Tempest
Shakespeare's the Tempest and Chamoiseau's Solibo Magnificent
Slavery
Slavery is one of the central themes in The Tempest. However, there are many different levels of slavery included other than the typical master and servant relationship that is based on ownership. There are also instances of mental kind of slavery that it carried out by Prospero who can control the minds of others. The two forms of slavery are closely intertwined in a system of such strict domination that is found in the feudalist structure of the society in the story. For example, the slave, being under total submission is weakened mentally and more susceptible to mental control. This is portrayed on different levels and by several different characters in the story. This type of domination is also present in Solibo Magnificent through the senseless beating and police misconduct which is used as a form of control.
Shakespeare's The Tempest and Chamoiseau's Solibo the Magnificent would seem to share little in common with one another. The former almost certainly takes place in the Mediterranean; the latter in the Caribbean. Yet both tragicomedies touch upon both the causes and the effects of European colonialism. After all, Naipaul dubs the Caribbean "Europe's other sea, the Mediterranean of the New orld," (212). Shakespeare penned The Tempest well after European discovery of the New orld. Therefore, the playwright may have contemplated the potential short- and long-term impact of colonialism on the indigenous societies of Europe's other sea. Because there is little to no Italian colonization of Caribbean islands, the Milanese context of The Tempest provides a relatively neutral framework from which to explore issues like language, colonialism, and racism. In Solibo the Magnificent, Chamoiseau focuses on the French Caribbean island of Martinique to offer a sardonic portrait of racism, language,…...
He notes that "anticolonialist critics have sought to "demystify the national myths" of empire and to write an alternative history of the colonial encounter" by focusing on "the politics of the early modern English-Native American encounter" with an eye towards "moments of textual rupture and contradiction in early modern texts such as The Tempest" (Cefalu 85). One may identify the scene of Prospero's accusation as one such moment, and indeed Cefalu examines Caliban extensively, albeit in relation to his economic status as a colonized individual, rather than his racial or ethnic status. According to Cefalu, Caliban "learns not one, but two languages in the play […]: the language taught to him by Miranda is the language of a natural economy and precapitalist values; the language he internalizes by the end of the play (one that he teaches himself) approximates the language of instrumental labor and capital" (Cefalu 106). Cefalu…...
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Works Cited
Cefalu, Paul A. "Rethinking the discourse of colonialism in economic terms: Shakespeare's The
Tempest, captain John Smith's Virginia narratives, and the English response to vagrancy." Shakespeare Studies. 28. (2000): 85-119. Print.
Geesey, Patricia. "Cultural hybridity and contamination in Tayeb Salih's Mawsim al-hijra ila al-Shamal
(Season of Migration to the North)."Research in African Literatures. 28.3 (1997): 128-140.
Imagining the Colonial Subject:The Tempest by William Shakespeare & Oroonoko by Aphra BehnIn the sixteenth century, individuals of Black ancestry or individuals from non-European contexts were often portrayed in British literature, as seen in works such as The Tempest (1610-1611) by William Shakespeare & Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave (1688) by Aphra Behn. Nonwhite individuals were symbolically significant, even in the works of white European authors. However, the portrayal of nonwhite individuals was not always thematically consistent in a positive or negative way, though nonwhite individuals were consistently portrayed as the other, in other words, as non-Christian, non-European, and having a different appearance than the intended audience.This paper will examine the view of the nonwhite, colonial subject in both texts, one which validates enslavement and subjugation (in the case of The Tempest) and one which attempts to articulate antiracist ideas (Oroonoko). It will also argue that Behns gendered position as…...
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Works Cited
Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko: or The History of the Royal Slave. 1688.
He would need to do that here, for sure.
Caliban is a slave, which might be a problem for the actor. He is also a drunkard in some scenes, calling for understanding and a physical presence, too. Foxx has the physique necessary for this assignment, too. He could certainly carry off wearing a loin-cloth and cloak, as the wood-carrying scene seems to require. He is a master of both physical and mental acting, and that would be important with this character, who can be both brutal and endearing. There could be a problem with Foxx. Caliban requires an actor who can be both commanding and very subservient. He is fearful of "spirits." "Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me" (Shakespeare 77, 15), and he offers to lick Trinculo's foot simply for a drink. "I will kiss thy foot" (Shakespeare 85, 155). Whoever plays Caliban has to represent…...
The different understandings of the world are indicative of differences in class just as they are a cause for racism, and again the characters of Solibo Magnificent have found a way to work in this system rather than resisting it.
In addition to systems of class distinction and outright racism, other instances of general discrimination can be found throughout these texts. The Tempest has only one character that is necessarily female (Ariel is somewhat ambiguous), and the way she is treated along with her degree of disenfranchisement seems to suggest a definite gender discrimination at work. Miranda seems to sense this to some degree, and ultimately takes some agency in her romance with Ferdinand, whereas the musician described early in Solibo Magnificent is seen in a discriminatory light that shows no promise of changing: he is treated a certain way and even called a certain name because of "his notorious…...
