Scene from the Tempest: Caliban, Prospero and Miranda

John Hamilton Mortimer|Thomas Rowlandson|William Shakespeare

[1783–87] reissued 1801 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

Prospero here shields Miranda from the malevolant Caliban in an image inspired by act 1, scene 2 of Shakepeare's "Tempest." The text of the play reveals that, when the magician and his daughter exiled to this remote island, they encountered this sub-human offspring of a witch, welcomed him into their cave, and taught him to speak. Later, when the monster attempted to rape Miranda, Prospero devised spells to control him and force him into servitude. Rowlandson based this etching a drawing by Mortimer, a close friend, for a series published between 1784 and 1788.

Artist

John Hamilton Mortimer|Thomas Rowlandson|William Shakespeare

Date

[1783–87] reissued 1801

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953