ABSTRACT
In the process of play writing, the character's name comes at the end, which is pertinent to conceiving art as imitatio Dei and to the philosophical interpretation of Genesis 2:20, where Adam gives names to every living creature, after they had been substantiated by God according to his plan and archetypes. Shakespeare views names as powerful in theatre and in magic; their power is not intrinsic though, but derived from their being referred to other names, to circumstances, to the intention of the agent who uses them. Shakespeare's ideas on the essence and value of names pertain to his wider concern with the paradoxical nature of words. An analogous alienation actuated in names has Caliban as an object, the character whose cultural difference is perceived as impure, hateful, disgusting or potentially dangerous. Shakespeare's ideas on the essence and value of names pertain to his wider concern with the paradoxical nature of words.
