THE TEMPEST

Act 1 Scene 1

(A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard. Enter severally a Shipmaster and a Boatswain)
l1l	Master	 Boatswain!
l2l	Boatswain	Here, Master. What cheer?
l3l	Master	Good, speak to th’ mariners. Fall to ’t yarely, or
l4l		we run ourselves aground. Bestir, bestir!
		(Exit)
l5l		(Enter Mariners)
		Boatswain	 Heigh, my hearts! Cheerly, cheerly, my hearts!
l6l		Yare, yare! Take in the topsail! Tend to th’ Master’s
l7l		whistle!—Blow till thou burst thy wind, if room enough.
		(Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, and others)
l8l	Alonso	 Good Boatswain, have care. Where’s the Master?
l9l		(To the Mariners)
		 Play the men!
l10l	Boatswain	I pray now, keep below.
l11l	Antonio	Where is the Master, Boatswain?
l12l	Boatswain	Do you not hear him? You mar our labour.
l13l		Keep your cabins# you do assist the storm.
l14l	Gonzalo	Nay, good, be patient.
l15l	Boatswain	When the sea is. Hence! What cares these
l16l		roarers for the name of king? To cabin! Silence# trouble
l17l		us not.
l18l	Gonzalo	Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard.
l19l	Boatswain	None that I more love than myself. You are
l20l		a councillor# if you can command these elements to
l21l		silence and work peace of the present, we will not hand
l22l		a rope more. Use your authority. If you cannot, give
l23l		thanks you have lived so long and make yourself ready
l24l		in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so
l25l		hap.
		(To the Mariners)
		 Cheerly, good hearts!
		( 25 To Gonzalo)
l26l		Out of our way, I say!
		(Exit)
l27l	Gonzalo	 I have great comfort from this fellow. Methinks
l28l		he hath no drowning mark upon him# his complexion
l29l		is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging.
l30l		Make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own
l31l		doth little advantage. If he be not born to be hanged,
l32l		our case is miserable.
		(Exeunt Courtiers)
l33l		(Enter Boatswain)
		Boatswain	 Down with the topmast! Yare! Lower, lower!
l34l		Bring her to try wi’ th’ main-course!
		(A cry within)
l35l		A plague upon this howling! They are louder than the
l36l		weather, or our office.
		(Enter Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo)
l37l		Yet again? What do you here? Shall we give o’er and
l38l		drown? Have you a mind to sink?
l39l	Sebastian	A pox o’ your throat, you bawling, blasphemous,
l40l		incharitable dog!
l41l	Boatswain	Work you, then.
l42l	Antonio	Hang, cur, hang, you whoreson insolent noise-
l43l		maker. We are less afraid to be drowned than thou art.
		(Exeunt Mariners)
l44l	Gonzalo	 I’ll warrant him for drowning, though the ship
l45l		were no stronger than a nutshell and as leaky as an
l46l		unstanched wench.
l47l	Boatswain	Lay her a-hold, a-hold! Set her two courses!
l48l		Off to sea again! Lay her off!
		(Enter Mariners, wet)
l49l	Mariners	 All lost! To prayers, to prayers! All lost!
		(Exeunt Mariners)
l50l	Boatswain	 What, must our mouths be cold?
l51l	Gonzalo	 The King and Prince at prayers! Let’s assist them,
l52l		For our case is as theirs.
	Sebastian	I’m out of patience.
l53l	Antonio	We are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards.
l54l		This wide-chopped rascal—would thou mightst lie drowning
l55l		The washing of ten tides.
	Gonzalo	He’ll be hanged yet,
l56l		Though every drop of water swear against it
l57l		And gape at wid’st to glut him.
		(A confused noise within)
		
	Mariners	
		(within)
		 Mercy on us!
l58l		We split, we split! Farewell, my wife and children!
l59l		Farewell, brother! We split, we split, we split!
		(Exit Boatswain)
l60l	Antonio	 Let’s all sink wi’ th’ King.
	Sebastian	Let’s take leave of him.
		(Exeunt Antonio and Sebastian)
l61l	Gonzalo	 Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea
l62l		for an acre of barren ground: long heath, broom, furze,
l63l		anything. The wills above be done, but I would fain
l64l		die a dry death.
		(Exit)