Caliban:
All the infections that the sun sucks up
From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall and make him
By inch-meal a disease! His spirits hear me
And yet I needs must curse. But they'll nor pinch,
Fright me with urchin--shows, pitch me i' the mire,
Nor lead me, like a firebrand, in the dark
Out of my way, unless he bid 'em; but
For every trifle are they set upon me;
Sometime like apes that mow and chatter at me
And after bite me, then like hedgehogs which
Lie tumbling in my barefoot way and mount
Their pricks at my footfall; sometime am I
All wound with adders who with cloven tongues
Do hiss me into madness.
ENTER SATAN AS SERPENT
Lo, now, lo!
Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me
For bringing wood in slowly. I'll fall flat;
Perchance he will not mind me.
Satan:
Wonder not, sovereign Caliban, if perhaps
Thou canst, who art sole Wonder, much less arm
Thy looks, the Heav'n of mildness, with disdain,
Displeas'd that I approach thee thus, and gaze
Insatiate, I thus single, nor have feard
Thy awful brow, more awful thus retir'd.
Thee all things living gaze on, all things thine
By gift, and thy Celestial Power adore
With ravishment beheld, there best beheld
Where universally admir'd; but here
In this enclosure wild, these Beasts among,
Beholders rude, and shallow to discerne
Half what in thee is fair.
Who sees thee? who shouldst be ador'd and serv'd
By Angels numberless, thy daily Train.
Caliban:
Do not torment me: Oh!
Satan:
Perchance you wonder, how I came so to speak and reason?
Easie to me it is to tell thee
I was at first as other Beasts that graze
The trodden Herb, of abject thoughts and low,
As was my food, nor aught but food discern'd
Or Sex, and apprehended nothing high:
Till on a day roaving the field, I chanc'd
A goodly Tree farr distant to behold
Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixt,
Ruddie and Gold: I nearer drew to gaze;
When from the boughes a savorie odour blow'n,
Grateful to appetite, more pleas'd my sense,
Then smell of sweetest Fenel or the Teats
Of Ewe or Goat dropping with Milk at Eevn,
Unsuckt of Lamb or Kid, that tend thir play.
To satisfie the sharp desire I had
Of tasting those fair Apples, I resolv'd
Not to deferr; hunger and thirst at once,
Powerful perswaders, quick'nd at the scent
Of that alluring fruit, urg'd me so keene.
About the mossie Trunk I wound me soon,
For high from ground the branches would require
Thy utmost reach: Round the Tree
All other Beasts that saw, with like desire
Longing and envying stood, but could not reach.
Amid the Tree now got, where plenty hung
Tempting so nigh, to pluck and eat my fill
I spar'd not, for such pleasure till that hour
At Feed or Fountain never had I found.
Sated at length, ere long I might perceave
Strange alteration in me, to degree
Of Reason in my inward Powers, and Speech
Wanted not long, though to this shape retain'd.
Thenceforth to Speculations high or deep
I turnd my thoughts, and with capacious mind
Considerd all things visible in Heav'n,
Or Earth, or Middle, all things fair and good;
But all that fair and good in thy Divine
Semblance, and in thy Powers heav'nly Ray
United I beheld; no Fair to thine
Equivalent or second, which compel'd
Mee thus, though importune perhaps, to come
And gaze, and worship thee of right declar'd
Sovereign of Creatures.
O Sacred, Wise, and Wisdom-giving Plant,
Mother of Science, Now I feel thy Power
Within me cleere, not onely to discerne
Things in thir Causes, but to trace the wayes
Of highest Agents, deemd however wise.
King of this Universe, the Fruit gives you Life
Look on mee, Mee who have touch'd and tasted,
And life more perfet have attaind then Fate
Meant mee, by ventring higher then my Lot.
Shall that be shut to thee, which to the Beast
Is open? Prevent not from achieving what might leade
To happier life. In the day
Ye Eate thereof, your Eyes that seem so cleere,
Yet are but dim, shall perfetly be then
Op'nd and cleerd, and ye shall be as Gods.
That ye should be as Gods, since I as Man,
Internal Man is but proportion meet,
I of brute human, yee of Sycorax God.
So ye shall die perhaps, by putting off
Human, to put on God, death to be wisht,
which no worse then this can bring.
And what are Gods that Man may not become
As they, participating God-like food?
The Gods are first, and that advantage use
On our belief, that all from them proceeds;
I question it, for this fair Earth I see,
Warm'd by the Sun, producing every kind,
Them nothing: If they all things, who enclos'd
Power and Knowledge of Good and Evil in this Tree,
That whoso eats thereof, forthwith attains
Wisdom without their leave?
These, these and many more
Causes import your need of this fair Fruit.
God humane, go to this tree and freely taste.
ENTER STEPHANO
Stephano:
What's the matter? Have we devils here?
Caliban:
The spirit torments me; Oh!
Stephano:
Come on your ways; open your mouth; here is that
which will give language to you, cat!
Caliban:
Here is a fine thing, an if he be
not a sprit.
That's a brave god and bears celestial liquor.
I will kneel to him.
Satan:
Oh for badness’ sake.
Analysis:
This scene is almost completely composed of the dialogue of the characters involved, so to answer the question “what lines inspired me to write it?” I’d say “all of them!” I thought it was interesting, though, to consider the two religious temptations that occur in both of these texts and to compare how they operate.
In Paradise Lost, Eve is at least conscious of the parameters of her temptation, and as such operates on the intellectual level of the fall itself. She understands God’s command not to eat the fruit, and she is trying to weigh whether or not to disobey God. Satan uses all of his arguments to try to persuade her to abandon her pact with God and to succumb to him. Indeed, for all the differences between Satan and Eve, they both share an intellect prone to high-minded philosophy and abstract thinking.
Shakespeare’s Caliban, by contrast, doesn’t seem to possess the same awareness of what spirits exist in his world, and therefore operates on a more material level. He is not convinced by promises and claims, but by being presented with alcohol, a thing so lovely he cannot imagine it was created by anything other than a divine spirit. Trinculo and Stephano share this “salt of the Earth” persona, caring more about the material world around them than the Italian nobles do.
By putting the two conversions in dialogue with each other, I have tried to highlight in a humorous manner how Satan and Eve operate on one level, while Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo operate on another. Of course, if Satan truly bent all of his willpower towards trying to find a way to deceive Caliban, I’m sure he would change his strategy and simply hand him a drink. However, this comparison still highlights the differences between Eve and Caliban and how that impacts the process through which they alter their religious beliefs.
The only true abandonment of character in this piece occurs at the very end. I decided to highlight the deceptive nature of Satan and the contrast between what he says and what he thinks by having what I imagine would be passing through his head “show through” in his moment of greatest frustration.