1 Shrivastava Subject: Comparative Literature/N1A Sakshi Shrivastava June 7, 2011 Faculty: Jessica Crewe

Shakespeares 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: Calibans 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 do the European character consider him inferior, but also Caliban himself considers himself fit to be a servant. His fear of Prospero is justified, since Prospero controlled him through his magical abilities: "I must obey. His art is of such powr / It would control my dams god, Setebos, / And make a vassal of him." (I, ii, 372-74), but even when he meets Stephano and Trinculo, who themselves are servants of the Royalty, Caliban places himself in their Stephanos

2 Shrivastava service, without having so much as a moment of hesitation. He does this, despite the fact that he considers himself as the rightful owner of the island.

The play begins with introducing Prospero and Miranda and that they had been cast away to a lonely, distant island after Prospero was usurped by his brother, Antonio. He tells his daughter, Miranda: Out of the dukedom and confer fair Milan With all the honours on my brother: whereon, A treacherous army levied, one midnight Fated to the purpose did Antonio open The gates of Milan, and, i' the dead of darkness, The ministers for the purpose hurried thence Me and thy crying self. (I. ii. 126 132) In the play, Prospero comes on the island, subdues the only inhabitant of the island and places himself on the helm of affairs. When Prospero speaks of first coming to the island, he says that the island was not: honour'd with A human shape (I. ii. 283 284). This suggests that Propero considered Caliban beneath himself and Miranda, so low as to not even be considered human. Prospero also expects Caliban to be grateful to him for educating him and lifting him from savagery. He refuses to acknowledge that he had forcefully taken the island from Caliban because he does not see Caliban fit to rule anything. Calibans sardonic rebelliousness is revealed in the same scene. He greets Prospero and Miranda with: "As wicked dew as eer my mother brushed With ravens feather from unwholesome fen Drop on you both! A south-west blow on ye And blister you all oer! (I, ii, 321-24)

3 Shrivastava From the above passage, Calibans hatred for his master and his daughter is quite evident. It consists predominantly of curses, which he himself says is the only benefit he has had from learning their language: You taught me language; and my profit on'tIs, I know how to curse. (I. ii. 363 364) Caliban's first speech emphasizes the conflict that arises from his lack of gratitude towards his master, which Prospero thinks he should be. In Prosperos view, he rescued Caliban from savagery and treated him with undeserved kindness: Thou most lying slave,Whom stripes may move, not kindness! I have used thee,(Filth as thou art), with humane care (I. ii. 344 346). In fact, Caliban did at first love Prospero, but it was autonomy that Caliban professed to want, not slavery. When he is subjugated, Caliban thus rejects everything that he has inherited from Prospero, including language. Caliban essentially feels betrayed, and this is evident in the tone that is used to address Prospero in his first speech:

This islands mine by Sycorax my mother, Which thou takst from me. When thou camst first, Thou strokst me and made much of me... ...and then I loved thee... Cursed be I that did so... For I am all the subjects that you have, Which first was mine own king; and here you sty me In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me The rest o thisland. (I. ii. 331 344) Through this interaction between Prospero and Caliban, Shakespeare seems to be creating a very negative image of Caliban within his audiences minds, not just physically but also by portraying him as an ungrateful servant who tried to rape his own masters daughter. On learning this, our sympathies automatically move towards Prospero and Miranda. However, at the same time, there is a subtle message in the lines, which shows that it was Caliban who was wronged. His island was forcefully taken away from him, he was subdued and made a slave in his own birthplace and all his evil actions were, in fact, driven by rebellion and contempt. Shakespeare himself seems to take great pains to present both sides of the issue.

