The Tempest: Examine the dramatic methods Shakespeare uses to show Caliban as victim to colonization - page 1
Keywords: The Tempest Caliban William Shakespeare Colonial Colonization Usurp Victim
By roshooo on 10/06/2010
Level: A Level (Year 12) / AS Level
Page Number: 1 of 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
The character if Caliban in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ has provoked many debates and interpretations since the play was first staged. Critics have disputed as to whether Caliban can be seen as a ‘victim of colonization’ due to his forced enslavement by Prospero, or an uncivilized being who needs to humanized. A ‘victim’ is a person who is deceived or cheated, by his or her own emotions or ignorance, or by the dishonesty of others. In Act 1 Scene 2 Caliban claims to have been usurped by Prospero“this island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother, which thou taks’t from me”, by Prospero when Prospero and Miranda first came to the island they imposed their own ways upon him, without consent or wish, and so some claim him to be a victim of colonization. The other interpretation of Caliban as “uncivilized”, an inhuman creature who is considered “barbarous” and “savage”, emerges from the presentation of his animalistic appearance, his primitive instincts and even his lack of social etiquette. Stephano’s description of Caliban bears no resemblance to a human; his portrayal of Caliban is a complex one where he continuously refers to him as a “monster”.
In Shakespeare’s day, and ensuing centuries, it was common for adventurers and explorers to go out to New Worlds, usually in order to colonize them. A common view of adventurers was that the natives of these New Worlds were uncivilized and in need of refining and educating. In some instances adventurers would openly exploit the natives by bringing them back home in order to serve them to their home population as a freak-show or extraordinary gift. At the time of the staging of Shakespeare’s plays such a view of the traveller having a role as educator and nurture would have been readily understandable to the upper classes among the audience.
Enlightenment thinkers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau placed great importance on Reason and believed that its role was to govern man’s behaviour. These thinkers liken this technique to Prospero teaching Caliban his language and culture, “I pitied thee, took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour,” and recognized Caliban as simply an uncivilized creature, not as someone who was unfairly colonized and indeed Caliban’s behaviour reflects this such as his use of the language which Prospero taught him to curse, “you taught me language and my profit on’t is, I know how to curse”.
From the outset, Caliban
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