Racial Stereotypes In The Tempest By William Shakespeare

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

characters of different racial backgrounds, as well as when we look at the way he treats his African characters compared to his European characters. Unfortunately, characters of a non-European descent, with or without magical abilities, are portrayed as inferior, and their indigenous knowledge is downplayed with the purpose of catering to the Eurocentric standards of Shakespeare's audience.
The most glaring way Shakespeare's play parallels the way indigenous people were treated in the colonialist periods of history is the way inequality in the power dynamic between Caliban and Prospero. Although Caliban's lack of magical abilities could explain him being powerless to Prospero, Caliban's fundamental knowledge, which is crucial to survival on the island, is rarely mentioned, and its importance is also ignored. Caliban, when he speaks of himself, displays behavior that communicates to the reader that he believes Italians’ perception of him as an indigenous being because only harsh words are ever used to address and describe him. There is evidence that Caliban has internalized the Europeans' constant air of superiority in the way he compares himself to Prospero in the following quote: "without [his books] he is but a sot, as I am" (3.2.88-89). Here we can see Caliban considers himself equal to Prospero only when Prospero is reduced to an uneducated "fool" without his books, when really Prospero's magical power would have hardly sustained him if Caliban was without the insider knowledge of the island (Hulme and Sherman 48n89). Here the racial prejudices and colonialist opinions of Shakespeare's era come through in his writing and convey the message that Caliban’s knowledge is powerless because of its lack of a magical aspect, but also because he is of an indigenous, confusing and savage race.
Caliban's worth as a person, in the minds of Miranda and Prospero, is usually characterized by his grasp of the things they taught him to make him less of a "savage". Before they teach him English, his native tongue is described by Miranda as "gabble like a thing most brutish" which demonstrates how the most relevant aspects of Caliban’s character are reduced to his substandard behavior rather than the knowledge he possesses, knowledge key to survival in their new environment (1.2.355-356). Shakespeare’s own bias towards European standards comes through in the play here where again we see Shakespeare reduce Caliban to a different and strange beast and devalue his knowledge, which effectively renders him powerless as a character. While earlier it could have been argued that Caliban's lack of power in the play was due to his lack of magical ability, applying a more critical lens to the play exposes the elements of racial partiality that cause the indigenous character to be reduced in importance and worth.
There are racial prejudices present in the play that influence exactly whose knowledge is seen as more or less powerful and as more or less relevant. These same parameters impact Prospero's treatment of two characters who are similar situations but of different racial backgrounds. Throughout the play, we see how Prospero enslaves many beings, two, in particular, being Ferdinand and Caliban. It is worth noting that both these men became enslaved to Prospero in similar ways. Caliban's sexual assault on Miranda was a direct attack on Prospero. In these Shakespeare's such a crime against a daughter was seen mostly as an intentional act of aggression towards her father, so Caliban had basically attacked Prospero's property and this warranted enslavement. Next, Ferdinand attempts to duel Prospero and draws his sword, another great insult to Prospero. This along with Ferdinand's traitorous father's crimes against Prospero was reason enough for Prospero to enslave this man as well. Since these men's situations are identical, and they both arrived there through insulting the magician, the main difference between these two men is their racial background and Prospero's intentions behind the subjugation of each of the men are radically different as well.
For Ferdinand, even though he insulted Prospero, the end goal of the enslavement is for Ferdinand to fall in love with Miranda. In the quote "The mistress which I serve … makes my labors pleasures" it is not hard to see Ferdinand's experience in slavery is more of a gift than a burden (3.1.6-7). It also happens that this enslavement is meant to be a twisted sort of gift to Ferdinand. Prospero strategically sets up his daughter with a noble and proper Italian man. However, coincidentally, Prospero kept another slave for an entirely different reason. For Caliban, the slavery is most definitely arduous and miserable and he wishes constantly for the death of his master. Regardless of what the circumstances were that led to a change in Caliban and Prospero's relationship after the latter arrived at the island, Caliban is subject to torment by spirits and physical ailments, all at by Prospero's command. Throughout the play, it often becomes difficult to determine whether Caliban's punishments are a result of him rebelling against orders, or if Shakespeare's colonialist perspective is influencing the way he makes Prospero interact with Caliban. It is also important to notice how Prospero's treatment of Caliban parallels the treatment of most European adventurers to the indigenous people's they encountered. Comparing this once again to Ferdinand's experience with Prospero, it becomes difficult not to see how the Eurocentric society of Shakespeare's time influences his art, the plot and the characters and roles in the play.
There are racial prejudices present in the play that influence exactly whose knowledge is seen as more or less powerful and as more or less relevant.

This is evident in the way he potential for Caliban, the son of a witch, to have acquired knowledge magical abilities is not explored in The Tempest. The idea that a savage, one without even the slightest knowledge of the English language, could have magical abilities is not an idea that Shakespeare’s audience would have appreciated in his work. These racial prejudices also become evident when we examine the way Sycorax is mentioned very little in the play and happens to be the one African with magical ability. Of course, neither Sycorax nor her god can compare to the Italian man’s magic, knowledge, and power. Shakespeare portrays Sycorax’s arrival to the island as an abhorrent and negative change in the island’s environment and she seems to have only arrived with malicious intent for the island and to torment Ariel. On the other hand, Prospero’s freeing of Ariel is presented as a work of art stemming from Prospero’s compassionate qualities highlighted in Act 1 Scene 2 during his initial conversation with Ariel. In the quote "It was mine art … that made gape the pine, and let thee out" we see Prospero's magic portrayed to be a work of art, rather than an evil curse (1.2.291-293). Even though only a few lines later Prospero is again threatening Ariel, an argument can be made that Prospero is a "good" character while no such case can be made for Sycorax. Because we hear so little of her, and only negative things, she serves a foil to Prospero and a character to make Prospero look better by

comparison.