When William Shakespeare wrote his plays and sonnets, he did not know he would later be considered one of the greatest writers of all time. His works have imported writers and historians alike. However, before Shakespeare could have this influence on others, he had to be influenced by his contemporaries. Historical events of the early 1600s, specifically that of The Tempest. Shakespeare used The Tempest, especially the character of Caliban, to serve as an allegory for these texts and provide discourse against the English colonization of the New World, meaning the modern-day United States and its surrounding territories. One specific text Shakespeare incorporated into The Tempest was Michel de Montaigne’s 1580 essay “Of Cannibals.” Montaigne described the natives of what is now Brazil not as savages, …show more content…
As mentioned before, Prospero viewed Caliban as a lowly, savage slave. Caliban said to Prospero that the only benefit of Prospero’s education was that Caliban could now curse Prospero that the only benefit of Prospero in his own language. This showed that Prospero’s presence had not benefitted Caliban as much as he would think, which reflected how Europeans’ civilization of colonized natives would not benefit these people as much as the Europeans had hoped. In the middle of the play, Caliban began to drink and scheme with two other Europeans-Stephano and Trinculo-who were described respectively as “a drunken butler. . .[and] a jester.” At the play’s conclusion, Caliban confessed and apologized for the error of his ways and vows to remain “wise.” Caliban, corrupted by Stephano and Trinculo, fell victim to their debauchery and greed, some of the vices of Europeans that Montaigne mentioned. Shakespeare wrote Caliban to support Montaigne’s argument that these so-called savages did not need Europeans to corrupt them through their attempts to educate and
With the semester coming to an end, many students are excited. This especially includes those who will be graduating soon. However, graduation can be seen as a bittersweet moment. On one hand, the graduates enter into a new chapter in their lives. On the other hand, they may lose communication with some of their friends. Unfortunately, this is a natural aspect of each person’s life. Everyone will experience some kind of loss in their life, whether it is person or an object. In The Tempest, Shakespeare discusses the topic of loss. While this theme is not talked about much compared to other themes in the play, it is very important since it is a theme that is included in the 1956 movie adaptation Forbidden Planet. While both works illustrate the ways people deals a loss, the later work demonstrates how the advancement in the world have affected the way modern society
In Maryse Condé novel, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Tituba is the victim of the spread of colonial ideology. Colonial ideology is established early in the novel and plays a role throughout. Colonial ideology is the reason Tituba is a slave to white men throughout the play. Colonial ideology is the reason why Tituba’s opinion is considered irrelevant by other characters in the play. Tituba’s life is filled with lost, misery, and disappointment because of the ideology shared by other characters in the novel. The spread of colonial ideology leads to Tituba’s low role in every society she lives in during her life.
Shakespeare is one of the most prolific and admired writers who ever lived. He certainly knew his craft and was familiar with all of the literature available at the time. One of the greatest books ever written was of course the bible. Written over the course of more than a thousand years it is a miracle in itself that the book exists. Shakespeare knew his bible, and his work often incorporated and examined biblical themes. Shakespeare’s last completed work was The Tempest, and it is as complex and deeply moving as any of his works. Readers of the play respond on a much deeper level than the literal. In and of itself it is actually a very simple tale, it is the characters who are representative of so many differing and stimulating aspects of the human condition that make the work so evocative and interesting.
Power: it is something that everyone wants and so few know how to justly maintain. Power causes blood to be shed and divisions to be created among friends and family that may be irreversible. In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero, Antonio, Sebastian, and Alonso grapple with the effect power has on them and how to remain just. All four lose their sense of morals and harm others in order to have personal gain. Power, whether it is the idea of possessing it or the possession of it, will cause individuals to become corrupted and immoral, thus losing their attachments to others.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans, et. al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974.
In the play, The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Prospero took control of Caliban and made him his servant. Prospero was able to do this because he viewed Caliban as an uncivilized being; Caliban was portrayed as a beast. Thus, Prospero was able to assume power over Caliban. It can be seen from Prospero’s speech that he thinks that Caliban is inferior to him when Prosper says, “I have used thee, Filth as thou art, with human care […]” (1.2.348-349). Prospero tries to justify enslaving Caliban, but all he really does is place Caliban into a category of bestial and uncivilized and as a result enslaves him.
