Friday, September 29, 2017

How did Ferdinand declare his love to Miranda in The Tempest?

In act 2, scene 2 of Shakespeare's The Tempest, Ferdinand, the Prince of Naples, and Prospero's daughter, Miranda, meet for the first time, and, as Prospero says,

PROSPERO: . . . At the first sightThey have changed eyes . . . . (1.2.523–524)

It's love at first sight.
Miranda sees Ferdinand first, calling him "divine," and a few lines later she admits the following:

MIRANDA: ThisIs the third man that e'er I saw, the firstThat e'er I sighed for. . . . (1.2.527–529)

But even after Prospero advises her to reserve judgment until she's seen other men, he says the following:

PROSPERO: Thou think'st there is no more such shapes as he,Having seen but him and Caliban. Foolish wench!To th’ most of men this is a Caliban,And they to him are angels. (1.2.574–577)

Miranda is pretty sure that Ferdinand is the man for her:

MIRANDA: My affectionsAre then most humble. I have no ambitionTo see a goodlier man. (1.2.578–580)

Meanwhile, Ferdinand is equally smitten with Miranda:

FERDINAND: Most sure, the goddessOn whom these airs attend! (1.2.498–499)

Having just met her, Ferdinand asks her a seemingly abrupt question:

FERDINAND: . . . My prime request,Which I do last pronounce, is—O you wonder!—If you be maid or no? (1.2.503–505)

Miranda responds,

MIRANDA: No wonder, sir,But certainly a maid. (1.2.506–507)

Then after some conversation with Prospero about Ferdinand's father, the King of Naples, Ferdinand comes to the point:

FERDINAND: O, if a virgin,And your affection not gone forth, I'll make youThe Queen of Naples. (1.2.531–533)

Neither Ferdinand or Miranda knows the other's name, and the word "love" is not spoken by either Miranda or Ferdinand in this scene.
But in act 3, scene 1, the "log stacking" scene, Ferdinand finally asks her name, and she tells him.
Miranda remembers that Prospero told her not to talk to Ferdinand, but it's too late for that now.

MIRANDA: Do you love me? (3.1.78)

Not one to give a simple answer to a simple question, Ferdinand finally tells her,

FERDINAND: O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound,And crown what I profess with kind eventIf I speak true! If hollowly invertWhat best is boded me to mischief! I,Beyond all limit of what else i'th’ world,Do love, prize, honour you. (3.1.79–84)

Now that she knows how Ferdinand feels, she takes charge of the situation:

MIRANDA: . . . I am your wife, if you will marry me.If not, I'll die your maid: to be your fellowYou may deny me, but I'll be your servantWhether you will or no. (3.1.97–100)

Again, Ferdinand has trouble answering directly, so Miranda simplifies the question for him:

MIRANDA: My husband then? [3.1.103]
FERDINAND: Ay, with a heart as willingAs bondage e'er of freedom . . . (3.1.104–105)

They seal their engagement, and she still doesn't know his name. Ferdinand never tells her his name, and she doesn't hear his name spoken by anybody else until Prospero addresses him by name in act 4 (4.1.8).

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