The Tempest" opens with a shipwreck, on a somewhat mysterious island. The inhabitants of this island include prospero, the play's protagonist, and father of Miranda. Twelve years before the events of the play, Prospero was the duke of Milan. His brother, Antonio, in concert with Alonso, king of Naples, usurped him, forcing him to flee in a boat with his daughter. Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda, and his servants, one of which is Caliban. Our first meeting with Caliban occurs when Prospero suggests to his daughter that they converse with him. Caliban appears at Prospero's call and begins cursing:.
"A southwest blow on ye.
And blister you all o"er.".
Prospero promises to punish him by giving him cramps at night:.
"For this, be sure, tonight thou shalt have cramps" Caliban responds by chiding Prospero for imprisoning him on the island that once belonged to him alone. He reminds Prospero that he showed him around the island when he first arrived. Prospero accuses Caliban of being ungrateful for all that he has taught and given him. He calls him a "lying slave" and reminds him of the effort he made to educate him. Caliban's hereditary nature, he continues, makes him unfit to live among civilized people and earns him his isolation on the island. Caliban, though, cleverly notes that he knows how to curse only because Prospero and Miranda taught him to speak. Prospero then sends him away, telling him to fetch more firewood and threatening him with more cramps and aches if he refuses. Caliban obeys him. We now sympathise with Caliban slightly, after the unflattering portrayal of him before his entry. It seems as though, being the only true native to the island he introduced Prospero to the island and is being forced into inferiority. Although Prospero educated Caliban, it matters little in the isolation of the island. Caliban insists that Prospero stole the island from him: Through this speech, Caliban suggests that his situation is much the same as Prospero's, and the original sympathy we had for Caliban is muted, his desire for sovereignty of the island mirrors the lust for power that led Antonio to overthrow Prospero.
