Caliban's Suffering and Dehumanization in The Tempest

All the infections that the sun sucks up

Sibilance and metaphor; verb 'sucks' is powerful. Suggests Caliban wants intense, relentless pain on Prospero.

And yet I needs must curse

Caliban cursed despite the spirits' torment - shows his frustration, anger, and lack of control.

But they'll nor pinch

Hyphenated noun phrases build rhythm and emphasize Caliban's torment - nature is deeply magical and threatening.

Fright me with urchin-shows, pitch me i' the mire

Verbs suggest Caliban is being humiliated and physically hurt by supernatural forces.

Nor lead me, like a firebrand, in the dark

Visual imagery and simile - makes Caliban's suffering seem surreal, fearful, and continuous.

Their pricks at my footfall

Plural noun 'pricks' and 'footfall' emphasize persistent suffering and torment in his every step.

Do hiss me into madness

Adjective 'madness' and zoomorphic hissing suggest a state of intense psychological torture.

Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me

Context between the voices suggests Caliban has been deeply traumatized - fears even harmless characters.

The very trifle of his voice

Verb 'trifle' shows how even small cues are painful - highlights Caliban's paranoia and psychological damage.

Looks like a foul bombard

Simile and repulsive imagery, 'foul bombard' (an old wine container), reflects grotesque view of Trinculo's appearance.

Smells like a fish

Animalistic metaphor - highlights Caliban's dehumanization by other characters.

Power—John a strange fish!

Use of repetition between 'strange' and 'fish' - dramatic tone underlines height of Caliban's exotic portrayal.

Were I in England now

Use of irony; the speaker is not morally enlightened. Reflects satire of England's social inequality and mockery of exoticism.

This is a very scurvy tune to sing at a man's funeral

Use of morbid tone contrasts with the trivial tone of the scene - shows Shakespeare's blending of comedy and critique.

Legged like a man and his fins like arms!

Parallelism within zoomorphically inaccurate simile. Trinculo is mocking or misunderstanding Caliban.

Warm o' my troth!

Tiny phrase to reflect disbelief and amazement - shows how Caliban is viewed more as spectacle than human.

This is no fish, but an islander

Directly states the theme: the blurred line between human and monster. Raises colonial questions.

Most perfidious and drunken monster

Insult shows Trinculo's disgust - reflects how characters reinforce Caliban's otherness.