The Tempest - Barbarism versus Civilization
In Shakespeare’s play, "The Tempest," an underlying theme of barbarism versus civilization appears. Shakespeare creates characters that exemplify symbols of nature or nurture. The symbolism of the characters is derived from their actions. These actions show Shakespeare’s view of the uncivilized and the civilized, as well as help the reader develop his own opinion of each side.
In this whimsical play, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, after being supplanted of his dukedom by his brother, arrives on an island. He frees a spirit named Ariel from a spell and in turn makes the spirit his slave. He also enslaves a native monster named Caliban. These two slaves, Caliban and Ariel, symbolize the theme of nature versus nurture. Caliban is regarded as the representation of the wild; the side that is usually looked down upon. Although from his repulsive behavior, Caliban can be viewed as a detestable beast of nature, it can be reasonably inferred that Shakespeare’s intent was to make Caliban a sympathetic character.
During the first encounter, Caliban comes across very bestial and immoral. While approaching Caliban’s cave, Prospero derogatorily says, "…[he] never/Yields us kind answer," meaning Caliban never answers respectfully. When Prospero reaches the cave, he calls to Caliban. Caliban abruptly responds, "There’s wood enough within." His short, snappy reply and his odious tone, reveal the bitterness he feels from leading a servile life. Caliban’s rudeness makes him seem like an unworthy and despicable slave. Also, Caliban displays an extreme anger toward Prospero. When Caliban is asked to come forth he speaks corruptly, "As wicked dew as e’er my mother brushed/With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen/Drop on you both!…And blister you all o’er!" Caliban’s attitude and disrespect is unfitting for a servant. However, his actions are justified.
Until Prospero arrived on the island, Caliban was his own king. The island was left to him by his mother, Sycorax. Nevertheless, Prospero took charge of the isle and eventually enslaved Caliban. "…Thou strok’st me…I loved thee…" is part of a quote that illustrates Caliban’s relationship with Prospero before he was his slave. Prospero comforted Caliban and gave him water and berries; he taught him how to speak, as well.
During this time Caliban loved Prospero and showed him the features of the island, "The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile…" Caliban regrets helping Prospero as he says towards the end of his speech, "Cursed be I that did so!" Caliban feels this way due to his imprisonment.
beginning of the story, Prospero forcefully got removed from Milan by his own brother. Although he said he was grateful they ended up on this island. Once he got to the island he frees a trapped and tortured spirit named Ariel. He also found a half monster/man named Caliban. Prospero took Caliban under his wing and tried to educate him, such as helping him communicate with humans. In return, Caliban helps Prospero survive on the island since he is not used to having to live on his own. However, Caliban tries to rape Prospero’s daughter, Miranda, so Prospero makes Caliban his slave.
Upon Prospero’s arrival, he teaches Caliban language as to make this “savage” more civilized and obedient, however, Caliban uses the language he has learned to “curse” his master and refuse to accept the commands from Prospero, showing his rebellion. Moreover, even though Caliban is under the punishment of “apes that mow and chatter” and “hedgehogs which lie tumbling in [his] barefoot”, which significantly shows that he is far less powerful than Prospero, he is still uncompromised: he is very eager to conduct his “revenge” and “bite [Prospero] to death” because, at his first encounter with Stephano and Trinculo, Caliban immediately suggests that. Though Caliban’s attempt to “destroy [Prospero]” ends up in failure, this endeavor is rebellious. And Caliban’s rebellion against the oppression from “tyrant” reveals his nobility that he is courageous to fight against Prospero, even though Prospero is much more powerful than him. This rebellious and uncompromising character of Caliban in The Tempest sharply differs from the “waned and left” indigenous people in Indian Place-Names.
Confusing bullying and shaming is not uncommon in this day and age. The goals for bullying and shaming are very different from one another. Shaming is and should be used in a way to help alter someone’s negative behavior and prevent it from expanding from just a phase to a lifetime. Bully’s only goal is to make someone feel unwanted over jealousy or for no reason at all. The bullier is usually someone not as close to the victim and leaves emotional scars rather than a life lesson. Shaming has teaching purposes
In act 2 scene 2 it appears to see that Caliban the native that had helped Prospero to survive on the Island has now become Prospero's slave. Caliban is tortured by Prospero so much that he is scared when he sees Stephano and Trinculo and mistakes them for Prospero's magic spirits that have come to torment him again,
In the play, The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Prospero took control of Caliban and made him his servant. Prospero was able to do this because he viewed Caliban as an uncivilized being; Caliban was portrayed as a beast. Thus, Prospero was able to assume power over Caliban. It can be seen from Prospero’s speech that he thinks that Caliban is inferior to him when Prosper says, “I have used thee, Filth as thou art, with human care […]” (1.2.348-349). Prospero tries to justify enslaving Caliban, but all he really does is place Caliban into a category of bestial and uncivilized and as a result enslaves him.
