In my artwork, I represented Caliban’s almost paranoid fear of Setebos by conveying the latter’s perceived omnipresence: Setebos is shown as a pair of ireful eyes that easily locate Caliban inside his cavern, a malevolent shadow that fills the entire sky, and deadly tentacles that crawl towards Caliban. The last element has been inspired by a particular quote: “Setebos/ The many-handed as a cuttle-fish” (Browning 141-142). While I may have taken a parallel between Setebos and a cephalopod a little too literally, I think it adds well to the sense of inescapability as well as Setebos’ merciless nature. Additionally, elements such as turbulent waters and flashes of lightning reference the ending of the poem (“What, what? A curtain o'er the world at once!” (Browning 284)) and increase the feeling of Setebos’ rage and power.
The other part of my drawing focuses on Caliban’s relationship with himself. It is important to note that Caliban himself is only represented as a pair of eyes peering fearfully from the darkest part of the cavern – the figure that is sitting by the fire is his mental perception of his rebellious, heretical thoughts. This is what Caliban has been reduced to as a result of his belief – a trembling, paranoid creature stripped of the ownership of his thoughts.
While I think that such a visualisation allows the audience to understand Caliban’s unique depersonalisation much more vividly, it might also be the case that it takes away from a concept of Setebos – in the poem, Setebos can also be considered a complex character with no single motivation. While portraying him as such a malicious, omnipresent figure does an excellent job (in my opinion) of highlighting Caliban’s individual psychological traits, it may be oversimplifying Setebos by casting him in a light of a one-dimensional antagonist.