Vocabulary in The Tempest

A word used for the roaring waves and winds of a storm, which obey no human authority and cannot be calmed by rank or title.

An archaic second-person singular form of 'take,' meaning 'you take' or 'you have taken away from me.'

Here, the gain or benefit one gets from something — used bitterly to mean the only useful thing learned from being taught language was the ability to curse.

The opposite of what is normally done; doing everything in reverse of the usual order or custom, as in running a society by rules that contradict all established ones.

Trade or commerce between people; the buying and selling of goods. Here it refers to any form of business or economic exchange in an imagined ideal society.

An official who holds public authority and enforces laws; a government officer or judge. Here it stands for any form of official rule or governance.

Small barriers or walls built across a stream or shallow water to trap fish, used as a method of catching them without a rod or net.

Firewood or fuel gathered for burning; the act of fetching wood to keep a fire going, here presented as a menial chore imposed on a servant.

Wooden plates or flat boards used as dishes for serving food; scraping them clean was a lowly kitchen task assigned to servants.

An archaic or dialect form of 'afraid,' meaning frightened or alarmed. Shakespeare uses it to give the speech a folk or rustic quality.

A female servant, but also an unmarried woman who remains chaste; here Miranda uses it to mean she will serve Ferdinand faithfully as a devoted companion if he will not marry her.

Uses as its tool or agent; Destiny employs the natural world — including the sea — as an instrument to carry out its purposes and punish wrongdoers.

Never overfull or satisfied, no matter how much it swallows; the sea is described as endlessly hungry, never glutted by all the things it consumes.

To expel or vomit out forcefully; the sea is said to have spat the sinners onto the shore the way a stomach expels something it cannot digest.

Festive entertainments, celebrations, or theatrical performances; here it refers specifically to the elaborate magical masque Prospero has staged for Ferdinand and Miranda.

Dissolved and vanished completely, leaving nothing behind; used to describe how the spirit-actors of the masque simply disappeared when Prospero ended the performance.

Completed, enclosed, or brought full circle; here life is said to be rounded — framed at both ends — by sleep, suggesting it is as brief and insubstantial as a dream.

A disease causing painful swelling of the body due to fluid build-up; used here as a curse, wishing illness on a foolish character.

To be foolishly or excessively fond of something; to waste attention and affection on something trivial or worthless.

Here used to mean worthless, burdensome junk or stolen goods — not travel bags, but rubbish that weighs one down and is not worth carrying.

Fine, admirable, and pleasing in appearance or character; Miranda uses it to express her wonder at seeing so many impressive-looking human beings at once.

An archaic form of 'beautiful,' used in elevated or poetic speech to describe something of striking loveliness or excellence.

In this period usage, 'brave' means splendid, fine, or admirable — not courageous. Miranda is marvelling at how magnificent and wonderful the new world seems to her.

To formally and solemnly renounce or give up something, especially a power or belief; Prospero publicly swears to abandon his magic arts forever.

Units of depth used in measuring water or underground distance, each equal to six feet; Prospero will bury his staff very deep in the earth.

An archaic contracted form of 'overthrown,' meaning defeated, destroyed, or stripped of power; Prospero says his magical charms have been undone.