Tempest 4: Prospero & Caliban

Despite the post-colonialist interest in the figure of Caliban, the central character of the play is undoubtedly Prospero. - Prospero has 674 lines, Ariel 194 and Caliban only 175.

He speaks more than three times more lines than any other character. - he speaks 30% of the entire play (more than Ariel, Caliban, Antonio and

Miranda combined).- However, not all of these words are spoken to the other characters: - Prospero uses more asides than any other character in Shakespeare’s

plays.

It is Prospero’s character that most clearly evolves over the course of the play.

Moreover, he is clearly in control of the action from start to finish.

Prospero plans the reconciliation from the moment his astrology tells him that his enemies are within his reach: “A most auspicious star” [I.ii.182]- that is why he separates Ferdinand from Alonso and orchestrates the

young man’s meeting with Miranda.

However, when he tells their story to Miranda [I.ii], it is clear that he still feels pain for what has happened to him, - the option of revenge seems to remain open until he finally renounces it at

V.i.127-8:“The rarer1 action isIn virtue than in vengeance.”

Moreover, by the end of the play, Prospero knows he faces a binary choice: if he is to return to Milan and resume his ducal powers, he must abandon his magic.

1 rarer – (in this case) greater, more impressive

The Expositional Scene

The most difficult part of the play is the exposition scene [I.ii]

Shakespeare didn’t have a problem telling the backstory2 through a character in this rather3 clumsy4 way (as we saw in As You Like It [I.i] and in the Henriad)- the alternative to an expositional scene was to use a prologue spoken by a

chorus.

However, in this case Prospero’s lengthy discourse helps to establish him as the centre of consciousness - this is events from his perspective.

Amusingly, Prospero’s exposition is a complete waste of time. - After explaining in great detail to his daughter what happened to them,

she meets the Prince of Naples moments later and the name draws a complete blank5!

- Moreover, she never once in her scenes with Ferdinand refers to events of the past or the share which Naples had in them.

- At the end of the play she bestows6 undifferentiated admiration on all the courtiers: Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian and Gonzalo.

2 backstory – what has occurred before the beginning of the play 3 rather – somewhat, surprisingly 4 clumsy – inelegant 5 to draw a complete blank (draw-drew-drawn) – mean nothing to her 6 to bestow sth. on – confer sth. on, express sth. for

Prospero’s Name: The Dee Link

The most obvious meaning of ‘Prospero’ is (the inappropriate) ‘prosperous’ - the name has clearly been chosen for its assertive masculinity (stress on

an initial plosive letter – just like ‘Caliban’, and ‘Ferdinand’!) rather than7 its meaning.

However, ‘Prospero’ can also mean ‘fortunate’, which is what ‘Faustus’ also means.

- in Kit Marlowe’s Dr Faustus the magician offers to “burn [his] books” to save his soul from damnation;

- this is similar to Prospero’s decision to “drown [his] book” (V.i.56)

It has been suggested that both Marlowe’s Faustus and Shakespeare’s Prospero are portraits8 of the Elizabethan philosopher/magician John Dee.

One inspiration for Prospero was probably Dr John Dee, Queen Elizabeth’s alchemist. - He had a substantial library of science, philosophy and magic. - According to legend, he raised the storm that destroyed the Spanish

Armada.

John Dee directed several theatrical productions at Cambridge which included impressive special effects.

- “For the rest of his life Dee attributed the reports that he was a conjuror and a magician to his early career as a producer of stage spectacles.”9

- Dee considered himself a mathematician, an alchemist and a theurgist10.

Dee’s final years were spent in exile from the court of James I - he died in 1608 accompanied only by his daughter Katherine.

7 rather than – as opposed to, instead of 8 portrait – depiction, representation 9 The Tempest by V. and A. Vaughan [Arden Shakespeare, 2006]10 theurgist – beneficial magic, ‘white’ magic

Prospero’s Name: Prospero Adorno

Shakespeare probably got the name of ‘Prospero’ from that of Prospero Adorno (1428-86), Duke of Genoa, who formed an alliance with Ferdinand, Duke of Naples.

