BlogEnglish51 The Tempest Quotes with Themes and Techniques for Your Essay 🌊

51 The Tempest Quotes with Themes and Techniques for Your Essay 🌊

The Tempest - Quote Featured Image

Freaking out about the essay you have due on Shakespeare’s The Tempest because you’re struggling to find quotes and techniques?

Perhaps you have found yourself wishing for Prospero’s powers to magic away the existence of your assignment…

As someone who scored Band 6 results in 4 units of HSC English and has now tutored the subject for 200+ hours, I’ve compiled the most important 50 quotes from The Tempest and broken them down into themes to help you plan your essay.

Check out our quotes and techniques from The Tempest now!

How to Analyse Quotes from The Tempest
1. Power 
2. Betrayal
3. Revenge
4. Colonialism
5. Family
6. Men VS Nature 
7. The Tempest Quotes about The Green World

How to Analyse Quotes from The Tempest

When writing about Shakespeare in school, one of the biggest struggles for me was trying to figure out what the characters were actually saying…😭

I’ve found one of the best ways to interpret Shakespeare is to find a theatrical performance of it online because it helps a lot with contextualising the events of the play.

Another great way to interpret quotes is to ask Artie, our AI English tutor with a free account!

The ‘Explain Quotes’ feature lets you put in any quote and provides a clear explanation of its meaning, themes and significance within the text. 

Once you have selected a range of quotes that you are confident with, the next step is to break them down into the key elements you need to talk about in your essay. For example: 

the tempest quote breakdown

After all these elements have been identified, the final step is to put them all together in a PETAL paragraph structure.

Here’s an annotated example of a paragraph on the theme of power:

annotated PETAL paragraph on the tempest

Quotes about Power

#1: “I’ll break my staff, / Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, / And deeper than did ever plummet sound / I’ll drown my book”

  • Characters: Prospero
  • Technique: symbolism
  • Act 5, Scene 1

The “staff” and “book” symbolise Prospero’s magical powers and knowledge. By breaking the staff and drowning the book, he symbolically relinquishes his desire for power and control, indicating a desire for redemption and return to normalcy.

#2: “What I shall die to want… / And all the more it seeks to hide itself / The bigger bulk it shows. Hence, bashful cunning, / And prompt me, plain and holy innocence” 

  • Characters: Miranda
  • Technique: hyperbole, paradox, alliteration of plosive consonants
  • Act 3, Scene 1

The use of hyperbole in “what I shall die to want” reflects Miranda’s intense longing for Ferdinand, suggesting that her desire is so profound it feels life-threatening, thus highlighting the depth of her feelings and her unconditional devotion. The line “the bigger bulk it shows” expounds upon the paradoxical nature of desire: the more someone tries to hide their feelings, the more apparent they become, thus representing love as an unpredictable and uncontrollable emotion. Moreover, the alliteration of plosive consonants in “bashful” and “bulk” creates a stopping effect which creates a sense of hesitance, contrasting the emotional weight of Miranda’s words with her innocence and inexperience.

#3: “I will rend an oak / And peg thee in his knotty entrails till / Thou hast howled away twelve winters” 

  • Characters: Prospero, to Ariel
  • Technique: vivid imagery, menacing tone, characterisation 
  • Act 1, Scene 2 

The image of tearing apart a sturdy oak, a symbol of strength and endurance, conveys a sense of destruction and dominance over nature, thereby emphasising Prospero’s ability to manipulate even the strongest forces to his will. Further, Prospero’s menacing tone characterises him as ruthless and aggressive, showing how his moral code has been corrupted by his desire for revenge.

#4: “I prithee / Remember I have done thee worthy service, / Told thee no lies, made thee no mistakings, served / Without grudge or grumblings” 

  • Characters: Ariel, to Prospero
  • Technique: parallelism, blank verse, characterisation
  • Act 1, Scene 2 

Ariel’s use of parallelism and blank verse creates a rhythmic flow that enhances the emotional appeal of his plea, reinforcing Ariel’s reliability and composure even when subjected to unjust treatment. Further, Ariel’s eloquent, reasoned plea and respectful demeanour contrasts with Prospero’s use of threats and invective. This characterises Prospero as cruel and hypocritical as he uses his imprisonment on the island as justification for revenge, but condemns Ariel to servitude despite having promised him freedom. 

