Not so serious

Dryden’s adaptation of The Tempest is almost the complete opposite if the original work. For one, Caliban is treated a lot better in the original work, compared to Dryden's adaptation. Caliban was once the island savage with beautiful lines, but now he is nothing more than a character that seems to just fill in minor blanks throughout most of the play. The most complex dialogue he gets is when he has his dialogue with Prospero.

            Act one of scene two in the adaptation, Caliban’s dialogue with Prospero is exactly the same from the Shakespearean version. It is very interesting as to why Dryden has chosen to do so, but Caliban no longer has his many touching speeches. His most famous speech, in ACTIII: II, no longer exist, as does his presence throughout most of the play. One could say the Dryden made up for his loss by bringing Sycorax into the play. It seems that she was brought in to add more to the comedic value of the play.

            This being an Adaptation, it should not be too big of a surprise that the play was greatly altered, especially into a comedy. Caliban’s lines are now drawn to plain comedic aspects, such as liquor. Trinculo’s character has also been altered. When he is with Caliban, Sycorax, and Stephano, they are all working together act as a bunch of fools on this lost paradise. The great uninhabited island has now been turned into the “enchanted island”.