Musings on Caliban and colonialism

In the Tempest, the audience’s first introduction to Caliban is preceded by Prospero’s exchange with Ariel. Ariel’s passive servitude, respectful attitude and general compliance and integration into the human world contrast deeply with Caliban, and this juxtaposition continues throughout the play and serves to illustrate the theme of colonialism, and its different levels, that his character embodies and explores.

There are a number of qualities that set Caliban apart from the rest of the characters in the text. Prospero calls him names such as ‘demi-devil’, ‘hag-seed’ and ‘strange fish’ are myriad. While they might appear pejorative, and were probably meant that way by Prospero, these names also link Caliban to the island of his origin. Caliban is, indeed, a spirit of non-human form and the son of a powerful witch. Yet it could be argued that Prospero has projected his own prejudices onto these terms and appropriated their true concepts to highlight his own authority. Some choose to read this as Shakespeare’s response to Montaigne’s oxymoronic vision of the noble savage.

Shakespeare’s contemporary, Montaigne argued that the uncivilised societies of the indigenous American tribes were in fact naturally noble, which he believed was superior to the artificial constraints of the civilised, western world. In his essay, Of Cannibals, he explores the perpetually conflicting relationship between nature and nature, and the intersectionality of it with cultures and customs.

Caliban’s connection to the island is primal and deeply connected in nature. He repeatedly states that his connection and inheritance to it is through his mother Sycorax, a powerful woman, possibly of colour. Not only does this remind the audience of Prospero belief in his right to colonial domination, but also adds to the Otherness of his character. The