Jada Walker-Briggs

Dr. Botelho

ARHU-122

21 October 2022

The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare. In this essay I will be retelling

The Tempest in the view of Caliban. In the play Caliban is portrayed as a savage, he is also a

slave of Prospero’s. Caliban does not see the world as the other people on the island do, that is

why it is important to see if from his point of view.

The first quote I will be using is from Act 1, when Caliban is talking to Prospero. He says

“This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother, Which thou takest from me. When thou camest

first,Thou strokedst me, and madest much of me; wouldst give me Water with berries in’t; and

teach me how To name the bigger light, and how the less, That burn by day and night: and then I

loved thee, And show’d thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle, The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren

place and fertile: Curs’d be I that did so! All the charms, Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light

on you! For I am all the subjects that you have, which first was mine own king: and here you sty

me In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me The rest o’ th’ island.” Caliban gives this

speech because he thinks the island belongs to him, and others have come to take it away from

him. In my opinion, this shows how the people on color had no say over what goes. They had no

position of power, even if they were there first.

In scene 3 Act 2, Caliban is speaking with Stephano and Trinculo. He says to them “Be

not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.

Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,

That, if I then had waked after long sleep, Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming, The
clouds methought would open, and show riches Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked, I

cried to dream again.” I believe the meaning of this quote is reassuring the others that he should

not fear the sounds of the island. This quote shows how the island they live on is harsh and scary.

The last quote I will be using is also from scene 3 act 2, Caliban is still speaking to

Stephano and Trinculo during this time. “ I say, by sorcery he got this isle; From me he got it. If

thy greatness will Revenge it on him, —for I know thou darest, But this thing dare not”. To me

this quote shows how Caliban has now gotten his allies for his plan for revenge. This world that

they are living in is extremely spiteful and has a ton of violence. I would say it is like some parts

of the world today, mainly because violence is still extremely relevant now.

In The Tempest Caliban is the most known characters. That is because he has a unique

personality and sees the world he lives in totally different from the others. Caliban had a hard

time adjusting to the island after the ship had wrecked. He felt entitled to the island, like it was

only for him. He was extremely used to the island. He told the others to not be afraid because it

will not hurt them. Finally, he started to see violence in the world. He begins to want to get

revenge on Prospero. Caliban has a massive number of ways he sees these people on his island.

I listed the ways that were most evident to me about how Caliban feels.