ACT 4

Question 1

ILLUSION/GENDER AND POWER: The Masque, Juno

Answer 1

“Honour, riches, marriage - blessing”
- IAMBIC TETRAMETER: music as a symbol of HARMONY
DIVINE INVOCATION
“Increase (…) plenty (…) clust’ring (…) growing”
- POLITICAL ALLEGORY - union brings a lot, stability in a time of instability (like audience who have lived in reign of Elizabeth (instability) to James (stability))
- Fertility of Miranda’s body
- Pastoral imagery of growth
- PLANT SEEDS OF POLITICAL STABILITY FOR THE FUTURE

Question 2

ILLUSION AND MAGIC/TRASIENCE/ POWER- Prospero’s insubstantiality speech

Answer 2

ACT 4.1
“Cloud-capped towers (…) dissolve (…) insubstantial (…) sleep”
No matter how far we strive, we are temporary, power and magic is temporary
Transience of human hope

Question 3

GENDER AND POWER: What does Prospero say about Miranda’s virginity?

Answer 3

4.1
“If thou dost break her virgin-knot before (…) No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall / To make this contract grow; but barren hate”

Exposes inherent fiction of masque, where gentleness and civility elide the darker forces of sexual desire and patriarchal control