We're more familiar with foretold as meaning "prophesied" here Prospero simply means "as I told you before." Spirits primarily refers to the supernatural (the spirits performing the masque) in context. As pointed out in other readings, this type of juicy ambiguity is what scholars live for. It's up to interpretation whether "Our revels now are ended" begins an extended metaphor of a playwright signaling the end of his career. It also hearkens to the joy of life, which Prospero knows will soon enough end. Revels (from Middle English via the Anglo-French reveler, literally meaning "to rebel") means "festivity, merry-making" in referring to the banished masque (as does the initial reference to actors). This line also keeps to straight iambic pentameter, albeit with a feminine ending. This marks the beginning of Prospero's philosophical bent. Dismay'd denotes "apprehensive filled with fear" in its usage. It almost reflects a forced cheeriness, this brisker pace. Now that Prospero has snapped out of his initial anger at having remembered the plot against him, his speech switches over to regular, non-threatening iambic pentameter. Perhaps the variant rhythm to open the speech and its long vowel sounds help signify Prospero's attempt to calm down and allay what Ferdinand refers to as a "strong passion." - / - / - / - / - /Īs if you were dismay'd.
The term moved sort means "troubled or agitated state" in this context. However, all the original Folio editions print the word as mov'd, so we'll go with the nine-syllable pattern here as intentional. The scansion of the line would seem to indicate that moved might take a stressed ending, given the prevalence of apostrophes in the speech. Overview | Readings Page | Home - / / - / - / /
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