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Analyze Caliban’s “the isle is full of noises” speech (III.ii.130–138). What makes it such a compelling and beautiful passage? What is its relation to Caliban’s other speeches, and to his character in general? What effect does this speech have on our perception of Caliban’s character? Why does Shakespeare give these lines to Caliban rather than, say, Ariel or Miranda?
Caliban’s speech is most remarkable and compelling
largely because of how different it is from anything he has said
before. Caliban frequently describes the qualities of the island,
but usually these descriptions relate to the torments Prospero subjects
him to. Indeed, the speech in Act III, scene ii echoes one from
the beginning of Act II, scene ii, in which Caliban complains of
the spirits that Prospero has sent to bother him. Like the earlier
speech, the speech in Act III, scene ii repeats the word “sometime”
twice, and like the earlier speech it seems to discuss the workings
of spirits on the island. Unlike the earlier speech, however, the
speech in Act III, scene ii takes us into a hypnotic dream world,
where there seems to be a magic greater than Prospero’s. The voices
Caliban hears do not command him to work, but rather, if they wake
him from sleep, put him back to sleep again. In Caliban’s speech,
even the rain is transformed. The words “The clouds methought would
open” suggests an image of rain, but what Caliban imagines is “riches
/ Ready to drop upon me” (II.ii.
Caliban is drunk when he gives this speech, and while it certainly brings the audience to rapt attention, the speech does not do much to change Caliban’s character. He continues to range drunkenly about the island with Trinculo and Stephano. What the speech does is change our perception of Caliban. It reveals a deeply tragic side of him. His life on the island is so terrible that he longs for the ethereal world of the noises that give him delight. In the mouth of Miranda, or Ariel, this speech might be just as beautiful, and would convey effectively the magic of the island. But it has more power in Caliban because it allows his curses and his drunkenness to make tragic sense: since the arrival of Prospero, the island’s beauty is no longer Caliban’s.
What is the nature of Prospero and Miranda’s relationship? Discuss moments where Miranda seems to be entirely dependent on her father and moments where she seems independent. How does Miranda’s character change over the course of the play?
At first, Miranda seems very young. When
Prospero tells her of his exile from Italy, it is her passionate
but also restless youth that the reader sees in her exclamations
of concern (“O the heavens!” I.ii.
Prospero’s love for Miranda is most evident in his willingness
to remain quiet while Miranda talks to Ferdinand in Act III, scene
i. Though Prospero enters, unseen, at the same time as Miranda in
this scene, he does not say a word until she and Ferdinand have
left the stage. During that time, Miranda remembers that her father
has given her “precepts” (III.i.
Discuss Ferdinand’s character. What is the nature of his love for Miranda? Is he a likable character? What is the nature of his relationship to other characters?
Ferdinand is very formal. Upon first seeing Miranda, he assumes that she is a goddess, and he addresses her as such. His language is that of courtly love, of knights who fight for fair ladies. Ferdinand idealizes both Miranda and love itself. From the moment he sees her, he is intent upon finding himself in a heaven of love.
While Ferdinand’s formality is in some ways endearing,
it is also in some ways disturbingly reminiscent of Prospero. Some
of Ferdinand’s long speeches, especially the speech about Miranda’s
virginity in Act IV, scene i, sound quite similar to the way Prospero
speaks. Ferdinand is a sympathetic character, and his love for Miranda seems
most genuine when he suddenly is able to break out of his verbose
formality and show a strikingly simple interest in Miranda. The
reader can see this when he asks Miranda, “What is your name?” (III.i.
