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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

Term paper

January 12 A Post-colonial study of

Shakespeare's The Tempest
2020
Submitted by… Muhammad Sharjeel Submitted TO; Ch.Amir Sb
Class: M.Phil English Literature
Roll No: 61 Designation: Asst. Professor

M.PHIL English Literature (MINHAJ UNIVERSITY Lahore)

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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

Abstract:
This paper is an effort to apply post-colonial ideas to The Tempest, one of Shakespeare's
major plays. In doing so, it will take a look at the very nature of colonialism, and how it has been
incorporated in the play. With the rising of deconstructionism in the 1960s, especially with the
spread of Foucault and Said's Philosophy, the study of The Tempest in regard to colonial
discourse has taken on a completely new phase. The present paper attempts to examine the
relationship between Prospero and the two others, Ariel and Caliban in the perspective of post-
colonial theory. The Paper argues that the play is a realistic unfolding of British colonial
expansion of the contemporary, and that Ariel and Caliban are typical earlier others created by
Shakespeare (though a great humanist), and that the relationship between Prospero and the two
others is a typical discourse of colonialism in which the colonizers always try to impose control
on the colonized s and in which the Others always try to resist and find chance to rebel.
Introducation
William Shakespeare has captured the imagination of millions of readers through his
works. One of his works which has achieved great popularity along with creating lots of
controversies is his famous play, The Tempest. This play has been looked at, analyzed, criticized,
admired, and has ignited a lot of interpretations. A work of genius no doubt, The Tempest has
also had its share of harsh criticism due to its postcolonial interpretations. Postcolonial writers all
over the world have argued against the play, saying that The Tempest has all the ingredients and
indications of which point towards a play which deal with colonization. These writers have a
different version of this play.
One of the foremost postcolonial writers, Aime Cesaire, also wrote an entire version of
the play from the point of view of a black audience. It was named Une Tempete, and it shows the
play in a whole new light. It does acknowledge the hardships Prospero has had to go through, but
the main focus is on what Prospero does once he is on the island. He starts ruling over the island
which was not his in the first place, and colonizes Caliban, Sycorax, and Ariel. He makes
Caliban do all the menial chores when he should have been the king, and forces Ariel to work for
his own revenge, with the promise of setting Ariel free. They have no choice but to be under his
rule. It is a mix of colonialism and patriarchy, where even Miranda, his own daughter, is no more
than a slave. This view of The Tempest is what the postcolonial writers keep in view while doing
a postcolonial interpretation of the play. It changes the whole perspective of the reader towards
the play. It gets divided into traditional and postcolonial reading, and the reader has to choose
between them.
Colonialism in The Tempest can be divided in three areas. Firstly, The characters of high
rank, power and class, dominate the ones in a lower position. Secondly, the characters that are
considered to be weak on the basis of their gender are also seen to be subservient. The people in
the higher ranks consider their race to be the superior one, obviously. So the direct attack is on
the race difference between the characters. So there are race divisions, divisions based on power
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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

