Caliban And Prospero

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Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, revolves around the theme of power. A duke is usurped, a conspiracy to kill a king is made and everyone seems to have a different notion of power. But there is one belief they all agree on: Caliban’s inferiority – including Caliban himself. While it is certain that Caliban has more to his character than what is superficially portrayed, he is still considered the lowliest creature. This is the manifestation of the social hierarchy that existed during the time this play was written. It gives us an insight into the minds of the people and what their idea of superiority was. Shakespeare, very subtly mocks this notion of supremacy held by the Europeans in the play by making it crystal clear where every character stands in terms of intelligence and what their rightful place is but at the same time, he sticks to the strict social structure that is expected to exist at that time. Caliban is the most complex and the most intriguing character in the play. He is the only native of the island on which Prospero arrives. His description suggests that he is not human, at least not wholly so. He is at least part fish, often considered a beast. Throughout the play, we see different character reacting to the sight of Caliban. Here, it is pertinent to note that all the characters apart from Caliban are European. Shakespeare, on more than once occasion, shows that this might be the reason why they consider themselves superior to Caliban through their reactions. Physical appearance of Caliban is alien to them – he is of a different skin-tone, he does not wear the same clothes, he does not have the same facial features as them nor does he have their etiquettes and mannerisms; hence they automatically consider him to be non-human. This gave them a justified ground to subdue him and declare themselves superior. It is interesting to note is that not only
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