Name:

Sami
rDey

VI
DYASAGARUNI
VERSI
TY

Depar
tmentOfEngl
i
sh

G1STSemest
P. er.

Rol
lno:
56

St
udentI
D:1805/
056
 Col
oni
ali
sm andShakespeare:
ACrit
ical
Evaluat
ionof“
TheTempest
”Asa
Col
oni
alMetaphor.

Abst
ract
:
Oneoft hemostpopul arappr oachest oTheTempesthasbeent heinf
luenceofcol oniali
sm
andi t
sr epr
esent ati
oni nShakespear e’sl astplaywi t
haspeci alfocusont hepor trayalof
Cali
banandPr osper o’
sr elationship.Thr oughoutt he discussionoft hi
spar ti
cularprospect,
thi
spaperwoul dai mt obr ingoutt hepr inciplesofPost -
Colonialaspectsandt oshowhow
everyaspect sfinelydealswi thev erysituat i
onsandcondi ti
onsoft hisv er
ypl ay.Thet hree
dif
ferentcolonizedbei ngi sshownher eandt heiratt
itudest owardst hei
rmast er
,ar ean
i
nteresti
ngone.Themast er-slaver el
ati
onshi pandprojectingCal i
banasapr i
mi t
ive,savage,
monst erwho want snot hing butf r
eedom gotexpl oited int hehandsofhi scol onizer
,
Prospero,isthemai npur poseoft hi
sdi scussi on.Theul ti
mat eeffectofcol onizat
ionov er
Cali
banandhi shelplessnessandmost lyPr ospero’sapathytowar dsCaliban,ti
est heknotof
thediscussionher e.

KeyWor
ds:
Col
oni
zat
ion,
Domi
nance,
Power
,Cul
tur
e,Sl
ave,
Isl
and.
I
ntr
oduct
ion:

Wi ll
iam Shakespear e’sTheTempestenunci ateal l
thei ssuest hatservesundercoloni ali
dea,
probabl yt hemosthackney edt opi
ci ntoday’spost -colonialwor l
d.Letusf i
rstundertakethe
pivotalt hemesofcol onialaspect sor“ colonial
ism” .Int hewor dsofEdwar d Sai d–
“I
mper iali
sm”meanst hepr actice,thetheoryandt heat tit
udesofadomi nati
ngmet ropolit
an
centrer ul
ingadi stantt err
itory;“
coloniali
sm” ,whi chi sal mostal waysaconsequenceof
Imper iali
sm,ist heImpl antingofset tl
ement sondi stantter ri
tory”
.So,herewe’ veapower
structur edist
incti
onbet weent wof orces.TheCi v ili
zingt ask,dev el
opment ,aid andt o
becomeanul ti
mat epr otectoratesandt eacht hem t hecul tureofr uli
ngpoweri soneoft he
pri
nci pleconcernf orthecol onizers.Notonlyt eacht hem andi mmacul at
et hem butal soto
servet hepowerst ructureinev erywayist heunder l
y ingmot i
v esforallt
hecol oni
zers.

Many‘ PostCol onial’scholarsandt heor istshav ef ocusedt hei rattenti

onon
theissuesofdomi nati
onandst rugglef orpoweri nthepl ay.Thepl ayreinf orcesmanypost -
coloniali deas like language,power and knowl edge,r esistance,i dent ity,pat ri
ar chy
,
mar gi
nal izati
onet c.generatedbyt hepor t
rayalofchar actersandi nci
dent s.Firstofal -
l“Post
Colonialism deal swi ththeef f
ectofcol onizati
ononcul t
uresandsoci eties”.TheTempest,
i
ni tsev er yphaseshowsusandgi vesusev erymi nut edet ailst hatweneedt ocul t
ivatein
ourwayofdi scussionaboutcol onialmet aphor .Asweal lknowandhadshapedouri deas
aboutt hechar actersandi ntentoft hepl ay;Prosper oist heout sideroft hei sland( wher eal
l
theact i
onsoft heplayisbased)hasnowbecomet heul t
imat er ulerofi tandt hei nhabitants
oft hei slandi .
e.Cal i
banandAr ielbecomest hecol onizedsl av eboundt oPr osper oin
everyway .Themai nreasonbehi ndt hisdistincti
oni sthesupr emepowerofPr osper oandhi s
enthrall
ingknowl edgeofmagi c.Tosum up,Foucal t
’si deai naccor dancewi thhi stheor y
,
poweri spr oductiveandi tcomesf r
om knowl edge.TheTempest ,isal soaf ineexampl eof
Fanon’ sbl ackandwhi t
etheor yinwhi chPr osper opor trayst hewhi t
e,t heci v il
i
zedandt he
colonizerwher easCal i
banr epresentsabl ack,acol onizedandanunci vili
zedi nhabi tant.

