Transcript Act One scene two

Act One scene two - Caliban
Read lines 306 – 374
Can you identify any similarities
between Prospero and Caliban?
The Enslaved Caliban (lines 306 – 330)
• How does Shakespeare emphasise Caliban’s
position as a slave?
• How does Shakespeare introduce Caliban,
Miranda and Prospero’s feelings towards one
another?
• How does Shakespeare show Caliban’s
rebellious nature?
• How does Prospero oppress Caliban?
Lines 331 - 374
• What ideas do you have about Caliban’s use of
verse?
• Identify poetic imagery in Caliban’s speech. What
does Shakespeare suggest about his ability to
appreciate nature?
• Does any other character show such reverence
for the island?
AO2 – language, structure and form
• Which line tells us that Caliban’s rage stems from
Prospero? How does this reinforce the critical
argument that he represents Prospero’s Id?
AO3 – alternative interpretations
Line 350 - 352
Would’t; had been done;
Thou didst prevent me, I had peopled else
This isle with Calibans.
- Can you identify any echoes between Caliban’s
plan and Prospero’s here?
AO2 – structure
- In what ways might Caliban represent Prospero’s
Id?
AO3 – critical arguments
Post-colonial interpretations of
Caliban
• How might pre-20th century critics have used
Caliban to justify colonialism?
• How might 20th century critics use Caliban as a
means of exploring Britain’s colonial history?
AO3 – critical arguments
How important is Caliban?
“Caliban, a poignant but cowardly (and murderous) halfhuman creature… has become an African-American
Freedom Fighter. This is not even a weak misreading;
anyone who arrives at that view is simply not interested
in reading the play at all. Marxists, multiculturalists,
feminists, nouveau historicists – the usual suspects –
know their causes but not Shakespeare’s plays.
- Harold Bloom
Bloom also points out that Caliban only speaks about 100
lines in the whole play. Do you agree with Bloom’s view
that post-colonial interpretations of the play are invalid?
AO3 – critical arguments
… Furthermore
Critic David Linley argues that Caliban is not an
indigenous native, but “rather a first-generation
colonist himself. His enslavement by Prospero
repeats his mother’s earlier imprisonment of
Ariel, who might be considered the island’s
“real” indigenous inhabitant.”
AO3 – critical arguments
Homework essay questions
A figure who manages to be almost
simultaneously sinister and benevolent.
• Evaluate this view of Prospero in Act One of
The Tempest.