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The tempest character of Prospero
The tempest character of Prospero
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The Tempest by Shakespeare is his most fanciful of works. There are elaborate tricks and ideas that Shakespeare has put into play. That’s what many might see on the surface when reading The Tempest for the first time. But what some might be able to explore when digger deeper into the work, is the theme of colonization that Shakespeare bestows upon his characters.
When I hear the word “colonization”, I think about Christopher Columbus sailing to America in 1492 and taking over Native American territory. Well, actually, I think of the movie The New World which was directed by Terrence Malik in 2005. It starred Colin Farrell and it took us through his journey coming to America as John Smith, who has a fling with Pocahontas, which was played by the very young and decently talented Q’orianka Kilcher. (Just so you know, Colin Farrell was Ms. Kilcher’s first kiss, e The Tempest by Shakespeare is his most fanciful of works. There are elaborate tricks and ideas that Shakespeare has put into play. That’s what many might see on the surface when reading The Tempest for the first time. But what some might be able to explore when digger deeper into the work, is the theme of colonization that Shakespeare bestows upon his characters.
When I hear the word “colonization”, I think about Christopher Columbus sailing to America in 1492 and taking over Native American territory. Well, actually, I think of the movie The New World which was directed by Terrence Malik in 2005. It starred Colin Farrell and it took us through his journey coming to America as John Smith, who has a fling with Pocahontas, which was played by the very young and decently talented Q’orianka Kilcher. (Just so you know, Colin Farrell was Ms. Kilcher’s first kiss,...
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...specially the island that they are inhabiting. Prospero can’t see that he has stolen any type of chance that he could be the ruler of the island. Soon enough, Caliban understands that Prospero sees him as someone to be ruled. Caliban eventually realizes that he has been cheated of ever becoming the ruler. As the consequence of his realization, Caliban turns harsh and savage-like, which only confirms Prospero’s view of him. Shakespeare brings out the harsh reality of what characters believe to be “the right way” in The Tempest. With Caliban, Shakespeare showed his audience how degrading it can be to be the person who will always be considered the “savage” even though they hadn’t had a chance to show their true potential.With Prospero, Shakespeare showed the readers that he was wronged in the beginning of the play, but his quest to prove them wrong, he wronged others.
There are many adaptations and interpretations on how the English arrived to the Americas and established their colonies. The 2005 film “New World”, written and directed by Terrance Malick, is a film based off the English settlers and how they settled in the Americas in 1607, and the forbidden relationship between John Smith and Pocahontas. Although the film highly exaggerates on some scenes in order to make the history seem more interesting, the film still holds most historical accuracy and is an enjoyable film.
In the book “Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma” the author is trying to give people a more realistic and factual based outlook on the actual story of Pocahontas. The author’s book is very different from all the other biographies of Pocahontas. It shows us, as the readers, how much the seventeenth-century Native Americans were alike. In the film Pocahontas that was created by Disney it is said that many of the English were trying to enhance the lives of many of the savages. The movie leaves us with the feeling and impression that the New World English settlers were here just to educate and Christianize the Native Americans. However, in this book, it is very evident that this is not the truth. Through the perception that Townsend show her readers
Critics have offered varying evaluations of the characters in William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Some consider Prospero to be magnanimous for forgiving his enemies, for freeing Ariel from the confines of a tree, and for treating Caliban with great sympathy until the monster's attempted rape of Miranda. Others view Prospero as an oppressive colonizer and consider both Caliban and Ariel to be his innocent and mistreated subjects. In his article "Reading The Tempest," Russ McDonald argues that the new orthodox interpretation of The Tempest, "which exalts the colonized, is as narrow as the old, which idealizes and excuses the colonizer" (117). He argues that the actual status of the characters is considerably more ambiguous, and he supports his view by analyzing the rhetorical devices present in the play. However, a close examination of the various sounds disbursed throughout the work--including speech, silence, and music--tends to support a less ambiguous view of the characters. Indeed, it tends to lend support to the new orthodox view that Prospero is an oppressive colonizer, for he often threatens his enemies and servants with unpleasant sounds and demands silence from others, including his daughter.
In the comedic, yet thrilling play, The Tempest, William Shakespeare uses characters such as Caliban, Alonso, and Ariel to show Prospero’s immense cruelness and pure monstrosity. Moreover, these Shakespearean characters are also used to highlight Prospero’s change in character into a kinder and more forgiving person. Prospero starts the play out as a vengeful monster, after an illuminating moment however, his persona transforms into his true identity of a compassionate man.
Césaire states that “colonization works to decline the colonizer, to brutalize him in the truest sense of the word, to degrade him, to awaken him to buried instincts, to covetousness, violence, race hatred and moral relativism” (Césaire, 173). This can be seen
Overall, Shakespeare’s The Tempest mirrors certain themes that were carried out into the real world. From the early settlements during the time of The Requerimiento to The Tempest to the Trail of Tears, Ethnocentrism has led to violence and dehumanization. The ways that the natives were treated because of their different lifestyles makes it harder and harder to come together and live as one. The old saying goes, “people are set in their ways” and that holds true. Both parties, in their belief that they are better, refuse to compromise and communicate. In The Tempest, this theme led to rape and slavery. In the New World, the theme led to death and hundreds of years of discrimination. Shakespeare is known for being a wise man and pulling from universal and eternal themes for his plays and sonnets, and ethnocentrism is one of them.