#5: “Were I in / England now… / There would this monster make a man”

  • Characters: Trinculo, about Caliban
  • Technique: dehumanisation, irony, alliteration
  • Act 2, Scene 2

This comment is highly ironic as, by mocking Caliban’s physical characteristics, Trinculo reveals his own monstrous character in his willingness to exploit Caliban for personal gain. This inversion highlights the prevalence of dehumanisation during Shakespeare’s colonial context and critiques England’s fascination with the public degradation of cultures and individuals perceived as exotic or abnormal. The alliteration further links the concepts of “monster” and “man,” underscoring the idea that what is considered monstrous or aberrant in one context could be normalised in another.

#6: “You cram these words into mine ears against / The stomach of my sense” 

  • Characters: Alonso, to Gonzalo
  • Technique: metaphor, personification
  • Act 2, Scene 1

The metaphor “cram these words into mine ears” compares listening to a physical act of stuffing to convey how Alonso feels oppressed by the words being forced upon him, emphasising the emotional strain of being apart from his children. Further, the use of personification in “stomach of my sense” suggests that this visceral feeling of separation is difficult for him to mentally digest, highlighting the profound nature of familial bonds. 

#7: “That’s a brave god, and bears celestial liquor. I will / Kneel to him” 

  • Characters: Caliban, about Stephano
  • Technique: imagery
  • Act 2, Scene 2 

The mystical imagery of “celestial liquor” suggests that the intoxicating effects of alcohol hold an otherworldly allure for Caliban. Thus, Shakespeare highlights how the introduction of alcohol by colonists can exploit the inexperience of native populations, leading to addiction and the disruption of traditional ways of life. Further, Caliban’s deification of Stephano underscores the power imbalance between them, as Caliban, unfamiliar with alcohol and swayed by its effects, projects a sense of reverence onto Stephano for providing it. 

#8: “Having first seized his books, or with a log / Batter his skull… Remember / First to possess his books, for without them / He’s but a sot, as I am”

  • Characters: Caliban, about Prospero
  • Technique: repetition, symbolism, conflation
  • Act 2, Scene 2

The repetition of the directive to “first possess his books” highlights their symbolic importance, representing knowledge, control and the tools of colonial domination. Caliban’s observation that without his books, Prospero is “but a sot, as I am” conflates them in their humanity, stripping away the magical and intellectual superiority that distinguishes Prospero from Caliban in their power dynamic. This statement also reflects Caliban’s internalised sense of inferiority, as he frames his identity in opposition to Prospero’s constructed authority.

#9: “Me, poor man, my library / Was dukedom large enough”

  • Characters: Prospero
  • Technique: symbolism, metaphor, reflective tone
  • Act 1, Scene 2

The “library” represents knowledge and intellectual wealth while “dukedom large enough” serves as a metaphor, equating this library to a dukedom, thus conveying Prospero’s belief that knowledge can provide a sense of power and status, even in the absence of physical wealth. Further, Prospero’s reflective tone shows his tendency to dwell on the past and preoccupation with the events of his betrayal, characterising him as resentful and self-interested.

#10: “Thou shalt be pinched / As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging / Than bees that made ‘em”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Caliban
  • Technique: simile, symbolism
  • Act 1, Scene 2 

Prospero uses a simile that compares being pinched to the dense and intricate structure of a honeycomb, suggesting an overwhelming and inescapable onslaught of physical torment. Further, the reference to bees, associated with order and productivity, contrasts with the destructive and tormenting use of their stings. Thus, Shakespeare symbolically reflects the perversion of Prospero’s power as a means for creation being used to perpetuate oppression. This moment encapsulates Caliban’s plight as a colonised figure trapped under the threat of relentless and dehumanising punishment.

