Act Two scene two – introducing the sub-plot

Stephano and Trinculo

• • • The sub-plot mirrors the main action Stephano and Trinculo act as comic foils to Antonio and Sebastian Why do you think the scene immediately follows Antonio and Sebastian’s failed plot?

Caliban’s speech – lines 1 - 17

• • • • How does Shakespeare use language to reveal Prospero’s cruelty?

What other points in the play are echoed here?

Throughout the play, instances of elision (slurring words together), ellipsis and contractions occur, adding to the sense of echoing within the play as well as its dream-like feel. What examples can you find in Caliban’s speech here?

What does Caliban think Trinculo’s singing is?

AO2 – language and structure

Trinculo – lines 18 - 40

• • • Why is the effect of Trinculo speaking in prose? Who does he contrast with and what is the effect of this?

How does Shakespeare use Trinculo to develop the theme of exploitation?

How does Shakespeare use physical comedy in the scene?

AO2 – language and form

Stephano – lines 41 - 77

• • How does Shakespeare immediately introduce Stephano as a base character?

Find quotations to show that they ply Caliban with alcohol. What evidence is there that this may be a darkly comic echo of Prospero’s treatment of Caliban (1.2. 332 – 340)?

Costume

• • How does the use of costume add to the comic impact of the scene? (36 – 38) What does Stephano think when he sees Caliban and Trinculo under the gaberdine (59 – 60 88 - 90)?

Read the article on clothing in The Tempest and hightlight key ideas AO2 – language and form AO3 – alternative interpretations

Caliban – lines 114 - 170

• • How does Shakespeare show how easily Caliban is won over by Stephano and Trinculo?

Which lines show that this mirrors Caliban’s first encounters with Prospero?

• • • AO3: alternative interpretations Is this a comic parallel or something more sinister?

Support your point of view with textual evidence How does this affect the audience’s view of Caliban?

AO3 – alternative intrepretations

The end of the scene – line 174 - end

• • In what ways in Caliban’s behaviour primitive (or indeed monstrous) at the end of the scene?

Can you see any ironies in the way the scene ends?

Key quotations – comic parallels with the main plot Main plot Sub-plot

Homework Essay

Undoubtedly brutal, yet oddly sensitive.

By considering the role and dramatic presentation of Caliban in The Tempest, evaluate this view.