Starting with this conversation, explore how Shakespeare presents the romantic relationship between Miranda and Ferdinand.

Miranda opens the passage with a speech that confesses her ignorance of the world beyond her isle, "How features are abroad I am skilless of". In response, Ferdinand is thereby quick to proclaim his status to her, "I am in my condition A prince Miranda". Thus Shakespeare exemplifies in this exchange of speeches, the essential contrast that provides a foundation for their romance; Miranda's innocence of the world versus Ferdinand's worldliness. This contrast has its roots in the courtly love tradition popular in Elizabethan love poetry, where the man is experienced in the ways of the world and the woman is placed on a pedestal above it all, innocent and virginal. In this passage and throughout The Tempest, however, Shakespeare uses the romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda to take these courtly-love ideals to their extreme. He deploys opposing hyperboles in this passage to stress the point. Miranda's "imagination" cannot "form a shape besides yourself". Her love is defined by her innocence, even her imagination cannot fancy anyone else. In comparison Ferdinand's love for Miranda is heightened by his knowledge of every other woman in the world, he loves her specifically "beyond all limit of what else i'th'world". One way Shakespeare makes this essential contrast in experience clear is though their use of language. While Miranda is quick to foreground her ignorance "I do not know", Ferdinand is opposingly declarative and assured in his knowledge, asserting "I do think" and "I am". While Miranda "prattle(s) something too wildly" and is endearingly plain and open in what she says to Ferdinand, he continues to deploy the conventions of courtly love in his returning speeches. Shakespeare makes this comically overt in this scene: Ferdinand assures Miranda he is her servant (a trope of courtly love) and in a confused response she bluntly asks "Do you love me?". Rather than responding with similar directness, Shakespeare has Ferdinand deploy another heightened trope, "O heaven, O earth, bear witness to this sound", an invocation addressing the elements rather than Miranda.Crucially, through this contrast, Shakespeare presents their romantic relationship as comic to the audience. When Miranda is frustrated with her father for taking away the third man she ever saw after himself and Caliban, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to comic effect by having Prospero assure Miranda that compared to other men in the world Ferdinand is a Caliban. At the end of the play Miranda finally meets the other men and is overwhelmed by all of their beauty as she was by Ferdinand's. The comedy is not generated by their characters, as with Beatrice and Benedick's wit in Much Ado, Shakespeare encourages the audience to laugh at them. By giving Prospero asides which reveal to the audience he supports their union, Shakespeare removes any tension from this subplot and thus their struggle to be together becomes light hearted and ridiculous. Shakespeare compounds this for the audience's amusement, for example in Ferdinand's central speech Ferdinand is clearly horrified by having to carry some logs, he sees himself as suffering "this wooden slavery" and he begins the speech "a prince" and ends it "a patient log-man". Elsewhere their usually flowery descriptions of love for each other give way to outbursts of lust and there is a continual emphasis placed on the importance of Miranda's virginity. Shakespeare, through this archetypal example of young lovers, therefore reminds us repeatedly and explicitly that the preservation of virginity is the essential factor of innocence that characterises the romantic ideals of courtly love.