Tuesday, April 28, 2020
9 comments:
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Caliban attempting to rape Miranda to proliferate his land with more people/ beings that could hold stake in the heritage of the land is fascinating. He would have made beings that shared heritage of the land as well as a stake in power. Caliban is curious about merging his magic and Prospero's power and sharing cultures, although he goes about it the wrong way. Prospero is happy foisting power over Caliban to preform magic and keeping social order intact (which is both good and bad).
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking less about the temptation of Miranda and more about Caliban's desperation to have any sort of success, ownership, and power. It reminds me of the way I saw Iago's misdeeds: he was certainly in the wrong, but he also had low class/status and would do anything he could to change that. In situations where people aren't given power or allowed to establish wealth, it makes sense that their reaction would be to steal or rob, either to accumulate any wealth and thus power or simply to feed oneself and one's family.
-Chloe Friedman
Thank you for saying this cause sometimes I feel like an asshole for defending Caliban The Rapist — but Shakespeare gives him some beautiful language which I think is designed for sympathy! (I still maintain tho that while class resentment may be a part of Iago he is not trying to gain power or change in any rational way — he just wants Chaos and Destruction and doesn’t care if he dies in the process of getting it).
DeleteYeah the way Caliban speaks is great. And I see what you mean as a force of pure chaos, it's a little hard for me to remove my own concepts about class movement from Iago. -CF
DeleteYou don’t have to remove your ideas! Keep them! I just want to make sure you understand my point. Then you can let my points and your points, even if they contradict, float around in your head for a while as you figure out what you think! If you end up thinking I am wrong THAT IS TOTALLY FINE WITH ME
DeleteNice, I like that literature can be nebulous and everyone has their own concepts about it. -CF
DeleteColonialism was fairly new when Shakespeare lived. So it's very interesting how he was ahead of time and saw negatives sides of it so early.
ReplyDeleteKrzysztof Szczepanik
I am not a big history guy — certainly the “discovery” of America was 100 years before Shakespeare so you are right that that was fairly new — but that cant be the first time a powerful force subdued natives who did not have the technology. But I also think Shakespeare really saw stuff quickly and incorporated into his work well so I stand by your point!
DeleteWhy is Caliban perceived as a victim when he tried to rape Miranda, and has no remorse, and Prospero is perceived as cruel for torturing Caliban only after he betrayed Prospero. What would any father do if they were faced with this situation, most would probably just kill the guy.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on what you think should happen to would be rapists. If you think they should be indefinitely enslaved and tortured than you are right that Prospero’s thing makes totally sense! Also I am not at all sure that most fathers murder their daughters would be rapists, or that anything less than murder is a blessing.
Delete