The Character of Caliban

Making sense of the character of Caliban is like unpacking a U-Haul that's not yours to unpack. It's a mission that requires the release of the need to be perfect. There are boxes upon boxes the character has been fit into for over 400 years and we don't know what's in every one of them. But since you need the U-Haul to put The Tempest onstage, it's your job to clear it out. You need to find or even create the box your Caliban is from, and make it yours to unpack. And in order to unpack anything, you must first make a mess. 

Caliban is, first and foremost, a slave to Prospero. Not only that, but he once had free range, even ownership, of the island inherited from his mother Sycorax before Prospero took power. At first Prospero and Miranda took him in and taught him their language. After Caliban tried to “violate” Miranda, Prospero revoked his kindness and enslaved him. 

Because of his enslavement and original claim to the island, Caliban is most often put into boxes based on a post-colonial lens. This means that the director is looking back at colonialism in the time the play is set and making a commentary on it through their concept. Through this lens, there are opportunities for the character to be portrayed as Indigenous and Native American, African American, Irish, and more based on vast settler colonial histories. 

Caliban has also been popularly portrayed as:

• The “wild man” dressed in furs with wild characteristics like long nails.

• The “missing link” between animal and human, which in some cases would suggest Caliban as lesser and “other.”

• A prehistoric human or a Neanderthal

• Freudian, representing a part of Prospero or Shakespeare’s psyche (the id). 

Some notable recent portrayals of Caliban are as follows: 

• Canada Lee, the first black actor to play Caliban in 1945, portrayed as less human with scales and a mask. 

• Richard Burton, 1960, portrayed poetically and as a half-ape, half-fish. 

• James Earl Jones, 1962, portrayed with reptilian features. 

• Dennis Quilley, 1974, portrayed in make-up and a duality between “grotesque monster” and “noble savage.”

• Tony Haggart, 1988, physically emphasized a monstrous nature, following the trend of Frankenstein-esque features.

• Djimon Hounsou, 2010, portrayed as a human with scales, webbed fingers, and white patches, emphasizing the character’s poetic thoughts.

For a more complete history of the ways Caliban has been portrayed, this article is a great resource. 

Let's go back to the "Art of Adaptations" line of thinking. Take a moment and consider some of the visual art Caliban has appeared in:

The art pictured above reflects a few of many boxes in which Caliban is fit into.

The character of Caliban is often portrayed in art as subhuman; he has unhuman characteristics like horns and a grotesque face. Even when portrayed as a human, his posture is lacking confidence and space. His monstrous features could be seen as representing a darker part of humanity; Prospero's id or foil for example. 

He is also commonly portrayed as the only character of color in contrast to the primarily white characters of the play, which points to the character's settler colonial history. 

An important point to note is that these artists are not projecting themselves into the character of Caliban like the actors you will see onstage in this production. They are instead replying to a history of popular iterations of the character based on a specific cultural background. 

In the midst of all these boxes, reading the adaptation allowed me to take a step back and consider Caliban as simply a character. He is a human being existing in his given textual circumstances rather than the circumstances History has given him. As I unpack my Caliban, I draw on the adapted text itself. 

I'd like to particularly note important shifts in the power dynamic between Caliban and Stephano and Trinculo. At the beginning of the play, Caliban is at the mercy of Prospero (who overpowers him with magic) and Miranda (who seems to secretly pity or support him). Later, as Caliban gathers wood for Prospero's cell, he meets Trinculo and Stephano, two servants of the shipwrecked nobles. Together they drink and Caliban proclaims himself Stephano's subject. Although he is only transitioning from serving one Lord to another, he is freer and more inclined to follow his desire to take revenge on Prospero for taking his island and his freedom. After he sets out to show Stephano and Trinculo the island, Ariel tricks the three into arguing. This shifts the dynamic between them, as Trinculo is cast aside and Caliban is preferred by Stephano. They relate to each other in their wish to force Prospero out of power; Stephano wants control over the island, and Caliban wants revenge and freedom. 

However, the power dynamic soon shifts again in a very interesting way. 

When Stephano and Trinculo are afraid of the island’s noises, Caliban steps up and tells them, “be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.” This is a display of Caliban’s knowledge, experience, and joy of the island. It is also a display of Caliban’s difference from Stephano and Trinculo. He takes joy in the magical island, while the other two are afraid of the island and perhaps even Caliban’s joy. After Caliban exits to lead them to Prospero, Stephano asks Trinculo, “wilt come?” This moment is charged with meaning. Stephano and Trinculo are united again. It seems like a wholesome reconnection between two old friends, but it is also underscored with an alliance against someone who is different.

Caliban spends the rest of the play fighting Stephano and Trinculo's whims. He urges them not to get distracted by the fancy clothing the spirits tempt them with. He also hangs back when the company reunites, perhaps realizing that he was never going to get revenge on Prospero with the help of two drunken servants who wanted to use him for power. 

The onstage portrayal of this character dynamic draws out a depth that Caliban deserves.

In the spirit of the U-Haul metaphor, I asked our Caliban and Caliban Understudy to respond to this question; "What do you want to say about your unpacked Caliban?"

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Heidi:

"I have had both a really fun time and a hard time discovering who “My Caliban” is. Truthfully, I am not sure I will know who he truly is until we perform… and even then, he will surely grow and change throughout the run. But right now, what connects me to him and where I am coming from with him is both a natural-earthy connection and my own religious/spiritual journey. As a Jewish woman, my work as an actor is intrinsically Jewish no matter what I do and I have found that in Caliban, it has been really prevalent. The idea of home and land, feeling othered around people who do not like me or dont understand me, praying to a higher power, feeling like I am alone… all connect to Caliban and to me. I feel really grateful to be able to bring that perspective into my version of him. I have also found that his connection with the island in our adaptation really feels like a space I can breathe into. I have grown up camping with my family, going to the lake, hiking and exploring nature whenever I can, so when I was trying to understand Caliban's connection to the island, I felt I could pull from my own experience and love of the earth. There is a magic in being outside, and the quiet we get to hear which is actually filled with so much sound of nature. The magic I feel when out on a dogsled run with my sibling, or walking around the lake, is similar to the magic I feel when Caliban gets to connect with the spirits in the show. 

Both parts of this identity of Caliban, the spiritual and connection to nature, feel very similar to me as Heidi. It has been a joy getting to understand and unpack who he is throughout this time and I am eager to see where he leads me."

~~~

Zoe:

“When I was first offered the opportunity to understudy Caliban, I was excited but unsure of how I connected with Caliban. I knew that I would have to find my own way because the way that Heidi connects with Caliban is different than it would be for me. 

In one of our first rehearsals, we created a list of words that we felt resonated with The Tempest. Some of those words stuck out to me, and suddenly it was so clear to me how I connected with Caliban.

My heritage is Indigenous. My ancestors come from the Chippewa tribe. I knew next to nothing about my heritage, but playing Caliban has made me feel more connected to my ancestors more than ever. 

My family used to go camping to at least one state park every summer. The connection I feel to the earth and the animals feels almost like a core part of who I am.

The connection to the earth, animals, spirits, and the land are all things that I have resonated with. Being in this role has given me the opportunity to learn about who I am, and what my history is.

The most important thing I have unboxed in this role is identity. ”

Instead of a hindrance, all those boxes in the U-Haul are now a freedom. You get to unpack your own messy box while allowing other boxes to exist somewhere else while you create your own art.

As more artists begin to unpack their own Calibans, I'd like to imagine that instead of waking up in the morning going, "ugh, what box am I going to be fit into today?" Caliban asks, "I wonder whose eyes I'll get to see the world from today?"