Caliban is not presented as the most pleasant character of The Tempest. While Prospero rules over him, Miranda is simply afraid of the islander. Indeed, he is portrayed as an angry, uneducated, and untidy man. The girl feels threatened by him and tries to stay away from him as much as possible.
There have been different productions of Shakespeare’s play. The Utah Valley University and the Balinese ones are the most famous. Indeed, everyone has the right to have their own point of view on The Tempest. It creates various perspectives and slight differences in the productions. For example, one of them is the way that Miranda’s fear of Caliban is represented in the Utah production. Originally, Caliban is described as a monster who inherited the island from his witch mother. As soon as Prospero arrived, he decided to teach him some literacy as a sign of mercy and made him a servant in return. Caliban did not mind the lessons, but then he realized that he was treated as a mere slave, unworthy of anything more.
Such an unfair situation has made Caliban hate his master. No wonder the islander constantly curses and plots the murder. In addition to his unusual and rather untidy appearance, all that does not allow Miranda to see the best in Caliban. In fact, it is the opposite. She is afraid of him. The Utah production has chosen to emphasize this fear by showing how Miranda doesn’t want to be anywhere near Caliban. Whenever he appears, she hangs back and stays away from him.
Thank you for reading this article! If you are looking for essay title ideas on The Tempest, take a look at our essay topic collection or try using our title-generating tool.
