Spirit,' is of Hebraistic origin, and was no doubt derived from some such treatise as Heywood's Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels' :The earth's great lord Ariel. The Hebrew Rabbins thus accord.' Caliban. 'Caliban' is most probably a contemporary variant of 'Canibal,' which is itself merely another form of 'Caribal,' i.e. 'Caribbean.' There seems to be no particular difficulty in this derivation of the name, yet several scholars have rejected it. 'To me,' observes Mr Furness, it is unsatisfactory. There should be, I think, something in the description of cannibals, either of their features or of their natures, to indicate some sort of fellowship with a monster like Caliban. No such description has been pointed out.' This seems hardly enough to negative so plausible a theory as to the origin of the name. A large number of critics have dealt with this creation of Shakespeare's; a valuable summary of the more important criticisms is to be found in the Variorum' edition of the play. Three studies call for special mention:—(1) Caliban: The Missing Link by Daniel Wilson; (2) Renan's philosophical drama, entitled Caliban; (3) Browning's Caliban upon Setebos; or Natural Theology in the Island. The Scene of Action. 'The Scene, an uninhabited Island'; this indefinite location has not satisfied Shakespearian students, and learned attempts have been made to fix the latitude and longitude of the island; the Bermudas, Lampedusa, Pantalaria, Corcyra, have each in turn been made the scene of Prospero's magic. The old ballad of 'The Enchanted Island,' founded perhaps on The Tempest, and certainly later in composition, gives the right answer to these needless questionings: 'From that day forth the Isle has been Some say 'tis buried deep Beneath the sea, which breaks and roars Above its savage rocky shores, Nor e'er is known to sleep.' Duration of Action. The 'Time-Analysis' of The Tempest brings out very clearly the fact that in this play Shakespeare has adhered strictly to the Unity of Time; the whole action of the play lasts from three to four hours; p. Act I., 2, 239-240; Act V., 1, 5; ibid. l. 136-137, 186, 223. It is alleged that a sailor's 'glass' was a half-hour glass, and that Shakespeare was guilty of a technical error in using it in the sense of an hour glass.' The error was no doubt intentional. The Music. There is good reason to believe that Wilson's Cheerfull Ayres or Ballads, Oxford, 1660, has preserved for us the original music of two of the songs of The Tempest—viz., 'Full fathoms five,' and 'Where the Bee sucks'; the composer was R. Johnson, who in 1610 wrote the music for Middleton's Witch, and in 1611 was in the service of Prince Henry (cp. Grove's Dictionary of Music, and Variorum Tempest, pp. 352-353). Later Versions. In 1669 appeared Dryden and Davenant's version of The Tempest; or the enchanted Isle. According to Dryden, Davenant designed the 'Counterpart to Shakespeare's plot, namely that of a man who had never seen a woman.' Than this version,' observes Mr Furness, there is, I think, in the realm of literature, no more flagrant existence of lese-majesty' (cp. Variorum Tempest, pp. 389-449). In 1797 F. G. Waldron published The Virgin Queen, 'attempted as a sequel to Shakespeare's Tempest.' DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. ALONSO, King of Naples. SEBASTIAN, his brother. PROSPERO, the right Duke of Milan. ANTONIO, his brother, the usurping Duke of Milan. FERDINAND, son to the King of Naples GONZALO, an honest old Counsellor. Act First. Scene 1. On a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard. Enter a Ship-Master and a Boatswain. Mast. Boatswain ! Boats. Here, master: what cheer? Mast. Good, speak to the mariners: fall to 't, yarely, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir. Enter Mariners. [Exit. Boats. Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to the master's whistle. Blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough! Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, and others. Alon. Good boatswain, have care. Where's the master? Play the men. IO Boats. I pray now, keep below. Ant. Where is the master, boatswain ? Boats. Do you not hear him? You mar our labour : these roarers for the name of king? To Gon Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard. are a counsellor; if you can command these [Exit. Gon. I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little 2C 30 |