ANTONIO’S LONELINESS (AUDEN’S VIEW).

ANTONIO’S LONELINESS (AUDEN’S VIEW). The second chapter of “The Sea and the Mirror” consists of songs for the characters in the play (with the exception of Caliban, who is given all of the third chapter in a long prose speech modeled on Henry James). The songs are separated by a series of five line refrains by the villain of the play, Antonio. Each refrain is addressed to his brother Prospero and each concludes with the word “alone.” The first refrain is:

“Your all is partial, Prospero;
My will is all my own:
Your need to love shall never know
Me. I am I, Antonio,
By choice myself alone.”

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