Book burning is nothing new when it comes to history. Long ago great cities were set on fire without anything being preserved much less saved. Many more rare items other than influential books were burned in these fires; for example the burning down of Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero caused many books to perish within the flames that brought this wondrous city down to its knees. So when Shakespeare incorporates Calibans book burning idea it is not so much of a surprise to the audience because history is full of the burnings of great libraries and magnificent books.
Caliban even mentioning to burn Prospero's many books shows just some of Calibans intelligence and how he understands that books bring knowledge and with knowledge he knows that power comes with it, if used properly. Calibans idea of robbing Prospero of his "power" is a good idea in a sense. What I do not think
Caliban realizes or has put into play is that Prospero does have a memory. How do we know that Prospero has not memorized all of his books being stranded on this island he shares with his daughter Miranda and Caliban his slave. Calibans point is valid but burning Prospero's books does not assure a victory for Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano at all, or that it can even bring Prospero's death which they are trying to achieve. Burning Prospero's books can be helpful on the other hand, what if Prospero needed his books for his spells, or just has not memorized them like I mentioned. If that is the case then burning Prospero's books would be of a great advantage to the mischievous three plotting Prospero's death. Without his books Prospero may not be able to cast his spells to defend himself or harm either Caliban, Trinculo, or Stephano, in other words Prospero could be rendered "powerles
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