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.

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