Robert Browning: Caliban upon Setebos Summary and Interpretation The poem represents Browning’s thought on revealed (knowledge of God comes through divine revelation) and natural theology. Natural theology describes the way in which people know of God by examining what is around them using logical reason. In Caliban upon Setebos, Browning seems to be commenting on the ideas of natural theology that the character of God can be known by looking at nature or that God is created in the image of man rather than man being created in the image of God (this is evident in the subtitle of the poem “Natural Theology in the Island”). Caliban’s (a disfigured slave) dramatic monologue represents the idea that all religion is a projection by man of his own qualities. Throughout the poem, Caliban uses his vivid imagination to describe his characteristics and then ascribes them to his god, his master Setebos (e.g., line 43). Caliban does reason that there is something greater than Setebos which he calls the Quiet (lines 132-133, 170, 246). For Caliban, the Quiet is a detached, indifferent, and largely absentee God (see lines 138-139). Setebos is the only god Caliban knows (line 171) and Caliban sees him as a jealous and arbitrary god who does whatever he wants with Caliban such as venting his anger (line 231, 250). Caliban thinks Setebos is able to make (he created man on the island, line 31) or change anything in the world but himself (line 57, 76). Since he cannot create another like himself, he created Caliban (line 127). However, Caliban is envious of Setebos’ powers (lines 100, 113) Caliban wonders about the relationship between God and the ideas about evolution. He constructs his idea of the divine from what he knows about himself. Caliban is trying to understand the nature of God by looking at what is going on around him in the real world.
Caliban focuses on what he observes and experiences in his environment and the pleasures of cool mud (line 4) or tasty fruit (line 11) and pain such as maltreatment by Setebos (line 231, 250) or bad weather (line 201). However, Caliban cannot seem to come to any decision about what he believes: is he a product of God or evolution? Caliban addresses the question of where humankind fits because he is neither a god nor a beast. It is about Caliban trying to find his identity (lines 280-282). Caliban wonders if he is a god because he notices that he has power over creatures that are smaller than himself (feed or killing the crabs at will) (see also lines 225-229). The more Caliban talks the more his reasoning becomes convoluted and distorted (line 247). Whatever Caliban concludes, he thinks it also must apply to Setebos his god. Caliban discusses his understanding of creation in terms of Setebos, Caliban thinks that God made him so that Setebos (who Caliban equates with a god) can toy with him like a cat does with a mouse (line 127). He recognizes that he has godlike power over creatures smaller than him (line 100) and assumes his master Setebos has the same godlike powers over him (line 208). Because Caliban is weaker than Setebos, Caliban is subject to Setebos’ whims and power. Therefore, Caliban reasons that it is wise to make sure Setebos is kept happy and content (line 182, 221, 223). Form Caliban upon Setebos is written in the form of unrhymed pentameter. There are many irregularities in the metrical flow of the poem. Since Caliban is a slave with course speech, this form may have been used by Browning to represent his crude mannerism. In a nutshell, Caliban is contemplating what is the nature of God and where does he, Caliban, fit in the scheme of things. He muses about their being something or someone greater than Setebos (the Quiet). Literary Trope
A literary trope in the poem is the use of the word Quiet to refer to God or the cosmos. Two Issues of Interpretation, ambiguity, obscurity, word usage, or any other element of the text that the presenter thinks is unanswered by the text itself. Caliban talks about himself in the third person and Browning often uses an apostrophe to indicate the omission of the first person pronoun. This could indicate that Caliban is still searching to find his own identity apart from the environment in which he is an integral part. Also, this may be a way of indicating that Caliban does not want to draw attention to himself (he may be trying to hide from Setobos. Caliban refers to God and “He” and Setebos as “he” though this is never openly explained in the poem. Browning uses the words “so He” as a refrain in reference to Setebos (lines 43, 97, 108, 126, 169, 199, 240, and 295). Browning uses brackets to indicate Caliban’s internal and unspoken thoughts. These sections describe what Caliban is doing before and after he speaks. It is written in the third person giving the impression of an external observer yet at the same time it is Caliban’s internal thoughts apart from the spoken monologue. Browning frequently used verbs associated with animals to paint a picture of Caliban as both animal and human (moves like and animal but thinks like a human) “With elbows wide, fists clenched to prop his chin” (line 3). His human capacity to think is made certain when he says "thinketh, He made thereaft the sun . . . ." (line 44). Caliban is reflecting on creation, an abstract concept, which an animal mind is unable to comprehend. The following are some examples: Sprawl . . . flat on his belly (lines 1-2) Creeps down to touch and tickle hair and beard (line 9) Which bite like finches (line 70)
Now snarl, now hold its breadth and mind his eye (line 159) Gaped as a snake does, lolled out its large tongue (209)