TheTempestt akespl acesonanunnamedi slandsi t

uat edonanunknownl ocation.
Thel iteral meaningoft hepl ayTheTempesti s“storm” .But“tempest ”hasadeepermeani ng
thatisav iol
entdi sturbanceuponnat ureaswel lasst andardsofl i
v i
ngpeopl eanddi sr
upt
thepeacef ull
ifeofi solation.Themanner sofPr osper oandhi sv i
olentact ivit
iesupont he
i
slandev okest hecol onialideasandI mper i
ali
sm.Pr ospero’sbr otherAnt oniohadusur ped
hiski ngdom andf orcedPr osper otogoi ntoexiletosav ehislife.Heendedupi nthei sl
and
i
nhabi tedbyCal i
banandt heot hersandsubsequent lybyv ir
tueofhi sknowl edge,manages
toat tainaposi ti
on ofpoweri nt heisland.“Prosper oi srobbedofhi sdukedom andi ntur n
displacesCal i
ban” .ThenameCal i
bani sv er
ysignificanti nthepr ospectofourdi scussion.
Prosper ocal l
shi m “t hist hingofdar knessIacknowl edgemi ne” ( 5.1.275).Theideasof
‘
Canni balism’somet imesf it
sv erywel lwiththenameofCal i
banasi tsay s–“ Aman( esp. a
sav age)t hateatshumanf lesh;amaneat er,anant hr
opophagi te”.Thesev er
yaspect s
prov i
desacl earsepar ationbet ween‘ Ci
v i
l
ized’andt he‘ Savage’.Caliban, i
nev erydescripti
on
byt hewr iterort hechar acter( Prosper o)issurelyser v eswitht hemot ivesofcanni bali
sm
andi nev erywayhe’ sasav age.Cal iban,from thev erybegi nning,accusesPr osperoforhi s
wr ongl yclaim overt hei slandandt herebysay s:
 “Thi si sland’ smi nebySy cor ax, mymot her ,
Whi cht hout ak’ stf rom me” .
(1. 2.333- 34)
Asar ul erPr osper ocan’ tdenyCal iban’ scont ribut iont ot hei slandandt ot hei rdai lyl i
feas
heconf essest oMi randa:
“wecannotmi sshi m; hedoesmakeourf ire,
Fet chi nourwoul d, andser vesi nof fi
ces
thatpr of itus” .
(1. 2.313- 14)
Ifweseekpost -
col oni alaspect si nt hismat tert henweneedt odi scusssomeaspect sl i
ke-
“Hegemony ”,“ Col oni alPat ronage”,“ Col oni alDesi re” ,“Mi mi cr y”,“Ot her ”,“ Sav age/ Civili
zed”
andsomeot her.Pr osper o’ssupr emacyov erCal i
banandf orCal i
bant of oll
owal ltheor der s
ofhi smast erandl earnal lt hemanner sandl anguageandcul tur eofhi smast erst rongl y
showsust heaspect sofcol oni alpat ronage.Ther ei snospacef orCal ibant opr act i
cehi s
owncul tureorev enhi sownl anguageuponhi sowni sland.Heonl yl ear nst hel anguageof
hismast erandser vesaccor di nglywi tht hemanner sofaper fectsl av e.Thi st heHegemoni al
thingbet weenPr osper oandCal iban, asi tsay s:“ Fundament al l
yHegemonyi st hepowerof
ther ulingcl asst oconv inceot hercl assest hatt hei ri nterest sar et hei nterest sofal l”.The
anot herpr ospecti sMi mi cryofCal ibant ot hecul tur eandl anguageofhi smast er .Itshows
theambi valentr elat i
onshi pbet weencol onizerandcol oni zed.I tencour agesorr atherf or ces
thecol oni zedsubj ectt o‘ mi mi c’t hecol oni zerbyadopt i
ngt hei rcul turalhabi ts,assumpt i
on,
i
nst itut i
onandv alues.Cal i
banwasdoi ngal ltheset hingswi thoutanydoubt ,ashehi msel f
conv ey s:
“Yout aughtmel anguage, andmypr of i
ton’ t
