Caliban in The Tempest is also an embodiment of slavery on the island that Prospero has usurped. Caliban, therefore, represents the oppressed and the downtrodden class of slaves in an unequal world. In his sheer brutality, he reflects the darker side of Prospero, and his desire to rule the island mirrors Antonio's ambition (which led to his overthrow of Prospero). He, therefore, represents slavery and the revolt against slavery in all its forms. As far as Caliban’s outward appearance is concerned, he is referred to as a creature “legg’d like a man! It is a typical colonial practice. Because he is the island's only original inhabitant, he doesn't even know how to speak until Prospero and Miranda arrive. In his first speech to Prospero, Caliban insists that Prospero stole the island from him. He is treated as a beast by Prospero and he learns how to use language. Caliban, the bastard son of the witch Sycorax and the devil, is an original inhabitant of the island. Caliban represents not … It was an attempt to justify colonization. As Prospero says, "We'll visit Caliban, my slave - he does make our fire, fetch in our wood and services in offices that profit us." PROSPERO Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban 340 Whom now I keep in service. Enter Caliban with a burden of wood. Thy groans Did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breasts Of ever-angry bears. Caliban has many influences on the other characters in the play as well as contributing to the way Caliban and the other characters in the play are perceived by the … When Prospero relinquishes his magic at the end of the play, he says, "I'll drown my book" (5.1.57). At the same time he also represents the force for striking back on the colonizer. He accepts Stefano as a god and entrusts his two drunken and scheming collaborators with his murderous plot. He belongs to the world of the of poet's flight of fancy. Contact Us Of all the characters in Shakespeare’s plays, few have been as rigorously and variously interpreted as the monster ‘Caliban’ from his final play ‘The Tempest’. Caliban, the bastard son of the witch Sycorax and the devil, is an original inhabitant of the island. The name Caliban is a boy's name of Romanian origin meaning "black".. He is a victim of colonial rule and exploitation. The physical appearance of Caliban is vague; all attempts to sketch this strange being have proved futile. The story takes place on a remote island, where Prospero—the rightful Duke of Milan—schemes to return home from exile with his daughter through manipulation and illusion. Caliban is the son of Sycorax, a witch mentioned several times throughout the play. Ferdinand's traditional approach to courtship is very different from Caliban's attempt to rape Miranda in order to "people the isle with Calibans." But Shakespeare describes this creature as an innocent — perhaps half man and half fish. For instance, the audience never learns what is to become of Caliban or what will happen to Antonio and Sebastian. In some ways, though, Caliban is also innocent and childlike—almost like someone who doesn't know any better. Caliban rightly resents this fact because the island should have rightfully been his after the death of his mother, the wicked witch Sycorax. But they’ll nor pinch, 5 Fright me with urchin-shows, pitch me i’ th’ mire, Nor lead me like a firebrand in the dark As a slave, Caliban hates Prospero, the hard taskmaster; in fact, he hates "all service". Caliban's plot to murder Prospero also mirrors Antonio and Sebastian's plot to kill Alonso. Prospero at one time might have 'petted' Caliban and treated him with great affection, but in the final analysis, Caliban is his slave and Prospero himself makes no bones about calling him his slave without feeling embarrassed. He is also rather savage in devising his plot to kill Prospero (though no more savage than Prospero is in setting the hounds upon him). For a lot of critics, Caliban is symbolic of what happened to victims of European colonization in the centuries after Shakespeare wrote The Tempest. His knowledge of the land demonstrates his native status. Caliban was the central character in James Clouser's rock ballet Caliban, a 90-minute adaptation of The Tempest that was scored with live performances by St. Elmo's Fire.