Why Caliban?

Why did Shakespeare have Caliban utter those profoundly poignant words that simply take my breath away?
Because he is every man. He is the evil in us all. Prospero says on page 760: “This thing of darkness, I acknowledge mine.” He must own the ‘Caliban’ side of himself. And Caliban is also the part of us that started out innocent, is capable of good, that longs for beauty and love.

In scripture, God chose the foolish to confound the wise, the weak to confound the strong. Caliban is the ‘least of these.’ If the theme be redemption, then Caliban is us.

I am struck by how the Island intensifies the flaws already present in the characters. And their perception of the Island is determined by their natures. Adrian and Gonzalo see the lush, paradise, while Sebastian and Antonio say the air is rotten and the grass brown. Reminds me of another Island, where all were Lost…
But that’s another story.

It is interesting that Caliban was hauling wood. The “woods” being our metaphor for imagination and a place of change, and then Prospero makes Ferdinand haul wood, “a thousand of these logs.”
Ferdinand says,“For your sake am I this patient log-man.”
I’m not sure if Shakespeare was saying that the burden for change falls on a humble few, or maybe a veiled reference to Christ? Or maybe they were just, hmm…hauling wood.

When Miranda and Ferdinand see each other, I thought of a French term: Le coup de foudre. It means, “flash of lightning.” It’s what the French say when they talk about ‘love at first sight.’
The scene beneath Caliban’s cloak is a scream. I can just picture it. I loved to watch 3 stooges when I was a kid. That was a long time ago, black and white tv…and I’m not sure if I’d still think them funny, but back then, hilarious. My little brother and I would laugh til we hurt.

Sort of a sobering theme, though,(pun not intended) of introducing alcohol to the natives. Still makes me sad to read about Native Americans trading their heritage for ‘firewater.’ And the ramifications are still being felt.