Understanding Caliban's role and presentation in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand the role and presentation of Caliban in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ throughout the play.
Key learning points
- Caliban inhabited the island before Prospero and Miranda.
- Prospero treats Caliban cruelly by threatening him with physical violence.
- At the end of the play, Caliban is left alone on the island.
- The language around Caliban in ‘The Tempest’ creates a particularly violent and negative impression.
Keywords
Hag - In European folklore, a hag is an old woman who practices witchcraft and is often associated with the dead or the devil.
Tyrant - A tyrant is a cruel or oppressive ruler.
Slave - A slave is someone who is forced to work for and obey someone else and is considered to be their property.
Inhabitant - An inhabitant is a person or animal who lives in a particular place.
Common misconception
That Caliban and Prospero always have a negative relationship.
When Prospero first arrived, Caliban showed Prospero how to survive on the island so it began as a positive relationship.
Teacher tip
You could extend some of the discussions around 'savage' and 'thing' into thinking about Caliban as a representation of colonialism.
Equipment
You may want a copy of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', Prospero calls Caliban a 'villain'. What does this suggest about Prospero's feelings towards Caliban?
Q2.In Shakespearean times, witchcraft was illegal. What does this suggest about how people felt towards witches?
Q3.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', Prospero calls Caliban his 'slave'. What does this suggest?
Q4.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', Caliban says 'this island's mine' - what does this suggest?
Q5.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', Caliban gives a speech telling the others 'be not afeared' of the island. What does this suggest?
Q6.In Shakesepeare's 'The Tempest', Caliban gives a speech where he says that he 'cried to dream again' when he woke up. What does this imply?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a the closest synonym for 'hag'?
Q2.What type of ruler is a tyrant?
Q3.What is an inhabitant?
Q4.Starting with the first, place these plot points from Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' in chronological order.
Q5.Match the word with the possible connotation.
Q6.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', Caliban is referred to as being ' -born'.
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Understanding Caliban's role and presentation in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Understanding Caliban's role and presentation in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the 'The Tempest' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.