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“Silence,” said the father: “one word more will make me chide you, girl! What! An advocate for an impostor! You think there are no more such fine men, having seen only him and Caliban.” This he said to prove his daughter’s constancy; and she replied, “My affections are most humble. I have no wish to see a goodlier man.”
“Come on, young man,” said Prospero to the Prince; “you have no power to disobey me.
Prospero had commanded Ferdinand to pile up some heavy logs of wood. Kings’ sons not being much used to laborious work, Miranda soon after found him almost dying with fatigue. “Alas!” said she, “do not work so hard; my father is at his studies, he is safe for these three hours; pray rest yourself.”
“O my dear lady,” said Ferdinand, “I dare not. I must finish my task before I take my rest.”
“If you will sit down,” said Miranda, “I will carry your logs the while.” But this Ferdinand would by no means agree to.
Prospero, who had enjoined Ferdinand this task merely as a trial of his love, was not at his books, as his daughter supposed, but was standing by them invisible, to overhear what they said.
Ferdinand inquired her name, which she told, saying it was against her father’s express command she did so.
And then Ferdinand, in a fine long speech, told the innocent Miranda he was heir to the crown of Naples, and that she should be his queen.
Explanation:
When Miranda tried to support Ferdinand, her father stopped her. He insisted that if she attempted to say one more word to support him, he would scold her. In addition, he said that she was supporting a fraudster. Prospero then stated that after seeing Ferdinand and Caliban, Miranda believed that there were no more such lovely men in the world. Prospero threw these words towards his daughter to test her affection towards Ferdinand. He was testing whether she blindly believed him. After hearing her father's talk, Miranda said that her emotions towards Ferdinand were extremely humble. She had no idea that she would see a better man like Ferdinand. Later, Prospero tells Ferdinand to come along with him. He said that Ferdinand had no right to disobey him. It means that as he was his slave, Ferdinand had to obey the order of Prospero.
Prospero then commanded Ferdinand to stack some big logs of wood. But Ferdinand was not used to doing difficult work. Usually, the king's sons were unfamiliar with the tough work. After seeing the situation of Ferdinand, Miranda realised that he was almost dying of exhaustion. Miranda felt sad upon seeing his condition. She told Ferdinand to rest because her father was in the study and he wouldn't come to the place for three hours. She asked him to take a break. After hearing that, Ferdinand told her that he could not rest because he had to finish his work before Prospero arrived. He also remarked that he would finish his work before taking a rest.
Miranda couldn't leave while he was undertaking difficult chores. So he asked him to sit for a while, and she would do the remaining work. Ferdinand disagreed with her idea.
Prospero assigned the task for Ferdinand to test the love of Ferdinand for his daughter. Prospero was not in his study, and he was standing by them, invisible to overhear what they were speaking about.
Ferdinand then questioned her name, which she revealed, claiming she had done so against her father's specific command. Then Ferdinand told Miranda, in a long speech, that he was the future King of Naples and that she should be his queen.
Meanings of the difficult words:
S.No | Words | Meanings |
1 | Chide | To speak to someone severely because they have behaved badly |
2 | Advocate | To publicly support or suggest an idea, development, or way of doing something |
3 | Impostor | A person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others |
4 | Constancy | The quality of being faithful and dependable |
5 | Invisible | Unable to be seen |
6 | Overhear | To hear what other people are saying without intending to and without their knowledge |
7 | Disobey | Fail to obey rules, a command, or someone in authority |
8 | Laborious | Needing a lot of time and effort |
9 | Fatigue | Extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2018). Term-1 English Standard-10. The Tempest- William Shakespeare (pp. 21-27). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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