The short extract taken from “The Tempest” helps us learn a lot about the characters Prospero and Caliban and their relationship within the play.
Prospero, when we first meet him, emerges as a very controlling and dominant figure on the island, mainly because he refers to the character Caliban as his “slave”. This shows us that Prospero must be a powerful man and that he has authority over the island and its people. Prospero uses his power to abuse Caliban, and he threatens him with phrases such as “thou shalt have cramps, side-stitches...” if he does not comply with his orders. But when Caliban refuses to obey him, Prospero resorts to insults in order to control him because he tells Miranda, his daughter, “But, as ‘tis/We cannot miss
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In retaliation he taunts Prospero and Miranda for teaching him their language, which he now uses to curse them: “You taught me language, and my profit on’t/Is, I know how to curse”.
But Caliban knows that Prospero is far too powerful and his stubbornness relents by the end of the extract “ I must obey”. In spite of this, Caliban comes across as a strong and defiant individual who is also bitter and twisted which is revealed through his curses and insults towards Prospero. “The red plague rid you/For learning me your language!”
Prospero and Caliban’s relationship is that of a slave and a master. Is this respect it is very conventional, meaning that the more dominant character, Prospero, orders and abuses the lesser or weaker character, Caliban. But on the other hand, Caliban is never afraid to act out against his oppressor, which is unusual for a slave. The language between the two individuals shows how much contempt they have for one another, because they constantly insult each other and fight over the island.
The issues raised in the extract are predominantly down to two main reasons: the island and Miranda. The island is important because both characters crave the power of being its ruler, and thus everything that comes with it e.g. slaves. They both believe that the other has betrayed him in someway, Caliban believes that Prospero stole the island from him, while Miranda is
Last but not least, Caliban had an unstable relationship with Prospero. Miranda wasn’t the only one that treated Caliban as a slave, Prospero did as well. “..What,ho! Slave! Caliban!”(1.2.375). Caliban would be called names, and numerous times he is treated as a slave, but Prospero felt no guilt to how he treats him. As mentioned before, Caliban is a villain as well, which means he is also evil to Prospero. “All the infections that the sun sucks up/ From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall and make him/By inchmeal a disease!”(2.2.5). Caliban hoped that all the diseases that are in swamps and marches infect Prospero, in every inch of his body so he could become a walking disease. Not only did he wish for him to be infected, but he also wanted to severely hurt him. “I’ll yield him thee asleep, where thou mayst knock a nail into his head”(2.3.67-8) He tells Stephano that he will take him to where Prospero sleeps, so he could pound a nail into his head. After they were to put a nail into his head, he wanted to continue to do evil things to him. “Beat him enough. After a little time, I’ll beat him too”(3.2.92-3) As it shows in this quotation, Caliban wanted to beat Prospero.
Prospero enslaves Caliban and Ariel, seizing the island for him and Miranda, just like Alonso and Antonio had done to him. The rightful ruler of the island is Caliban, and although Caliban at one time tried to rape Miranda, Prospero repeatedly punishes him for this one event that occurred much before this play takes place. Prospero initially “helps” Caliban by educating him and in exchange, Caliban taught Prospero and Miranda how to survive on the island. Prospero uses the act of attempted-rape to justify his seizure of the island. This take-over should have been enough punishment but Prospero enslaves Caliban, threatening to hurt him if he does not do his bidding. By endlessly punishing Caliban, Prospero inadvertently shows his malicious side. Although Prospero freed Ariel from the tree he was bound inside, Prospero blackmails Ariel and essentially enslaves him too. Prospero repeatedly tells Ariel that he will set him free but, it seems as if that is an empty
Originally, he was a fair duke that showed love to everyone he met; however, his love of magic gets him exiled by his own brother. Once on the island of his banishment, Prospero develops monstrous characteristics of greed and domination. He imposes his beliefs upon initial inhabitants by teaching them his own language so that they could communicate with him (Tempest. I.ii.352-364). Prosper felt he had the superior form of communication and higher level of intellect, so the previous occupants should have to learn his language. He also forced his self-proclaimed authority on this creature who was the birth-right land-owner. This creature, Caliban, is upset and claims, “This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou tak’st from me” (Tempest. I.ii.331-332). Just as Prospero’s kingdom was taken from himself, he retaliated by taking Caliban’s kingdom from him. To do this, Prospero enslaved Caliban as well as another he finds on the island through use of his magic and forces them to do his menial tasks. It is through his exploiting and dominating actions that Prospero is seen as a monster. He cultivated his supremacy over everyone to a malicious extent that he was a malevolent monster disguised as a
Caliban’s strong emotional attachment to the island in The Tempest motivates him to actively respect nature. During Caliban 's first interaction with Prospero in the play, he states, “This Island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother.” This assertion of dominion by Caliban sparks a desire for him to protect the nature on the island. As a result, he values nature like it is an extension of himself and strives to maintain harmony with it. Caliban follows this up by reminding Prospero, “And then I loved thee and show 'd thee all the
Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest is set on a mysterious island surrounded by the ocean. Here the magician Prospero is ruler of the isle with his two servants Caliban and Ariel. Caliban is the abrasive, foul-mouthed son of the evil witch Sycorax. When Prospero was shipwrecked on the island Prospero treated him kindly but their relationship changed when Caliban tried to rape Prospero's daughter, Miranda. Caliban then became Prospero's unwilling servant. Caliban serves his master out of fear Prospero's wrath. Prospero's other servant Ariel is a graceful spirit who has courtesy and charm. Ariel has put her services at Prospero's disposal out of gratitude for his kind
Caliban, immediately introduced as "poisonous slave," "savage," "hag-seed," is a character often likened to the African- American slave. The ease and matter-of-factness with which Prospero and Miranda dismiss him is painfully obvious even before he enters the scene (Act 1, Scene 3). Through no fault of his own, Caliban is dehumanized by the authority of his day and dismissed by the important members of his society. He looks much different from the others on the island, so he is not seen as a true human being; in fact, his only redemption lies in the fact that he is able to learn the language in order to serve the master.
