The Difficulty of Distinguishing “Men” from “Monsters”

Upon seeing Ferdinand for the first time, Miranda says that he is “the third man that e’er I saw” (I.ii.449). The
other two are, presumably, Prospero and Caliban. In their first conversation with Caliban, however, Miranda
and Prospero say very little that shows they consider him to be human. Miranda reminds Caliban that before
she taught him language, he gabbled “like / A thing most brutish” (I.ii.359–360) and Prospero says that he gave
Caliban “human care” (I.ii.349), implying that this was something Caliban ultimately did not deserve. Caliban’s
exact nature continues to be slightly ambiguous later. In Act IV, scene i, reminded of Caliban’s plot, Prospero
refers to him as a “devil, a born devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick” (IV.i.188–189). Miranda and
Prospero both have contradictory views of Caliban’s humanity. On the one hand, they think that their education
of him has lifted him from his formerly brutish status. On the other hand, they seem to see him as inherently
brutish. His devilish nature can never be overcome by nurture, according to Prospero. Miranda expresses a
similar sentiment in Act I, scene ii: “thy vile race, / Though thou didst learn, had that in’t which good natures /
Could not abide to be with” (I.ii.361–363). The inhuman part of Caliban drives out the human part, the “good
nature,” that is imposed on him.
Caliban claims that he was kind to Prospero, and that Prospero repaid that kindness by imprisoning him (see
I.ii.347). In contrast, Prospero claims that he stopped being kind to Caliban once Caliban had tried to rape
Miranda (I.ii.347–351). Which character the audience decides to believe depends on whether it views Caliban
as inherently brutish, or as made brutish by oppression. The play leaves the matter ambiguous. Caliban
balances all of his eloquent speeches, such as his curses in Act I, scene ii and his speech about the isle’s
“noises” in Act III, scene ii, with the most degrading kind of drunken, servile behavior. But Trinculo’s speech
upon first seeing Caliban (II.ii.18–38), the longest speech in the play, reproaches too harsh a view of Caliban
and blurs the distinction between men and monsters. In England, which he visited once, Trinculo says, Caliban
could be shown off for money: “There would this monster make a man. Any strange beast there makes a man.
When they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian” (II.ii.28–31).
What seems most monstrous in these sentences is not the “dead Indian,” or “any strange beast,” but the cruel
voyeurism of those who capture and gape at them.
Prospero’s threats
Prospero issues many threats in The Tempest, demonstrating his innate violence and cruelty. For the most part,
Prospero directs his threats at his servants. Prospero’s threats typically contain elements of magic, as when he
reprimands Caliban for his disobedience: “If thou neglect’st or dost unwillingly / What I command, I’ll rack thee
with old cramps, / Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar” (I.ii.). Prospero also makes harsh threats
against his more helpful servant, Ariel. Prospero has promised to liberate Ariel after a period of faithful service,
and when Ariel reminds his master of this promise, Prospero warns: “If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak /
And peg thee in his knotty entrails” (I.ii.). Curiously, the tree prison Prospero describes here echoes the tree
prison the witch Sycorax had placed Ariel in prior to Prospero’s arrival. Thus, not only do Prospero’s threats
indicate his cruel and domineering nature, but they also link him to other tyrannical figures.
Obedience and disobedience
The themes of obedience and disobedience underscore the island’s hierarchy of power. Prospero stands at the
top of this hierarchy. As both the former Duke of Milan and a gifted student of magic, Prospero is the most
powerful figure on the island. He therefore demands obedience from all of his subjects, including his servants
and his daughter. At some point, however, each of these subjects disobeys him. Caliban swears his allegiance
to Stephano, trading one master for another in an attempt to topple the island’s hierarchy altogether. Other
examples of disobedience in the play are more nuanced. Miranda, for instance, believes she disobeys her
father by pursuing romance with Ferdinand. But her actions are actually in line with her father’s wishes, since
Prospero’s harsh treatment of Ferdinand is designed to make Miranda take pity on him and fall in love with him.
The situation is again different in Ariel’s case. Ariel has proven himself a faithful servant, yet Prospero
considers him disobedient when he asks for his freedom. These complexities ultimately suggest that the
island’s hierarchy of power is less stable than it appears.

Monstrosity
00The theme of monstrosity constitutes the flip-side to the themes of wonder and admiration. Whereas wonder
and admiration apply mainly to the beautiful and loving Miranda, monstrosity applies mainly to the ugly and
hateful Caliban. The word “monster” appears most frequently in the scenes with Stephano and Trinculo. Upon
first laying eyes on Caliban, Trinculo identifies him as a fishy-looking freak, and he imagines exploiting
Caliban’s monstrous appearance for profit on the streets of a city: “holiday fools” would willingly part with “a
piece of silver” to witness the sideshow attraction. Caliban’s monstrosity derives not from his appearance
alone, but from the contrast between his savage appearance and his civilized language. At one point Trinculo
expresses surprise that a creature like Caliban should use a term of respect like “Lord.” Although Caliban
stands as the primary example of monstrosity in The Tempest, Alonso also uses the word “monstrous” to refer to
illusory sounds and visions produced by Ariel.