- Shakespeare would have known of Prospero Adorno from Thomas’s History of Italy (1549), which we know he read.

- The Duke of Milan tried to depose Adorno but failed. Later he was overthrown11 and expelled by his brother, Antoniotto, who governed with the support of Milan.

- The Tempest is basically a garbled12 version of this moment in Italian history.

Even this link7 is not necessary; Ben Jonson’s Every Man in His Humour (1600) originally contained a character named ‘Prospero’ (the name was later changed to ‘Wellbred’).

Antonio

Even if one accepts the post-colonialist arguments, it should be noted, as argued by W.H. Auden and Deborah Willis, that the truly threatening ‘other’ to Prospero is not Caliban but Antonio; - a character who demonstrates “aggression unmodulated13 by a sense of

familial or communal bonds”. - As a Machiavellian villain, Antonio has been compared to Richard III,

Lady Macbeth and Iago.

Prospero forgives his unnatural brother but Antonio does not seek forgiveness.- In fact, Prospero can only subdue14 Antonio with a veiled comment that

he knows that Antonio plotted15 to kill King Alonso and could destroy him with this information.

Shakespeare repeats Montaigne’s question: “Which is more barbarous, the educated European who makes a sham of16

his Christian upbringing, or the ‘savage’ who responds honestly to his natural instincts?”

11 to overthrow (-throw/-threw/-thrown) – oust, eject, dethrone12 garbled – confused, muddled 13 unmodulated – not moderated 14 to subdue – control, restrain 15 to plot – conspire 16 to make a sham of (make-made-made) – be insincere about

Prospero & Sex

There is a tendency to represent Prospero as an old man- however, analysis of the text and context suggests that he is in fact

probably aged between 40 and 45.17

Some recent critics see Prospero’s urgency in getting Miranda off the island and married as a reaction to incestuous desires towards his daughter.

Prospero is as impatient with Ferdinand as he is with Caliban- but Ferdinand is working for a specific goal18 (Miranda).

Prospero’s obsession about the possibility of sex in the younger generation echoes the fixation of the magician who controls the island in ‘Il Gran Mago’ (a Commedia dell’Arte).

17 The Tempest by V. and A. Vaughan [Arden Shakespeare, 2006]18 goal – objective

Psychomachia

The title of the play could refer to Prospero’s problems with anger management.

Prof. Nigel Smith comments: “The very word ‘tempest’, echoing the Latin tempus (= time) bears also the dual sense of ‘temperance’ and ‘temper’, the two sides of Prospero’s character which are revealed to us as he seeks to19 control, to educate and to regain his lost state.”- Could Ariel and Caliban simply be personifications of temperance and

temper?

R. S. White has compared Prospero to the controller of a virtual reality “a la Matrix”.

- He has such control over other people that he doesn’t really relate to them, and his renunciation of magic at the end of the play reminds one of someone switching off20 his or her computer at the end of a VR session.

Prospero is a strangely opaque character - soliloquy reveals the private working of the minds of Hamlet, Macbeth or

Angelo but Prospero’s soliloquys are strangely external.

One way to understand this is to conceive of the whole play as taking place in Prospero’s mind: the island is simply a place of psychomachia.

- in other words the characters represent various aspects of Prospero’s unconscious enacting an internal conflict.

- Poet William Wordsworth described The Tempest as “a journey of the mind”.

19 to seek to (seek-sought-sought) – try to 20 to switch off – turn off, deactivate

Colonialism & Prospero’s Character

Even if we accept that this is a play about colonialism, the extent to which we see the play as an apologia for – or a criticism of – colonialism depends on our reading of Prospero’s character.

If we see him as a benign demi-god, then his actions are justified.

