of the old poets frequently refer to the phoenix. In Holland's translation of Pliny's Natural History is this passage: "I myself have heard strange things of this kind of tree; namely, in regard of the bird Phoenix . . . for it was assured unto me, that the said bird died with that tree, and revived of itself as the tree sprung again." And Lyly, in his Euphues, says: "As there is but one phoenix in the world, so there is but one tree in Arabia wherein she buildeth."

6

86, 87. with good life And observation strange :-Johnson says: "With good life may mean with exact presentation of their several characters,' with observation strange of their particular and distinct parts.' So we say, 'he acted to the life."" To Hudson the explanation seems to be: 'With all the truth of life itself, and with rare observance of the proprieties of action."

105. Like poison, etc.:-The natives of Africa have been supposed to possess the secret how to temper poisons with such art as not to operate till several years after they were administered.

108. Shakespeare uses ecstasy for any alienation of mind, a fit, or madness. In Shakespeare, as Nares observes, ecstasy stands for every species of" such mental affection, "whether temporary or permanent, proceeding from joy, sorrow, wonder, or any other exciting cause."

ACT FOURTH.

Scene I.

15. virgin-knot:-An allusion to the zone or sacred girdle worn by maidens in classical times as the symbol and safeguard of chastity before marriage. This girdle was untied by the husband at the wedding.

64. pioned and twilled brims:-Dr. Johnson gives piony as another form for peony. Milton, whose poetical language is so much allied to Shakespeare's as often to afford a good comment upon him, has in his Arcades the line, " By sandy Ladon's lilied banks"; which, as Warton says, is an authority for reading lilied instead of twilled in a verse of The Tempest"; and he adds, "lilied seems to have been no uncommon epithet for the banks of a river." White and Rolfe prefer lilied; Hudson (Harvard ed.) has peoned and twilled. The Cambridge editors, following

the old text, are supported, in respect to their interpretation of twilled ("covered with reeds or sedges") by a writer in The Edinburgh Review, October, 1872, quoted by Hudson: Twills is given by Halliwell as an old provincial word for reeds; and it was applied, like quills, to the serried rustling sedges of river reaches and marshy levels. It was indeed while watching the masses of waving sedge cutting the water-line of the Avon, not far from Stratford church, that we first felt the peculiar force and significance of the epithet."

81. Bosky acres are woody fields intersected by luxuriant hedgerows and copses.

119. Harmonious charmingly is charmingly harmonious.

123. So rare a wonder'd father, etc. :-A father able to produce such wonders.

130. crisp channels:—Crisp means curled from the curl made by a breeze on the surface of the water. So in 1 King Henry IV., I. iii. 106, it is that the river Severn "hid his crisp head in the hollow bank."

155. faded: From the Latin vado: it means vanished.

156. rack:-According to Bacon, in his Silva Silvarum, this word was used of the highest and therefore thinnest or lightest clouds: "The winds in the upper regions (which move the clouds above, which we call the rack, and are not perceived below) pass without noise.

166. to meet with:-This was anciently the same as to counteract, or oppose. So in Herbert's Country Parson: "He knows the temper and pulse of every one in his house, and accordingly either meets with their vices, or advanceth their virtues."

187. stale:-In the art of fowling, this term signified a bait or lure to decoy birds.

262. Pard was a common term for leopard, and likewise for panther. Cat o' mountain probably means wildcat.

ACT FIFTH.

Scene I.

33. Ye elves, etc. :-This speech is in some measure borrowed from Medea's, in the Metamorphoses of Ovid (book vii.). The expressions are, many of them, in the old translation by Gold

ing. But the exquisite fairy imagery is Shakespeare's own. The following passages are interesting for comparison:

"Ye ayres and windes, ye elves of hills, of brookes, of woodes alone,

Of standing lakes, and of the night, approche ye everych one, Through help of whom (the crooked bankes much wondering at the thing)

I have compelled streames to run clean backward to their spring.

By charmes I make the calm seas rough, and make the rough seas playne,

And cover all the skie with clouds, and chase them thence again;

By charmes I raise and lay the windes, and burst the viper's jaw, And from the bowels of the earth both stones and trees do

draw;

Whole woodes and forrests I remoue, I make the mountains shake,

And even the earth itself to groan and fearfully to quake.

I call up dead men from their graves, and thee, O lightsome moone,

I darken oft, though beaten brass abate thy peril soone;

Our sorcerie dimmes the morning faire, and darks the sun at

noone.

