The Tempest

Stephano insists on keeping Caliban drunk. Trinculo worries for the three of them if their dim wits are the brightest on the island. He ridicules Caliban who, insulted, decides he will only serve Stephano. Caliban asks Stephano to punish Trinculo and “bite him to death” (3.2.31), but Stephano simply scolds Trinculo.

Ariel, invisible, watches. Caliban asks Stephano to free him from Prospero who stole the island from him. Ariel says, “Thou liest.” Caliban and Stephano, thinking Trinculo spoke, berate him, but Trinculo insists he didn’t say anything. Stephano asks Caliban how he might defeat Prospero, and Caliban replies that he’ll bring Stephano to the sleeping Prospero so the sailor can kill him.

Ariel again accuses Caliban of lying; Caliban, believing Trinculo continues to taunt him, begs Stephano to beat him up, and Stephano threatens Trinculo. Trinculo insists he said nothing, but Ariel once again says “Thou liest,” and Stephano slugs Trinculo. Perplexed and annoyed, Trinculo curses them both.

Caliban explains that Prospero likes to nap, and this is when Stephano can kill him. Then, he must take Prospero’s magic books, which contain the spells that control the island’s spirit creatures and burn them. Finally, Prospero’s daughter is beautiful and will surely make Stephano a fine wife and give him many children.

Stephano agrees to do all this. He apologizes to Trinculo for hitting him but reminds him to keep a civil tongue. They celebrate by singing; Ariel plays the tune on a pipe and a drum. Alarmed, Stephano calls out to whomever is making the music to show themselves. Caliban explains that the island is full of sprites who make “Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not” (3.2.131).

King Alonso and his entourage search the island for Ferdinand. Gonzalo, old and tired, begs for rest. The king agrees, and they halt. Alonso is losing hope that his son still lives; he fears they’re searching on land for a man lost at sea. Noting the king’s despair, Antonio quietly reminds Sebastian of their plot against the king. He says they must strike tonight when everyone else, exhausted and discouraged, has let their guard down. Sebastian agrees.

Sweet music suddenly sounds in the air about them, and the king’s men watch as strange “Shapes” bring forth a banquet to feed them. Prospero, invisible, directs the magic. Antonio and Sebastian agree that travelers were right all along, and that such creatures as unicorns and phoenixes must really exist. Gonzalo muses that the beings who deliver the food, though of “monstrous shape,” seem gentler and kinder than most humans. Prospero quietly agrees and remarks to himself that “some of you there present / Are worse than devils” (3.3.35-36).

Thunder and lightning explode, and Ariel appears in the form of a harpy—his body that of a large bird, his head an angry woman’s. He claps his wings on the banquet table and the food disappears. Ariel condemns Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio as “three men of sin” (3.3.53). They draw their swords, but Ariel mocks them, as their swords can have no effect on him. He warns them that because of their vicious treatment of Prospero, they are condemned to a life of misery on the island. In a thunderclap, Ariel disappears; the Shapes remove the table.

Off to one side, Prospero praises Ariel for his excellent performance which puts the magician’s enemies into such a fit that “they now are in my power” (3.3.90). Alonso, certain that he’s being punished for his misdeeds, now assumes that Ferdinand is dead and that he’ll soon join his son in the “ooze” at the bottom of the sea. He, Sebastian, and Antonio depart.

Gonzalo realizes that the three men, wallowing in guilty anguish, might do something drastic. He urges the rest of the party to follow and keep an eye on them. Adrian agrees and leads the way as they hurry after the king.