Prospero uses his language to minimize and blame Caliban. Prospero not only refers to Caliban as “filth,” but also accuses him of “lying” and “seek[ing] to violate / [t]he honour of my child” (i.ii. 348- 351). Prospero blames his treatment of Caliban to the actions of Caliban; the quote: “with human care, and lodged thee / [i]n my own cell, till thou didst seek to violate / [t]he honour of my child” illustrates how Prospero blames Caliban for how Prospero treats him (i.ii. 349-351). This is violent because it shifts the blame from Prospero to Caliban essentially blaming the
And Caliban himself is capable of making one of the finest speeches of the play, and of saying, when Prospero has thought better of punishing, and renounced his supernatural power
Prospero, the self-appointed king of the island upon which everyone eventually becomes shipwrecked, immediately oppresses Caliban and claims him as his slave, even though Caliban was the original inhabitant of the island. Prospero and his daughter are technically guests in Caliban's home. Caliban is the son of the devil and Sycorax, a witch. Prospero uses Caliban's unsavory origin as an excuse to enslave him. He claims that he is a bad seed, and he deserves a life of servitude. He never actually justifies the situation with a logical explanation, so he must use whatever information he can think of as a poor excuse to exploit Caliban for his own self-propagation. Prospero is even bold enough to suggest that by enslaving Caliban, he is actually extending charity towards him. He feels that
Prospero's relationship with Caliban differs from that of Prospero and Ariel's. Prospero does not view Caliban as a being who could be his equal. He is blinded by his prejudice against Caliban's appearance and manners. Caliban is portrayed in a negative light. He can be seen as the depiction of the victims of colonial expansion. Although Prospero seeks this righteousness, he both mistreats and insults Caliban, who ultimately attempts to kill Prospero. In comparison to Ariel who acts only when commanded by Prospero, Caliban is wild. He refuses to be colonized and tamed. This can be taken as a reference by Shakespeare towards those who were
Caliban turns hate and dislike into murderous and devious plans. Caliban had a plan to plot out Prospero's death. He informs the others that Prospero takes a nap, and that it would be best to kill him in his sleep. We also learn here that he is similar to Miranda. Miranda has never seen another man except her father, and Caliban has never seen another woman except his mother. In some ways this is ironic. (Act 3, scene 2 line 75-89)
Prospero’s reason for his ill treatment of Caliban is that he allegedly attempted to rape Miranda. Prospero states, “I have used thee/Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee/In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate/The honour of my child.”, and Caliban replies, “O ho, O ho! would't had been done!/Thou didst prevent me.”. This interaction does not prove the alleged attempted rape, but rather shows how Caliban reacts angrily to Prospero’s provocation. In the play, Caliban reacts as the monster that Prospero and Miranda make of him, but in Namjoshi’s reimagination, we are provided with Caliban’s initial perception of the alleged attempted
Although the audience know by know that Caliban tried to rape Miranda, Prospero treats him very harshly which reflects the poor treatment of servants in Prospero’s time. For example, when Prospero tells Caliban to come and chop wood, he replies, ‘There’s wood enough within.’ This shows a sense of bitterness on Caliban’s part, showing that he resents being Prospero’s servant, when he was once master of his own island. In this scene
Prospero's Judgment of Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest “A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
It is evident that Caliban is claiming to have rightful ownership of the island, but Shakespeare gives European audiences a response to this claim and similar ones of the real world. Prospero saved Caliban from the witch Sycorax and should be thankful for all Prosper has brought him and not worry about ownership of the island since the stronger, smarter European is here now. Caliban is also portrayed as a moral less monster who rapes and smells of fish. This characterization was brought upon many other natives during this time in history as well. The magic that came with the island can be seen as a natural resource of the island that benefits Prospero. This is much like the real natural resources discovered by the Europeans at this time in history when Shakespeare wrote the play. Most critics of the play state that Prospero is a portrayal of Shakespeare himself, but it is clearly evident based on the island comparisons to the new wolrd that Shakespeare’s intention was to not only describe the new world, but endorse the colonization of