The Tempest

In Shakespeares play The Tempest, Prospero, the Duke of Milan, and his
daughter Miranda are stranded on an island. Prospero summons a huge storm to
strand his brother, Antonio, who has taken Prosperos Dukedom, King Alonzo, who
allowed Antonio to appropriate Prosperos title, Gonazalo, a member of the court
who stocked Properos tiny boat with supplies, and Ferdinand, Alonsos son. Along
with those are Trinculo and Stephano, who eventually try to overthrow Alonso to
make Stephano the King. Among the inhabitants of the island are Ariel, a spirit who
was freed by, and is therefore bound to serve Prospero, and Caliban, who was
forcibly taken as a slave after his mother, the sorceress Sycorax, died.
If we view The Tempest with the idea of colonialism in mind, we can clearly
see evidence of the colonizer and colonized relationship, power struggles between
the colonizer and outsiders, the oppressor and the oppressed, and the oppressed
within themselves. In Prosperos relationships with Caliban and Ariel we can see the
oppressor and oppressed relationship. Prospero engages in power struggles with the
King, his brother and Ferdinand. Ariel engages in a power struggle with Prospero
because Prospero forces Ariel to do things he does not want to do, however at the
end Ariel receives his freedom. Caliban is treated as a slave, and is seen more as a
burden, even though Prospero civilized him. Caliban responds to Prosperos
treatment of him by plotting with Stephano and Trinculo to overthrow King Alonso
and Prospero at the same time. Caliban also tries to rape Miranda, Prosperos
daughter, before the start of the play.
It is quite clear that Caliban represents the traditional idea of the savage
native that must be anglicized, and taught English, religion and manners. It is clear
that this is the most relevant relationship to the idea of colonialism, and within that

perspective, Prospero and Miranda view Caliban as a failure and a burden. This
dynamic further illustrates Elizabethan sentiment of their colonized subjects, and
we can continue to update Shakespeare, because colonialism has yet to die out.
The Tempest could be applied to almost any culture or time period and still be
relevant and make sense.