relations, and divisions based on their gender, which also includes the different angles of
sexuality. Power is what the colonizer wields over the colonized. Without having power, there
would be no line of demarcation between the colonized and the colonizer.
The term ‘power’ can have different forms. In the play, Prospero has the power. He has
the power over every character. Prospero is a powerful colonizer for Caliban and Sycorax. He is
a powerful colonizer and master for Ariel. He is a powerful father and mentor for Miranda. He
proves to be a powerful taskmaster in the brief encounter with Ferdinand. His almighty power is
too much to handle for the travelers of the ship, as their ship is wrecked and all are made to
suffer till the end. Prospero is the master and all are puppets in his hands, and all work and play
according to his whims and orders. The way Prospero talks with the other characters, the way he
manipulates them, the way he takes control of the entire event, and at the end emerges the clear
winner and gets what he wanted from the beginning, shows the power of Prospero. Prospero
does not yield to any of the characters. Ariel knows magic, yet cannot raise a voice against
Prospero. The fate of Sycorax was sealed in a tree by Prospero, and Ariel knows his power. So
he decides to be subservient and follow his orders. The main protagonist according to the
postcolonial writers, Caliban, is the one who suffers the most in these power relations. Not only
is he dominated and rebuked by Prospero, but also by Miranda. One factor that leads to this is
language. It plays a very important part of the dehumanizing of Caliban by the two colonizers.
And in the end, all he says to them on their face is curses. He is powerless in front of Prospero.
The one time he tried to exert his power over Miranda which was the alleged rape, he was forced
to leave the cave and lived the rest of his life tied to a rock. He has no power over anything. The
rape he tries is his impulse, which shows Prospero what an uncivilized man will do. So Caliban
is no longer tried to be taught. The master-slave equation is right there, out in the open. He is the
slave, and Prospero is the master. A slave can never have any power. All he can have is the
desire to be the master.
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:Research objectives
This research deals with the following objectives:
1. To unveil how the colonized rebel against the sociopolitical exploitation of the
colonizers.
2. To reveal the impacts and implications of colonized people in the light of “The Tempest”
by Shakespeare.
Research Questions:
The present study is pursued with the help of the following research questions:
1. Do the colonized rebel against the sociopolitical exploitation of the colonized of
colonizers?
2. What are the impacts and implications of colonized people on the African society in the
light of “The Tempest” by Shakespeare?
Research Methodology :
It will be a qualitative type of research. It will be conducted in the background of
Postcolonial theory. Spivak's essay Can the Subaltern Speak? is an exceptionally critical theory
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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

under the umbrella of postcolonial poetics. Spivaks essay will work as the theoretical frame work
for the present investigation. Other writers and theorists will also be accessed for help and
guidance. The researchers will employ the qualitative approach to understand the concept of
agency in the subjugated characters of “The Tempest” by Shakespeare. The study will be carried
out at thematic and discourse level. Sometimes, lexical and phrasal level of the data will also be
accessed.

Textual analysis of Post-colonial study of Shakespeare’s The Tempest:

Shakespeare is the voice of his age (1564-1616). He is the representative of the
Elizabethan age, an age of British colonial expansion with the discovery of the
Americas and the British colonization of India and establishing the Virginia Company
and East India Company, both are representatives of colonies. Colonization is an
imperial power structure which privileges the ‘Western’ values, tradition and culture.
Postcolonial criticism relates the study of the colonizer and the colonized in various
perspectives. It studies how European nations subjugated and controlled the native
culture of the colonized and how these natives have responded to it and withstood those
encroachments. The postcolonial theorists are interested in what happen to people
during and after colonialism. They use postcolonial theory or postcolonial criticism as a
specific critical lens to read a text and this specific way of reading a text explains the
.effects of colonization and imperialism
In1611 when William Shakespeare wrote the play The Tempest,
colonization was a recent concept in Britain. Shakespeare was aware of his role as a
dramatist in propagating for the empire's colonial purposes. And since , post-colonial
analysis makes clear the nature and impact of inherited power relations and their
continuing effect on the global culture, thus a proper definition of Post-colonialism is
needed. Such a definition has been a problematic issue since the beginning of this field
because of the wide, varied, and complicated area of research of this field. It
encompasses a study of most of the power relations exist in life not only between
countries but also between people. Post-colonialism or postcolonial theory is a
specifically post-modern intellectual discourse that holds together a set of theories
found among the texts and sub-texts of philosophy, film, political science and literature.
These theories are reactions to the cultural legacy of colonialism. According to Bill
Ashcroft in his book The Post-Colonial Studies Reader, as a literary theory (or critical
approach), Post-colonialism deals with "literature produced in countries that once were
colonies of other countries, especially of the European colonial powers Britain, France,
and Spain; in some contexts, it includes countries still in colonial arrangements" (20). It
also deals with literature written in colonial countries and by their citizens that has
colonized people as its subject matter. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau
in their book Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism give another definition of Post-
;colonialism
Post-colonialism is a period of time after colonialism, and postcolonial
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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

literature is typically characterized by its opposition to the colonial. However, some

