Prospero

Caliban’s Feelings Towards Propero. Act 3 Scene 2
In this essay I will tell you about Caliban’s feelings towards Prospero, how Prospero treats Caliban and a chain of exploitation involving Caliban and Prospero. Caliban is the rightful owner of an island that Prospero, an ex-duke of Milan and a type of sorcerer, and his daughter Miranda, a girl who was only 3 years old when her father was overthrown by his brother Antonio and pities people who are harmed by her father’s magic, took over when they arrived on the island and managed to control Caliban with his magic. Caliban finds more people to work with, when Prospero ship wrecked their boat, called Trinculo and Stephano and plan to kill Prospero.
After Prospero took over the island Caliban has tried to reclaim it but is then punished by Prospero’s magic. When Caliban talks to Trinculo and Stephano about trying to reclaim the island from him he tells how he was usurped ‘As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island’. The words tyrant and sorcerer display Prospero as an evil and cruel master, when Caliban calls him a tyrant means that he thinks Prospero is a person who exercises power in a harsh, cruel manner. In the quote it says he was ‘cheated me of the island’ shows that he was ill-treated by Prospero and suggests that Caliban has been made inferior. In line 106 Caliban asks Stephano if he will destroy Prospero, the use of the word destroy tells the audience that Caliban hates Prospero so much he doesn’t only want to kill him he wants to hurt him so much that the broken beyond repair, and he wants them to ‘batter his skull……. Cut his wezand (his windpipe/throat)……paunch him’, punching is when you cut an animal’s stomach area and all its intestines fall out and you then clean the intestines to get out the good meat.
The way Prospero treats Caliban according to Caliban he is ill-treated by Prospero and tells Stephano the ways he is cruel to him, ‘I say by sorcery he got this isle, from me he got it…….. Revenge on him for I know thou dar’st’, when Caliban tells Stephano that he was usurped by cruel magic he asks ‘how now shall this be compassed? Canst thou bring me to the party’, Stephano is asking Caliban how will he get his revenge and can he come along to help Caliban. Stephano agrees with Caliban that he was ill-treated and happily agrees the help kill Prospero and in return he gets to rule the island and have Caliban and Trinculo as his viceroys.
While Caliban is telling Stephano of all the horrid things he wants to do to Prospero he tells him about his daughter Miranda and Caliban says ‘Ay, lord, she will become thy bed, I warrant, and bring thee forth brave brood’ the exploitation is that Caliban is telling Stephano that he can force Miranda to sleep with him and give birth to many children at his pleasure, the irony in this is that Caliban exploiting Miranda, the person who has always been exploited. When Caliban asks Stephano if he will help kill his master he says ‘beat him enough, after a little time I’ll beat him too’ the exploitation in this quote is to Prospero because they are implying that they can easily overpower him and beat him, in line 106 Caliban asks Stephano ‘Wilt thou destroy him then’, the word destroy tells that he does not only think he can overpower him but have enough strength to destroy him, this exploitation is no ironic because Prospero used his strength to exploit Caliban.
Whilst Caliban is listing the ways he wants to kill Prospero he tells Stephano and Trinculo ‘First possess his books: for without them he’s but a sot’ He is telling them this because he knows how weak he can be without his magic and his books and how strong he is with them. The fact that Caliban knows his weaknesses tells the audience that he has been planning to get revenge on his master, now he has formed an alliance with Stephano and Trinculo means that he can put his plan into action and finally get revenge on his old cruel master Prospero. He follows on from this and says ‘burn but his books; he has brave utensils- for so he calls them’ Caliban is saying that you can burn anything you want except his books because they hold great power and will be a type of trophy they gain for killing Prospero.
In the story of The Tempest I think that Caliban and Prospero’s relationship is bad because at the beginning they argue about whose island it is. Later on in the story Caliban finds Stephano and Trinculo and makes an alliance with them, he then promises to show and tell them the best springs are in return for some wine, he also gets them to help him get his revenge on Prospero. Prospero doesn’t like Caliban because he abuses Miranda and always threatens him and tries not to help them live their lives. Overall I think Prospero and Caliban’s relationship is the worst in the whole story and doesn’t improve and only gets worst.

Tom Crick 9B