The Impact Of Caliban In Shakespeare's The Tempest

Explain how Ariel and Caliban serve as character foils for each other. Be sure to consider their physical appearance and their roles as servants to Prospero.

The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last play that was written shortly after England colonized Virginia in 1609. Throughout the play, there are many different references to imperialism and colonialism within the characters. The Tempest analyzes the imperialistic relationships between England and America but applies it to personal human interaction between the central characters. The island gives newcomers a sense of endless possibilities like claiming the land for themselves because of the belief in the Great Chain of Being and the seventeenth century being an age of exploration. The idea of ruling a colony lured many people into the idea that having that kind of power over a large group of people is attainable. Master-servant relationships are

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.

“The Tempest” is a play written by William Shakespeare in early 1600s that has been previewed in different kinds of movies, such as the one made in 2010, directed by Julie Taymor. It is a play containing themes such as; revenge, allusion, retribution, forgiveness, power, love and hatred. When it is compared to the play, there are specific differences seen in the movie, such as; Prospero is reflected as a woman in the movie. The time differences between the play and the movie and how the spirit Ariel is shown as a white man in the movie. The play starts with the story of Prospero, the Duke of Milan. He gets banished from Italy and was cast to sea by his brother Antonio. He has

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.

   A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.   In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them to share in an experience of emotion, magic, and finally, of resolution. In this way the production could be used as a vehicle for conveying the idealistic virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and of course knowledge. In his book, A

  The Tempest is generally considered to be Shakespeare's last sole-authored play. The play draws a number of oppositions, some of which it dramatises, and some of which it only implies. Prospero, a figure exhibiting many resemblances to the Elizabethan idea of the 'Mage', (of whom the best known is probably Dr. John Dee), is opposed to both his corrupt brother, usurper of his role as Duke of Milan, and to Sycorax, an evil witch and mother of the 'deformed slave' Caliban. Sycorax does not enter the action of the play, having died before it opens, but enough is made of her evil disposition and behaviour to show Prospero as a model of human virtue in comparison. This despite Prospero's own use of magic to

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

When one interacts with strangers, feelings of superiority and inferiority are bound to occur. In Shakespeare's time period, most of the Europeans' perspectives were disrespectful, arrogant, and full of ignorance. Like the Native Americans, for most of the European colonists who landed in the "New World," it was their first exposure to the people of a different race. And yet, their first intuition of the Native Americans was described as barbarians, savages, and cannibals. The Europeans thought themselves as superior compared to the "poor savages"(Takaki 148); likewise in The Tempest, Shakespeare portrayed Prospero as the rightful leader of Caliban's island, just as the Europeans thought of themselves as the rightful rulers of the

The line is spoken by Caliban and he is speaking to Stephano and Trinculo. During this scene Stephano and Trinculo have been mocking Caliban for his physical features. Trinculo asks Caliban if he is a fish or a man and Stephano continuously refers to Caliban as a monster. Caliban’s speech is an example of how Shakespeare is playing with the reader’s perspective of a character. In the perspective of Prospero, Miranda, Stephano, and Trinculo they see Caliban as a vicious monster.

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

    "Negritude, originally a literary and ideological movement of French-speaking black intellectuals, reflects an important and comprehensive reaction to the colonial situation of European colonization" (Carlberg).  This movement, which influenced Africans as well as blacks around the world, specifically rejects the political, social, and moral domination of the West.   Leopold Senghor, Leon Damas, and Aime Cesaire are the three pioneers of the revolution.  The founder who expresses his ideas more broadly, though, is Cesaire, who uses literary works to express his viewpoint on colonization.  An excellent example of such a tactic is his play, A Tempest, which is a revision of

    One of the indispensable themes displayed in The Tempest is the duality of nature and society.  This is made apparent through the character of Caliban.  Caliban is a dis-figured fish-like creature that inhabits the island where the play The Tempest, takes place.

Dale Carnegie once said “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The ability to transform something appalling to alluring is a true indication of appreciation for life, but can at times result in consequences. In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, Prospero commands one of his spirits, Ariel, to summon a tempest as an act of revenge for being deposed as the rightful Duke of Milan by Antonio and Alonso. Although the tempest causes isolation between characters, Ferdinand, Miranda and Ariel are blessed by the tempest; receiving opportunities achieve a better life.

His mother, Sycorax, was banished there by sailors for no known reason; “This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child / And here was left by th’ sailors” (I.II.322-323). Sycorax is an African with blue eyes which is unusual and so people thought she was magic because of it, hence the name she was referred to in the quote, ‘blue-eyed hag’. Trapping Ariel in the oak tree also emphasized the magic people thought she had. They assumed she used magic to do it; “By help of her more potent ministers / And in her most unmitigable rage, / Into a cloven pine, within which rift / Imprisoned thou didst painfully remain”(I.II.328-331). I chose this quote because it expressed how she trapped Ariel. Sycorax died soon after and her son was left alone on the island until Prospero found him. Since sycorax might have had power, then theoretically Caliban was also suspected to possess the same power. This could have threatened Prospero, so he belittled Caliban and turned him into a slave. Prospero would tell Ariel stories of how Caliban was not human, but a monster; “Then was this island / (Save for the son that she did litter here, / A freckled whelp, hag-born) not honored with / A human shape” (I.II.334-337). In this quote, Prospero is belittling Caliban in order to gain more control over him and Ariel. Caliban is mentally weak so he succumbs to Prospero, but he is physically strong and still poses a