The Tempest by William Shakespeare (classic romance novels txt) 📕
Mir. Would I might But ever see that man!
Pros. Now I arise: [Resumes his mantle. Sit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow. 170 Here in this island we arrived; and here Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit Than other princesses can, that have more time For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful.
Mir. Heavens thank you for't! And now, I pray you, sir, 175 For still 'tis beating in my mind, your reason For raising this sea-storm?
Pros. Know thus far forth. By accident most strange, bountiful Fortune, Now my dear lady, hath mine enemies Brought to this shore; and by my prescience 180 I find my zenith doth depend upon A most auspicious star, whose influence If now I court not, but omit, my fortunes Will ever after droop. Here cease more questions: Thou art inclined to sleep; 'tis a good dulness, 185 And give it way: I know thou canst not choose
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Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant;
15 And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so, that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon’d be,
20 Let your indulgence set me free.
I. 1. 15. What cares these roarers. This grammatical inaccuracy, which escaped correction in the later folios, probably came from Shakespeare’s pen. Similar cases occur frequently, especially when the verb precedes its nominative. For example, Tempest, IV. 1. 262, ‘Lies at my mercy all mine enemies,’ and Measure for Measure, II. 1. 22, ‘What knows the laws, &c.’ We correct it in those passages where the occurrence of a vulgarism would be likely to annoy the reader. In the mouth of a Boatswain it can offend no one. We therefore leave it.
Note II.I. 1. 57-59. Mercy on us!—we split, &c. It may be doubtful whether the printer of the first folio intended these broken speeches to express ‘a confused noise within.’ Without question such was the author’s meaning. Rowe, however, and subsequent editors, printed them as part of Gonzalo’s speech. Capell was the first editor who gave the true arrangement.
Note III.I. 2. 173. princesses. See Mr Sidney Walker’s Shakespeare’s Versification, p. 243 sqq. ’The plurals of substantives ending in s, in certain instances, in se, ss, ce, and sometimes ge, ... are found without the usual addition of s or es, in pronunciation at least, although in many instances the plural affix is added in printing, where the metre shows that it is not to be pronounced.’
In this and other instances, we have thought it better to trust to the ear of the reader for the rhythm than to introduce an innovation in orthography which might perplex him as to the sense. The form ‘princesses,’ the use of which in Shakespeare’s time was doubted by one of our correspondents, is found in the History of King Leir.
Rowe’s reading ‘princes’ might be defended on the ground that the sentiment is general, and applicable to royal children of both sexes; or that Sir Philip Sidney, in the first book of the Arcadia, calls Pamela and Philoclea ‘princes.’
Note IV.I. 2. 298. The metre of this line, as well as of lines 301, 302, is defective, but as no mode of correction can be regarded as completely satisfactory we have in accordance with our custom left the lines as they are printed in the Folio. The defect, indeed, in the metre of line 298 has not been noticed except by Hanmer, who makes a line thus:
‘Do so, and after two days I’ll discharge thee.’
Possibly it ought to be printed thus:
‘Do so; and
After two days
I will discharge thee.’
There is a broken line, also of four syllables, 253 of the same scene, another of seven, 235.
There is no reason to doubt that the words are as Shakespeare wrote them, for, although the action of the play terminates in less than four hours (I. 2. 240 and V. 1. 186), yet Ariel’s ministry is not to end till the voyage to Naples shall be over. Prospero, too, repeats his promise, and marks his contentment by further shortening the time of servitude, ‘within two days,’ I. 2. 420. Possibly ‘Invisible’ (301) should have a line to itself. Words thus occupying a broken line acquire a marked emphasis.
But the truth is that in dialogue Shakespeare’s language passes so rapidly from verse to prose and from prose to verse, sometimes even hovering, as it were, over the confines, being rhythmical rather than metrical, that all attempts to give regularity to the metre must be made with diffidence and received with doubt.
Note V.I. 2. 377, 378:
Courtsied when you have and kiss’d
The wild waves whist.
This punctuation seems to be supported by what Ferdinand says (391, 392):
‘The music crept by me upon the waters,
Allaying both their fury and my passion, &c.’
At the end of the stanza we have printed Hark, hark! ... The watch-dogs bark as that part of the burthen which ‘sweet sprites bear.’ The other part is borne by distant watch-dogs.
Note VI.I. 2. 443. I fear you have done yourself some wrong. See this phrase used in a similar sense, Measure for Measure, I. 11. 39.
Note VII.II. 1. 27. Which, of he or Adrian. ‘Of’ is found in the same construction, Midsummer Night’s Dream, III. 2. 336,
‘Now follow if thou darest to try whose right,
Of thine or mine, is most in Helena.’
Note VIII.II. 1. 157. Of its own kind. There is no doubt, as Dr Guest has shewn, that ‘it,’ which is the reading of the 1st and 2nd folios, was commonly used as a genitive in Shakespeare’s time, as it is still in some provincial dialects. ‘Its,’ however, was coming into use. One instance occurs in this play, I. 11. 95, ‘in its contrary.’
Note IX.II. 1. 241. she that from whom. Mr Spedding writes: ‘The received emendation is not satisfactory to me. I would rather read, “She that—From whom? All were sea-swallow’d &c., i.e. from whom should she have note? The report from Naples will be that all were drowned. We shall be the only survivors.” The break in the construction seems to me characteristic of the speaker. But you must read the whole speech to feel the effect.’
