Context
Context
"You taught me language, and my profit on’t
Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you
For learning me your language!"--(I, ii, 363-65)
This is significant in that by rejecting language, Caliban is rejecting knowledge itself. With knowledge comes a realization of one’s inadequacy, and Caliban prefers to remain in that more primitive state of blissful ignorance. This is not surprising, for Prospero has given Caliban the tools of communication and self-knowledge, but has failed to give him the freedom and self-responsibility with which it is necessary to enjoy them.
