Prospero and Caliban of William Shakespeares The Tempest...

Prospero and Caliban of William Shakespeares The Tempest Within The Tempest, characters such as Prospero and Caliban share an intimate connection. Without some kind of malevolent force motivating the action of the play, none of the major characters would come into contact with each other. A violent storm, formed by Prosperos magic, subjects the foreign characters to the might of his mysterious power. Issues of control become a central part of The Tempest. One way in which this is highlighted is through the relationship between Prospero and Caliban, his bestial servant. Their relationship does not utilize the conventional imagery of those who hold power versus those who do not. Rather, Caliban comes to symbolize a physical†¦show more content†¦Caliban says: When thou camest first, Thou strokedst me and madest much of me, wouldst give me Water with berries int, 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 showd thee all the qualities o the isle, (I . ii. 332-7) When they met, Caliban was uneducated, and did not know how to communicate with Miranda and Prospero. Under the tutelage of both people, Caliban learned to differentiate between day and night. The greater light in the passage referring to the sun itself. On another level, however, Prospero taught Caliban the difference between what was good, and what was evil. The fact that Caliban turned out the way that he did, points to a possible reason why Prospero treats Caliban in such a strict fashion. Because Caliban was given the freedom to choose good over evil, Prospero blames himself for Caliban?s desire to rape his daughter. Because he did not teach Caliban well enough, the responsibility of taking care of Caliban fall directly on the person who initiated him into the civilized world--Prospero. At the end of the play, Prospero recognizes his responsibility for Caliban when he says,...this thing of darkness I/ Acknowledge mine. (V. I. 275-6) Though he tells Ferdinand that Caliban is unde r his control (just as Stephano and Trinculo are under Alonso), Prospero claims more than leadership of Caliban. 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