One of the greatest dilemmas in creating the role of Caliban in The Tempest is deciding on a balance between the character’s manhood and bestiality. This must be carefully considered as Caliban, though not the pivotal character of the play, is certainly one of the most noticeable and individual. In addition, we are meant to find a certain amount of sympathy with the exiled Prospero, and the way we view Caliban’s character affects how we let ourselves view his master.
Prospero first speaks of Caliban as “not honored with a human shape.” (i.ii.285-6) We learn that he is a beast of burden for Prospero and Miranda, performing menial chores and labor. He is referred to by many animal titles – “beast”, “freckled whelp”, “puppy-headed monster” – in order to assure us that none of the other characters find him human. He is mistaken for a beast by Trinculo,
There are, however, other factors which affect how we are to envision Caliban’s character. Many people who study The Tempest concur that the character of Caliban is a reference to the “savage” people found by explorers in the New World. Shakespeare wrote his plays at the height of the Age of Exploration, and accounts of the primitive races living in North and South America often bordered on the monstrous and animalistic. Reading The Tempest nowadays with this theme in mind may prompt us to imagine Caliban as simply an aboriginal human, smaller and darker than Europeans, with different facial features and dress.
and constantly called a monster by him and Stephano. And although the epithets abound, we never receive a clear picture of Caliban’s true appearance. If one portrays Caliban as a beast, monstrous in appearance like an ape or bear, one can justify the comments
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