Description
This paper attempts to locate Caliban's origins in the life of the early modern stage. While the post-colonial paradigm which has predominated writing on 'The Tempest''s Caliban for a number of decades has been incredibly fruitful, too often Caliban as a stage presence and stage character has been overlooked. This paper proposes that in creating Caliban, Shakespeare drew upon the idiosyncrasies of non-magical servants in older magician plays: Wagner, Rafe and Robin in Marlowe's 'Doctor Faustus'; Miles in Greene's 'Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay'; and Turnop and his crew in Munday's 'John A Kent and John A Cumber'. They are all threatened with similar punishments, struggle with similar vices, and attempt to copy the language of their masters. Ultimately, I suggest that Shakespeare problematises and complicates the tropes associated with these earlier characters, drawing greater sympathy to Caliban than was ever given to his precursors. Shakespeare thereby questions the theatrical traditions he has inherited, as well as the social conditions in which he lived.| Period | 15 Sept 2023 |
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| Event title | British Graduate Shakespeare Conference |
| Event type | Conference |