critics have argued that any literature that expresses an opposition to colonialism,
even if it is produced during a colonial period, may be defined as postcolonial,
primarily due to its oppositional nature (vi).
This paper will examine the ways in which the colonizer's literature, Shakespeare's The
Tempest, has justified colonialism via images of the colonized, in this respect Caliban, as a
perpetually inferior people, society and culture. Besides, it will analyze some other subsidiary
elements which also contribute to this image.
If the idea of the post-colonial is applied on the setting of the play, the island which
Shakespeare, purposely, has not given it any name would represent the whole universe. Or rather
the island would represent all the lands that have treasures and should be colonized. Prospero the
great magician will consequently represent the white, supposedly civilized wise, man. And
Caliban should be the outcast the uncivilized and the monkey-like creature. He is past the point
of redemption thus his sole role in life now is to be a slave of the great powerful Prosper whose
name suggests prosperity and goodness. Henceforward, the magic which Prospero practices is
thus good and that of Cycorax, is black and evil. In fact Prospero's magic and knowledge, in my
opinion, are nothing more than methods and tools of practicing power on other creatures only for
his own benefit and to maintain his place as the dominant at the top of the hierarchy. This paper
will examine the ways in which the colonizer's literature, Shakespeare's The Tempest, has
justified colonialism via images of the colonized, in this respect Caliban, as a perpetually inferior
people, society and culture. Besides, it will analyze some other subsidiary elements which also
contribute to this image.
If the title of the play is examined in depth, than one may find that it rich with meaning.
The tempest which is the violent force and the chaotic state which Shakespeare has opened his
play with is actually his solution and justification to place every thing in its right place. In order
for Prospero to regain his rights he sets the world into a state of chaos and enslaves the native
creatures that inhabit the island and those who don't obey his orders are severely punished like
Caliban and once Ariel the airy creature. So this is Shakespeare's idea about setting stability in
the world, it is through chaos we can only reach stability. Actually this ideology is echoed now
in what the major colonial powers do in the modern world. They colonize countries claiming that
there is no stability in these countries because of their dictatorships, so the most suitable solution
to achieve stability and regain the rights is through a TEMPEST or WAR in the modern sense,
forgetting about the devastations of these wars upon the countries they occupy.
In her book, The Tempest, Virginia Mason Vaughan argues that Caliban is portrayed as a
savage and a beast not because he shows that through his actions but because prospero calls him
so, so this is Prospero's image not the real image. She continues her argument that Caliban's guilt
is that he is the son of Sycorax the Algerian witch something which is out of his hands and not to
be blamed of. Furthermore she refutes this accusation and says that it is not necessarily true;
"Surely in Prospero's and Miranda's eyes, Caliban is a savage… Prospero accuses Caliban of
being the son of a witch and the devil…. The magus's words are not necessarily true" (32).
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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

She, then argues that, there is a temptation to see Caliban as an American native, and this
temptation stems from the fact that the geography of the island is unknown thus it could be any
place in the world including the new world or the Americas henceforward Caliban is the native
American. In my opinion, if this assumption is valid to the Americas thus it is valid and
applicable to any colony that the white man decides to occupy. She said that beginning from the
1950s and 1960s; Latin American appropriators of The Tempest recast Caliban as the emblem of
South and Central American peoples, and substituted Prospero as the imperialist, arrogant
United States.
In his article, "Revolution Calling: A Look at the Role of Caliban Within Shakespeare's
The Tempest", Steven Thor Gunnin highlights the importance of Caliban as a primary character
not a secondary one" Yet, based on the style and depth of the oration that the character has been
gifted with, as well as the pivotal role that he plays within the play, it is hard to imagine Caliban
playing the second role"(1). Yet the most important idea that Gunnin gives in his article is the
description of Caliban;
He is of different complexion, savage nature, ill temperament, and prone to outbursts of
baser passions. Add to that his physical deformities, which as we have seen previously in pieces
such as Richard III, at the time was considered to be an obvious sign of mental ills and
imperfection as well, and it should have been clear to any viewer that this character was most
certainly a lesser to the likes of fair and wise and noble Prospero. So, how then can it be that
when the character begins to speak and give discourse, that Shakespeare saw fit to grace him
with such a seemingly pure and noble voice.(1)
The focus of Benjamin Sell in his article "Racism and Evil in Shakespeare's the Tempest"
is on the reaction of characters to native peoples like Caliban, and how it determines the quality
of their character in the play. He points out that: "The dichotomy of savagery and civilization is
present throughout the play. Shakespeare invites both his characters and his audience to explore
and form their own opinions about it." (2). He also points out that Shakespeare uses the reactions
of his characters to the character of Caliban and the issue of race in general to differentiate those
who are evil or stupid, naming the native, from those who are basically good and just, naming
the colonizers or white people. In his article "The Tempest in the Wilderness: The Racialization
of Savagery" Ronald Takaki sums up the play's historical situation: "The timing of the first
performance of The Tempest was crucial. It came after the English invasion of Ireland but before
the colonization of New England, after John Smith's arrival in Virginia but before the beginning
of the tobacco economy, and after the first contacts with the Indians but before full-scale warfare
against them. In that historical moment, the English were encountering "other" peoples and
delineating the boundary between civilization and savagery." (893). The most important idea
which he points out, and I think that is the emblem of the argument that I oppose, is that; as there
are views supporting the idea of the colonial discourse of Caliban's character, there are also
voices supporting the idea of naturalizing Caliban's enslavement:
The debate between civilization and savagery was a popular one in Europe at the time.
Some, like Spanish lawyer Juan Gines de Sepulveda, argued Aristotle's view that some people
were "natural slaves" and therefore incapable of being educated or existing alongside the
civilized people of Europe. (Takaki 899).
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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

