Dec 18, 2009

The Tempest | Does Shakespeare Critique European Colonialism in The Tempest?

A discussion of the possibility of a critique of colonialism in The Tempest. Focuses on the characters of Caliban and Prospero. Also examines the political theme of The Tempest.

Since the 1960s, several critics have found a critique of colonialism in their respective readings of Shakespeare's The Tempest. The most radical of these analyses takes Prospero to be a European invader of the magical but primitive land that he comes to rule, using his superior knowledge to enslave its original inhabitants, most notably Caliban, and forcing them to do his bidding. While the textual clues concerning the geographic location of Prospero's island are ambiguous and vague, there is a prominent reference to the "Bermoothes." We know that shortly before he wrote his...