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Masters and Servants
Nearly every scene in the play either explicitly or implicitly portrays a relationship between a figure that
possesses power and a figure that is subject to that power. The play explores the master-servant dynamic most
harshly in cases in which the harmony of the relationship is threatened or disrupted, as by the rebellion of a
servant or the ineptitude of a master. For instance, in the opening scene, the “servant” (the Boatswain) is
dismissive and angry toward his “masters” (the noblemen), whose ineptitude threatens to lead to a shipwreck in
the storm. From then on, master-servant relationships like these dominate the play: Prospero and Caliban;
Prospero and Ariel; Alonso and his nobles; the nobles and Gonzalo; Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban; and so
forth. The play explores the psychological and social dynamics of power relationships from a number of
contrasting angles, such as the generally positive relationship between Prospero and Ariel, the generally
negative relationship between Prospero and Caliban, and the treachery in Alonso’s relationship to his nobles.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ARIEL AND CALIBAN:

In The Tempest, Prospero is served by both Ariel and Caliban. But whereas the former
serves willingly, Caliban despises—and ultimately betrays—his master. Both seek their
freedom, but they do so through very different means. One way to think about them is as
foils for one another: comparing and contrasting them can help us better understand the
relationship between the mind and the body in the play.

Ariel, we learn, is a sort of disembodied spirit capable of invisibility and even taking on
multiple forms at once; in contrast, Caliban is associated with materiality and the body.
Prospero calls Caliban not only a “slave” but also “earth,” establishing a hierarchical
relationship between his two servants that is at least in part informed by their material
conditions.

Caliban’s focus appears to be largely driven by his own bodily needs: when he comes on
stage for the first time, he announces that he “must eat [his] dinner,” and we learn that
Prospero used to treat Caliban better until Caliban attempted to rape his daughter.
Caliban’s character is shaped by his bodily needs, whereas Ariel needs no body at all.

While Caliban betrays Prospero in an attempt to gain his freedom, Ariel instead serves
willingly, hoping that his master will honor his promise to release the spirit. Whether Ariel
serves out of true appreciation or as a strategy is a question of some debate, although
ultimately Prospero does free Ariel in 5.1. 
Ariel and Caliban are markedly different in nature and appearance. Ariel as his name
suggests is a spirit, ethereal, while Caliban is gross and bestial. Both are connected to the
witch Sycorax who ruled the island before Prospero: Ariel was imprisoned by her, before
being rescued by Prospero, while Caliban is her offspring. Both are servants of Prospero.
Ariel performs a lot of magical feats at his master's command while Caliban is a more lowly
and menial servant.

Caliban grumbles all the time at his servitude; he resents Prospero deeply and eventually
leaves him for another master, and plans to murder him, although he is foiled in this. Ariel
appears to be far more highly valued as a servant by Prospero than is the savage Caliban,
but Ariel, too shows some signs of discontent with his servitude, reminding Prospero quite
forcefully at one point of Prospero's promise to free him. However when Prospero is
annoyed by this, he quickly apologises.  Caliban frets constantly at being kept under, while
Ariel generally puts up with it. 

Caliban has often been taken as being representative of the New World natives often
oppressed and enslaved by European conquerors, and he does have grounds for complaint
against Prospero's brusque treatment of him. But he does not appear very favourable in
himself; he apparently tried to rape Miranda and is capable of plotting murder. He is very
much tied to his passions and instincts whereas Ariel, being a spirit, is more detached from
things in general.

CONCLUSION

Caliban is a product of nature, the offspring of the witch Sycorax and the devil. Prospero has made Caliban his
servant or, more accurately, his slave. Throughout most of the play, Caliban is insolent and rebellious and is
only controlled through the use of magic. Caliban claims the island as his own and maintains that Prospero has
tricked him in the past.

Caliban represents the black magic of his mother and initially appears bad, especially when judged by
conventional civilized standards. Because Prospero has conquered him, Caliban plots to murder Prospero in
revenge. It is clear, though, that Caliban is a poor judge of character: He embraces Stefano as a god and trusts
his two drunken conspirators to help him carry out a plot to murder Prospero. In many ways, Caliban is an
innocent, reacting to emotional and physical needs without the ability to think through and fully understand the
events and people who surround him. He is truly a child of nature, uneducated and reacting to his surroundings
in much the same way that an animal does.