Flout ’em and scout ’em
And scout ’em and flout ’em
Thought is free.
– William Shakespeare
The Tempest, Act 3, Scene 2. The farsical scene between the drunken trio continues, as Stephano sings this song for Caliban about treating others with contempt and insults because speaking your mind is freedom. Caliban had asked him to perform the song he taught him and protests that this isn’t it. Just then an invisible Ariel begins a tune on his flute and Trinculo recognizes it as Stephano’s song. So the comic confusion carries on.