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Works Cited
Chamoiseau, Patrick. Solibo Magnificent. New York: Anchor.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Accessed 16 March 2011.
Caliban
One of the most striking characters in The Tempest is that of Caliban, the other mythical being in the play who plays a dominant role in its narrative. Unlike Prospero's servant Ariel, Caliban is portrayed as a savage and adversarial figure. On the other hand, he is capable of speaking some of the most beautiful and stirring poetry of the entire play. Caliban thus illustrates many of the ambiguities of colonization. On one hand, the island is more rightfully his than Prospero's, yet the play conspires to suggest that because of Prospero's more civilized, European behavior, Prospero somehow has a greater right to govern the island.
The paradox of Caliban is illustrated early on in the play when Prospero summons him. Caliban admits that he attempted to rape Miranda, to people the island with monstrous beings like himself. Thus, he is depicted as embodying many of the stereotypes commonly held about…...
The idea that Europeans brought enlightenment to the savage colonies has always fascinated modern writers so much so that many of them employed their imagination to create pictures of 'barbaric' individuals who inhabited these colonies. Shakespeare and Montaigne in their attempts to recreate those savage communities gave us the powerful characters of Caliban and Cannibal. Focusing on this obsession of writers with the image of a savage non-western man, Bartra (1994) writes: "The identity of the "civilized" has always been flanked by the image of the Other, yet the common image of the Other as a wild and barbaric figure, as opposed to Western man, has been considered a reflection - albeit distorted - of non-Western peoples, a eurocentric expression of colonial expansion from which evolved an exotic and racist version of those whom the conquistadors and colonizers had discovered and subdued." [p. 3]
While Shakespeare borrowed…...
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References
Bartra, Roger (1994) Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of European Otherness Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Michael O'Toole, Shakespeare's Natives: Ariel and Caliban in The Tempest
Is Justice Served? Yes, in The TempestIn The Tempest, Shakespeare presents a complex but clear picture of justice being served. For instance, Prospero is rightfully reinstated as Duke of Milan, while those who conspired against him are punished (but also forgivenshowing Prosperos magnanimity). Additionally, Ariel is released from slavery for having faithfully served Prospero. And Ferdinand is rewarded with marriage to Miranda for his good behavior. This paper will show how all three are justly rewarded according to Shakespeares understanding of the natural order and why it should just as well work for us today.First, there is the main character of Prospero. Shakespeare presents Prospero as a good man who has been wronged. He is a skilled magician and has the ability to control the elements. However, he chooses not to use his powers for evil. He is also a loving father and husband. He shows his love for his…...
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ReferencesCressler, L. (2020). The Tempest. Shakespeare Bulletin, 38(2), 274-278.Frey, C. (1979). The tempest and the New World. Shakespeare Quarterly, 30(1), 29-41.Jones, H. K., & Denman, S. (1875). Notes of a conversation on Shakespeare\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Tempest\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 9(3), 293-299.Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). The Tempest. Retrieved from https://www.shakespearefreelibrary.com/uploads/4/2/1/6/4216153/2010_cbury_tempest.pdf
After examining her national and family history, Williams came to believe that the 1950's aboveground detonation of a nuclear bomb near her family's home could be the source of her family's struggle with cancer, as well as the cause of the community's propensity to contract cancer as a whole. Williams details her feelings about this fact in a personal as well as a clinical manner. This is not simply a natural and historical tragedy, but a tragedy she must live with for the rest of her own life -- she will never have another mother, just as many of the flooded-out birds will never have another home. The author admits that the bomb she remembers seeing explode as a young child, the bomb that could have caused the cancer that killed her mother, haunts her in her dreams.
Thus her search for a source of blame for an apparently random act…...
Ellison/Shakespeare
There are many characters in Shakespeare's The Tempest that could fit the characteristics of being the "little man behind the stove." The Tempest has a strong degree of dramatic irony, and Shakespeare even incorporates the breaking of the fourth wall in the final scene of the play. This means that the audience itself serves as the "little man behind the stove." However, there are clearer characters that represent the little man. For example, Caliban is "little" in the sense that he is a sort of subhuman creature. As the son of Sycorax, Caliban is portrayed as being a little bit odd and different. He is not like the spritely Ariel, who can also be considered as a "little man." Both Caliban and Ariel play roles that could be construed as being similar to that of Ellison's "Little Man at Chehaw Station." Caliban's role is even more like that of the…...
I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband,
And so much duty as my mother show'd
To you, preferring you before her father,
So much I challenge that I may profess
Due to the Moor my lord.
