Monday, September 2, 2019
Relationship between Caliban and Prospero in Act I of The Tempest Essay
The short extract taken from ââ¬Å"The Tempestâ⬠helps us learn a lot about the characters Prospero and Caliban and their relationship within the play. Prospero, when we first meet him, emerges as a very controlling and dominant figure on the island, mainly because he refers to the character Caliban as his ââ¬Å"slaveâ⬠. This shows us that Prospero must be a powerful man and that he has authority over the island and its people. Prospero uses his power to abuse Caliban, and he threatens him with phrases such as ââ¬Å"thou shalt have cramps, side-stitches...â⬠if he does not comply with his orders. But when Caliban refuses to obey him, Prospero resorts to insults in order to control him because he tells Miranda, his daughter, ââ¬Å"But, as ââ¬Ëtis/We cannot miss himâ⬠meaning that they cannot survive on the island themselves. Through the language used, we quickly learn how Prospero believe that he is ââ¬Å"aboveâ⬠Caliban, because he calls him names like ââ¬Å"savageâ⬠, ââ¬Å"hag-seedâ⬠and ââ¬Å"poisonousâ⬠. Caliban, however, is not a weak and passive slave as one might expect. Instead he threatens both Prospero and his daughter, ââ¬Å"...
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