Prospero questions his airy spirit concerning the whereabouts of Caliban, Stefano, and Trinculo (“these varlets” at line 170). Ariel responds with a short speech about how he led the three drunken varlets (pied-piper like) through thorny plants into a foul lake or swamp that causes them to smell worse than they already were. Prospero is pleased with the report; and he tells Ariel to bring some “trumpery” (cheap goods: line 186) as bait to capture the drunken varlets in an act of theft.
As Ariel leaves to fulfill his task, Prospero thinks about Caliban. He refers to the creature as a “born devil.” Despite Prospero’s attempts to teach him kindness and goodness, Caliban remained obstinate and unruly: “nurture can never stick” (189). Thus, Prospero intends to punish Caliban as well as the other two scoundrels.
Ariel returns and hangs up the cheap clothes that he will use to trap Caliban and the others. As Ariel hangs up the garments, Prospero states, “Come, hang them on this lime” (193). The word lime actually has two meanings, and both are intended here: (1) literally, the word stands for a lime tree: Ariel hangs the garments on a tree; and (2) the word also suggests birdlime, a sticky substance that was used to trap birds.
Meanwhile, Stefano and Trinculo are angry with Caliban because they blame him for getting all wet and smelly. Caliban had told them that Ariel was a “harmless fairy,” but Stefano comments that Ariel has “played the Jack with us” (196-97). The expression can be defined in two ways, and both apply: (1) Stefano is probably saying that Ariel has played “Jack with the lantern” or “jack-o’-lantern” with them. He means that Ariel tricked him with a fairy light into the mire or swamp. Sometimes, a phosphorescent light hovers or floats over swampy ground at night. That light is referred to as an ignis fatuus (from Medieval Latin) but it is sometimes called jack-o’-lantern or will-o’-the-wisp. (2) A Jack in a deck of cards is also called a Knave. Ariel has played the knave in the sense that he was crafty and deceived the three scoundrels.
Caliban tries to appease Stefano and Trinculo by telling them that once they take the “prize” – possession of the island – they will then forget all about their “mischance” or misfortune (lines 204-05). Stefano and Trinculo are not only angry about getting wet, they are even angrier about losing all of their bottles of liquor. Such a mischance as that, as Stefano explains, is an “infinite loss” (209); and Stefano plans to return to the swamp, dive in, and recover his lost bottles.
The three of them then approach Prospero’s dwelling and see the garments hanging on the tree. Stefano and Trinculo become entranced by what they perceive to be a wardrobe fit for a king, but Caliban fears that Prospero will awaken and punish them all severely. So, he shouts at his drunken companions to leave the trashy clothes alone and proceed to the task of murdering the magician first.
Stefano and Trinculo are so entranced by the clothes, though, that they ignore Caliban and continue trying on the garments. And they jest as they proceed. Stefano makes the following comments as he pulls a leather jacket (“jerkin”) off of the lime tree:
Mistress Lime, is not this my jerkin? Now is the jerkin under the line. Now, jerkin, you are like to lose your hair and prove a bald jerkin. (233-35)
A number of explanations have been made in regards to these lines. (1) Most simply, Mistress Lime is a woman washing clothes; and Stefano is taking the jacket off of the clothesline. (2) Yet, “under the line” also means below the line of the equator. Travelers below the equator often encountered a tropical disease that caused them to lose their hair. Sometimes, also, sailors would shave the heads of the passengers when they crossed below the equator for the first time. (3) However, as is often the case in the dialogue of scoundrels, the drunken butler also implies a bawdy or risqué meaning. The expression “under the line” could also mean under the waistline and thus suggest genitalia. Baldness was also a common effect of syphilis.
Stefano and Trinculo are so entranced by the garments that they cannot think about anything else, and they force the reluctant Caliban to carry the cheap clothes for them.
The sound of the hunt is heard offstage. Several spirits disguised as hunting dogs appear on stage and start chasing Stefano, Trinculo, and Caliban. Prospero and Ariel cheer the hounds as they approach their prey. The hunting dogs chase the three scoundrels offstage. Prospero then commands Ariel to have his fellow spirits or goblins pinch the three troublemakers and give them cramps and convulsions as a punishment for their misdeeds.
Prospero tells Ariel that his plans or “labors” are nearly at an end, and very soon the airy spirit will have his freedom (260-61). Of course, Prospero is also telling the audience that the play is almost at an end.