However, if our interpretation is that he is a control-freak who finds it more difficult to control his own impulses than the people around him,

- then our view of Caliban is much more sympathetic21.

Prospero has few social skills; he is resentful, untrusting and has no sense of humour. - Moreover, he is often abusive when he speaks to others and he is

unrelentingly severe with Caliban, generating our sympathy22 for the would-be rapist23.

At no point is Prospero more unattractive than when he turns the spirits, who have just performed the masque (the fullest demonstration of Art), into hounds to hunt Caliban and the others.

However, the significance of the ending is that Prospero has reached a point in his life when he can offer forgiveness and hence24 the possibility of reconciliation. - He is the central character and the point is that he manages to substitute

love for hate in his own head.

21 sympathetic – (false friend) compassionate, positive22 sympathy – compassion 23 would-be rapist – sb. who plans to commit sexual assault24 hence – therefore, so

Prospero the God

Another view is to see Prospero as a sort of Old Testament God- from this perspective, Caliban is the individual who resists the laws of

God and suffers as a consequence, a sort of Elizabethan/Jacobean atheist (in the sense presented in Faustus and Tamburlaine of an individual who challenged God’s authority.).

- while Ariel is the faithful servant of God; a happy, characterless slave.

There is no mention of the Christian God because on 27th May, 1607 swearing was banned from the stage. - This included mention of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost or the

Trinity.

On the island Prospero seems to have usurped the power of God/the gods- he can manipulate the minds and the experiences of all those around him.- What Prospero’s magic cannot do, significantly, is alter the nature and

inclinations of other’s hearts/characters.

Caliban

Prospero finds Caliban when the latter is still a child (12). - He naturally both adopts a position of adult authority over the boy and

brings him up25.- The change in their relationship comes when Caliban (aged about 22)

tries to rape barely26 adolescent Miranda. From this point on Prospero’s attitude towards Caliban is, not unreasonably, that he needs to be constantly controlled.

- Given the laws at the time, Prospero’s treatment of a would-be rapist of a minor is clement and benign.27

Caliban chooses to try and satisfy his desires in the moment rather than delaying his gratification.- One must assume that without any possibility of leaving the island,

Prospero is educating Caliban to eventually be civilized enough to marry Miranda.

Without the attempted rape and without the marriage in Tunis, he might have ended up ‘king’ of the island again with Miranda as his queen.

Delayed gratification28 is a human quality, a sign of (Protestant) civilization.

There is confusion about whether Caliban should be considered human.- Indeed29, on the same day (the day of the play), Miranda says that

Fernando is only the third man she has met (including Caliban) but later than she only knows two men (Prospero and Ferdinand – excluding Caliban).

Caliban is probably best viewed as an enfant sauvage (= wild child as in Truffaut’s film), socialized too late to fully incorporate into human society.

- Interestingly, Victor de Ayeron, the real-life boy at the centre of Truffaut’s film was 11 or 12 when he was found in 1798, the same age as we must assume Caliban was when found by Prospero.

25 to bring sb. up (bring-brought-brought) – raise sb., rear sb. 26 barely – only recently 27 rape was a serious crime, aggravated by the fact that the victim was a minor and a virgin. Mediaeval

English law recommended castration followed by blinding but by the Early Modern period the standard punishment was death.

28 delayed gratification – the ability to postpone a small immediate pleasure in exchange for a greater future pleasure 29 indeed – (emphatic) in fact

- Victor was considered “uncivilized” and strenuous (though unsuccessful) efforts were made to teach him to speak. Indeed, his case was linked at the time to the concept of the Nobel Savage.

Caliban’s Learning Curve

Notice that the real flaw30 in Caliban’s character is that he has not learned from his experience with (the ‘colonialist’) Prospero when the Clowns arrive.- Rather31, he repeats the entire process of revealing the island’s resources

for Stephano, responding once again to newcomers’ rather32

condescending generosity.

