Her father says:
“O Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,
And make it halt behind her.”
3. Ferdinand. The quotations we have made from the text seem to have answered our question as to Miranda’s worthiness. Upon what sort of a man has she set her affections? Will she find in her husband the man she thinks she is to marry? Answer these questions for yourselves by reading the text and setting down the proofs as we did while studying Miranda.
4. Ariel. Prospero’s agent Ariel is an interesting study, for the poet has drawn him with lines so clear and exact that he seems a veritable person. Will you not seek to know him, and in doing so follow these suggestions?
(a) Ariel appears in the following scenes:
| Act I | Scene II | (three times) |
| Act II | Scene I | (twice) |
| Act III | Scene II | (once) |
| Scene III | (once) | |
| Act IV | Scene I | (once) |
| Act V | Scene I | (five times) |
How many scenes are there in the play? In how many does Ariel appear? In what scenes does he make no appearance? What characters appear more times? What characters appear more prominently in the play?
(b) Ariel does many different things. Make a list of the things Ariel does in this plays and a second list of the things that it appears Ariel has done elsewhere.
(c) Ariel appears in different forms. What are these forms? Is Ariel ever visible to any of the characters besides Prospero? Does Ariel ever appear visibly to Prospero? If the play were to be acted on the stage, would it be necessary at any time to have a person come upon the stage to represent him?
(d) Ariel has human characteristics. What acts like those of a human being does Ariel commit? What does Ariel say that shows him to have human traits?