Both Uses of
perdition
in
The Tempest
- The direful spectacle of the wrack, which touch'd
The very virtue of compassion in thee,
I have with such provision in mine art
So safely ordered that there is no soul—
No, not so much perdition as an hair
Betid to any creature in the vessel
Which thou heard'st cry, which thou saw'st sink.Scene 1.2 *perdition = destructioneditor's notes: This passage is full of archaic language, such as "wrack" (shipwreck), "virtue" (goodness), "perdition" (destruction), and "betid" (happened).
Uses with a meaning too rare to warrant foucs:
- They have bereft; and do pronounce, by me
Lingering perdition,—worse than any deathScene 3.3 *perdition = suffering
Definitions:
-
(1)
(perdition) hell (in Christianity: where Satan resides and non-saved suffer eternal punishment)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) In literature as old as Shakespeare, perdition can also refer to destruction, ruin, or suffering.