Caliban in Shakespeares The Tempest Essay -- essays research papers

The Tempest, considered by many to be Shakespeares farewell to the theatre, has of all his plays the most remarkable interpretive richness. The exceptional flexibility of Shakespeares full point is given particular prominence in The Tempest due to its originality and analytic potential, in particular in the presentation of one of his most renowned and repugn characters, Caliban. Superficially portrayed in the play as a most detestable monster, Caliban does non evoke much sympathy. However, on further examination Caliban presents himself as an extremely complex character and soon his apparent monstrosity is not so obviously transparent. The diverse range of presentations of him on stage exemplifies Calibans multilateral character. Although Caliban attempts to rape Miranda, appearing initially to be nothing more complex than a degenerate beast and so should be presented as such, Caliban is in particular a human being and not a monster, misunderstood only because Prospero, the col onizer, has unjustly depicted him as being merely a primitive native. At the time of The Tempest, settlers began moving out of Britain to colonize America, Africa and parts of Asia. Laying a claim to overseas territory was becoming increasingly important to national identity and power. The voyages of Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama sparked what has come to be known as the age of European Expansion, when England and the rest of Europe began devoting their energies to exploring and developing markets overseas. When The Tempest was written, these immensely important favorable events were on the top of everyones mind, including, presumably, Shakespeares. It is for this reason that the play is often considered an allegory of European discovery and i... ...ual intentions behind the creation of the play can never be revealed. However the bulk of the evidence points towards a Caliban who is, despite his possible demonic parentage and unspecified deformity, a human, and it often a ppears that Shakespeare wished him to be presented as such. This view is not unfounded, as it was known that Shakespeare had read, and indeed quoted from Michel de Montaignes Of Cannibals where it is argued that the customs of natives were not barbarous or uncivilised, merely different. Post colonial interpretations of The Tempest appear to view Caliban in a similar light. Calibans wonderful grasp and description of his surroundings does not suggest evil, rather his words imply a true innocence. Caliban is not a monster and so should not be presented as such, he is simply bare, unimproved nature, an example of humanity at its rawest form.