Study Questions

1. Why does the royal party stop to rest during their search for Ferdinand?

2. What do Sebastian and Antonio plan to do that night?

3. What do Ariel’s spirits bring onto the stage?

4. What does Ariel do when he arrives on the stage?

5. Who does Ariel address in his speech?

6. What does Ariel warn them about in his speech?

7. What does Ariel mean by “heart’s sorrow”?

8. What is meant when Ariel refers to “a clear life ensuing”?

9. In what condition are the three men when Prospero leaves them?

10. What does Alonso intend to do by the end of this scene?

Answers

1. Gonzalo, the oldest, suffers from exhaustion, and Alonso feels tired and discouraged in his hopeless search for his son.

2. Sebastian and Antonio are conspiring to kill the king and Gonzalo that same night.

3. Ariel’s spirits present the royal party with a banquet.

4. Ariel, in the guise of a harpy, covers the table with his wings and the banquet vanishes.

5. Ariel addresses the “three men of sin,” Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio.

6. Ariel warns them that if they do not repent their sins against Prospero, their doom is certain.

7. There “is nothing but heart’s sorrow” means there is no other way except repentance.

8. A “clear life” is a sinless life which should follow repentance.

9. Prospero leaves the three men in their fits of madness.

10. Alonso intends to commit suicide by joining his son at the bottom of the sea.