‘Undoubtedly brutal, yet oddly sensitive’ By considering the role and dramatic presentation of Caliban in
the Tempest, evaluate this view..
Caliban is one of the most complex and contradictory characters in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’,
embodying the poetic, the pathetic and the savagely evil at different stages throughout the play. This
causes much debate as to how to interpret his character. Caliban, depicted as animalistic yet partially
human, serves as a symbol for the colonial oppressed and though his primitive, savage nature is
exaggerated, he is presented as being nobler than some of the other human characters. Though he acted
brutally and violently at times, there is without a doubt a part of him with which we as an audience can
empathise with.
Caliban’s brutality is first made clear to the audience through his monstrous physical appearance. Being
described as a ‘freckled whelp hag-born, not honoured with human shape’ immediately indicates that
Caliban is not only not fully human, but he has an ugly, animalistic appearance. Young shares this view
stating that Caliban is ‘on the edges of humanity’, is never wholly animal or human. This is illustrated
through Gregory Doran’s production, presenting Caliban as haggard, with a spine on the outside of his skin
to make his deformity clear. His physiognomy plants the seed of the audience’s disgust towards Caliban,
which grows the more we learn of, and experience, the character. Before meeting the character, Prospero
states that he was ‘got by the devil himself’ which immediately creates links between Caliban and hell,
presenting the character as the spawn of Satan. This justifies the audiences’ disliking the character, as,
during the Elizabethan era, there was a strong religious belief in which Satan and demons were considered
the epitome of evil and sinful attitudes. These links are emphasised in the Globe Theatre production where
Caliban is presented as being red and covered in dirt.
As well as his physicality, Caliban’s instinctive nature exemplifies his ruthlessness. His instincts are to eat his
dinner, presenting him as being primitive. This nature suggests that he has no knowledge of what is right or
wrong and that he prioritises pleasing himself above all other things. As Joanna Williams states, his
appetite demonstrates that Caliban is the ‘antithesis of human reason’. His lack of moral knowledge
suggests that Caliban is capable of doing the most callous, evil acts. An example of this is his other
instinctive desire to ‘seek to violate the honour of (Prospero’s) child’ to ‘people else this isle with Calibans’.
His brutality is very clear here as his instinct was to rape Miranda to create a master race of himself. At the
time of writing, a girl’s virginity was viewed as her most prized possession, therefore Caliban’s near staining
of it further emphasises his malevolence. Not only does he attempt to rape her, but he also has no remorse
for what he did, again highlighting he is brutal and as Keith Sagar said ‘morally ugly’.
Through his speech, Caliban’s viciousness is also apparent to the audience. He repeatedly wishes to cause
pain to Prospero, wanting to ‘blister (him) all over’ and have ‘the red plague rid (him)’. As he says this
directly to Prospero’s face, his cruelty is stressed, as he does not shy away from saying the most brutal
things. Furthermore, in Act 1 Scene 2, the length of Caliban’s speeches matches that of Prospero’s
suggesting that when speaking on the subject of pain and harm, Caliban is equally eloquent. Additionally,
he almost begs Stephano to ‘batter his skull’ and ‘paunch him with a stake’. This portrays Caliban as an
extremely violent character who gains comfort from others pain, thus illustrating his brutality.
Though there is no definite answer to the question of the origins of Caliban’s name, many support the view
held by Joanna Williams that it ‘is an anagram of cannibal’. Before the audience even sees Caliban on stage
therefore, they may make assumptions that he is an uncivilized, immoral, wild and savage character. Not
only through his name may these presumptions be made, but also through his past life. The audience
learns early on of Caliban’s past life with his mother, ‘the damned witch Sycorax’ with ‘sorceries terrible to
enter human hearing’. Caliban’s parentage, therefore, supports the idea that he is inherently evil, as he has
deep roots in the evil black arts.
That being said, there are elements of the play that present Caliban as a sensitive character, particularly
when Shakespeare evokes the audience’s sympathy for him. An example of this is his meeting of Trinculo
This study source was downloaded by 100000842568006 from CourseHero.com on 05-25-2022 14:16:53 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/82197422/caliban-essaydocx/
the Tempest, evaluate this view..
