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¶ … Tempest -- Act 2, Scene
Act 2, Scene 2. This scene is a short scene, with only the characters of Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano present. It opens with Caliban carrying wood to Prospero, his master, and being tormented by spirits only he can see. Caliban hides under his cloak because of a storm. Trinculo enters, and sees Caliban, and thinks he is a monster. He hides under the cloak too, because of the storm. Stephano enters singing and drinking from a bottle. He discovers Trinculo, and they both are happy they have survived the shipwreck. They think Caliban is a monster, and if they capture him he can be sold for good money. Caliban convinces them he will honor them if they will let him serve them. They agree, and they leave, drinking and singing.
This scene is humorous, but it also packs a lot of information into relatively few lines. The theme is light and the characters banter with each other, but the underlying mood is dark, because the scene is really about slavery and bondage, and what Caliban's life is like...
He constantly worries about punishment "For bringing wood in slowly. I'll fall flat" (Shakespeare II, ii, 16), and when he finds someone (Stephano) he thinks will be a better master, he humiliates himself begging to be of service. He tells Stephano "I'll kiss they foot. I'll swear myself thy subject" (Shakespeare II, ii, 158). Thus, he is not ready for freedom, but he is ready to give his allegiance to anyone that he thinks will be a better master. The tone of this is light and funny, but underneath it is sad, because Caliban cannot see himself as anything other than a slave serving others -- he does not see himself as free, even though he says he is free at the end of the scene. He says, "Freedom, high-day! High-day, freedom! Freedom, high-day, freedom!" (Shakespeare II, ii, 192-193). But he is not really free, he has just changed masters, so he is still bound to someone else, rather than being his own man and that ultimately makes this scene dark and thought provoking.
Since this modern day story would be set on…
References
Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." 77-87.
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