Structured Questions and Answers from The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1 by William Shakespeare
Questions Answers from Passages of The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1
Passages from The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1
1. Boatswain:
Heigh, my hearts! Cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! Yare, yare!
Take in the topsail. Tend to th' master's whistle.
[To the storm)-Blow till thou burst thy wind, if room enough!
1. Where are the characters now? Who is the boatswain addressing?
Answer
The characters are on a ship tossed by a tempest near an island near Naples. The boatswain is addressing the mariners first and then the storm itself.
2. What is the duty of the boatswain? Is he doing it well?
Answer
The boatswain's duty is to call the mariners to their duties. Yes, he is very sincerely calling them to action. He encourages them by calling them brave fellows and also to diligently listen to their captain's orders.
3. Explain the meaning of "Blow till thou burst thy wind if room enough."
Answer
The boatswain is addressing the storm, to blow as much as it wants, provided there is enough space in the sea.
4. Who enters soon after this extract?
Answer
Alonso, the King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, his brother Sebastian, Prospero's brother Antonio, and Councillor Gonzalo enter at this moment.
5. Comment on the opening scene.
Answer
The play "The Tempest' opens with a fierce storm that tosses the royal ship of Alonso. It is a very dramatic scene filling the audience with fear and suspense. It also kindles interest in the events to come, at the same time, it introduces a few important characters of the play.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
heigh; yare; whistle
Answer
Heigh - buck up, come on (for encouragement)
Yare - quick
Whistle – orders
2. Boatswain :
None that I love more than myself. You are a councillor;
if you can command these elements to silence, and
work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope
more-use your authority. If you cannot give thanks
you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your
cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap. [To
Mariners)-Cheerly, good hearts! [To the courtiers]---
Out of our way, I say!
1. To whom are these words addressed? What does the boatswain ask the other one to do?
Answer
These words are addressed to Gonzalo and others when Gonzalo exhorts the boatswain to remember that the King is on board and he has to try level best to save the ship. At this time the boatswain asks Gonzalo to command the storm to be silent and calm and if he is able to do that, the mariners need not struggle with a single rope to control the wind.
2. What were the conditions that made the boatswain react in this way?
Answer
As a severe storm was raging, the ship could be wrecked at any moment. The courtiers were interfering in the sailor’s efforts who were trying their best to save the ship. These were the ghastly conditions that made the boatswain react in this way.
3. What can you gather about the character of boatswain from the conservation he is having with others?
Answer
The boatswain is bold and realistic. He does not consider being polite to the king and his royal entourage, essential at this time of crisis. It is more practical to control the ship. He bluntly tells all of them to go to their cabins as they are interfacing in the rescue work.
4. How can you justify the present behaviour of the boatswain?
Answer
The boatswain is right in bluntly telling the others to go away. Here, he is the master and knows what he is doing. Even though a king being on board, is of no significance. To efficiently manage the situation, he requires concentration and the others are coming in the way.
5. How does the listener react to the words of the speaker?
Answer
Gonzalo, the listener sarcastically says that he gets comfort from the words of the speaker. With a great sense of humour, he says that they need not worry, as the boatswain has the mark of a person who is meant for going on gallows for some crime: not of drowning in the sea, so they can remain assured that he will escape the storm.
6. Comment on the behaviour of Gonzalo.
Answer
Although Gonzalo is scared of the storm, he keeps his cool by resorting to his inherent sense of humour. He says that they all will escape even if the ship is as light as a nutshell and full of holes because the boatswain does not have the mark of drowning. In other words, the rope of his destiny is their lifeline.
7. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
element; mischance; hap
Answer
Element - wind, waves, storm, ocean, etc.
Mischance - misfortune, mishap.
Hap - happen, take place.
3. Gonzalo :
He'll be hang'd yet,
Though every drop of water swear against it,
And gape at wid'st to glut him.
A confused noise within
Mercy on us!'-'We split, we split!'-'Farewell, my wife
and children!' - 'Farewell, brother!' - 'We split! we
split! we split!
1. To what remark of Antonio does Gonzalo reply like this?
Answer
Antonio wonders whether they are going to die due to the inefficiency of drunken mariners, and wishes that the boatswain lies drowned till his dead body is washed ten times by the tides. Then Gonzalo replies that he is sure that the boatswain is destined to be hanged.
Antonio wonders whether they are going to die due to the inefficiency of drunken mariners, and wishes that the boatswain lies drowned till his dead body is washed ten times by the tides. Then Gonzalo replies that he is sure that the boatswain is destined to be hanged.
2. Explain the meaning of the extract.
Answer
Gonzalo feels that the mark of hanging is so prominent on the boatswain that he cannot die by drowning. Every drop of the sea may swear to destroy him, it may open its mouth as wide as possible to swallow him, but he will not drown.
3. Why does Gonzalo bid farewell to his wife and children?
Answer
Gonzalo overhears confused noises, "Mercy on us!—'We split, we split! and decides that they are going to die, so he bids farewell to his wife and children.
4. What does Gonzalo wish at the end of the scene?
Answer
Gonzalo says that at this point of death, he is willing to exchange a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of dry land, may it be a barren land or overgrown with any type of vegetation. He just wants to die on dry land, and not in the sea.
5. What exactly has caused this storm? By whom and why?
Answer
It is not a real storm but artificially made by Prospero's magic. He wants to take revenge against his brother, Antonio and King Alonso for plotting against him and banishing him from his kingdom.
6. Give the meanings of the words as they are used in the context of the passage:
glut; wid'st; split
Glut: swallow, engulf
Wid'st: widest
Split: break up, separate, part