#11: “My high charms work, / And these, mine enemies, are all knit up /…They are now in my power”

  • Characters: Prospero
  • Technique: triumphant tone
  • Act 3, Scene 3

#12: “All hail, great master!…I come / To answer thy best pleasure, be ‘t to fly, / To swim, to dive into the fire…/…task / Ariel and all his quality”

  • Characters: Ariel 
  • Technique: anaphora, listing
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#13: “Thou shalt be as free / As mountain winds: but then exactly do / All points of my command”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Ariel
  • Technique: simile 
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#14: “There be some sports are painful, and their labour / Delight in them sets off…/ The mistress which I serve quickens what’s dead / And makes my labours pleasures”

  • Characters: Ferdinand
  • Technique: metaphor
  • Act 3, Scene 1

#15: “Let me remember thee what thou hast promised, / Which is not yet performed me”

  • Characters: Ariel, to Prospero
  • Technique: metatheatre, dichotomy, symbolism
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#16: “Your tale, sir, would cure deafness”

  • Characters: Miranda, to Prospero
  • Technique: oxymoron
  • Act 1, Scene 2 

Quotes about Betrayal

#17: “Full fathom five thy father lies”

  • Characters: Ariel
  • Technique: alliteration
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#18: “These are people of the island… their manners are more gentle, kind, than of / Our human generation you shall find”

  • Characters: Gonzalo
  • Technique: cultural reference
  • Act 3, Scene 3

#19: “As I told thee before, I am subject / To a tyrant, a sorcerer that by his cunning hath / Cheated me of the island”

  • Characters: Caliban
  • Technique: synecdoche
  • Act 3, Scene 2

#20: “My strong imagination sees a crown / Dropping upon thy head”

  • Characters: Antonio, to Sebastian
  • Technique: metaphor, characterisation
  • Act 2, Scene 1

#21: “Sweet lord, you play me false”

  • Characters: Miranda, to Ferdinand
  • Technique: symbolism,
  • Act 5, Scene 1

#22: “Look, he’s winding up the watch of his wit. / By and by it will strike”

  • Characters: Sebastian
  • Technique: metaphor, mocking tone
  • Act 2, Scene 1

Quotes about Revenge

#23: “Your charm so strongly works ‘em, / That, if you now beheld them, your affections / Would become tender… mine would, sir, were I human”

  • Characters: Ariel, to Prospero
  • Technique: contrast
  • Act 5, Scene 1

#24: “At this hour / Lie at my mercy all mine enemies”

  • Characters: Prospero
  • Technique: alliteration
  • Act 4, Scene 1

#25: “The rarer action is / In virtue than in vengeance”

  • Characters: Prospero
  • Technique: characterisation, didactic message
  • Act 5, Scene 1

#26: “Most wicked sir, whom to call a brother / Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive / Thy rankest fault”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Antonio
  • Technique: juxtaposition, scornful tone
  • Act 5, Scene 1

#27: “Tell your piteous heart / There’s no harm done”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Miranda
  • Technique: juxtaposition
  • Act 1, Scene 2

Quotes about Colonialism

#28: “A thing most brutish, I endowed thy purposes / With words that made them known”

  • Characters: Miranda, to Caliban
  • Technique: irony 
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#29: “Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself / Upon thy wicked dam”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Caliban
  • Technique: imagery, dehumanisation
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#30: “Good wombs have borne bad sons”

  • Characters: Miranda, to Prospero
  • Technique: irony
  • Act 1, Scene 2

Caliban Quotes about Colonialism from The Tempest

#31: “What a thrice-double ass / Was I to take this drunkard for a god”

  • Characters: Caliban, about Stephano
  • Technique: contrast, irony
  • Act 5, Scene 1

The contrast between the reverence of “god” and the derogatory epithet of “drunkard” highlights the dramatic shift in Caliban’s perception of Stephano, emphasising his disillusionment after being mistreated by another colonial figure. This irony underscores the absurdity of Caliban’s misplaced belief, revealing how easily illusion and false promises can distort reality in the play.