IsIknowhowt ocur se.Ther edpl aguer id
Youf orl ear ningmey ourl anguage” .(1. 2.363- 66)
Thisshowst hei nnerconf li
ctofCal ibanandhi sat titudet owar dshi smast er .Cal ibanher e
notonl yl ear nst hel anguagebutal soat ti
tudeandmanner sofhi smast er .WhenCal iban
say s:”Iknowhowt ocur se”hemeanst hathenotonl yknowst hel anguagebutal soknows
thegoodandbaduseofi t
,al thoughwecan’ tf i
ndanygoodr easonf orCal iban i nl earni ng
thel anguageandwhi chhenowonl yf indt heuseofi ttocur se.Pr osper oof t
enusesl ang,
mockwor d,cur set owar dsCal i
banandwhi chCal i
banl earnsv erywel lnow.Cal i
bani sv er y
separ atef rom hi smast er sorev enf rom anor malhumanbei ng.Hel ooksl i
kehal fmonst er
andhal fhumanorev env iewedbyTr incul oas‘ Ast rangef ish’ ( 2. 2.27) .Her eCal i
bani s
viewedas‘ ot her ’thr oughdi scour sessuchas‘ Canni bal i
sm’ and‘ Pr imi tivism’ andest ablishes
asepar at i
onbet weent hecol oni zer (Pr osper o)andcol oni zed( Cal iban) .The‘ sav age/ civi
lized’
not i
onofpostcol oni alaspecti scl ear lychar act erizedbyPr osper o’suseofwor dsonCal iban
l
ike “ sl ave!Cal iban”( 1.2. 314) ,“poi sonoussl av e”( 1. 2.320),“ dev il”( 1.2.320) ,“ Hagseed”
(1.2.366)ev enMi randacal lhi m“ Abhor redsl av e”( 1. 2.353) .Cal ibanev enat tempt edt or ape
Mi randa,andi sunr epent antofi t.Thi sat temptofCal i
banpr ov eshi sf r
ust r
ationandhi s
l
ongi ngs ofr evengeuponhi smast er.Al though, wecancat egor i
zet hi sissuewi th‘ col oni al
desi re’whi chsay s:“ Thei deaofcol oni zat i
oni tselfi sgr oundedi naSexual i
zeddi scour seof
rape,penet rationandi mpr egnat ion,whi l
stt hesubsequentr el ationshi poft hecol oni zerand
coloni zedi sof tenpr esent edI nadi scour set hati sr edol entofasexual izedexot i
cism” .
Aspi r i
t,Ar ieli sanot heri nhabi tantwhoi sboundt oobeyPr osper o’sor der .Though
Prosper or escuedAr iel from hi si mpr isonment ,Ar iel nev erget sf r
eedom pr oper l
yt hr oughout
the pl ay .Pr osper o uses Ar ielt or evenge upon hi s enemi es.Pr osper o cal l
s hi m ‘ fine
appar iti
on’ ,‘Myquai ntAr iel’,‘f i
nespi rit’,‘Mydel i
cat eAr i
el’,andf latter st hespi ri
tf orhi s
per formance.Byt hecommandofPr osper o, Ar i
elcr eat esat empestont heseat oper form
ashi pwr eckandt her ebyhel pi ngPr osper ot or ev engeuponhi senemi es.Pr osper oi sv er y
craf tyi nhi sbehav iorandconv er sat ion wi thAr ielasheknewt hat ,iti sonl yAr ielwhocan
ful
fil
lhispr oj
ect.I
tisoneoft hehy pocri
ticalaspectofcol
onizer
s;wher etheycan’tsetfoot
bydomi nance,they’
l
lbeguilethemselvesasf ri
endandfl
att
ererandtherebybecomemast er
oft hem att heend.Ar i
elisv er
ysubmi ssi
v eandalwaysobeyPr ospero’sorderwithout
quest i
oning,unli
keCal i
ban.Prospero’s chiefagentofmagicwasAr ielandwithouthimt he
projectwoul dfail
.ProsperopromisesAr ielthatifhedohi
staskproperlythenhewoul dgive
Arielhisfreedom.Andher ewef indthecal l
ousnessandholl
ownessoft hecolonizerwhen
thecolonizedthingorbei ngisexploi
tedinev ery
way.

