Question: What does Prospero say about the conspiracy against his life? What effect does the recollection of the conspiracy have upon Prospero?
Answer:
PROSPERO Go charge my goblins that they grind their joints
With dry convulsions, shorten up their sinews
With aged cramps, and more pinch-spotted make them
Than pard or cat o' mountain.
*****
Let them be hunted soundly. At this hour
Lie at my mercy all mine enemies:
Shortly shall all my labours end, and thou
Shalt have the air at freedom: for a little
Follow, and do me service. (4.1.275-288)
This plot has such a disturbing
effect on Prospero, not because he fears it, but because it makes
manifest the fact that all his good purposes relating
to Caliban have miscarried. Prospero's feeling is
one of sorrow more than of anger. Cf. lines 188-192.
How to cite this article:
Fleming, William H. How to Study Shakespeare. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1898. Shakespeare Online. 10 Aug. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/thetempest/questionst/plotagainstp.html >.
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