Caliban's Role in The Tempest
From his first appearance in the play, Caliban is portrayed as having more animal-like characteristics than human ones. This sets the tone for Caliban’s character, as he is labeled a “semi-beast” throughout the play. Interestingly, despite his deformed body and animal-like appearance, he possesses remarkable eloquence, which ultimately gives him some element of power. In some ways, the dichotomy between Caliban’s appearance and his astonishable gift for language creates a magical and mysterious air about the character. It complicates the relationship between him, and, most namely, Prospero. In the introduction to The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, Stephen Orgel writes, “As for the quality of his language, he is given one of the great poetic setpieces in the play”. It is through Caliban’s quality and usage of language, as viewed through his senses, that we are able to see his power rival Prospero’s. Perhaps Caliban’s most crucial relationship is with Prospero. In The Tempest, it would seem that no two characters could be further apart than Prospero, the “right Duke of Milan,” and Caliban, the “savage and deformed slave”. They represent two different extremes on the social spectrum: that of the natural ruler, and the naturally ruled. Their positions on the social hierarchy are largely due to the fact that Caliban responds almost wholly to passions, feelings of pleasure- his senses, while Prospero is ruled more by his intellect and self-discipline- his mind.