Essay about Shakespeare’s Characterisation of Caliban

Caliban is arguably one of the most complex characters in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, despite his low position in the social hierarchy. Primarily, we form our first impression of Caliban through what Prospero says about him. Prospero draws parallels between Caliban and his other servant Ariel, who was ‘too delicate’ to perform the ‘abhorred’ commands of the witch Sycorax. He then goes on to compare Ariel with Caliban; â€Å"a freckled whelp hag born – not honoured with/A human shape.† In line 317 of the play, Prospero refers to Caliban as a ‘tortoise’ and then immediately compares him to Ariel, who is a ‘fine apparition.’ This shows the variation of the two servants and shows Prospero’s obvious derogatory attitude towards Caliban and his biased†¦show more content†¦Prospero calls to Caliban who is on the other side of his cave, who replies â€Å"there’s wood enough within.† Caliban a ssumes that Prospero is calling to give him work of some sort. This unwillingness to work implies how lazy Caliban is, and despite his position as a slave, refuses to obey his master’s commands. He then appears onstage and immediately backs up the negative comments that have been made about him. He says: â€Å"As wicked dew as e’er my mother brushed With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen Drop on you both! A south-west wind blow on ye And blister who all o’er†. This first impression from Caliban himself is not a good one. With the aforementioned quotation, he immediately backs up any negative things that Prospero has said about him, and furthermore establishes a negative connection with the audience. We are then informed of how Caliban once tried to rape Miranda. When Prospero raises this point, Caliban responds in an unashamed manner, saying: â€Å"O ho! O ho! Would’t had been done! Thou didst prevent me. I had peopled else The isle with Calibans!† Certain questions have been raised regarding the mentality of Caliban, in the sense that he could be categorised as both a human being and a wild animal. There is evidence to suggest that Caliban is human because he has the qualities and emotions of a human being, as well as a varied and complex vocabulary. On the other hand, he may beShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Shakespeare s The Tempest 1632 Words   |  7 Pagestheatre-making† through its heavy reliance on cutting-edge technology to create magnificent spectacles and revitalise used tropes of past productions. Being the first classical production to use live motion capture, Doran’s imagination severs Shakespeare’s last play from some of its old ties and shifts it into the twenty first century. The play begins in media res, enthralling the audience by immediately throwing them into chaos and disarray from the very first scene. 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