The American Spectator

Among the Intellectualoids

(Page 3 of 5)

br> Or Night kept chain'd below. /em> /blockquote> br> This is not exactly a wishy-washy response. It's not like he replied, "Yeah, whatever" -- or, for that matter, "Oh f*** do I have to?" It is in fact an oath, and a very pretty one, a calling down of a curse upon his own head if he should disobey, in response to Prospero's mention of the prospective curse of nature upon unchastity. Ferdinand's "honour" that will not be melted into lust is his duty to Prospero, and complements as well as protects Miranda's honor, which is her chastity. But even so emphatic a promise as this is not enough for Prospero. He knows that Ferdinand is a dutiful young man, or he would not have promised his daughter to him. He knows that he will obey as a matter of honor. But he wants to stress -- to us as well as Ferdinand -- that it is not, as honor so often is, merely pro forma. Outward obedience is not enough. He must discipline his feelings as well. The honor of female chastity is not just a matter of reputation, but part of God's and nature's prescription for our happiness. So he returns to his injunction. br> blockquote> em>Look thou be true; do not give dalliance br> Too much the rein: the strongest oaths are straw br> To the fire i' the blood: be more abstemious, br> Or else, good night your vow! /em> /blockquote> br> It is at this point that Ferdinand replies with the words that Mr. Dromgoole considers bad writing. He calls upon Elizabethan physiology -- lust, like courage and other passions, resides in the liver while the higher and finer feelings issue from the heart -- and images of heat and cold to respond in the same terms that Prospero has used in order to signify that he understands not just his duty but also the reason why it is his duty: because the right ordering of human existence requires that the lower sort of feelings must be kept under the control of the higher sort.

topics:
Religion, Law, Iran