Throughout the play The Tempest there is a relationship that pits master and slave in a harmony that benefits both parties. Though it may sound strange, these slaves sometimes have a goal or expectation that they hope to have fulfilled. Although rarely realized by its by its participants, the Master--Slave, Slave--Master relationship is a balance of expectation and fear by the slaves to the master; and a perceived since of power by that of the master over the slaves.
The Tempest is a play that is fixated with the concept and theme of imprisonment. This fixation, both literal and figurative, can be seen as the play manifests this concept in a number of various ways. Literally, the play centres on the story that Prospero and his daughter Miranda are exiled to a remote island and forced to live there in solitude. Prospero goes on to enslave Caliban, the island’s only native inhabitant, as well as freeing and ‘rescuing’ Ariel, a sprite, from imprisonment in a pine tree, to do all of his bidding. This literal theme is continued figuratively through the epilogue of the play, whereby Shakespeare suggests that throughout the play, the actors and playwrights are kept captive through expectations set by the audiences who may or may not even approve of Shakespeare’s work, whereby Prospero states that the audience must “release [him] from [his] bands.” (Shakespeare, 2011, Epilogue). Does the term ‘slavery’ then refer to the characters in the play, or rather to the audience, and how they interpret the play? This essay serves to uncover this problem of slavery within the play, as well as discussing the many instances of slavery, and how this play challenges them.
During Shakespeare's time social classification was much more rigid than today and some members of society were considered superior to other members. Shakespeare provides an example of this rigid social structure through his play, The Tempest. Shakespeare illustrates how superior men differentiated themselves from lesser beings on the basis of race, financial status, and gender. Through the character of Prospero, Shakespeare provides and example of one, who had reason to feel superior, yet treated others equally and with the respect due to them.
In literature as in life, characters are multi-dimensional beings. They possess a wide variety of character traits that make them who they are. In the Tempest written by William Shakespeare, Prospero traits resemble those of the Europeans that came during the exploration of the Americas. Thus, Prospero’s treatment of Caliban is similar to the way Europeans treated the Native Americans.
The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare, and involves the main themes of power, control, betrayal, forgiveness and revenge. Shakespeare very intentionally inter-relates numerous diverse forms of power throughout the course of the play. There is political authority, shown through the plethora of political characters and their schemes, while at the same time there is parody provided of by the comic characters. The power of magic and love, and its ability to unify and absolve also plays a main part in the play. From the beginning to the end the play, Prospero, the main character, takes excessive advantage of his control and authority, both properly and improperly.
Caliban’s life is a work of nature without any nurture before the arrive of Prospero, and the shipwreck. Through out the play, Caliban’s life only got worse until the end. The Europeans influences of Caliban had negatively influenced his life. Prospero had enslaved, and overly punished Caliban for attempting to violate Miranda. Trinculo and Stepheno caused Caliban to lose his dignity. The spirits of Prospero had caused Caliban to lose his self-confidence and resulted in him following Trinculo and Stepheno. With the above examples of mistreatments of Caliban by the Europeans, therefore the influences of the Europeans had cause Caliban to ruin his life.
The Tempest by Shakespeare and A Tempest by Cesaire both bring attention to the themes that are seen in present day society. A Tempest mostly speaks on behalf of the reference to Malcolm X and the never-ending gain of freedom for both Caliban and Ariel and brings in Eshu, who is a black-devil god. The Tempest speaks of the unity and justice among the different classes of people and discrimination from the beginning. There is a great amount of detail in both stories that is useful. The way society had developed and worked when both stories were published and even written is presented in today’s world, even though it’s not exact references, it still leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Justice, freedom from oppression and discrimination
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.
Caliban the deformed savage on the island from his first appearance in the play is more animal than human. Prospero first refers to Caliban by calling him a, "tortoise" (1.2.318). This sets the tone for Caliban's character in the play as he is labeled as a semi-beast in the play. But interestingly despite Caliban's deformed body and animal like appearance he possess remarkable eloquence that gives him power. Prospero, a renaissance prince even with his velvety language only equals Caliban in eloquence. In some ways this dichotomy between Caliban's appearance in the play and his remarkable gift for language creates a magical and mysterious atmosphere in the play. It complicates the relationship between Caliban and Prospero for although Prospero claims to own his savage his savage speaks not like one who is owned.