Caliban in The Tempest
‘The Tempest’ is the magical story of the ship-wrecked inhabitants of
an island. It deals with many serious themes such as; nature/nurture,
power, magic and treachery but ‘the seriousness is never allowed to
cause disquiet in the audience’. Many of these themes are still
relevant today. The Tempest is, in effect, ‘a fairytale complete with
magical occurrences, suspension of the laws of nature and a happy
ending’.
Caliban is an interesting an important character in ‘The Tempest’. He
brings to the play issues that have a humorous side but are also
serious, for example the treatment of inferiors. Prospero’s treatment
of Caliban is portrayed as being amusing, with over-the-top curses,
but it reflects the poor treatment of servants (or slaves) in
Shakespeare’s time.
From act one scene two we learn about Caliban’s history and how he
came to be on the island and in service to Prospero. We know this
from, ‘This island is mine, by Sycorax my mother . . . the rest o’ th’
island’. From Miranda saying, ‘‘Tis a villain, sir, that I do not love
to look upon,’ we assume that Caliban must be truly bad if someone as
sympathetic and loving as Miranda thinks so badly of him. We also know
that he is resentful of Prospero and Miranda being his masters because
when they call him out to chop wood he says, ‘There’s wood enough
within.’ A director would tell Caliban to say this bitterly and
grumpily. From this scene we also know that Caliban is bitter that
Prospero and Miranda have taken over ‘his’ island, ‘This island’s mine
by Sycorax, my mother, which thou tak’st from me.’ This scene doesn’t
really tell you how Caliban ap...
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... are always looking for a leader because although Caliban complains
about Prospero (and even plots to kill him) he still likes the comfort
of having a leader who will look after him. Although Caliban rebels
against Prospero he still stays with him because that is better than
having to fend for himself.
I think that Caliban is possibly the most important character
(excluding Prospero) because he is so different from the other
characters. He offers a light hearted contrast to the vitriolic nature
of characters such as Antonio. Rather than fear of hate Caliban, the
audience should consider him a naïve creature that needs to be led.
Caliban shows a side to human nature that some would want to disown,
and so call him a monster, but I think that he is a faintly
frightening part of the human mind-set that cannot be avoided.
Throughout life every man and woman fits into a specific gender role. We are told what is expected of men and women from birth until death. Many people influence our view of how we should act and what we should say such as our parents, friends, and even the media. Males and females play very different roles and these differences are apparent in our every day lives. These differences are not the same as they used to be. Society has changed the way it treats men and women over time.
Through a historical lens, Shakespeare’s The Tempest revolves around the evolving times of England during the Tudor Dynasty in 1552-1603. During those times Queen Elizabeth I was the newly appointed ruler of England after her half-sister, the previous ruler had died. This new change was the new beginning for England. It allowed many opportunities to arise such as a new stock company, provisions for the poor, and a chance for many to explore the world with their new wealth. To thank and impress their new Queen, many set sail to conquer new lands. Similar to history, The Tempest did contained a few curious Englishmen and their king discovering new land but the exact location is unknown. At the time of Shakespeare’s
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William Shakespeare, one of the most inspirational authors, playwrights, and Englishman’s to ever walk the earth. During his time during the 1600's he wrote two great plays. “Shakespeare was prolific, with records of his first plays beginning to appear in 1594, from which time he produced roughly two a year until around 1611” (McDorment”) They share things that are similar but they also disagree with each other quite a bit. What we can really talk about is the two main characters from the two stories. These two stories are Macbeth and Tempest. The two main characters are Macbeth and Prospero. Three things can be compared with these two; they are both the protagonist, they have to do with betrayal, and the tragic loss of something.
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In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the background characters hold great importance in the overall plot of the play. Characters such Sycorax establishes the setting of the play, providing the readers with background knowledge leading up to the play. Sycorax, in many ways, serves as a mirror image to Prospero. However, as Frey and Skura suggests in their literatures, The Tempest reflects much about the events happening in the real world (Frey, Skura). The life of Sycorax is a representation of what’s happening in the Old World as well as the New World.
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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 actions towards her. Prospero saved Ariel from the confinement of Sycorax who held her prisoner.
In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, there are two characters who appear to be polar opposites. The characters of Caliban and Ariel both play very important roles in the play. The term caliban is defined as “a brutish or brutalized man,” and the term ariel is defined as “a spirit of the air” (Dictionary). The definitions of these two characters names even show the huge difference in the two characters before readers or viewers even get to know the characters. There are also differences in how the two characters feel about the self-proclaimed king of the island, Prospero. However, regardless of their many differences the one thing that they do have in common is the fact that they are both oppressed by Prospero who has deemed himself king of the island and seek freedom.