Miranda,thedaught erofPr osperoisnotevenfreef r

om thedomi nance,
authori
zi
ngandpat r
onizi
ngat ti
tudeofPr ospero.I
nawor d,
Mir
andai salsocol
onizedont he
i
slandundert hesuper vi
sionofPr ospero,herf at
herandthecol oni
zer.Prosper
o ev en
control
sthethoughtsandact i
vi
tiesofMi randa.Shenevermovesfrom theisl
andandf rom
thevisi
onofProspero.Mirandastates:
“Idonotknow
Oneofmysex, nowoman’ sfaceremember -
Sav e,
from myglass,
mi neown” .(3.1.
50-1)
Mirandadon’tevenknowhowt obeconfrontedwi thotherwoman,ev
enhowtol
oveaman
i
npr operway .Mir
anda’ sconversat
ionwit
hFar dinandshowshow immatur
eMir
andai
s,i
n
herexpressi
on:
“Iam af ooltoweepoutwhatIam gl adof”.(
3.1.
73)

Prosper
onev eral
lowsFar
dinandandevenwarnedhi
m agai
nstbr
eaki
ngher“
….v
.i
rgi
nknot
bef
ore/Allsancti
moni
ousceremonies…….”(
4.1.
15-
16).

Prosperoonlywant sMirandat obehi sproperi nheri

tor
.Mi randa’
sl ove,emot i
onhaveno
i
mpor tance to Prosper
o.Pr ospero eavesdrops his own chi l
d’sl ove affai
r.Miranda
thr
oughoutt heplayi streatedasan‘ ot
her ’byPr ospero.Her eweneedt oknow about
‘
DoubleCol oni
zati
on’,wher eitobserves“ t
hatwomanar esubj ectedt obot hthecolonial
dominationofempi reandt hemal edomi nati
onofpat r
iarchy”.AndMi randahere,byno
meansi ssubject
edbot hphy sical
l
yandment all
ybuti sunderbot ht hecol oni
aldominati
on
andpat r
iar
chaldominati
onofoneman, Pr
osper o,herfat
her,mostunf or
tunatel
y.

Thedomi nanceofProsperovariesvict
imt ov i
cti
m, li
kehisdominantatti
tude
towardsCali
banhisdif
ferent,
iti
salsodiff
erentincasesofAr i
elandMi r
anda.ButProspero
showst heext
remeviol
ationasacol oni
zeronlytowar dsCaliban.Cali
ban’
ssong,attheend
ofAct2,Scene2,whenhesi ngsdrunkenl
y,throwsar eremar kableli
ghtonthemiseri
esof
thecoloni
zed(Cal
i
ban)att hehandsofthecolonizer(Prospero).ThewordsofCali
ban:

“Freedom, high-day,high-dayf reedom, fr

eedom
high-dayf r
eedom” .(2. 2.
176- 81)
showshe’ snowany howwant stobef reef rom t hehandsofPr ospero.Hismindhasbecome
somuch col oni zedthathewant sanot hermast er( Tri
nculo)t
or eplacehi
spresentmaster
(Prospero)ratherwant inghi sownandi ndividual freedom.
Cal iban:“I’
llshowt heeev eryfer ti
l
ei nch
O’t
h’ isl
and,AndI ’
llkisst hyf oot.
Iprit
hee, bemygod” .
(2.2.145- 46)
Caliban’
sstatement ,“theyal ldohat ehi m asr oot edlyasI ”(
3.2.95)impl
iesthatal
lother
nativeshatePr osper oandwantf r
eedom f r
om hi sill
egit
imaterule,t
houghtheydonothav e
thecouraget or ev ol
tagainsthi m:
St ephano:“ Thiswillprov eabr avet okingdom tome,
WhereIshal lhav emymusi cf ornot
hing.
 Cal i
ban:WhenPr osperoi sdest royed”.
(3.2.139- 40)
Ev erycol onizedper sonf eelsr at
herbel i
ev est hatpeacecanber est oredonl yaftert he
colonizeri sdestroy edoraf tergettingf reedom.ThoughCal ibanwasasav agecr eat
ur e,he
has a v ery sensitive soult owards beaut y and musi c.He can f eelpai n,j oy,war m
attachment swhichmakeshi m equalt oot herhumanchar act ersint hepl ay.Mor eover,the
audiencessy mpat hiesf orhi
m whenhei sexpl oitedandi ll–t reatedbyPr ospero.
Inouraf orement i
oneddi scussionofTheTempestasacol onialmet aphor,wecan
easilyr eferto Robi nsonCr usoe byDani elDef oeasoneoft hepr inci
palwor kwhi ch
represent scolonialism.Cr usoe’sclaimingov ert heisl
andandhi sself–announcedki ngshi p
almostenought opr ov ehim asacol onizer .Apar tf
rom t hathi smast eryov erXury and
Fri
dayshowshi smot i
vesofdomi nance.Cr usoet eachesFr idayt ocallhim mast er.Notonl y
that,Aphr aBehn’ s- Oroonoko hel dani ncr edibledescr ipti
onofcol oni al
ism aswel las
Nat i
vism andsl av ery.Thet hemeofcol oni al
ism canbeseent hrought hecompar ison
betweent heportray al ofSur i
nam nat ivesv ersust hepor trayalofwhi tecolonizers.The
hungerf orpowerandt obecomeanul ti
mat edomi natorbyanymeansandt ot akecont rol
overi nnocencei soneoft hemostst ri
kingf eat ureofcol onialism whichar evivi
dlyportrayed
i
nWi lli
am Gol di
ng’ s-Lordoft heFlies,wher et heboy snamedJackandRal phcont inually
duelingt ogaintheul ti
mat epowerov ereachboy sonisland.