The Tempest reflects Shakespeare's society through the relationship between characters, especially between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban, who was the previous king of the island, is taught how to be "civilized" by Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Then he is forced to be their servant. Caliban explains "Thou strok'st me and make much of me; wo...
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 this whimsical play, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, after being supplanted of his dukedom by his brother, arrives on an island. He frees a spirit named Ariel from a spell and in turn makes the spirit his slave. He also enslaves a native monster named Caliban. These two slaves, Caliban and Ariel, symbolize the theme of nature versus nurture. Caliban is regarded as the representation of the wild; the side that is usually looked down upon. Although from his repulsive behavior, Caliban can be viewed as a detestable beast of nature, it can be reasonably inferred that Shakespeare’s intent was to make Caliban a sympathetic character.
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest blends elements of adventure and intellectual inquiry. The plot of Shakespeare’s last work contains comedy, romance, and action enough to sustain the interest of his common audience. However, there lies beneath the eloquent language and exciting plot an intelligent political commentary. Shakespeare uses the setting of a virtually uninhabited island as an experimental testing ground for the institution of slavery. Shakespeare shows through his island experiment that subjugation, once instituted, seems to perpetuate itself. While the most automatic explanation of this cyclical nature of slavery would be to say that this political rule is continued by the subjugators, the surprising reality is that it is the victim of colonialism who continues the cycle of slavery. Caliban, the native "islander"(2.2.36), despises his condition as a slave. However, in his attempt to disrupt and overthrow the political order instituted on the island by Prospero, Caliban actually provides evidence of the power of slavery over both man and mind.
It is often nice to encounter a piece of prose that challenges our minds to search for deeper underlying truths then finish the text with a sense of accomplishment at having been able to detect these truths with little effort. However, when the creator of the work is under pressure to cater to their society's standards, it becomes more difficult to determine which of the ideas presented are truly accurate and are still currently relevant in our own society. A very common example is when we analyze works by William Shakespeare in high school or in college, or sometimes even just in one's leisure time. In Shakespeare's time, society valued colonialist ideas, which comes through in his work The Tempest when we analyze the roles he assigns for
Colonialism is a relationship of ascendency between an indigenous (or forcibly imported) majority and a minority of transcontinental invaders. Colonial rulers have the power to make the essential decisions that affect the lives of the colonised people, which are implemented in pursuit of interests defined in a distant metropolis. Through the ability of rejecting cultural compromises with the colonised population, the colonisers extend their supremacy and their ordained mandate to rule. Nonetheless, Colonial conquest is a term that undermines the complexity within colonialism. To fully understand this period of time, you need to recognize and accept the complication of the motives, methods, the events that occurred and the history involved.
colonising discourse and expanding territory. The Tempest thus incorporates concerns of the Jacobean 17th century context, used to naturalise the resolution.
The Tempest, by Shakespeare, offers the reader a variety of themes. The one theme that stands out the most is that of colonialism. During the time of Shakespeare, many European countries such as Spain, France, and England, were expanding their borders by taking over less developed countries, referred to as colonies. During this time of exploitation, there was skepticism concerning the possible success of the colonies. While some scholars believe that the play is about the Americas, I argue that the play reflects on colonialism in general and how it is destined for failure which is shown through the character’s relationships throughout the play.
In The Tempest, Alonso’s realisation of his son’s probable death is articulated through apostrophe in ‘my son is lost...O thou mine heir…’ and this knowledge propels his need to make amends for his guilt in betraying Prospero. Miranda’s physical discovery of Ferdinand leads her to love, delineated through hyperbole as he declares ‘I,/beyond all limit… i’th’ world,/ Do love, prize, honour you.’ Miranda’s wonder and the liberation of her insular views are further portrayed with ther exclamatory tone of ‘o wonder!...how beauteous mankind is!... O brave new world.’ Contrarily, Charlie’s newfound knowledge about the horrors of his town lead him to despairing reflection. The paradox of his sense of loneliness in ‘I’d never felt so utterly alone as then, hemmed in and trapped by every person in this town… Like I spoke a different language,’ exemplifies the oppressive weight of his guilt while alluding to the injustice and exclusion of marginalised individuals within Corrigan. From a colonial context, both ‘half-caste’ Jasper Jones and The Tempest’s Caliban discover the need to escape the discrimination against them for being indigenous to their land, and the expectation that they are ‘capable of all ill’ (Act 1) by fleeing from their oppressors. The repeated rhetorical questioning in ‘what kind of lousy world is this?’ that ‘lets [monsters] torment the innocent and make good people afraid?’ enforces Charlie’s growing social awareness and foreshadows how he witnesses the ingrained racial prejudice in his town. Thus, while Miranda’s intellectual discoveries inspire new ways of thinking and allow her to connect with the broader world, Charlie leaves the comfort of ignorance for the burden of personal discoveries about