The play The Tempest was written by William Shakespeare in the early 17 th century. The main character Caliban is depicted as a deformed monster who lives on an island made up of Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan. The name Caliban is thought to derive from the word calamari which means squid in modern Italian, this leaves many people to believe that The Tempest was inspired by tales of sea monsters. The character Caliban is often seen to be one the most misunderstood characters in The Tempest, with many literary critics believing him to be Shakespeare’s symbol for all humanity.
The story begins when Prospero (the rightful Duke of Milan) and his daughter Miranda are stranded on an island after Prospero has been overthrown by his usurping brother Antonio, who had set himself up as king. The play starts six years later when Prospero raises a storm using sorcery which results in his controlling both the weather and causing destruction at sea while wrecking his enemies’ ships. After this he returns to the island where he raises his slave Caliban into helping him prepare for revenge against those who usurped his dukedom.
The play has been thoroughly interpreted by many critics with each having their own way of viewing the story and its characters. The character Caliban is often viewed as a deformed monster who only wishes to kill people and drink blood, but it has also been suggested that he may be representing different aspects of humanity such as racism, slavery or colonialism. The conflicting views on the character Caliban within The Tempest create an interesting debate about whether some literary critics believe him to be nothing more than a darkly depicted monster while others view him as a deep symbol for some aspect of human motivation and nature.
Caliban also exhibits qualities which some readers interpret as those similar to those of African slaves in early 17 th century London; Caliban has no control over his destiny and is forced to live in servitude while Prospero controls everything that happens on the island. The process of reading The Tempest can be very interesting because it does not give any direct or clear answers about what Caliban represents, which may make The Tempest difficult for some readers to understand at points.
When The Tempest was first performed audiences were left with many conflicting views about the characters Caliban and Prospero; by today’s standards The Tempest would be considered racist because it depicts Caliban as a barbaric character who is unable to speak fluently like the other major characters. Some literary critics believe there are links between Caliban and African slaves in early 17 th century London both are shown to not have any control over their own lives and are forced to work as servants.
The ideas of freedom and choice were often seen as something which only the wealthy could enjoy, with many critics believing Caliban’s enslavement within The Tempest reveals how his lack of freedom and choice shows that he is not one of Prospero’s equals. Other literary critics believe The Tempest is a story about power and how it corrupts those who do not have the ability to exercise that power; this interpretation views Prospero as an unjust ruler who manipulates people into doing what he wants them to do by using magic. The debate around The Tempest continues because no single interpretation can be viewed as correct or incorrect, his has led to many differing views on how characters such as Caliban should be viewed by readers.
The contrasting views of Caliban in The Tempest show that the play is open to many different interpretations, which adds an interesting dimension when reading The Tempest. The fact that The Tempest does not offer any clear answer about what Caliban represents makes The Tempest difficult for some readers to understand at points, but many literary critics believe this shows just how much people can learn from reading The Tempest because it challenges them to try and make their own interpretation.
Caliban is one of The Island’s native inhabitants in The Tempest. He born to a witch named Sycorax .. Caliban is often described as “a savage and deformed slave” (V 2, 255). He had been exiled from Algiers to The Island, where he serves as Prospero’s slave. Despite being viewed as monstrous and ugly, Caliban’s appearance does not affect him because he believes that man but only derives from how another person perceives him. The monster represents the primitive man in The Tempest. Caliban is often compared to the devil.
The monster also has a pet bird who serves as its slave, but it’s possible that the creature owns Prospero’s books because his library collapsed when he met The Monster. Caliban hates Prospero because The Monster was abused by The Magician when The Monster was young , and resents being enslaved by him. Nevertheless, he does not kill Prospero when given the opportunity to do so. Instead, The Monster attempts to rape Miranda , only to be stopped by Caliban ‘s mother Sycorax. Caliban is depicted in different ways throughout The Tempest depending on which character is present at any time.
The monster is seen as a villain by The Court because The Monster attempts to rape Miranda . The Magician views Caliban with contempt because The Monster is rebellious, lazy, and flatulent. Alonso describes Caliban as “a born devil” for his actions. The character Ariel , who has been enslaved by The Magician , perceives Caliban as being bad because of what The Monster has done to Prospero. All of the characters in The Tempest have an opinion on Caliban that contradicts one or more other characters.
There are no generally accepted opinions about monsters , so the main question arises how he should be perceived by audiences. An advantage of multiple sides was used in different productions of The Tempest depending on the race / ethnicity of the actors playing The Monster. The only perspective that The Tempest expresses through Caliban is The Magician’s view, but this perspective is neither constant nor exact. In the opening pages of The Tempest, The Monster has been enslaved by Prospero by being beaten with a stick and made to swear an oath not to harm anyone on The Island.
This suggests that The Monster is a savage and dangerous creature who is inherently evil, or at least far away from humanity. However, he also resists attempts by other characters during the play to do him physical harm. If The Monster were truly evil, why would have wanted to help Trinculo climb a tree? Furthermore, if Caliban had been born bad like he describes himself as during his first soliloquy, The Monster would have never helped Alonso’s people. The Monster’s motives are not clarified during The Tempest, so The Magician’s opinion about The Monster is the only one provided for audiences to consider.
Caliban acts bad, but that does not mean he is evil or destined to remain that way. The character may be rebellious and defiant, but The Monster may show goodness through his actions like helping Trinculo climb a tree (I 3 184-186). Caliban was portrayed as a black man throughout The Tempest in New York Shakespeare Festival production in 2013 directed by Tina Landau . The choice of having an African American actor portray Caliban divided critics because some believed it was done out of racial ignorance , while others supported the production for its political relevance.
The Caliban actor, Patrick Stewart , argued that The Monster was not considered evil through The Tempest because of The Monster ‘s race , but because The Magician hated The Monster . He claimed that The Monster represents “the repressed unconscious mind”, which makes him good . He concluded by saying that racism is everywhere in the world. Caliban was portrayed as a Native American named Arrow in The Public Theater 1993 production directed by George C. Wolfe . This version of The Tempest calls attention to the mistreatment of Native Americans in the past and offers an appropriate reflection on past injustice using modern language.
