Act 3 Sc. 2 Flashcards
Summary - Murderous subplot
Comic duo & Caliban continue wandering on the isle. Ariel, invisible, enters the scene and imitates Trinculo’s voice which causes confusion as Caliban threatens him, as a result Caliban reveals his desire to seek revenge on Prospero and murder him. He plots to steal Prospero’s books and offers Miranda as bait to persuade the comic duo to join him. Stephano begins to assume newfound authority over the others.
Caliban: ‘Bite him to death… knock a nail into his head…I’ll beat him too….with a log batter his skull….paunch him with a stake’
AO1/2: SF of extreme brutality & violence - brutal, base desire to inflict pain - is this a manifestation of Jacobean fears of the savage, or is this the harsh reality that the abused can become teh abuser, with Caliban adopting the violent traits of Prospero. -HUGELY ironic as colonisers thought they were morally superior and were reforming natives.
- Use of natural world to inflict violence against colonial oppressor via ‘log’ and ‘stake’ = caliban’s reclaiming of ownership of the natural world.
AO3: Jacobean society’s view of the natives of the new world as ‘savages’ prone to violence.
AO5: From a postcol. persp. this is Caliban’s corruption due to P’s abusive influence & Mcevoy says that Caliban is a ‘savage…product of violent enslavement’
“Trinculo, if you trouble him any more…I will supplant some of your teeth.”
AO1/2: threat of physical abuse/violence, Trinculo begins to assume the role of the underdog
- this reflects the insubstantial, fleeting nature of titles and social roles as they can easily shift and morph.
‘the isle is full of noises, sounds…sweet airs…twangling instruments’
AO1/2: sibilance - peaceful, tranquil idyllic scene of the natural world.
C’s poetic reflection on and appreciation of the isle & its beauty rather than as a source of material wealth challenges perceptions of him as merely a vicious savage.
This speech reflects Caliban’s reverence of the natural world, reinforcing his intrinsic connection to and understanding of the physical world.
