Tempest Key Quotations

Tempest Key Quotations

1. This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother, Which thou takest from me.

   • Introduces the theme of colonialism
     • Colonialism in its infancy in Jacobean England e.g. Magellan in Patagonia (heads in chests)
   • Act 1 sc. 1 said by Caliban to Prospero
   • Shows ownership of the island is disputed
   • Social hierarchy dictates that Caliban should not own land
   • 'Caliban cannot rule the island because he is not fully human' (Butler)

2. but I feel not This deity in my bosom: twenty consciences, That stand 'twixt me and Milan, candied be they And melt ere they molest!

   • 'deity in the bosom' suggests the idea of an omnipotent god - he must be obeyed
   • The melting of the consciences suggests that they have no impact, like an ice dagger that has melted
   • Link to Machiavelli - do whatever is necessary, ignore morality.

3. thou didst seek to violate The honour of my child.

   • If Miranda had been 'deflowered', a 'deflowered daughter would have tainted the family. (Butler)
   • According to Montaigne 'primitive societies' had different sexual norms. This was abhorrent to western minds

4. I'll break my staff ... drown my books'

   • Uses his magic for good; neo-platonic science
   • 'For all Propseros, the price of forgiveness is the requirement to forgo magic' (Butler)

5. 'You are three men of sin'

   • By their actions they set in motion the play. Without the act of usurpation, there is no play.
   • The motif of usurpation is seen again in the play: Sebastian and Antonio plot against Alonso; Caliban plots against Prospero.

6. '...this thing of darkness I acknowledge mine'

   • 'He has taken all the necessary archetypes and integrated them within himself. We have seen the unconscious played out as fantasy and then a return to reality.'(Barry Beck)
   • Prospero is acknowledging the dark side of his personality (Jungian interpretation)
   • Prospero's forgiveness has its limits - no sign of real forgiveness here.

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