The circumstances of Caliban's parentage, specifically the fact that his mother was
exiled from Algiers and dropped on the island by sailors "suggests that Caliban himself must be
considered as North African" (26) suggest Nadia Haen Lie, and Theo D. in their book
Constellation Caliban: Figurations of a Character. And as such can be seen as a stand in for all
dark-skinned foreign peoples. Caliban is a reflection, and in some ways even a caricature, of late
16th and early 17th century British attitudes and misguided beliefs about the native peoples
present in less-civilized parts of the world, argues Lie.
The idea which is emphasized here, is Shakespeare's purpose of Caliban's portrayal. The
argument is that this portrayal is done to perpetuates the image of the native or colonized
throughout time and place, whatever his nationality or the time which he lives in, the native,
colonized, is Caliban and he never changes. one could grasp this idea only when one reads what
Edward said, in his Canonical book Orientalism, wrote and believed that: "Orientalism assumed
an unchanging orient, absolutely different from the west"(96), and through this image the west
can manipulate and control the East. The methods by which the West assumes this unchangeable
orient is the core issue of Edward Said's book. Although Said is focusing on the relation between
the orient or the East and the West his ideas are applicable to any other nations or more sides of
binary opposition.
The following passage states that Prospero's address to Caliban resembles the colonizers
:attitude of civilizing the natives
I pitied thee, Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour
,One thing or other: when thou didst not, savage
Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like
A thing most brutish, I endow' d thy purposes
With words that made them known . (1.ii.17)

The typical attitude of the colonizers is to civilize the natives. Similarly, Prospero displays how
his presence on the island is valuable for Caliban which indicates the attitude and supremacy of
the colonist over the natives. The colonizer considers the native as uncivilized savages and
slaves. Prospero views Caliban as lesser being than himself. He firmly believes that Caliban's
existence is bound to serve his order and not to retaliate. He expects Caliban to be grateful to
.him for educating him and making him learn the superior language
One of the features of imperialism is that the colonizer describes colonialism as the moral
obligation of the colonizer or the superior race which is divinely destined to civilize the brutish
and barbarous parts of the world. The colonizers in the play, Prospero and Miranda, express the
same attitude towards the colonized that is, Caliban in the text. Miranda also justifies their
.enslavement of Caliban with the assertion that they tried to civilize him but to no avail
Caliban's behavior towards Miranda leads Prospero to imprison and punish him physically.
This makes Caliban feel oppressed and exploited in his own land. Then he tries to get some kind of
opportunity to regain his island but unfortunately he couldn't be successful to escape the supreme
control of Prospero's knowledge and magical power. Caliban continues scolding himself for trusting
Prospero and letting him know all the secrets of the land. He grumbles all the time for being a slave
in his own land
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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

