Relationship between Caliban and Prospero in Act I of The Tempest Essay

The short extract taken from â€Å"The Tempest† helps us learn a lot about the characters Prospero and Caliban and their relationship within the play. Prospero, when we first meet him, emerges as a very controlling and dominant figure on the island, mainly because he refers to the character Caliban as his â€Å"slave†. This shows us that Prospero must be a powerful man and that he has authority over the island and its people. Prospero uses his power to abuse Caliban, and he threatens him with phrases such as â€Å"thou shalt have cramps, side-stitches...† if he does not comply with his orders. But when Caliban refuses to obey him, Prospero resorts to insults in order to control him because he tells Miranda, his daughter, â€Å"But, as ‘tis/We cannot miss him† meaning that they cannot survive on the island themselves. Through the language used, we quickly learn how Prospero believe that he is â€Å"above† Caliban, because he calls him names like â€Å"savage†, â€Å"hag-seed† and â€Å"poisonous†. Caliban, however, is not a weak and passive slave as one might expect. Instead he threatens both Prospero and his daughter, â€Å"...