Books And Staff

A Midsummer Tempest, xxiii.

For their conjuration, four people stand beneath the Moon on Glastonbury Tor:

Charles I holds a Bible;

Rupert holds Prospero's book;

Jennifer holds Prospero's staff;

Sir William Fairweather is empty-handed but present.

During the Coronation Service, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland present a Bible to the Monarch. The music includes "Zadok the Priest," invoking the coronation of the first King of Israel.

Charles I holding a Bible evokes that monarchical history while Rupert and Jennifer represent Shakespeare. Next, powerful words will be spoken...