Caliban's song at the end of Act II, scene II, where he sings drunkenly, throws a
remarkable light on the miseries of the colonized (Caliban) at the hands of the colonizer
(Prospero). Later Caliban hastens Prospero's illegitimate claim on the island so much that he
even hatches a conspiracy to kill Prospero with the help of Stephano and Trinculo, but fails in
his deed. Caliban represents all the natives who do not want to be a prisoner of colonialism.
Caliban's statement, “They all do hate him as rootedly as I”, implies that all other natives hate
Prospero and want freedom from his illegitimate rule/colonization though they do not have the
courage to revolt against him. The following statement of Caliban – “When Prospero is
destory'd”, can also be used for the post-colonial reading of ”The Tempest”. Every colonized
person feels rather believes that peace can be restored only after the colonizer is destroyed or
.after getting freedom from bondage
The play ends with Prospero deciding to return to his country along with his daughter. He
leaves the island, frees his slaves and enables Caliban to be the inhabitant of the island. At last,
Caliban gets the freedom and the right to claim his island. He gets the freedom to be himself in his
native place. This incident reflects the period when the colonizers returned to their country after
Britain gave freedom to its colonies. Yet the impact of the colonizers and colonialism remains in the
.lives of natives
Conclusion:
In a nutshell, The Tempest is the play which dramatizes the process of colonization and deals
with the relationship of the settler and the native. Thus the characters of Prospero and Caliban
are constantly reread in the colonial contexts which emphasize the greatness of Shakespeare’s
capacity of understanding the aspects and the nature of human being as a whole. The tempest
denotes the idea of colonialism as it was as the turning point during the period of British Empire.
Throughout the text, Shakespeare states the colonial perspective and the perspective of the
colonized as represented by Prospero and Caliban. A post-colonial examination of the different
elements of Shakespeare's play The Tempest is a suggested method to read what the lines of the
play hide of the complicated relation between two sides of the binary opposition naming, the
dominant and the dominated or the colonizer and the colonized. The emphasis in this proposal
will be given to the character of Caliban and his relation to Prospero mainly and the other
.characters of the play generally
:The Tempest dramatized the process of colonization
Prospero’s friendly attitude towards Caliban in the beginning, and Caliban’s forced enslavement
by Prospero after he gets the knowledge of all the secrets of the island, parallels the attitude of
the colonizers who first make friendly relations with the downtrodden natives in the name of
business, etc and then gradually colonize and exploit them. Throughout the play, Caliban scolds
himself for trusting Prospero and letting him know all the secrets of the land. By using the
knowledge that he gained in the company of Caliban, Prospero enslaves Caliban and after
making him a slave, he ill-treats him. Thus the play by depicting the exploitation of the
colonized by the colonizer, attempts to highlight and condemn the existing ideologies of
colonization. G. A. Wikes in his essay “The Tempest and the
Discourse of Colonialism” states: “The Tempest can readily be seen as a text which is complicit
with colonial power. Prospero is the usurping invader, nervous about the legitimacy of his rule,
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A Post-colonial study of Shakespeare's The Tempest

his language lessons seen as an attempt to eradicate his own culture, or to bring it under
imperialist control.”(Wikes,42)

REFRENCES
(1) Ashcroft, Bill. (1990) The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. London: CRC Press.
( 2) Vaughan, Virginia Mason. 1993. Shakespeare's Caliban. London: Cambridge Univ. Perss,
The Tempest. London: Cambridge Univ. Perss, 2002.
(3) Gunnin, Steven Thor. (2006) "Revolution Calling: A Look at the Role of Caliban Within
Shakespeare's The Tempest." associatedcontent.com.
(4) Sell, Benjamin. (2005) "Racism and Evil in Shakespeare's the Tempest."

(5) Takaki, Ronald. (Dec. 1992) "The Tempest in the Wilderness: The Racialization of
Savagery." Journal of American History 79.3: 892-912

(6) Wikes, G. A. The Tempest and The Discourse of Colonialism. Sydney Studies. PDF.
(7) Shakespeare, William. (2006) The Tempest . Peacock Books,Print.
(8) Loomba, Ania 1989) Gender, Race, Renaissance Drama, New York: St Martin’s Press.
(9) Ashcroft, Bill. (1990) The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. London: CRC Press.
(10) Haen D. Theo & Lie Nadia, (1997) Constellation Caliban: Figuration of a Character,
Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA.