tides.' An allusion to the custom
of hanging pirates at low-water mark. (See Notes I. i. 67 First Folio
Edition). 3. Compare this storm with that in 'Pericles,'--'Do not
assist the storm,' etc., with 'Per.' III. i. 51-60. 4. Explain 'To
trash for over-topping,' I. ii. 98, which is a blending of two
metaphors. Trash refers to the habit of hanging a weight round the
neck of the fleetest of a pack of hounds, to keep him from getting
ahead of the rest; and 'overtopping' to trees shooting up above the
others in a grove, which have to be lopped to keep them even. 5. What
does Prospero mean by saying, 'Now I arise'? Simply, now I get up, and
now my fortunes change? 6. 'Still vex'd Bermoothes.' Bermudas, spelled
in several ways in Shakespeare's time, and called 'still vex'd,' from
accounts of tempests prevailing there. 7. 'Argier.' The name of
Algiers till after the Restoration. 8. 'One thing she did.' What? Are
we anywhere told what?

QUERIES FOR DISCUSSION

Does the long monologue of Prospero in this act detract from its
dramatic force? Did the arrangement of Shakespeare's stage make this
convenient. (See description of the threefold stage of the Globe
Theatre in "Anthonie and Cleopatra," pp. 172-173). Is the monologue
rightly disused in modern plays? Why? Compare Ibsen's plays in this
respect.

ACT II

THE COUNTERPLOT

Tell the story of Act II, showing how its main event is the conspiracy
of Antonio and Sebastian against Alonzo and Gonzalo. Is the issue left
undecided long, so that it threatens the result? How and why does
Ariel prevent the success of it? Might it not have been to Prospero's
advantage to have the King killed, since Ferdinand would then succeed
to the throne of Naples? Did Ariel's intervention kill the plot? What
light is thrown on the characters by scene i. of this act? Do you
think it is intended to be shown that Gonzalo is prosy and tiresome,
although good, or only that the lower and more frivolous characters
find him so? Which is the likelier, that Shakespeare intended the
dialogue about Gonzalo's ideal commonwealth to be a satire upon it, or
favorable to Utopian schemes? Which comes out the better at last in
the wit-combat,--the quick Antonio and Sebastian, or the thoughtful
Gonzalo? Is Sebastian's solicitude about Claribel a sign of a kindlier
nature than Antonio's? Are there any indications that Antonio's mind
is more alert than Sebastian's? What purposes of the action or plot
are served by t