The Tempest Act Three –“He that dies pays all his debts.”

The Tempest Act Three –“He that dies pays all his debts.”

“There be some sports are painful, and their labour

Delight in them sets off: some kinds of baseness

Are nobly undergone and most poor matters

Point to rich ends. This my mean task

Would be as heavy to me as odious, but

The mistress which I serve quickens what's dead

And makes my labours pleasures: O, she is

Ten times more gentle than her father's crabbed,

And he's composed of harshness. I must remove

Some thousands of these logs and pile them up,

Upon a sore injunction: my sweet mistress

Weeps when she sees me work, and says, such baseness

Had never like executor. I forget:

But these sweet thoughts do even refresh my labours,

Most busy lest, when I do it.”

Act Three of ‘The Tempest’ starts with Ferdinand at Prospero’s Cell doing the jobs that Caliban normally did of gathering and carrying “some thousand… logs”, but Ferdinand is consoled by Miranda. Miranda enters and wants Ferdinand to stop the hard work and let her do some of it for him since she believes Prospero is in his study. Prospero is in fact spying on Miranda and Ferdinand. Ferdinand rejects Miranda’s offer and enquires what her name is. Miranda tells Ferdinand and refuses to let her work for him but does rest from his work and asks Miranda her name. She tells him, and he is pleased:

“Admired Miranda!

Indeed the top of admiration! worth

What's dearest to the world! Full many a lady

I have eyed with best regard and many a time

The harmony of their tongues hath into bondage

Brought my too diligent ear: for several virtues

Have I liked several women; never any

With so fun soul, but some defect in her

Did quarrel with the noblest grace she owed

And put it to the foil: but you, O you,

So perfect and so peerless, are created

Of every creature's best!”

Miranda does not know quite how to accept Ferdinand’s praise. She praises Ferdinand’s face then stops herself remembering that her father Prospero instruction to not speak to Ferdinand. Her tells her that he is a prince and Miranda disregards this and asks him if he loves her. Ferdinand says he does:

“O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound

And crown what I profess with kind event

If I speak true! if hollowly, invert

What best is boded me to mischief! I

Beyond all limit of what else i' the world

Do love, prize, honour you.”

Miranda then offers to be his wife and Ferdinand agrees. They exit to meet later. Prospero emerges and is not entirely happy with the growing relationship between his daughter Miranda and Ferdinand and he goes off to consult his book of magic for other business he has at hand.

“So glad of this as they I cannot be,

Who are surprised withal; but my rejoicing

At nothing can be more. I'll to my book,

For yet ere supper-time must I perform

Much business appertaining.”

Then Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano enter, still drinking. Stephano has assumed a high status and calls Caliban the “servant monster” and when Stephano commands Caliban to drink, Caliban readily accepts this order. They drink, argue and joke and Stephano sees himself now of 'Lord of the Island'. Caliban begins to tell them about how he is “...subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island...” Ariel enters and speaks but Caliban thinks Trinculo is stirring him and threatens Trinculo. Stephano accuses Trinculo and Trinculo claims he said nothing. Then Caliban declares to Trinculo and Stephano how he hates and wants to take revenge on Prospero. Ariel pretends to use Trinculo's voice and says “Thou liest” and in a comic interlude involving the invisible Ariel making comments which Caliban and Stephano think to be Trinculo, Trinculo is hit for his rude interruptions. 

Caliban continues to reveal his plan to get back at Prospero which he reveals involves them stealing Prospero’s magic books, killing Prospero, taking Miranda his daughter and making Stephano 'King of the Island' with Miranda as his queen. Trinculo says that he believes this to be a good plan. Caliban tells them that Prospero always goes to sleep in about half an hour. Music is played by Ariel and Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano follow the music seeing that the time is ripe for their plan to kill Prospero.

We cross to the other shipwrecked party on the island of Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo and others. They are all tired and Alonso has started to despair and give up any hope of finding his son alive. Antonio is still wanting to find an opportunity to murder Alonso. Antonio tells Sebastian that Alonso’s tiredness means that later that evening would be the perfect time to kill Alonso.

Then “solemn and strange music” fills the stage and a procession of spirits in “several strange shapes” enters, bringing a banquet of food. The spirits dance about the table, invite the king and his party to eat, and then dance away. Prospero enters at this time as well, having rendered himself magically invisible to everyone but the audience. The men disagree at first about whether to eat, but Gonzalo persuades them it will be all right, noting that travelers are returning every day with stories of unbelievable but true events. This, he says, might be just such an event.

When the men are about to eat, thunder erupts, and Ariel enters in the shape of a harpy. He claps his wings upon the table and the banquet vanishes. Ariel mocks the men for attempting to draw their swords, which magically have been made to feel heavy. Calling himself an instrument of Fate and Destiny, he goes on to accuse Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio of driving Prospero from Milan and leaving him and his child at the mercy of the sea. For this sin, he tells them, the powers of nature and the sea have exacted revenge on Alonso by taking Ferdinand. He vanishes, and the procession of spirits enters again and removes the banquet table.

Prospero, still invisible, applauds the work of his spirit and announces with satisfaction that his enemies are now in his control. He leaves them in their distracted state and goes to visit with Ferdinand and his daughter.

Alonso is concerned since hearing the name Prospero again has made him think of his son. Sebastian and Antonio decide to run after and confront the spirits. Gonzalo suggests the other lords follow Antonio and Sebastian and then says he will follow since he does not want anything un-toward happening:

“All three of them are desperate: their great guilt,

Like poison given to work a great time after,

Now 'gins to bite the spirits. I do beseech you

That are of suppler joints, follow them swiftly

And hinder them from what this ecstasy

May now provoke them to.”