Note X.II. 1. 249-251. All editors except Mr Staunton have printed in italics (or between inverted commas) only as far as ‘Naples?’, but as ‘keep’ is printed with a small k in the folios, they seem to sanction the arrangement given in our text.
Note XI.II. 1. 267. Ay, sir; where lies that? if ’twere a kibe. Mr Singer and Mr Dyce have changed ‘’twere’ to ‘it were’ for the sake of the metre. But then the first part of the line must be read with a wrong emphasis. The proper emphasis clearly falls on the first, third, and fifth syllables, ‘Aý, sir; whére lies thát?’ See Preface.
Note XII.II. 2. 165. Before ‘here; bear my bottle’ Capell inserts a stage direction [To Cal.], but it appears from III. 2. 62, that Trinculo was entrusted with the office of bottle-bearer.
Note XIII.III. 1. 15. Most busy lest, when I do it. As none of the proposed emendations can be regarded as certain, we have left the reading of F1, though it is manifestly corrupt. The spelling ‘doe’ makes Mr Spedding’s conjecture ‘idlest’ for ‘I doe it’ more probable.
Note XIV.III. 3. 17. The stage direction, which we have divided into two parts, is placed all at once in the folios after ‘as when they are fresh’ [Solemne and strange Musicke; and Prosper on the top (invisible:) Enter ... depart].
Pope transferred it to follow Sebastian’s words, ‘I say, to night: no more.’
Note XV.III. 3. 48. Each putter out of five for one. See Beaumont and Fletcher, The Noble Gentleman, I. 1. (Vol. II. p. 261, ed. Moxon): ‘The return will give you five for one.’ Marine is about to travel.
Note XVI.IV. 1. 146. You do look, my son, in a moved sort. Seymour suggests a transposition: ‘you do, my son, look in a moved sort.’ This line however can scarcely have come from Shakespeare’s pen. Perhaps the writer who composed the Masque was allowed to join it, as best he might, to Shakespeare’s words, which re-commence at ‘Our revels now are ended,’ &c.
Note XVII.IV. 1. 230. Let’s alone. See Staunton’s “Shakespeare,” Vol. I. p. 81, note (b).
Note XVIII.V. 1. 309. Of these our dear-beloved solemnized. The Folios have ‘belov’d’; a mode of spelling, which in this case is convenient as indicating the probable rhythm of the verse. We have written ‘beloved,’ in accordance with the general rule mentioned in the Preface.
‘Solemnized’ occurs in four other verse passages of Shakespeare. It is three times to be accented ‘sólemnized’ and once (Love’s Labour’s Lost, II. 1. 41) ‘solémnized.’
(“Linenotes”). Act I: Scene 1
Sc. I. On a ship at sea] Pope.
Enter ... Boatswain] Collier MS. adds ‘shaking off wet.’
3. Good,] Rowe. Good: Ff. Good. Collier.
7. till thou burst thy wind] till thou burst, wind Johnson conj. till thou burst thee, wind Steevens conj.
8. Capell adds stage direction [Exeunt Mariners aloft.
11. boatswain] Pope. boson Ff.
11-18. Verse. S. Walker conj.
15. cares] care Rowe. See note (I).
31. [Exeunt] Theobald. [Exit. Ff.
33. Bring her to try] F4. Bring her to Try F1 F2 F3. Bring her to. Try Story conj.
33-35. Text as in Capell. A plague—A cry within. Enter Sebastian, Anthonio, and Gonzalo. upon this howling. Ff.
34-37. Verse. S. Walker conj.
43. for] from Theobald.
46. two courses off to sea] two courses; off to sea Steevens (Holt conj.).
46. [Enter...] [Re-enter... Dyce.
47. [Exeunt. Theobald.
50. at] are at Rowe.
50-54. Printed as prose in Ff.
56. to glut] t’ englut Johnson conj.
57. See note (II).
59. Farewell, brother!] Brother, farewell! Theobald.
60. with the] Rowe. with’ F1 F2. with F3 F4.
61. [Exeunt A. and S.] [Exit. Ff.
63. furze] Rowe. firrs F1 F2 F3. firs F4.
long heath, brown furze] ling, heath, broom, furze Hanmer.
65. [Exeunt] [Exit F1, om. F2 F3 F4.
Act I: Scene 23. stinking] flaming Singer conj. kindling S. Verges conj.
4. cheek] heat Collier MS. crack Staunton conj.
7. creature] creatures Theobald.
13. fraughting] Ff. fraighted Pope. fraighting Theobald. freighting Steevens.
15. Mir. O, woe the day! Pros. No harm.] Mir. O woe the day! no harm? Johnson conj.
19. I am more better] I’m more or better Pope.
24. [Lays ... mantle] Pope.
28. provision] F1. compassion F2 F3 F4. prevision Hunter conj.
29. soul] soul lost Rowe. foyle Theobald. soil Johnson conj. loss Capell. foul Wright conj.
31. betid] F1. betide F2 F3 F4.
35. a] F1. the F2 F3 F4.
38. thou] om. Pope.
41. Out] Full Pope (after Dryden). Quite Collier MS.
44. with] in Pope (after Dryden).
53. Twelve year ...
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