Act I, Scene 2, lines 321-374 Questions and Answers
Study Questions
1. Who were the parents of Caliban?
2. What did Prospero do for Caliban when he first came to the island?
3. How did Caliban respond to Prospero’s treatment of him?
4. Why does Caliban feel that he owns the island?
5. What happened when Prospero took Caliban into his own lodging?
6. What does Prospero do to punish Caliban for his behavior?
7. How has Caliban benefited from learning a language?
8. How is Caliban described in the “Names of the Actors”?
9. What does Prospero threaten to do to Caliban if he does not obey him?
10. Why does Caliban finally decide to obey Prospero?
Answers
1. Caliban’s parents were the witch, Sycorax, and, according to Prospero, the
devil himself.
2. Prospero treated Caliban with kindness, teaching him language and lodging him in his own cell.
3. Caliban learned to love Prospero and showed him where to find fresh water and fertile soil.
4. Caliban feels that he has inherited the island from his mother Sycorax.
5. Caliban attempted to rape Prospero’s daughter, Miranda, after they took him into their lodging.
6. Prospero imprisons Caliban in a rock, subjects him to hard labor, and prevents him from seeing the rest of the island.
7. Caliban says that now, “I know how to curse.”
8. Caliban is described as a “savage and deformed slave.”
9. Prospero threatens to give him painful cramps and aching bones.
10. Caliban obeys because Prospero’s art of magic has the power to control even his mother’s god, Setebos.
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