The Tempest Review

What feature of the excerpt from The Tempest shows that it is a soliloquy?

• It is written in verse.

• Prospero is speaking alone onstage.

• There is vivid imagery.

• The act and scene numbers are identified.

What is another term for a violent storm?

• Whirlwind.

• Tempest.

• Quake.

• Illusion.

Whom is Prospero addressing at the beginning of the soliloquy?

• gods

• elves

• enemies

• animals

Which line contains alliteration?

• "Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice..."

• "To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid,"

• "And 'twixt the green sea and the azured vault..."

• "Set roaring war--to th' dread rattling thunder..."

What is Prospero describing in lines 10-15?

• a storm he has created

• the power of the gods

• the colors of the landscape

• a war that has broken out

What does Prospero mean when he says, "by whose aid, / Weak masters though ye be, I have bedimmed / The noontide sun," (lines 8-10)?

• The spirits have helped him with his plan.

• The spirits are not very helpful.

• He is calling on the spirits for help.

• He has tried to help the spirits with his magic.

What is "the azured vault" (line 11)?

• the sun

• the shore

• a building

• the sky

What is meant by Prospero's words "and by the spurs plucked up / the pine and cedar"?

• He has forcefully removed trees from the ground.

• He has gathered various types of wood.

• He has demolished some structures.

• He has trimmed trees.

In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', what is implied by Prospero's declaration, "I'll break my staff, / Bury it certain fathoms in the earth." (lines 54-55)?

• He intends to enhance his magical skills.

• He is flaunting his magical prowess.

• He can no longer perform magical acts.

• He is renouncing his use of magic.

What do the items Prospero uses, his staff and book, represent in the play?

• his control over natural elements

• his deep knowledge and magical abilities

• his role as a ruler

• his musical talents