The Tempest

Act 4 Summary & Analysis +Questions

Summary

This scene begins with Prospero acknowledging that he has only been testing Ferdinand and
Miranda’s love. Now that he knows Ferdinand really loves his daughter, he is willing to bless the
wedding. But he severely warns Ferdinand against completing the marriage before the wedding and
promises “barren hate, sour-eyed disdain, and discord” if he doesn’t respect Prospero’s wishes.To
celebrate the engagement and to show his powers, Prospero instructs Ariel to Go and bring spirit
actors to perform a masque. Iris, Ceres, Jupiter, Venus, Mars,

Hymen, and Juno all feature in this dramatic production that honors the contract of

Marriage. Ferdinand, amazed by Prospero’s powers that can call forth such spirits At his bidding, longs
to stay on the island and live with Prospero as his father and Miranda as his wife. But Prospero
suddenly stops the dancing when he remembers Caliban and his Companions plan to kill him and the
time is fast approaching. He disperses the spirits and comforts the disappointed Ferdinand by
reminding him that everything eventually comes to an end. With his troubled mind, Prospero sends
Ferdinand and Miranda away so that he can come up with a plan. Ariel enters and together the two
discuss how best to handle “Caliban and his confederates.” Ariel recalls what has already been done
to the men. Using music as a lure, Ariel has brought them on an uncomfortable path through “toothed
briers, sharp furzes, pricking gorse, and thorns” and then left them in a filthy, stinking pool of water
near Prospero’s cell. Prospero sends Ariel off to gather some glittery apparel. Meanwhile Prospero
laments the devilish nature of Caliban, which cannot be broken or corrected even with the humane
treatment Prospero initially offered him. When Ariel returns they hang the fancy garments on a line
near Prospero’s cell.

When the men enter, soaking wet from the filthy pond, they are complaining and arguing. Caliban
tries to keep them focused on the matter at hand: murdering Prospero. But the men become
distracted by the beautiful clothing, claiming it for “King Stephano” as Caliban becomes more and
more upset that they need to “do the murder first,” but the men will have none of it as they try on all
the clothes. In the midst of this chaos Prospero sends spirits in the shape of hunting dogs upon the
three men to drive them off. Now Prospero recognizes that everything he has been working toward is
suddenly within his control: “At this hour/Lie at my mercy all mine enemies.” He only has to finish his
plans and he can free Ariel.

Question 1 :In Act 4, Scene 1, in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ why is the warning Prospero gives to
Ferdinand important?

Answer: Prospero reveals that his tests of Ferdinand and Miranda “were but my trials of thy love,” but
he quickly moves on to warning Ferdinand not to “break her virgin-knot before/All sanctimonious
ceremonies may/With full and holy rite be administered.” Prospero even threatens great ill will come to
the couple if they sleep together before the marriage and in the end they would hate it both. This
warning reveals Prospero’s view of marriage as a holy contract, as well as his acceptance of certain
social and religious mores. Although he has been living on an isolated island all these years, he still
embraces the moral laws of a “civilized” society and wants that for his daughter. Prospero also wants to
protect his only child, a very innocent girl who has spent her youth far from the rest of the world.

Question 2: Why does Prospero conjure a masque in Act 4, Scene 1, in Shakespeare’s The Tempest?

After agreeing to the betrothal of Ferdinand and Miranda, Prospero calls for a celebratory masque in
honor of the engagement. The masque exemplifies the hopes for this young couple’s union, and the
mythological goddesses in the performance symbolize fertility, harvest, and eternal love. By blessing the
union with the masque, Prospero hopes to bring about abundance within the human relationship as well
as in the natural surroundings. The masque also honors the institution of marriage itself as an important
and honorable social structure in society. Finally the masque reveals Prospero’s own power as a
magician, which he tells Ariel: “I must/Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple/Some vanity of mine
art.”

Question 3: What is Prospero’s reaction to the murderous plot against him in Shakespeare’s The
Tempest, and what does it reveal?

Answer : After forgetting “that foul conspiracy of the beast Caliban and his confederates,” Prospero
remembers and stops the masque, so that he can deal with the situation. He sends Ariel to fetch
glittering garments, and they string them up outside Prospero’s cell. As the men “red-hot with drinking”
approach to murder Prospero, Stephano and Trinculo are distracted by the fancy clothing and begin to
try different garments on, posturing themselves in their new roles in “King Stephano’s” kingdom.
Stephano and Trinculo’s tendency to be so easily distracted by the garments of nobility, and Prospero’s
omniscient ability to know they would be, both serve the plot and provide humorous social
commentary. The folly of Stephano and Trinculo lends a bit of physical comedy to the play, and it
suggests that their intention to murder Prospero was never sincere; that they are nothing more than
foolish drunks who humor Caliban. This stands in contrast to the great lengths to which Alonso and
Antonio went to attempt to murder Prospero. This contrast underscores the level of humanity Prospero
must have to forgive his brother and the king of Naples for their evil deeds.

Question 4: Which features of Shakespeare’s The Tempest might cause the play to be read as a drama
of colonialism?

Answer: During Shakespeare’s time there was a prevailing ethos that colonialism was the white man’s
burden, meaning that it was the duty of the civilized cultures to conquer “uncivilized” lands and teach
the indigenous people how to behave properly by forcing white European culture upon them. It is easy
to see that “the foul witch” Sycorax’s island represents an uncivilized land, and Ariel and Caliban are its
uncivilized indigenous inhabitants. Upon arrival with Miranda, Prospero overthrows Sycorax and takes
Caliban and Ariel into his bondage. Caliban is characterized as a dirty, ignorant savage, a description very
much in line with the narrative told to justify colonization. In an exchange between Prospero and Ariel,
where Ariel asks to be given his freedom early, Prospero demonstrates his personal belief that he is the
savior of Ariel (i.e., the one who delivered him into civilization) by reminding Ariel that he was saved
from Sycorax’s imprisonment in a pine tree by Prospero. The irony, of course, is that Prospero did not
save Ariel from imprisonment; he only usurped the imprisoner. This pattern of usurpation might point to
conflicts among European countries who sought after the same uncolonized lands to expand their
influence and global foothold.