Act Two scene two – introducing
the sub-plot
Stephano and Trinculo
• The sub-plot mirrors the main action
• Stephano and Trinculo act as comic foils to
Antonio and Sebastian
• Why do you think the scene immediately
follows Antonio and Sebastian’s failed plot?
Caliban’s speech – lines 1 - 17
• How does Shakespeare use language to reveal
Prospero’s cruelty?
• What other points in the play are echoed here?
• Throughout the play, instances of elision (slurring
words together), ellipsis and contractions occur,
adding to the sense of echoing within the play as
well as its dream-like feel. What examples can
you find in Caliban’s speech here?
• What does Caliban think Trinculo’s singing is?
AO2 – language and structure
Trinculo – lines 18 - 40
• Why is the effect of Trinculo speaking in
prose? Who does he contrast with and what
is the effect of this?
• How does Shakespeare use Trinculo to
develop the theme of exploitation?
• How does Shakespeare use physical comedy in
the scene?
AO2 – language and
form
Stephano – lines 41 - 77
• How does Shakespeare immediately introduce
Stephano as a base character?
• Find quotations to show that they ply Caliban
with alcohol. What evidence is there that this
may be a darkly comic echo of Prospero’s
treatment of Caliban (1.2. 332 – 340)?
Costume
• How does the use of costume add to the
comic impact of the scene? (36 – 38)
• What does Stephano think when he sees
Caliban and Trinculo under the gaberdine (59
– 60 88 - 90)?
Read the article on clothing in The Tempest and
hightlight key ideas
AO2 – language and form
AO3 – alternative interpretations
Caliban – lines 114 - 170
• How does Shakespeare show how easily Caliban is won
over by Stephano and Trinculo?
• Which lines show that this mirrors Caliban’s first
encounters with Prospero?
AO3: alternative interpretations
• Is this a comic parallel or something more sinister?
• Support your point of view with textual evidence
• How does this affect the audience’s view of Caliban?
AO3 – alternative intrepretations
The end of the scene – line 174 - end
• In what ways in Caliban’s behaviour primitive
(or indeed monstrous) at the end of the
scene?
• Can you see any ironies in the way the scene
ends?
Key quotations – comic parallels with
the main plot
Main plot
Sub-plot
Homework Essay
Undoubtedly brutal, yet oddly sensitive.
By considering the role and dramatic
presentation of Caliban in The Tempest, evaluate
this view.