(Othello, Act 1, Scene iii, lines 179-188)
Desdemonda's character is defined early in Shakespeare's Othello. She plays a supportive role, allowing the nature of Othello's character to emerge clearly by the end of the play. Here, Desdemonda defends both herself and her husband. The passage tells the audience much about gender roles and norms in Elizabethan society, as Desdemonda speaks of her father as the "lord of duty," and refers to a similar "duty" to her husband. Women are defined in terms of their relationships…...
Exile can be the self-imposed banishment from one's home or given as a form of punishment. The end result of exile is solitude. Exile affords those in it for infinite reflection of themselves, their choices, and their lives in general. Three prominent literary characters experience exile as part of the overall narrative and in that, reveal a great deal about themselves to themselves as well as to the readers. The three narratives in questions are "The Epic of Gilgamesh," "The Tempest," and "Things Fall Apart." All of the main characters of these narratives experience exile as a result of actions taken by the protagonists at earlier points in the story. The protagonist in each respective story are exiled because of their choices and the exile forces each character to face consequences that ultimately bring their inner character to the surface in a more direct manner than prior…...
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References:
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: First Anchor Books Edition, 1994.
Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh A Verse Narrative. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." Ed. Barbara A. Mowat & Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1994.
Sutton, Brian. "Virtue Rather Than Vengeance": Genesis and Shakespeare's The Tempest." Explicator, Vol. 66, No. 4, 224-229.
2.4-5). Shakespeare seems to be suggesting that this storm is so bad that it has even managed to extinguish the magical fire seen by sailors.
Finally, Strachey and his fellow passengers make it to land, and he recalls that they "e found it to be the dangerous and dreaded Island, or rather Islands of the Bermuda..." This ominous mention of "the island" brings to mind the entire island of The Tempest, on which not only are the noble characters shipwrecked but even Prospero and Miranda, who at first find themselves on a cursed island, where Ariel's "groans / did make wolves howl and penetrate the breast / of ever angry bears" (1.2.287-289). The island of The Tempest is thus likely inspired by Strachey mention of the "dreaded Island" they landed on in Bermuda.
Reading Strachey's account of the storm experienced by the passengers of the Sea Venture alongside illiam Shakespeare's The Tempest…...
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Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." Shakesspeare Navigators. Web. 2 Oct 2011.
.
Strachey, William. "William Strachey's Account of the Storm."Shakespeare in American Life.
Both of these characters show Prospero's twisted sense of justice.
Prospero's use of magic to control Caliban through "pinchings" and chains is somewhat more justified, given the story of Caliban's attempted rape of Miranda. It also clearly shows, however, that Prospero assumes control of situations without taking others' feelings or rights into account. Caliban grew up on the island and had the full run of it for years before Prospero came to its shores, yet this is not given even a modicum of respect by Prospero's self-centered (and ethnocentric) view. His treatment of Ariel is even worse; this spirit did nothing to harm Prospero, but rather is enslaved by the magician simply because Prospero freed him from the tree where he was imprisoned. This was not an act of illusion done to give Ariel a "renewed faith in goodness," but rather a very corporeal act that traded imprisonment for enslavement.…...
Odysseus' Cunning as a Beacon of Resilience on His Odyssey Home
Throughout Homer's epic "The Odyssey," Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, embarks on a perilous journey home after the Trojan War. His path is fraught with formidable adversaries, tempestuous seas, and enchanting temptations. Yet, time and again, Odysseus triumphs over these obstacles, not through brute force or extraordinary powers, but through his unparalleled cleverness and strategic mind.
Outwitting the Cyclops
One of Odysseus' most renowned feats was outsmarting the monstrous Cyclops, Polyphemus. Trapped in Polyphemus' cave, Odysseus devised a cunning plan to escape. He first plied the Cyclops with wine, rendering him drunk....
Queer Affect Theory Analysis of Tennessee Williams' 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' Queer affect theory, a theoretical framework that examines the intersection of queer identities and affective experience, offers a compelling lens through which to analyze Tennessee Williams' play 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.' This framework allows us to explore the play's exploration of desire, repression, and the ways in which social norms shape and suppress queer affects. Desire and Repression The play centers on the tempestuous relationship between Brick and Maggie Pollitt, a married couple whose sexual desire has been stifled by Brick's alcoholism and grief. Queer affect theory suggests....
The Elizabethan themes reflected the social and political climate of the time in several ways:
1. Patriotism and national identity: The rise of English nationalism during Elizabeth's reign is reflected in themes of patriotism and national pride in literature and drama. For example, plays like Shakespeare's Henry V and Marlowe's Tamburlaine celebrate English military victories and glorify the nation's power and prestige.
2. Monarchy and divine right: The Elizabethan era was marked by a strong belief in the divine right of kings, and this is reflected in plays like Shakespeare's Richard II and Macbeth, which explore the consequences of usurping the throne....
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11. "Into the Heart of the Tempest: Exploring the Anatomy of....
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