Speaking through Caliban: The Literary Techniques of Robert Browning....an analysis of the poem Caliban Upon Setebos

In "Caliban Upon Setebos" by Robert Browning, Caliban, an enslaved, gruesome character from William Shakespeare's The Tempest, is given a chance to speak his mind on religion, power, and human nature. In The Tempest Caliban's character comes off as coarse, brutal, and often drunken. Browning's poem shows a lighter, more eloquent and sensitive side of Caliban, thus offering restitution to Caliban, who may not have gotten a fair deal in his first appearance. The poem …

…time, Caliban is able to mimic this figure by acting out on creatures less than he, as he does with the crabs. Upon reading The Tempest, many would think Caliban to be some sort of savage or monster. However, upon reading Browning's poem, one can learn that internally Caliban wrestles with the same problems as everyone else. Is there an order to life? Or, is earth just a mere "testing ground" for a greater figure?