The Tempest
In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, one of the essential themes is the duality between nature and society. This is made evident through the character of Caliban, who lacks civilized influence due to the fact that he was born on the island, isolated, and deprived of any social or spiritual morality other than nature and instinct. He is literally man, untamed. Caliban is not monstrous simply for the sake of being frightening; his horrifying appearance is intended to depict the duality between civilization and natural instinct. Caliban is literally man untamed. Part fish, part man, but not really either because he is more mentally sophisticated than a fish, but does not possess any of the characteristics generally associated with civilized beings. He displays the promise of becoming civilized, but eventually it becomes evident that i
However, money and power have lead to a whole new form of evil and brutality that were never present in nature. Shakespeare's message is that no matter how hard we try we cannot unlearn things that have become our nature. t is impossible to fully tame a wild animal, which is what Caliban essentially is. From this economies were born either through trade or currency. Nature is all about survival, at any cost, while society is not. While Caliban is perceived as being evil and monstrous, he is really not. Caliban fully and clearly exemplifies the duality and clash between nature and society. What is vital to survival in society is not necessarily important in nature. Caliban is more of an animal rather than a monster. Now the individual was not responsible for every aspect of survival, but contributed to the overall survival of a civilization. But he seems to revert back to his natural instincts and intelligence. We will always revert back to what has been imprinted into our minds from the beginning of our lives. This allows general welfare and security in civilized society. He cannot be tamed, but he shows some characteristics of a tamed being, and the promise to become one. Man's essence cannot be changed, it can be tamed to an extent, but the beast within will eventually shine through (physical image of Caliban).
Common topics in this essay:
Shakespeare's Tempest,
Shakespeare Caliban's,
Caliban Shakespeare's,
nature society,
natural instinct,
literally untamed,
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