During Shakespeare's time social classification was much more rigid than today and some members of society were considered superior to other members. Shakespeare provides an example of this rigid social structure through his play, The Tempest. Shakespeare illustrates how superior men differentiated themselves from lesser beings on the basis of race, financial status, and gender. Through the character of Prospero, Shakespeare provides and example of one, who had reason to feel superior, yet treated others equally and with the respect due to them.
Through The Tempest play, William Shakespeare weaves together a tale that is characterized by anti-colonialist sentiments. Prospero - the deposed Milan Duke - adopts a colonialist mentality by treating his colleagues as slaves who have no rights. Characters who suffer mistreatment under Prospero include: Ariel - the spirit creature; Ferdinand - the Naples Prince; and Caliban - Sycorax’s son. Prospero possesses much magical power which he uses to oppress his compatriots. Consequently, Prospero is portrayed as a colonial tyrant who abuses his immense power. Anti-colonialism feelings are especially evident through the actions, utterances and disposition and of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel. To illustrate, Caliban berates Prospero for the former’s forced labor. Likewise, Ariel protests Prospero’s reluctance to release the former as earlier agreed. Miranda also expresses her dissatisfaction with Prospero’s unfair imprisonment of Ferdinand. Similarly, Ferdinand appears to challenge Prospero’s authority by briefly stopping dragging timber so as to flirt and chat with Miranda. The foregoing four characters exhibit conduct that highlights their displeasure with Prospero’s colonial-style authority over them. From the preceding expose, it can thus be concluded that Shakespeare’s The Tempest play is about anti-colonialism based on its depiction of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel’s opposition to Prospero’s oppressive authority.
In literature as in life, characters are multi-dimensional beings. They possess a wide variety of character traits that make them who they are. In the Tempest written by William Shakespeare, Prospero traits resemble those of the Europeans that came during the exploration of the Americas. Thus, Prospero’s treatment of Caliban is similar to the way Europeans treated the Native Americans.
The second problem that Shakespeare's contemporaries grappled with was that of indigenous Peoples. Shakespeare presents Caliban as initially curious, ignorant, and eventually indecent and untrustworthy. Caliban despises Prospero, who until recently had made an effort to educate and care for Caliban. Prospero is superior to Caliban in every way. The classification of indigenous people as lazy savages would be ongoing justification for putting their lands to European use.
...epresents every person that has been colonized by Europe, and their attempt to civilize the savages. Their method of civilizing and to maintain a firm grip on their savage labourers was language. It was their means to communicate and control the people who they didn’t consider as themselves and a means to discriminate against it. This is reason why Caliban resists and rebels against Prospero and disparage the language he has been taught. To him it is the loss of freedom and the agency through which he is being discriminated against.
Prospero appears to be a ruthless tyrant that strikes fear into Caliban to make him work but further on in the text we learn that this is not the case. Caliban's foul-mouthed insults,
The Tempest. Arden Shakespeare, 1997. Print. Third Series Smith, Hallet Darius. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest; A Collection of Critical Essays, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969.
Caliban is evil is the fact that he tried to rape Miranda, Prospero’s daughter as states by Barbara Fuchs in her article Conquering Islands: Contextualizing the Tempest where it says, “Caliban’s attack on Prospero’s daughter once more genders the colonizing impulses” (61). This suggests rape and it is not inhuman and it shows that Miranda is not the first woman who this has happen to. It not right, it’s evil. Caliban’s character in this book is horrible in the things that he does, he starting off has an evil monster that was born from an evil parents and he goes around causing trouble wherever he goes. As a servant, he does evil deed and by himself he is evil.
Shakespeare, William, and Robert Woodrow Langbaum. The Tempest: With New and Updated Critical Essays and A Revised Bibliography. New York, NY, USA: Signet Classic, 1998. Print.