Moreover, Prospero’s learning is the key to his power- but it is rejected by Caliban, and the creature is correspondingly

powerless.- his slavery is a function of his own defects as well as of Prospero’s

magic.

However, in contrast to Antonio, he seems to learn in the end when he accepts his final work assignment.

- Caliban is at least more self-disciplined that Stephano.

Caliban’s Fate

The text is silent on Caliban’s fate (because he isn’t a central character). We simply don’t know if he - is left behind on the island, or- accompanies Prospero to Milan.

His ‘seek for grace’ (V.i.296) could comment suggests that he expects to continue in Prospero’s serve.

- though it could also mean that he seeks Prospero’s forgiveness and, presumably, freedom.

30 flaw – defect 31 rather – (in this case) instead, by contrast 32 rather – (in this case) somewhat

Shakespeare’s Cannibals

Remember that the only cannibal in Shakespeare’s canon is Tamora the Gothic Empress of Rome and the starving mothers of Tarsus in Pericles.

Othello mentions the Anthropophagi – a legendary cannibalistic tribe from Ireland and King Lear mentions the cannibal Scythian, who eats his children.

In other words, all Shakespeare’s cannibals are Europeans.

This is unsurprising if you believe there is an American connection to The Tempest. - There is both archaeological and documentary evidence of cannibalism by

English settlers33 in the extreme conditions of the Virginia and New England winter.

For example, the Virginia Company’s True Declaration of the estate of the colony (1610) includes a grisly description of cannibalism by an Englishman who ‘mortally hated his Wife’, ‘secretly killed her’ and claimed that she died naturally before he ‘fed daily upon her’ (p. 1757).

33 settler – colonist

The Archetypal ‘Black Rapist’?

You will read postcolonial texts that say things like “Shakespeare constructed colonial discourse” by showing us an example of a ‘native’ as a rapist. Ania Loomba talks about the stereotype of “black rapist” etc. - Except that Caliban is only a native in the very strictest sense of the word

and is not black. Shakespeare’s rapists and would-be rapists are never black.

Clotan is British (Cymbeline), Stephano is a Neapolitan (The Tempest), Angelo is Bohemian (Measure for Measure), Proteus is Veronese (Two Gentlemen of Verona), Chiron and Demetrius are Goths (Titus Andronicus), Tarquin is Roman (Rape of Lucrece), Boult is Lesbian/Greek (Pericles) and Henriquez is Spanish (if Double Falsehood is Cardenio).

- All Shakespeare’s (would-be) rapists are Caucasians, except for Caliban.

While Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda is reprehensible, it is totally realistic without any ethnic slur34. - An uncivilized young man of 21 or 22 is alone on an island with a

middle-aged man and a pubescent girl; sexual desire, though not the act of violence, is more or less inevitable.

- Furthermore, there is no racial slur in Caliban lusting after 12-year-old Miranda: the ages and the age difference is almost exactly the same as that between Romeo and Juliet.35

Caliban is an atavistic ‘wild man’ inherited from mediaeval European literature and subsequently recast as Mr Hyde. - As Hayden White observes, “The Wild Man almost always represents the

image of the man released from social control, the man in whom the libidinal impulses have gained full ascendancy”.

34 slur – defamation, insult 35 Romeo is considered to be aged between 18 and 23. Juliet is 13.

The Island

Notice that the island was once a place where “abhorred” deeds36 were carried out37 by Sycorax. - savagery is always simmering under the surface in The Tempest.

Discord and moral chaos predominate; bitterness, hatred and suspicion are always close to the surface. - The island seems hostile.

Notice that the play starts in total confusion; in Act I Scene ii, when Prospero is telling Miranda (and us) about the treachery38 of his brother, his account frequently breaks down in confused syntax and lines of thought. - He is reliving pain – like a Lear or an Othello at the end of a tragedy.

