Caliban and Prospero in The Tempest

One of the most striking characters in The Tempest is that of Caliban, the other mythical being in the play who plays a dominant role in its narrative. Unlike Prospero's servant Ariel, Caliban is portrayed as a savage and adversarial figure. On the other hand, he is capable of speaking some of the most beautiful and stirring poetry of the entire play. Caliban thus illustrates many of the ambiguities of colonization. On one hand, the island is more rightfully his than Prospero's, yet the play conspires to suggest that because of Prospero's more civilized, European behavior, Prospero somehow has a greater right to govern the island.

Overall, The Tempest is a play that validates colonialism in the persona of Caliban. Even though it allows the audience to feel some sympathy towards Caliban, by making Caliban such a terrible figure, including his attempts to rape Miranda, it is difficult for the audience to accept him completely. By making Prospero sympathetic, despite Prospero's actions towards Ariel and the fact he imprisons Caliban, the audience is inclined to accept Prospero's conquest of the island.

One of the most unusual aspects of The Tempest is the ways in which Prospero acts as a stand-in for the playwright himself. In many ways, Prospero acts as a powerful figure who creates his own play over the course of the narrative. Prospero orchestrates the falling-in love of one of his daughters, Miranda, as well as the tempest itself that sets the narrative into motion. The power he gains through the magic in his books gives him godlike control over others throughout the course of the narrative, making him more like a playwright then a central protagonist.

This control is illustrated early on when his daughter Miranda begs him to make the tempest cease. Miranda automatically knows that her father can stop the tempest by the sheer force of his will. The fact that this is the first the viewer sees of the daughter and her father immediately establishes the fact that Prospero controls the island and everyone else around him. Although Miranda clearly loves her father, she also fears him because of his tremendous power. Prospero exerts similar control over the native inhabitants of the island, Caliban and Ariel. Although these characters, unlike Miranda, were born there, again because of Prospero's book-based knowledge, he can do with them whatever he wishes.

The story's central premise is that Prospero was usurped of his rightful position as Duke. But although Prospero might seem relatively powerless because of that situation, most of the actual facts of the play suggest that he is supremely powerful, thanks to the knowledge he has gained. As soon as Prospero is aware of the fact that the man who deprived him of his rightful position is near, Prospero is able to disable the ship, bring the usurper near, and even orchestrate a scenario to ensure that the man's son Ferdinand will fall in love with Miranda, creating an alliance between the two houses. Ariel serves as his eyes and ears and unlike other characters in most plays, even relatively powerful characters, Prospero is always aware of what is going on in every corner of the island, much like a playwright might be himself.

Prospero also plays psychological mind games with those around him to ensure that they will do his bidding. He knows that the more cruelly he treats Ferdinand and the more he tells Miranda not to love him, the more she will love him. He also knows that if he gives Caliban any kind of semblance of freedom, Caliban will do wicked things and lead his adversary's henchmen to Prospero. Prospero has greater insight into the minds of most of the characters of the play than himself. The one exception may be Ariel, who does want his freedom, and who Prospero relies upon for assistance. But even then, he is clever in the ways he chastises Ariel to make the spirit feel guilty for wanting to be free of Prospero's control.

It is for these reasons that The Tempest lacks the type of suspense that might accompany a traditional play with a less omnipotent central protagonist. There is never any real question that Prospero will fail in his endeavors, because he has so much power, relative to the other characters in the play. Prospero is also a difficult character to identify with because he is so powerful and his ability to make others do his bidding is never really in doubt. That is why it may be better to interpret The Tempest more like an allegory than a traditional play. The play is an allegory for the work of a playwright, as a playwright will inevitably control the actions of the different people in the play. Prospero, because of his magical powers, is able to ensure that things come to a satisfactory conclusion, although at the very end of the play he willingly gives up his power to return back to civilization.