The Tempest. Ariel’s Journey, Various Acts and Scenes
These speech segments are used in our interview with Erin Partin
Act 1, Scene 2
Ariel
189 All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come
190 To answer thy best pleasure; be’t to fly,
191 To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride
192 On the curl’d clouds, to thy strong bidding task
193 Ariel and all his quality.
Prospero
194 Hast thou, spirit,
195 Perform’d to point the tempest that I bade thee?
Ariel
196 To every article.
197 I boarded the king’s ship; now on the beak,
198 Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
199 I flamed amazement: sometime I’ld divide,
200 And burn in many places; on the topmast,
201 The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly,
202 Then meet and join. Jove’s lightnings, the precursors
203 O’ the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary
204 And sight-outrunning were not; the fire and cracks
205 Of sulphurous roaring the most mighty Neptune
206 Seem to besiege and make his bold waves tremble,
207 Yea, his dread trident shake.
…
Ariel
242 Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains,
243 Let me remember thee what thou hast promised,
244 Which is not yet perform’d me.
Prospero
244 How now? moody?
245 What is’t thou canst demand?
Ariel
245 x My liberty.
Prospero
246 Before the time be out? no more!
Ariel
246 I prithee,
247 Remember I have done thee worthy service;
248 Told thee no lies, made thee no mistakings, served
249 Without or grudge or grumblings: thou didst promise
250 To bate me a full year.
Act 4, Scene 1
Ariel.
48 Before you can say ‘come’ and ‘go,’
49 And breathe twice and cry ‘so, so,’
50 Each one, tripping on his toe,
51 Will be here with mop and mow.
52 Do you love me, master? no?
Act 5 Scene 1
Prospero.
1 Now does my project gather to a head:
2 My charms crack not; my spirits obey; and time
3 Goes upright with his carriage. How’s the day?
Ariel.
4 On the sixth hour; at which time, my lord,
5 You said our work should cease.
Prospero.
5 I did say so,
6 When first I raised the tempest. Say, my spirit,
7 How fares the king and’s followers?
Ariel.
8 Confined together
9 In the same fashion as you gave in charge,
10 Just as you left them; all prisoners, sir,
11 In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell;
12 They cannot budge till your release. The king,
13 His brother and yours, abide all three distracted
14 And the remainder mourning over them,
15 Brimful of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly
16 Him that you term’d, sir, ‘The good old lord Gonzalo;’
17 His tears run down his beard, like winter’s drops
18 From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works ’em
19 That if you now beheld them, your affections
20 Would become tender.
Prospero.
20 Dost thou think so, spirit?
Ariel.
21 Mine would, sir, were I human.
Prospero.
21 And mine shall.
22 Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
23 Of their afflictions, and shall not myself,
24 One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,
25 Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art?
26 Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick,
27 Yet with my nobler reason ‘gaitist my fury
28 Do I take part: the rarer action is
29 In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent,
30 The sole drift of my purpose doth extend
31 Not a frown further. Go release them, Ariel:
32 My charms I’ll break, their senses I’ll restore,
33 And they shall be themselves.
Ariel.
33 I’ll fetch them, sir.
…
Ariel. [Aside to PROSPERO]
256 Sir, all this service
257 Have I done since I went.
Prospero. [Aside to ARIEL]
258 My tricksy spirit!
Alonso.
259 These are not natural events; they strengthen
260 From strange to stranger. Say, how came you hither?
Boatswain.
261 If I did think, sir, I were well awake,
262 I’ld strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep,
263 And—how we know not—all clapp’d under hatches;
264 Where but even now with strange and several noises
265 Of roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling chains,
266 And more diversity of sounds, all horrible,
267 We were awaked; straightway, at liberty;
268 Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld
269 Our royal, good and gallant ship, our master
270 Capering to eye her: on a trice, so please you,
271 Even in a dream, were we divided from them
272 And were brought moping hither.
Ariel. [Aside to PROSPERO]
272 Was’t well done?
Prospero. [Aside to ARIEL]
273 Bravely, my diligence. Thou shalt be free.