But this is a romance, so the depths are reached in the middle of the play (or even earlier, as here). - Cf. Prospero’s broken speech patterns with those of Leontes in Acts I, II

and III of The Winter’s Tale.

Prospero is always tempted towards “the dark side” (to use Star Wars terminology!). - He is not purely good39 and he has

a powerful need for revenge.

The Tempest is of course one of a series of island adventures that takes a small isolated island as a microcosm in which to experiment with different political structures. - the tradition probably starts with

More’s Utopia and also includes Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Golding’s The Lord of the Flies and even that appalling40 TV series Lost.

36 deed – act, (in this case) crime 37 to carry out – perform 38 treachery – perfidy

Identifying the Island

Moreover, it should also be remembered that Prospero’s island is in the Mediterranean and that Caliban’s mother was a blue-eyed Algerian witch.

Richard Paul Roe identifies the island in The Tempest as Vulcano, one of the Aeolian Islands just north of Sicily and south of Stromboli.

These islands are notorious41 for violent storms that seem to come from nowhere. - Moreover, Vulcano is infested with hedgehogs, just42 like the island

described in the play.

There is a deep nook43 – the Grotta del Cavallo – in which a ship could be hidden44, bright yellow sands (caused by sulphur deposits, hot mud pools45, fumaroles, caves, scamels46 and mulberry bushes47 – as the island in The Tempest requires. - none of these things exist in Bermuda (except the mulberries) or the

islands off Virginia.

Caliban says that “the isle is full of noises” and the volcanic activity on Vulcano causes constant strange subterranean sounds.

Vulcano is on the Duke of Naples’s logical route home from Tunis (his situation in the play) and no other island in the world offers so many characteristics described in The Tempest.

Other critics identify the island as Pantelleria or Lampedusa - other islands around Sicily.

Bearing all this in mind48, all the post-colonial interpretations of the work have to be treated with care.

39 like the magi in the Commedia dell’Arte40 appalling – awful, terrible 41 notorious – (false friend) infamous 42 just – (in this case) exactly 43 nook – (in this case) cavern, hiding place44 to hide sth. (hide-hid-hidden) – conceal sth., place sth. out-of-sight45 mud pool – mudpot, type of hot volcanic pool full of a viscous dark substance46 scamel – type of seabird 47 mulberry bush – (Morus alba) type of small tree that produces fruit48 to bear sth. in mind (bear-bore-borne) – take sth. into account , take sth. into consideration

A Lot of Logs

Prospero is apparently obsessed with stockpiling49 wood.- “Prospero’s main50 activity since his arrival on the island has been its

deforestation”.51

Ferdinand says, “I must remove some thousands of these logs and pile them up” [III.i.9-10]- that’s a hell of a lot of wood!

No wonder Caliban’s plan for killing Prospero involves “with a log batter his skull52, or paunch53 him with a stake” [III.ii.90-91]

This reflects a national problem:“Overconsumption (of wood) created early-modern England’s most urgent environmental problem: deforestation”.54

In 1611 Arthur Standish told King James I [that if there were] “no wood, [there would be] “no Kingdome”.

And a personal experience:“By the time Shakespeare wandered through the Forest of Arden, the woods themselves were steadily being reduced by the demand for timber in building new houses”.55

Meanwhile, comparison of illustrations shows that, while the Globe was completely surrounded by trees when it was reconstructed in Southwark in 1599, by 1611 the number of trees around the playhouse had been significantly depleted.

There is even a colonial parallel:“A major part of the effort to subdue Ireland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was to clear its forest”.51 - this policy was repeated in Scotland in the 18th Century.

49 stockpiling – accumulating 50 main – principal, primary 51 Gabriel Egan in Green Shakespeare52 skull – cranium 53 to paunch – stab 54 Randall Martin in Shakespeare and Ecology55 Peter Ackroyd in Shakespeare: the Biography. John Speed remarked on “great and notable destruction of

wood” in the region in 1611.