34 pages • 1 hour read
A Tempest
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Act IIChapter Summaries & Analyses
Act II Summary
At the start of Scene 1, Caliban works and sings in his cave. Ariel interrupts him to talk to him about their relationship. To Ariel, he and Caliban are brothers, united in their desire for freedom. To Caliban, Ariel’s cooperative attitude means he is Prospero’s lackey. Ariel reminds Caliban that Prospero has promised Ariel freedom, but Caliban is skeptical and impatient, and Ariel’s attempt to reason with him seems to anger him more. Ariel suggests a plan: “Destroy [Prospero’s] serenity so that he’s finally forced to acknowledge his own injustice and put an end to it” (27). Caliban scoffs at the notion that Prospero has a conscience, calling him a “pulverizer,” and he refuses to accept that Prospero is as invincible as Ariel claims. Caliban threatens to blow up the island and kill himself and Prospero in the process. Ariel wishes him luck as he says goodbye.
Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio familiarize themselves with their new surroundings at the beginning of Scene 2. Gonzalo admires the natural beauty of the island while Sebastian complains of its wildness; to Gonzalo, such “a wondrous land can only contain wonderful creatures” that must be left alone should the island ever be colonized (29). Antonio dismisses Gonzalo’s talk as the gentlemen hear music playing in the distance.
Prospero and Ariel enter, but they are both invisible. Other “strange figures” follow them, carrying a table full of food. After they offer food to Alonso and his men, they disappear. As the men get ready to enjoy their meal, a group of elves appear and carry the banquet away. Alonso suspects they are being made to recognize their “dependent status” as the elves return with the table. Alonso refuses the food, and Prospero, still invisible, instructs Ariel, “Harass them until they eat” (31). When Ariel accuses Prospero of behaving like a despot, Prospero, fed up with Ariel’s “hairsplitting,” forces the men to eat using magic. Alonso laments the loss of his son Ferdinand, and Gonzalo suggests they might find him on the island. The men sleep after their meal.
Antonio and Sebastian approach the group of sleeping gentlemen, and Antonio suggests they kill Alonso, Sebastian’s brother. When Sebastian expresses reluctance, Antonio points out that he is now the Duke of Milan because he understands when to take advantage of an opportunity. Sebastian relents, but he insists that Antonio commit the murder. Just as the men draw their swords, Ariel interrupts them and wakes the men to tell them about Sebastian and Antonio’s betrayal; he also explains that Prospero has sent him and that the men are not in danger. As the men express their gratitude, Ariel invites them to an engagement celebration to mark the union of Miranda and Ferdinand.
Act II Analysis
Act II elaborates on the relationship between Ariel and Caliban, both of whom are Prospero’s slaves, and their feelings towards their master and their lack of freedom. Their interaction explores the theme of race, power, and exploitation; Caliban believes that Ariel, a mulatto, is too cooperative and that Ariel is betraying his people by working alongside Prospero. Ariel’s status as a mulatto may contribute to Caliban’s disapproval; as a mulatto, Ariel is neither entirely black nor entirely white, and his skin color symbolizes his ability to communicate with both Prospero and Caliban as well as his inability to fit comfortably within the social group of one or the other. Caliban’s potential for violence is clear when he tells Ariel he has thoughts of blowing up the island; his desire for freedom is so strong that he would kill, and die himself, in the name of liberty.
As the noblemen appear on the shore of the island in Scene 2, Gonzalo’s admiration of their surroundings contrasts with the confusion of the rest of the men. Gonzalo appears to believe in the archetype of the noble savage, a motif that is further explored later in the play, when he finds himself on the island and comments on the “wondrous” beauty, which must house similarly “wondrous” residents. Gonzalo speaks openly of his belief that colonizers must not do harm to the social systems already in place on the island, revealing the playwright’s political anti-colonial stance.
The banquet scene in Scene 2 introduces a third important theme in the play: disorder and chaos. Supernatural beings approach the men with food for the hungry noblemen and disappear again, with the banquet, leaving the men in a state of confused suspicion. Alonso refuses to eat, fearing the worst, thus inspiring Prospero to assert his power and reveal himself to have despotic tendencies. An analysis of Prospero’s behavior in Scene 2 through the theme of leadership and usurpation reveals that he rules emotionally; he feels a need in this moment to punish the men who stole his lands and his status and to give them reason to fear him.
The sinister character of Antonio is revealed when he sees the sleeping Alonso and suggests that he and Sebastian, Alonso’s brother, murder the king Alonso while he is vulnerable. This allusion to Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth draws a parallel between two of Shakespeare’s most infamous villains—Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who encourages Macbeth to commit murder—and the characters of Antonio and Sebastian.
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