How Can The Tempest Be Considered An Outsider

Throughout many of Shakespeare’s plays, there are characters who are labeled as “outsiders” because they do not seem to fit into society, they are not part of a dominant group, or they are clueless to what is going on around them. In The Tempest, Caliban is an “outsider” on an island with Europeans; he acts and is treated very badly. In Anthony and Cleopatra, Antony is an “outsider” to Rome because his mind his wherever Cleopatra is. Coriolanus is not only an “outsider” to the common people, but he also becomes an “outsider” to Rome, and as a result he joins the Volscians and ultimately is an “outsider” to them, as well. Many of the characters act based on the way they are treated.
The Tempest is a play that has various characters that can be considered “outsiders” in a dominant group throughout the play, such as Ariel, however, I feel like Caliban fits into this category the best. Prospero enslaved Caliban, a native of the island, and since he is an outsider, Prospero treats him like a pariah. Caliban is not welcome to live in the world of Prospero and Miranda, nor the other Europeans who end up on the island; he is only still there because he is basically their servant. For example, in Act 1 Scene 2, Prospero wants

At the beginning of the play, he says, “Let Rome in Tiber melt away and the wide arch of the ranged empire fall.” (1.1 35-36). He does not care about his status in Rome anymore, he feels like he belongs in Alexandria with Cleopatra. In a way, Antony feels like an outsider in Rome because Cleopatra isn’t there. He’d rather be with her than with the dominant Roman group. Later in the play, his mind shifts back to battle. Antony feels like he has been betrayed by Cleopatra, and in some ways becomes an “outsider” to her. This causes Antony to threaten to kill Cleopatra. He says, “But better ‘twere thou fell’st into my fury for one death might have prevented many.” (4.13