The Tempest
Original Text (Act 1 Scene 2)
Miranda:
If by your art, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,
But that the sea, mounting to th’ welkin’s cheek,
Dashes the fire out. O, I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer! A brave vessel,
Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her,
Dashed all to pieces. O, the cry did knock
Against my very heart! Poor souls, they perished.
Had I been any god of power, I would
Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere
It should the good ship so have swallowed, and
The fraughting souls within her.
Personal Statement/Introuction 🦋
This monologue by Miranda occurs in Act 1 Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Miranda lives on the island with his father; they have been isolated for over ten years. As Miranda sees the tempest roar and the ship wrecks, a strong sense of sorrow and sympathy arises inside her heart. Since Miranda knows that her father has magic powers, she suspects Prospero of manipulating the storm. With her empathy as a motivation, Miranda says the monologue to Prospero, pleading with him to end the disaster. In this monologue, Miranda expresses her pain and suffers from seeing the tragedy happen. Meanwhile, the monologue conveys Miranda’s despair to her useless self: she can do nothing but plead with his father to help. Through this monologue, Miranda’s character traits are revealed: kind and naive. It is Miranda’s kind-hearted nature and her ability to possess empathy that allows her to genuinely care for strangers – a rare quality. At the end of the monologue, Miranda dreams about creating a utopian world if she was a god.
Monologue Analysis 🕊
In the monologue, Shakespeare uses hyperbole to convey the naiveness and sympathetic nature of Miranda. Shakespeare writes, “O, I have suffered with those that I saw suffer”, to dramatize the situation, thus portraying the audience a first impression on Miranda. Moreover, Miranda’s exaggerated description of the sky reflects her inner emotions. In Miranda’s eyes, the sky is filled with stinking, boiling tar. This abnormal phenomenon reveals Miranda’s anxiety and eagerness to end the disaster. Further speaking, the word “no doubt” in the monologue demonstrates Miranda’s innocence and naiveness: with no hesitations, she believes in human love and kindness. More importantly, Miranda’s twelve-year-long isolation from society, to a large extent, limits her view and comprehension towards human nature: she gives no doubt to the nobleness of all human beings. In a positive way, it is Miranda’s naiveness that allows her to trust and feel empathetic for strangers with no other purposes nor emotions incorporated; this rare trait clearly demonstrates to the audience her kindness and sensibility. In addition, Miranda’s unpractical wish of using magic to let the sea sink inside earth also reveals her immature and simple-minded characteristics. Besides, the two “O’s” in the monologue further amplifies the situation: the onomatopoeia used here again hyperbolizes Miranda’s perturbed sentiments towards the shipwreck. In conclusion, Shakespeare’s embroidery towards Miranda magnifies her identity as the only prominent female character in the play, conveying the juvenility and benevolence of the speaker.
