calls traitor but whom he declines to treat as a traitor. Critics and audience might be tempted to label Antonio as an unnatural brother, as would also be true for Sebastian. But their cruelty only indicates that nature provides for both goodness and evil. In the Christian world of the Shakespeare's time, evil is chosen, not destined, and nature provides for all outcomes, those who are virtuous and their counterparts, those who are corrupt. Hence, evil siblings are as natural as good siblings. Although the self-serving behavior of Antonio and Sebastian may be despicable, they are still a part of the natural world. Caliban is also from the natural world, although as the child of a witch and devil. He is certainly different from the other humans on the island, but in this final scene, he displays more humanity than many of Prospero's "civilized" enemies. Antonio's only remark in this whole scene is to suggest that Caliban provides an opportunity to make money . Antonio and Sebastian echo Stefano and Trinculo's earlier notion of exhibiting Caliban for profit, and in doing so, they reaffirm the impression that even the upper classes can be as lacking in morals as the two examples of the lower class, a butler and a court jester. Caliban, however, has risen above his companions and willingly admits his errors. In admitting his fault, Caliban proves himself more honorable than those who are socially his superior, Antonio and Sebastian. Caliban is often celebrated as a natural man, one who is unspoiled by civilization. And yet, he easily embraces the worse that civilization has to offer. When exposed to Stefano and Trinculo, Caliban embraces their drunkenness and, in return, entices them to help plan a heinous crime. Many critics justify Caliban's actions by pointing to Prospero's persecution of Caliban. But nowhere in this play does Shakespeare validate this kind of revenge. Prospero may enslave Caliban, but he does not threaten his very existence. Certainly there is no way to justify slavery, and Shakespeare makes no attempt to do so. In the end, Prospero leaves Caliban to his island and to the natural world that he craves. The conclusion is about redemption, the personal redemption that so many of the participants reach. Caliban's regret during this final scene indicates he, too, has found the way to reconciliation. Gonzalo is one of the few participants who has no need to ask forgiveness nor any cause to regret his actions. Upon discovering that Ferdinand is alive and that he is betrothed to Miranda, Gonzalo quite properly thanks God, who has "chalked forth the way" . Gonzalo also sees the irony in Miranda's offspring inheriting all that was her father's and all that belongs to his enemy. He also observes that there is much that has been restored: Ferdinand to his father, and with him, a wife. But there is more. Prospero's dukedom has been restored, as has the ship and all its missing crew. Yet more important than people or objects, other essential components of civilized society have been restored: authority, harmony, and order. Even before this reconciliation scene occurs, Prospero has promised to put aside his magic and dispose of his magic book and staff, which are the source of his power. He has used magic to work in concert with nature, not to control or evoke evil. Now that he has his enemies under his control, Prospero permits compassion to replace magic. This putting away of his magic also signifies that Prospero's game is at an end. He has used magic to restore harmony and now needs it no more. The play ends with the promise of Ariel's freedom and the restoration of Prospero to a life filled with all that nature and God intended. Glossary mantle to enclose or envelop. furtherer an accomplice. rapier a slender two-edged sword used chiefly in thrusting. subtleties here, the illusions. requite to make return or repayment to for a benefit, injury, and so on; reward. tight and yare sound and ready. The ship is ready to sail. coragio take courage .