Caliban in The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Caliban in The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Caliban is very important to The Tempest. He is as a prominent link

between the audience and play. Elizabethan theatre was more like a

football match that theatre, as we know it today. There were raucous

crowds who would have particularly liked having a monster they could

jeer at. Therefore Caliban would have been a central character to the

lower class character, as they could feel superior to him in a very

class determined society. This would have added to the visual element

of the play.

Shakespeare has created the character of Caliban with depth. He has

done this by giving him two possible sides to interpret. In some ways

he is a puzzle for the director to solve. Should he be a hardhearted

monster who wants to kill his master of should he be mentally

defective and miss-guided with human qualities who we feel sympathetic

towards? In my opinion he is the second. I think this is due to the

fact he has always been poorly treated and used by prospero. An

example of this is in Act 1, scene 2, 'fetch us in fuel, and be

quick'. Here prospero is using Caliban for his own purposes. He then

says aside ' I must obey, his art is of such power' this highlights

his fear of prospero.

In a recent production of 'The Tempest' Caliban very violently as a

monster in chains kept like a beastly wild animal. This makes the

audience feel uncomfortable as he was snarling and growling around the

stage. This portrayal affected my entire view of the play with

negative effects. I feel that by making Prospero's control over

Caliban so physical it takes away an element of his magical power he

has which is e...

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uncivilisedly as he has not been brought up with human culture and

qualities.

The language that is used by Caliban is generally of lower standard of

that of the other characters. Most of his lines are capable of being

sympathetic towards him and angry monstrous.

To conclude the plat Shakespeare explains the ending through prospero.

The audience is informed of what is going to happen to the characters

with a denouement. However Shakespeare fails to explain what is to

happen to Caliban. In Act 5, scene 1 Prospero admits that he has been

responsible for what he has become. Caliban on the other hand admits

he has been bad and will now 'seek for grace'. It is then left to your

imagination to decide what is to happen to him. The most probable

explanation that the audience assume is that he is left on the island.