Caliban is one of the most complex and contradictory characters in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’,
embodying the poetic, the pathetic and the savagely evil at different stages throughout the play. This
causes much debate as to how to interpret his character. Caliban, depicted as animalistic yet partially
human, serves as a symbol for the colonial oppressed and though his primitive, savage nature is
exaggerated, he is presented as being nobler than some of the other human characters. Though he acted
brutally and violently at times, there is without a doubt a part of him with which we as an audience can
empathise with.
Caliban’s brutality is first made clear to the audience through his monstrous physical appearance. Being
described as a ‘freckled whelp hag-born, not honoured with human shape’ immediately indicates that
Caliban is not only not fully human, but he has an ugly, animalistic appearance. Young shares this view
stating that Caliban is ‘on the edges of humanity’, is never wholly animal or human. This is illustrated
through Gregory Doran’s production, presenting Caliban as haggard, with a spine on the outside of his skin
to make his deformity clear. His physiognomy plants the seed of the audience’s disgust towards Caliban,
which grows the more we learn of, and experience, the character. Before meeting the character, Prospero
states that he was ‘got by the devil himself’ which immediately creates links between Caliban and hell,
presenting the character as the spawn of Satan. This justifies the audiences’ disliking the character, as,
during the Elizabethan era, there was a strong religious belief in which Satan and demons were considered
the epitome of evil and sinful attitudes. These links are emphasised in the Globe Theatre production where
Caliban is presented as being red and covered in dirt.
As well as his physicality, Caliban’s instinctive nature exemplifies his ruthlessness. His instincts are to eat his
dinner, presenting him as being primitive. This nature suggests that he has no knowledge of what is right or
wrong and that he prioritises pleasing himself above all other things. As Joanna Williams states, his
appetite demonstrates that Caliban is the ‘antithesis of human reason’. His lack of moral knowledge
suggests that Caliban is capable of doing the most callous, evil acts. An example of this is his other
instinctive desire to ‘seek to violate the honour of (Prospero’s) child’ to ‘people else this isle with Calibans’.
His brutality is very clear here as his instinct was to rape Miranda to create a master race of himself. At the
time of writing, a girl’s virginity was viewed as her most prized possession, therefore Caliban’s near staining
of it further emphasises his malevolence. Not only does he attempt to rape her, but he also has no remorse
for what he did, again highlighting he is brutal and as Keith Sagar said ‘morally ugly’.
Through his speech, Caliban’s viciousness is also apparent to the audience. He repeatedly wishes to cause
pain to Prospero, wanting to ‘blister (him) all over’ and have ‘the red plague rid (him)’. As he says this
directly to Prospero’s face, his cruelty is stressed, as he does not shy away from saying the most brutal
things. Furthermore, in Act 1 Scene 2, the length of Caliban’s speeches matches that of Prospero’s
suggesting that when speaking on the subject of pain and harm, Caliban is equally eloquent. Additionally,
he almost begs Stephano to ‘batter his skull’ and ‘paunch him with a stake’. This portrays Caliban as an
extremely violent character who gains comfort from others pain, thus illustrating his brutality.
Though there is no definite answer to the question of the origins of Caliban’s name, many support the view
held by Joanna Williams that it ‘is an anagram of cannibal’. Before the audience even sees Caliban on stage
therefore, they may make assumptions that he is an uncivilized, immoral, wild and savage character. Not
only through his name may these presumptions be made, but also through his past life. The audience
learns early on of Caliban’s past life with his mother, ‘the damned witch Sycorax’ with ‘sorceries terrible to
enter human hearing’. Caliban’s parentage, therefore, supports the idea that he is inherently evil, as he has
deep roots in the evil black arts.
That being said, there are elements of the play that present Caliban as a sensitive character, particularly
when Shakespeare evokes the audience’s sympathy for him. An example of this is his meeting of Trinculo
This study source was downloaded by 100000842568006 from CourseHero.com on 05-25-2022 14:16:53 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/82197422/caliban-essaydocx/
