"The Tempest" and Colonialism

Paper Summary:

This paper is dedicated to proving a critique of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" from a colonial/imperial viewpoint. It details the subjugation of the savage Caliban at the hands of the mainstream European characters, primarily Prospero. It briefly examines the rape of Miranda by Caliban and discusses several points from the play that strongly suggest that Shakespeare was writing a concise social commentary on the morality of imperialistic tendencies at the time.

From the Paper:

""The Tempest," precisely because of its compact nature, has become one of the most widely criticized plays that Shakespeare ever wrote. Unlike his more grandiose tragedies, or even his longer comedies, "The Tempest" is concise, and very often leaves the reader wondering what exactly IS the thrust of the play. It can adequately be argued that the play is a precursor to future naturalist novels (i.e. Goldings "Lord of the Flies," or Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"), or it can be viewed as one of the few Shakespearean works that walks the categorical tightrope between tragedy and comedy. Indeed, "The Tempest" is not so easily categorized because it contains elements of both a tragedy and a comedy, is short, quickly resolved, and has no "real" moral or motif."

More papers on "The Tempest" and Colonialism:

• Book Review # 112168 : "Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and Elizabethan Colonialism"
• Analytical Essay # 30056 : "Colonialism in "The Tempest"
• Analytical Essay # 111361 : "Metaphors and Ruling in "The Tempest"

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