PROSPERO: Dost thou hear?
MIRANDA: Your tale, sir, would cure deafness.
– William Shakespeare
The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2. In telling his rather long story, Prospero keeps checking that Miranda is attentive. But his tale of family betrayal by her uncle Antonio certainly has her full attention, as indicated by her uttering these words of horror and shock at Prospero’s revelations.