Caliban

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Caliban Character Summary

Caliban is son of the witch Sycorax, who ruled the island on which the play is set before Prospero colonised it.

Caliban believes that he is being unfairly punished when he was a source of knowledge to the white Europeans. He knows the island’s many secrets and treasures because he is native to the land.
As a result, he resents his enslavement and wants to take revenge on Prospero.
How you interpret Caliban’s character might reflect the context in which you live. Some people read Caliban as either a victim of Prospero’s tyranny or villain to the innocent Miranda.

Caliban told Prospero about the island’s unique qualities: 'And then I loved thee, / And showed thee al the qualities o’th’isle'. In return, Prospero 'made much of me [Caliban]', and taught him 'language.'
The name 'Caliban' may be an anagram of the derogative 'cannibal’ or could derive from ‘Cariban’ (British people heard tales of those from the Carib Islands, so he does not appreciate the power his knowledge of the English language has: 'my profit on’t / Is, I know how to curse.'

The characterisation of Miranda is such that she is presented as kind and gentle. So we sympathise with her most.
Her hatred of Caliban - 'a villain sir, / I do not love to look on' - biases the audience towards Miranda.
We hear of his attempted 'violat[ion]' of Miranda’s 'honour' and as a result, do not view Prospero as a villain when he subjects Caliban to torture.
Prospero uses his magic to 'rack thee with old cramps , / Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar.'

Caliban is son of the witch Sycorax, who ruled the island on which the play is set before Prospero colonised it.

Physical punishment isn't the only thing used on Caliban. Language is also used to insult him.
He is referred to as 'hag-seed', 'tortoise', 'fish', 'beast','misshapen knave', 'freckled whelp' and 'monster'.
These derogatory labels create a bias opinion from the audience, who will view Caliban as less than human because of his actions as well as his physical shape.
Caliban acknowledges that if he was successful in raping Miranda, he could have reinstated his position of power: 'would’t had been done! / Thou didst prevent me, I had peopled else / This isle with Calibans.'

Caliban isn't as clueless as many of the characters make him out to be. In Act 4, Scene 1, Caliban is the only one who realises Ariel's illusion is fake: 'Leave it alone, thou fool; it is but trash.'
Whether Caliban is aware that this is an illusion conjured by Ariel is not clear.
Nonetheless, for a character who is meant to be below all from the civilised world, he certainly appears more knowledgeable and wise than Stephano and Trinculo.

Here are three key quotations that highlight aspects of Caliban's character:

'You taught me language, and my profit on 't / Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you / For learning me your language!'
- Caliban resents the language Prospero taught him because it is part of how he has been oppressed and colonised by him.

'Beat him enough. After a little time / I'll beat him too.'
- Caliban shows no mercy because he has been treated poorly and does not have the ability to forgive in the way that Prospero does.

'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 dar'st, / But this thing dare not.'
- Caliban thinks that Prospero got the island illegally and illegitimately, and he wants to get revenge.