Speaking through Caliban: The Literary Techniques of Robert Browning

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 offers Prospero's beastly slave with a touch of charm and aspiration, making it a pioneering work. Using dramatic monologue, irregular form, and symbolism, Robert Browning addresses religious philosophy, the boundaries between man and beast, and uses and abuses of power.
For the last 200 years, Robert Browning has often been considered a master of dramatic monologue.…