Signet Essay Contest Winner 2017: Thomas Brodey
Thomas Brodey
A Creature in Prospero’s Own Image
Ever since William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest, readers and critics have argued about the character of Caliban, Prospero’s deformed slave. Caliban is described as a monster by Prospero, Trinculo, and other characters, who cite his uncivilized behavior and hideous form. Despite all this analysis, what many readers of The Tempest overlook is that much of Caliban’s character is shaped by the personality of his master and mentor, Prospero. Caliban shares numerous characteristics with Prospero, such as a desire for control, bitterness at perceived wrongs, and even a poetic streak. All these similarities suggest that Caliban is to a large extent the creation of Prospero, and mistreatment and enslavement the causes of at least some of Caliban’s uncivilized characteristics.
The most immediately striking similarity between Prospero and Caliban is that they both suffer from having been supplanted from their birthright. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan who was overthrown and forced into exile by his younger brother. Caliban is the son and heir of the previous ruler of the island, a witch named Sycorax. When Prospero arrived on the island, he in turn claimed the island as his own and enslaved Caliban. This usurpation of Caliban’s birthright sowed the seeds for Caliban’s bitterness toward Prospero. Ironically, however, it was also Prospero who taught Caliban how to hate usurpers. Prospero himself launches into furious tirades against those who betrayed him calling his own brother “a brother so perfidious!”. Since Caliban grew up in proximity to Prospero, it is hardly surprising that he says things like “This island’s mine…/ Which thou tak’st from me”. This righteous indignation comes to define much of Caliban’s character. Caliban’s eventual plot to kill Prospero makes sense given the hatred and desire for revenge that Prospero has unintentionally nursed in him for Caliban’s entire life. But despite Caliban’s hatred of Prospero, he continued to be influenced by Prospero’s behavior. Prospero’s magical power, which he often uses to intimidate Caliban, fascinates Caliban, who covets power. He enthusiastically swears to follow Stephano and Trinculo, for instance, when they appear to have power: “I’ll swear… to be thy true/ Subject, for that liquor is not earthly”. Even Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda, portrayed by Prospero as an act that proves beyond all doubt Caliban’s inherently evil nature, could be interpreted as a misguided attempt to imitate Prospero’s own manipulative and controlling behavior towards his daughter. It seems that Caliban’s alleged villainy stems not from inherent evil, but instead reflects the way Prospero has both taught and tormented him.
Despite having learned many negative traits from Prospero, Caliban exhibits a number of good qualities, proving that he has a capacity for good. Caliban says to Prospero that he “loved thee” when Prospero first arrived on the island, before he enslaved him. Caliban also proves himself to be surprisingly thoughtful and poetic at times, such as when he describes the island’s beauty. “Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not. / Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments/ Will hum about mine ears…”. Such a haunting description reflects Caliban’s genuine love of beauty and longing for his birthright. The reader cannot help but feel pity for his situation. These good qualities that Caliban shows, whether they come from Prospero, or some inherent goodness, work against the idea of the “thing of darkness” which Prospero considers Caliban to be.
At the end of the play, Caliban is the only character whose plot does not gain any sense of resolution. Prospero continues to regard him as a monster, “as disproportioned in his manners/ As in his shape”. Another line, however, reveals that Prospero’s connection to Caliban may be more complex. “This thing of darkness I/ Acknowledge mine,” he says, when he sees Caliban with Trinculo and Stephano. While this line superficially means that Prospero is identifying his servant, it could easily have a double meaning. Shakespeare could be suggesting that Caliban’s “darkness” may have come at least partially from Prospero. Such an interpretation furthers the idea that Caliban and Prospero are more connected than either of them knows, or perhaps even dependent upon each other. Prospero has in many ways created Caliban in his own image.
Caliban’s character is shaped by harsh events throughout his life, and particularly by the influence of Prospero’s tyranny. Their relationship resembles that of a dysfunctional father and son: Caliban learns from the behavior of Prospero, even as he curses and despises him. If the fact that he learns nearly everything from Prospero is not enough to prove that Caliban is not inherently evil, the way Caliban proves himself to be poetic and even profound at times surely is. Moreover, by revealing so many historical and psychological similarities between Caliban and Prospero, Shakespeare encourages the reader to look behind surface appearances. Unfortunately, at the end of the play Prospero refuses to show Caliban any understanding, seeming unaware of the close link they share. This tragic punishment for non-existent crimes is a fitting, although unfair, ending to the story of one of Shakespeare’s most misunderstood characters. In writing the character of Caliban, Shakespeare makes a point about how people often impose and project their own personalities onto others, blinding themselves to their true nature.
