Passage
Prospero
Dost thou think so, spirit?
Ariel
Mine would, sir, were I human.
Prospero
And mine shall.
Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
Of their afflictions, and shall not myself
(One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,
Passion as they) be kindlier moved than thou art?
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to th’
quick,
(i) What has Ariel told Prospero about King Alonso and his men?
Answer : Ariel has told Prospero how King Alonso and his men were in a very bad condition. The king, his brother, (Sebastian) and Prospero’s brother (Antonio) are quite guilt-stricken and others were full of sorrow and dismay.
(ii) How has Ariel brought about his change in King Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian?
Answer : On Prospero’s bidding Ariel arranged a masque and a banquet and then made it vanish in order to surprise the king and his men. Then in a speech only heard by Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian he made them feel guilty by reminding them of the wrong they did to Prospero and his innocent daughter.
(iii) Who is Gonzalo? In which condition is he?
Answer : Gonzalo is an old lord, devoted to King Alonso. It was he who had helped Prospero by secretly putting essential things in his boat. Now he is in a miserable state. He has tears in his eyes.
(iv) How does Prospero finally treat the king and his men?
Answer : Prospero appears before the king and his party and discloses his identity and makes them revisit their sinful past. When he feels that they are really repentant, he forgives them, especially after they give him back his dukedom and promise to lead a good life.
(v) Do you think that Prospero has really forgiven his brother?
Answer : Prospero’s attitude towards his brother Antony shows that he many have forgiven him, but he has not forgotten his treachery.
(vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage:
(a) sharply (b) struck to the quick
Answer : (a) keenly (b) struck deeply
Passage
Alonso
You the like loss!
Prospero
As great to me as late; and supportable
To make the dear loss have I means much weaker
Than you may call to comfort you, for I
Have lost my daughter.
Alonso
A daughter?
O heavens, that they were living both in Naples,
The king and queen there! That they were, I
wish
Myself were mudded in that oozy bed
Where my son lies. When did you lose your
daughter?
(i) What does Alonso want Prospero to tell?
Answer : Alonso and his men are surprised on seeing Prospero but they do not recognize him. Alonso says that if he is really Prospero he should tell them how he survived and how he had come before them.
(ii) Why does Prospero ask Alonso to be patient?
Answer : When Alonso mentions his grief at the loss of his son Ferdinand in the tempest, Prospero says that he must not have tried patience. He adds that it is patience that has enabled him to bear a similar loss.
(iii) Explain : ‘I have lost my daughter.’
Answer : Prospero seems to be right in a way. The tempest has brought Ferdinand and Miranda together in love. Miranda’s marriage to Ferdinand and her parting from her father is as great a loss to a father as Ferdinand’s loss to his father.
(iv) What does Alonso declare?
Answer : Alonso declares that if both Ferdinand and Miranda were alive he would be happy to get them married, and they would be the future king and queen of Naples.
(v) Do you think Alonso has changed?
Answer : Yes, he is now a changed person. The grief over his son’s supposed death has humbled him down.
(vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage:
(a) dear (b) mudded
Answer : (a) heavy (b) buried
Passage
Miranda
O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t !
Prospero
‘Tis new to thee.
Alonso
What is this maid with whom thou wast to play?
Your eld’st acquaintance cannot be three hours:
Is she the goddess that hath sever’d us,
And brought us thus together?
(i) Where are King Alonso and his men at present? Who has brought them there, and why?
Answer : King Alonso and his men in Prospero’s cave now. Prospero has brought them there. He wants to give them a wonderful gift in place of the dukedom he had received back from them, and it is the sight of Ferdinand’s being hale and hearty.
(ii) How does Alonso react on seeing his son Ferdinand with Miranda?
Answer : Alonso does not believe his eyes. He thinks that it is just one of the illusions. They are now accustomed to seeing on the island. He feels that if it were an illusion his grief over his loss would be double.
(iii) How does Miranda react on seeing a number of humans before her?
Answer : The appearance of a number of well-dressed persons makes Miranda think that it is a wonderful new world that is spreading around her. Her sense of wonder is understandable as she has been only Prospero and Ferdinand before in her life.
(iv) Explain : ‘Tis new to thee.
Answer : Prospero, being the man of worldly experience, tells that it is a new sight to her, but not to others. There is a hint in his remark that things are not always what they seem. The Eden contains the serpent.
(v) What does Alonso’s remark about Miranda show?
Answer : It shows that Miranda looks like a heavenly figure. He considers her to be the goddess of the island, who separated them and then brought them together.
(vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage:
(a) goodly (b) eld’st
Answer : (a) wonderful (b) longest
Passage
Prospero
You’d be King o’ the isle, sirrah?
Stephano
I should have been a sore on then.
Alonso
This is a strange thing as e’er I looked on. [Pointing to Caliban]
Prospero
He is as disproportioned in his manners
As in his shape. Go, sirrah, to my cell;
Take with you your companions. As you look
To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.
Caliban
Ay, that I will; and I’ll be wise hereafter
And seek for grace. What a thrice – double ass
Was I to take this drunkard for a god,
And worship this dull fool!
(i) What makes Prospero ask Stephano if he really wanted to be the king of the island?
Answer : Prospero wants to make Stephano feel ashamed of his conduct by conniving with Caliban in their plan to kill him and become the king of the island.
(ii) ‘I should have been a sore one then.’ Explain the line.
Answer : This statement of Stephano has a double sense. It means a king with soreness in his limbs (caused by Prospero’s spirits). It also means a king who is sore or severe on his subjects.
(iii) How does Prospero describe Cliban?
Answer : According to Prospero, Caliban’s behaviour is as ugly as his appearance. He has not forgotten that Caliban has once made an attempt on the honour of his daughter and then has planned to kill him.
(iv) What order does Prospero give to Caliban?
Answer : Prospero tells Caliban than if he expects to receive a pardon from him, he should take his companions with him and clean his cave well. Alonso also asks him to place his fine clothes where he found them.
(v) What does Caliban realize?
Answer : Caliban realizes his mistake with a tinge of remorse and repentance. He admits that he was a great fool to mistake Stephano, a drunkard, for a god and worship him. He promises to be wise after the accident.
(vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage:
(a) disproportioned (b) train
Answer : (a) abnormal (b) tidy/clean