The Tempest

        One way in which Caliban shows he may however be a noble savage is through the fact that he is the original inhabitant of the island.  Dispossessed by Prospero, Caliban says to Prospero “this island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, which thou tak’st from me” This shows Caliban may be a noble savage because Caliban happily lived on the island until Prospero came and stole it from him and made Caliban his servant. Caliban tells Prospero that the island is his and that Prospero took it off him and so Prospero should leave the island because Sycorax (Caliban’s mother) gave it to him, and this reasoning and arguing his case is what shows nobility in Caliban.  Another way in which Caliban shows he may be a noble savage is through his sensitivity to the island, he says “sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not” this shows that Caliban lives in harmony with the island and this differentiates him from an animal.  An animal would live on the island but wouldn’t appreciate it, whereas Caliban appreciates the island and this shows that he may be a noble savage.  Caliban shows he may be a noble savage through his self-awareness shown when cursing Miranda for teaching him how to swear. He says to Miranda “you taught me language, and my profit on’t is I know how to curse. This again differentiates Caliban from an animal because you could teach a parrot to curse and it would just keep repeating what you taught it without really knowing what it means, but Caliban curses Miranda and knows that what he is saying is offensive and it is this self-awareness that shows he may be a noble savage.  Another way in which Caliban shows he may be a noble savage is when his behaviour is compared with Trinculo, Stephano and Antonio. Caliban realises he made the wrong decision in following Stephano and says to Prospero “I’ll be wise hereafter, and seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass was I.” This shows that Caliban realises that he made a mistake and wants to learn from his mistakes. This makes him different from Trinculo and Stephano because they don’t realise that trying to kill Antonio was the wrong thing to do and try to hide their crime. This makes them seem like savages and shows that Caliban may be noble when compared to Antonio and Stephano.

        Caliban is presented as a very ugly character and from his ugliness he is expected to be as horrible as he looks. However we later find out that Caliban may not actually be as horrible as he looks and that his ugliness is only on the surface and on the inside he is quite a nice, sensitive person. He shows that he may be a sensitive person through his ‘Isle is full of noises’ speech which shows sensitivity and Shakespeare may be trying to say that you shouldn’t judge people by their looks and that it is what is on the inside that counts. Antonio wears nice rich clothing and so he is expected to be a nice person however as the story unfolds we find that Antonio is not as nice as he looks and that he hides deeper sin. He tried to kill Prospero so that he could become King, and when they end up on the island he plots to kill Alonso too. This shows that Antonio is a horrible person on the inside and reiterates that we should not judge people by how they look.

        Caliban is introduced as a servant, we know this because Prospero calls him “Thou poisonous slave.” The fact that Caliban is a servant makes the audience have sympathy for him however the audience loses sympathy as Caliban’s history is explained and because of his attempt to rape Miranda Caliban’s early innocence turns sour. We later find that Caliban is ruled by fear of Prospero, and we know this because he is afraid that Prospero will punish and “torment” him for not bringing wood in quickly enough.  Because of the fact that Caliban lives in fear the audience gains sympathy for Caliban. Caliban later meets Trinculo and Stephano and chooses Stephano as his new master.  Here the audience gains sympathy for Caliban because he is so afraid of Prospero that he has chosen a new master, but Caliban then plots to kill Prospero.  We know this because he says “thou mayst knock a nail into his head” and this makes the audience lose sympathy for Caliban because it shows aspects of savagery and therefore makes him seem like a monster, which the audience don’t like. The audience might feel sorry for Caliban because he has only seen two women so he does not know what the majority of women are like. His experiences are very limited and he might have trouble interacting with other women.

        Caliban curses Prospero a lot in the play and Caliban’s curses are a powerful example of savagery and this shows that Caliban may be just a savage. However, Caliban’s more poetic speeches, such as his “isle is full of noises” speech shows that he has learned to use language properly and that he knows when and how to use it correctly and this shows that Caliban may have aspects of nobility within him.

To conclude, there is no easy answer to the question as to whether Caliban is a noble savage or just a savage.  Caliban shows aspects of savagery, with his attempt to rape Miranda and the fact that he curses a lot.  He also shows that he is noble through his poetic speeches and self-awareness. I don’t think Shakespeare makes it simple to chose between the two types of savage because he is trying to say that although foreigners seem like bad people, on the inside they are actually nice people that are noble. In my opinion I think that Caliban is a savage but also shows some aspects of nobility.