4 Shrivastava But just as we start getting too moved by Calibans plight in the play, Shakespeare shows us a different facet of this man. Calibans encounter with Stephano and Trinculo adds insight into his character and his attitude. When Caliban encounters Stephano and Trinculo with their "celestial liquor," he willingly subjugates himself to them. Caliban does not ask them for his freedom, as would be expected. Rather, he begs them to be his master, even his god: "Thou shalt be lord of it, and Ill serve thee"(III. ii. 56). Caliban thus shows himself to be incapable of autonomy. In his relationship to Stephano, Caliban is even more pathetic than in his relationship to Prospero, for he abandons his rebellious attitude for one of hero-worship and groveling. By putting himself in willing slavery to Stephano, who is no more than a drunkard and a buffoon, Caliban shows himself to be truly in a pathetic state. The vicious curses that he had constantly sent to his old master Prospero are replaced by requests to lick the shoe of his new master "How do thy honour? Let me lick thy shoe..."(III. ii. 22-23). A drunk Caliban even attempts a poetic song for the first time, and makes a fool of himself by stumbling over his name: No more dams I'll make for fish Nor fetch in firing At requiring; Nor scrape trencher, nor wash dish 'Ban, 'Ban, Ca-caliban Has a new master: get a new man. Freedom, hey-day! hey-day, freedom! freedom, hey-day, freedom! (II, ii, 175-82) This passage shows that for Caliban, even the concept of freedom means having a new master. The European values, imparted to him by his master have been embedded in him so closely, that he has forgotten that he can be free even without a master. Even in his rebellion, he chose to go against Prospero not as the rightful ruler of the island, as he believed himself to be, but as a slave to another, very foolish, European.

5 Shrivastava Stephano and Trinculo, who are two of the least intelligent characters in the play, consider themselves superior to Caliban. Here we actually get to see the picture of the European social structure Shakespeare is trying to show. Stephano and Trinculo repeatedly refer to Caliban as a "monster." When Trinculo first comes across Caliban in Act II, Scene ii, his first thought is of finding a way to exploit him for profit: "Were I in England now, as once I was, and had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver." (II. ii. 28-30). When Stephano comes across the four-legged monster of Caliban and Trinculo, he too immediately thinks of the possible benefits of exploiting the "monster." "If I can recover him and keep him tame and get to Naples with him, he's a present for any emperor that ever trod on neat's leather." (II. ii. 69-72). Later on, in Act III, Scene ii, Stephano delights in talking down to his new servant. He seems to have no concept of Caliban as a human being. Rather, Stephano only sees him in terms of what he can get from him. Shakespeare here tries to show that even the most stupid and lowly Europeans view Caliban as an object, even though his intellect clearly surpasses theirs.

Shakespeare makes a deliberate attempt to show the audience that all the Europeans share this perception of Caliban unanimously. Even Antonio and Sebastian, who only encounter Caliban at the very end of the play, react to Caliban in a similar manner. Sebastian, on spotting Caliban, asks: What things are these, my Lord Antonio? Will money buy 'em? (V. i. 263 - 264) to which Antonia replies: Very like. One of them is a plain fish and no doubt marketable (V. i. 265 266). Antonio and Sebastian are two of the most evil characters in the play and also two of the most intelligent. Yet their immediate reaction to Caliban is one of exploitation, eerily similar to Stephano and Trinculos.

6 Shrivastava Throughout the play, Shakespeare maintains deliberate ambiguity while representing Caliban. He is shown to be bestial but has more depth than most of the other characters. Yet he considers himself inferior. During Shakespeares time, society had levels of classification where men were considered "superior" to other men. Shakespeare gives us a taste of this hierarchical culture through his play The Tempest. He shows us how "superior" men perceived themselves in contrast to lesser beings due to their race or colour. This is also evident from the fact that even Ariel, who was also Prosperos slave just like Caliban, was treated with more respect and was rewarded with freedom for his services. From being unjustly treated, Caliban thinks himself inferior to Prosperos race. Shakespeare may have done this so that the play finds social acceptance during his time but at the same time, he does not fail to ridicule the same. By means of the character that subjugate Caliban and the fact that Caliban quite intellectual, Shakespeare mocks the basis of superiority that existed during his time and in the play. He also goes on to show that due to this dominance of other races, it became inherently imbedded in the minds of the suppressor and the suppressed, the notion and basis of superiority. These were the early stages of racism. It is from these notions of supremacy that discrimination on the basis of race has stemmed. Even though it was not realized at that time, Shakespeare gave a beautiful picture of what prevailed during that time, and what actually was the case. He showed that just because the Europeans did not consider someone to be human enough, it does not stop the inferiors from being better persons that them.