For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps,
Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up. Urchins
Shall, for that vast of night that they may work,
All exercise on thee. Thou shalt be pinched
As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging
Than bees that made ’em.
– William Shakespeare
The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2. Just after Caliban showers curses on him and his daughter, Prospero issues this threat to his unruly and disobedient slave. Prospero is a sorcerer and his powerful magic can indeed inflict this kind of physical pain that he describes on Caliban in order to control him. He uses nature as a threat to cause him pain, urchins being spirits in the form of hedgehogs. There is an unforgiving relationship between the master and servant. The deformed Caliban is usually seen as the monster in the play, but Prospero could also be seen as part monster in the things he does to control and manipulate the other characters.