#32: “You taught me language, and my profit on’t / Is, I know how to curse”

  • Characters: Caliban
  • Technique: symbolism
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#33: “The clouds methought would open and show riches / Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked / I cried to dream again”

  • Characters: Caliban
  • Technique: symbolism, juxtaposition, The Green World
  • Act 3, Scene 2

Quotes about Family 

#34: “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows”

  • Characters: Trinculo
  • Technique: metaphor, humour
  • Act 2, Scene 1

#35: “I am your wife if you will marry me. / If not, I’ll die your maid”

  • Characters: Miranda, to Ferdinand
  • Technique: conditional structure, gendered subtext
  • Act 3, Scene 1

#36: “The jewel in my dower, I would not wish / Any companion in the world but you, / Nor can imagination form a shape / Besides yourself to like of”

  • Characters: Miranda, to Ferdinand
  • Technique: metaphor, characterisation
  • Act 3, Scene 1

#37: “All thy vexations / Were but trials of thy love, and thou / Hast strangely stood the test”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Ferdinand
  • Technique: metaphor
  • Act 4, Scene 1

#38: “Do not smile a me that I boast of her / For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise / And make it halt behind her”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Ferdinand
  • Technique: metaphor
  • Act 4, Scene 2

#39: “Look down, you gods, / And on this couple drop a blessed crown”

  • Characters: Gonzalo, about Miranda and Ferdinand
  • Technique: symbolism
  • Act 5, Scene 1

#40: “Awake, dear heart, awake. Thou hast slept well. / Awake”

  • Characters: Prospero, to Miranda
  • Technique: repetition, symbolism, gentle tone
  • Act 1, Scene 2

Quotes about Men VS Nature

#41: “How many goodly creatures are there here! / How beauteous mankind is!”

  • Characters: Miranda
  • Technique: exclamatory mode, characterisation
  • Act 5, Scene 1

#42: “This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine”

  • Characters: Prospero, about Caliban
  • Technique: blank verse, dehumanisation
  • Act 5, Scene 1

#43: “I might call him / A thing divine, for nothing natural / I ever saw so noble”

  • Characters: Miranda, about Ferdinand
  • Technique: characterisation
  • Act 1, Scene 2 

#44: “Thou most lying slave, / Whom stripes may move, not kindness!”

  • Characters: Prospero, about Caliban
  • Technique: dehumanisation
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#45: “He’ll be hanged yet, though every drop of / water swear against it and gape at wid’st to glut him”

  • Characters: Gonzalo, about Antonio
  • Technique: personification, allusion, The Green World
  • Act 1, Scene 1

#46: “Whom thus we stray to find, and the sea mocks / Our frustrate search on land”

  • Characters: Alonso, about Ferdinand
  • Technique: personification, allusion
  • Act 3, Scene 3

#47: “As wicked dew as e’er my mother brushed /…/ Drop on you both!… / And blister you all o’er”

  • Characters: Caliban, to Prospero and Miranda
  • Technique: juxtaposition, symbolism
  • Act 1, Scene 2

The Tempest quotes about The Green World 

#48: “Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

  • Characters: Ariel, quoting Ferdinand
  • Technique: demonic imagery, dramatic irony
  • Act 1, Scene 2

#49: “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep”

  • Characters: Prospero
  • Technique: metaphor, allusion
  • Act 4, Scene 1

#50: “Be not afeared. The isle is full of noises, / Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not”

  • Characters: Caliban
  • Technique: imagery, soothing tone
  • Act 3, Scene 2

#51 (bonus!): “These our actors / As I foretold you, were all spirits, and / Are melted into air, into thin air”

  • Characters: Prospero
  • Technique: repetition, soliloquy, meta-theatre
  • Act 4, Scene 1

On the hunt for quotes from other texts aside from The Tempest?

Check out our list of quotes for the following texts:

We’ve also got articles specifically on plays by Shakespeare which you can check out below:

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Tiffany Fong is currently completing a double degree in Media and Communications with Law at Macquarie University. She currently contributes to the university zine, Grapeshot where she enjoys writing feature articles, commentary on current affairs or whatever weird interest that has taken over her mind during that month. During her spare time, Tiffany enjoys reading, writing, taking care of her plants or cuddling with her two dogs.

Christina Ugov is currently completing a double degree in International and Global Studies and Theatre and Performance at the University of Sydney. Outside of her studies, she enjoys exploring creative writing projects, analysing literature and playing with her cat. She spends her spare time reading, listening to music and drinking lots of tea.

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