William Shakespeare (1564–1616). The Tempest.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| Epilogue |
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SPOKEN BY PROSPERO
Now my charms are all o’erthrown, | |
| And what strength I have’s mine own, | |
| Which is most faint. Now, ’tis true, | |
| I must be here confin’d by you, | 4 |
| Or sent to Naples. Let me not, | |
| Since I have my dukedom got | |
| And pardon’d the deceiver, dwell | |
| In this bare island by your spell; | 8 |
| But release me from my bands | |
| With the help of your good hands. | |
| Gentle breath of yours my sails | |
| Must fill, or else my project fails, | 12 |
| Which was to please. Now I want | |
| Spirits to enforce, art to enchant, | |
| And my ending is despair, | |
| Unless I be reliev’d by prayer, | 16 |
| Which pierces so that it assaults | |
| Mercy itself and frees all faults. | |
| As you from crimes would pardon’d be, | |
| Let your indulgence set me free. Exit. | 20 |
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