The flaming breath of fierie bulles ye quenched for my sake, And caused their unwieldy neckes the bended yoke to take. Among the earth-bred brothers you a mortal warre did set, And brought asleep the dragon fell, whose eyes were never shet."

37. green sour ringlets:-Circles on the grass formerly supposed to have been made by elves dancing in a ring by night; "fairy rings"; now explained as circular growths of fungi in the fields. 41. Weak masters:-The usual explanation is, weak if left to themselves, because wasting their power, but strong as auxiliaries, or when wisely guided to good ends. Jephson, however, interprets in a different manner, by some preferred. He says that masters is only used ironically, as a term of slight contempt." Others think that the “irony" is not contemptuous, but “affectionate.”

60. boil'd:-That is, boiling, seething. So in The Winter's Tale, III. iii. 64, 65: "these boiled brains of nineteen and two-andtwenty." Again, in A Midsummer-Night's Dream, V. i. 4: "Lov

ers and madmen have such seething brains." See also Twelfth Night, II. v. 3.

91, 92. Ariel uses "the bat's back" as his vehicle, to pursue summer in its progress round the world, and thus live merrily under continual blossoms. This appears the most natural as well as the most poetical meaning of this much disputed passage. As a matter of fact, however, bats do not migrate in quest of summer, but become torpid in winter. Was the Poet ignorant of this, or did he disregard it, thinking that such beings as Ariel were not bound to observe the rules of natural history?

124. subtilties:-Quaint deceptive inventions; the word is common to ancient cookery, in which a disguised or ornamented dish is so termed.

145. As great to me as late:-As great as it is recent. Some have, "As great to me, as late," and explain: "As great to me, and as recent."

244. conduct:-Conductor or guide. Frequently so in Shakespeare.

246. beating on:-There is a similar expression now in use: "Still hammering at it."

269-271. one so strong

power:-Hudson explains, one "who could outdo the Moon in exercising the Moon's own command." Without her power is beyond, etc. So often.

EPILOGUE.

9, 10. release me hands: That is, by the clapping of your hands. Noise was supposed to dissolve spells or enchantments. Thus before in this play-IV. i. 126, 127: “hush, and be mute, or else our spell is marr'd." Students of the English Drama are familiar with the fact that its Prologues and Epilogues are generally written by other persons than the authors of the plays. Shakespeare's is no exception to this general rule, and it is White's opinion that this Epilogue, although appearing in the Folio, was certainly not written by the author of The Tempest. It is enough only to note the poor and commonplace thoughts and the miserable and eminently un-Shakespearian rhythm. It now seems plain to nearly all Shakespearians that this Epilogue was written for the theatre by some person other than Shakespeare. As Hudson remarks, "The whole texture and grain of the thing are altogether unlike him." Other Epilogues which appear not to have been written by Shakespeare are that to 2 Henry IV. and that to Henry VIII.

Questions on The Tempest.

I. Where did the plot of The Tempest originate? Where did Shakespeare probably find materials?

ACT FIRST.

2. Where is the scene of the drama laid?

3. What has been said of the seamanship displayed in Sc. i.? If it was without defect, to what are we to attribute the shipwreck? 4. With what petition does Miranda first appear? What fears fill her mind? What sense of pity?

5. What reassurance does she get from Prospero? What hint do we derive as to the intent of the play?

6. What foreshadowing is there in the statement that the longdelayed revelations Prospero should make to Miranda were demanded by the very minute?

7. Give in outline the story of Prospero's misfortunes which he recounts to Miranda. How differently does the influence of a woman show in The Tempest and in Hamlet?

8. What quality has Miranda that Prospero lacks? What quality has Prospero that is lacking in Miranda?

9. What reason does Prospero give for raising the storm? What justification of his reason? What parallelism do you find in Hamlet?

10. What is the agency that Prospero employs to work enchantment? What is enchantment? What does Ariel report of his doings with the ship and mariners?

11. In what material forms does Ariel appear? What was the history of Ariel previous to Prospero's advent upon the island? With what injunction is he dismissed from the first interview?

12. Who was Sycorax? Caliban? How is Caliban described? 13. What traits does Caliban display? Has knowledge been a benefit to him? Does Prospero seem unnecessarily harsh to him? 14. How is Ferdinand introduced? What is Miranda's first impression of him?