Physical vs Figurative Entrapment

Question 1

“remember…

Answer 1

As Prospero introduces us to the island, he asks Miranda if she can “remember a time before [they] came unto this cell.”

Metaphorical representation of the island as a “cell” establishes the physical sense of imprisonment, which he undercuts by positioning Prospero as the colonist who “[makes] profit” from the island, parallelling Shakespeare’s Age of Discovery context.

Question 2

“devil…

Answer 2

Provoked by this colonial conquest, Shakespeare utilises Caliban to distinguish enslavement from other forms of imprisonment. As Prospero refers to Caliban as a “devil, a born devil, on whose nature/Nurture can never stick,”
- biblical allusion to the “devil” invokes the same logic colonists used to justify the exploitation of native people.

Question 3

“full…

Answer 3

Compounding this is Shakespeare’s subversion of the audience’s expectations by empowering Caliban with eloquent speeches, including a description of his isle as “full of noises, / Sounds, and sweet airs… a thousand twangling instruments/Will hum… in dreaming… that when I waked/I cried to dream again”.

• Endows Caliban’s monologue with highly poetic and articulate language to contradict the Jacobean perspective
• Calling audience to recognise unique inhumanity of enslavement

Question 4

“They’re…

Answer 4

Atwood’s pitiful characterisation of prisoner 8Handz, as he empathetically comments to Felix, “They’re scared shitless… Don’t you feel sorry for them?” inferring to Tony and Sal,

• aligns with Shakespeare’s subversion of the contextual norm of incarcerated individuals.
• Alliteration of “scared shitless” followed by ellipses and the soft question demonstrates the suffering which 8Handz is empathising with Felix’s enemies.
• Reassess perspective on native individuals

Question 5

“poisonous… “half…

Answer 5

Descriptions: “Poisonous slave” and “Half fish-Half monster”