The Cycle of Ignorance in The Tempest They say that ignorance is bliss. Equating appearance with reality is a facet of ignorance and leads to some happiness. Many of Shakespeare's characters find happiness in ignorance and rejoice in it, and some come to accept their gullibility. A few people are unwilling to give up their ignorance even when they can see the real truth. All experience different stages of the human cycle. Coming into the world, we only have the recognition of appearance. We must learn to distinguish what is real from what is seen. Those who have the opportunity to learn this difference will often deny the truth in order to live happily for a moment longer, those who are no longer ignorant may occasionally re-enter the cycle in a moment of absolute trust and wonder, and finally it there are those who have spilled over to one side or the other of the cycle and are trapped in a particular stage of their lives. In any case, the real truth has nothing to do with the human goal of happiness. The speaker of sonnet 93 struggles against his own intelligence to remain ignorant. In order to avoid living a cycle of clear reason, he uses the foggy image of the ideal. He tells himself that he sees no trace of falsity in his lover because she is so beautiful: “Whatever your thoughts or the movements of your heart, your looks must say nothing other than sweetness.” Essentially, he reverted to his own mind: he convinced himself that he hadn't seen the change that he had seen. He is willing to sacrifice the truth he sees to prolong his happiness. Miranda in The Tempest is shown slowly bridging the gap between her untouched childish ignorance and the clarity she will not be able to deny once she becomes part of the court. Closer to the beginning of the book, Miranda seems almost proudly to proclaim her innocence: (first and last quote from the exam sheet for Tempest, minus Prospero's line). Finally, at the end of the book, we see that Miranda slowly returns: “Miranda: Sweet lord, you are deceiving me. Ferdinand: No, my dearest love, I wouldn't do it for anything in the world. Miranda: Yes, for about twenty minutes. kingdoms you should be fighting, and I would call that fair play. "Miranda can abandon her total ignorance because it does not destroy her happiness. By gradually discovering the deception that characterizes the world around her, Miranda seems to proudly proclaim her love as her new source of happiness and security in the face of the rest. tragic truth. Because Miranda's happiness is safe in her love, she can get a little closer to the truth. Ferdinand tries to rediscover his ignorance through wonder and trust. at the boarding of the ship which crashed to begin the play and could not have been ignorant in such an environment. While his happiness is compromised by the apparent death of his father, Ferdinand tries to find happiness in the. ignorance. When he first sees Miranda, his ideal portrait of her is an attempt to find his capacity to question: "Of course, the goddess / to whom these tunes are addressed Grant my prayer!" /Can know if you stay on this island, how I can get along here. My first request,/That which I utter last, is (O you wonder!)/Whether you are a servant or not?'. Ferdinand even attempts to rediscover the wonders of the idyllic state, and his words compare the island to the Garden of Eden: (third quote on the exam sheet). Then notice his return to a less ignorant state once his happiness is assured. When Miranda (kindly) accuses him of cheating, Ferdinand makes a proclamation of ignorance: that.