Towr apup ourdi scussi onmanyt hingsneedst obebr ought

toget her .Befor ethear ri
v alofPr osper oi ntot heisland,Cal i
banwasf reeandi nfact,the
nat iveandwast hel egiti
mat eruleroft hei sland.TheTempestdr amat i
zedt hepr ocessof
col onizat i
onofCal iban.Ev enCal i
ban’ sawar enessofPr osper o’spresencedoesn’ tinhibi
this
rebel li
ousact ions:
“Hisspi ri
tshearme
Andy etImustcur se. ”
(2.1.)
Hencepostcol onialcr it
icsv iew Pr osperoasausur perwhohasdepr ivedCal ibanofhi s
ri
ght sonhi snativel and.Cal ibani sv i
ewedi namor e sy mpat heti
cl i
ghtandi nhi spl i
ght,he
articulatest hesuf feringsofal lnativesundercol onial oppressi on.Thelanguage, theculture,
thev alueswe’ vel earnedf rom ourcol onizersl ongago, arest i
llremai nsasabl urredcopyi n
ourhead.Her e,
weneedt o know about t heaspect s of“ Neo- I
mper i
ali
sm” ,wher eits
gener atest heideasaboutt hecol onizer’s i mpactuponcol onizedpeopl e.West il
lcopies
theWest erntradit i
oni nourf ashi on,cul ture,pol iti
csandeconomi ci denti
tyaswest i
ll
bel i
ev est hatthewhi tepeopl eisany howmor esuper iorthanus.I tisnot hingbutt heef f
ects
oft hecol onizersandt heirteachi ngs,whi chwest i
llmi mi csev eni nourpr esentday sand
viewedt hem assuper i
or.ThoughPr osperogi v esfreedom atl astt oCaliban, butwemaynot
knowwhet herCal ibani sgoi ngt ounder standt het r
uemeani ng off reedom any mor eorlove
anyot herhumanbei ngany mor e.Canhemumbl ehisownl anguage? ,canheabl et orulethe
i
sl andany more? ,canhest andupandl i
ftuphi schestbr avely?.Hisl i
mbsandt hebodyor
hisheadandt hought sar eal lper ishedundert hepoi sonousspel lofcol onizat i
on.I nthe
wor dsofRober toFer nandezRet amar -Shakespear e’sTheTempestcanbe“ read”as:
“Thescr i
ptf orresist ancet ocol oniali
sm:Iknow noot hermet aphormor e
expr essi veofourcul tur alsit
uat ionofourr ealit
y….Whati sourhi st ory,whatis
ourcul ture,i
fnott hehi storyandcul t
ureofCal i
ban? .
”
Wor
ksCi
ted:

1: Ashcr
oft
,Bi
l
l,Gri
ff
iths,Gar
eth,Tif
fin,Helen.Post
-Col
oni
alSt
udi
es,The
nd
KeyConcept
s,2 ed.(2000)
.Routl
adge.Pri
nt.

2: Picker
ing,Kenneth.Macmil
lanMast
erGuides.TheTempestbyWil
li
am
Shakespeare.
(ed.2005)
.Pal
grav
eMacmil
lan.Repl
ikaPr
ess,
Indi
a.Pr
int.

3: TheAr
denShakespear
e,TheTempest,ed.ByVaughan,Vi
rgi
nia.M,
Vaughan,

Al
den.T.
(2013).
Bloomsbur
y,NewDel
hi.
pri
nt.