The Tempest By William Shakespeare Essay - 1940 Words

What do we think about monsters? Monsters are part of our popular culture and have been used invidious media since our earlier times. They have been used to instill fear in us, and to make us timid to our approach of the unknown and the unnatural. This fear of monsters and the unknown has unfortunately also applied to other humans as well. Shakespeare’s The Tempest uses one character, Caliban, to represent the imagery of the unknown and as a savage monster in the viewpoint of exploring Europeans. Using The Tempest and other works such as Cesaire’s A Tempest and Achebe’s An Image of Africa, I will describe the struggles of Caliban from the story lens and a post-colonial lens and to identify how he is being described as monster in Shakespeare’s final work. In The Tempest, along with being an enslaved being of the magical Prospero, Caliban is also noticeably the only known native of the island in which Prospero and his daughter have inhabited since â€Å"their betrayal† a decade plus before. According to Caliban himself (and also Prospero and Ariel), he is the offspring of a witch who’s name is Sycorax. â€Å"Yes, Caliban, her son.† (338, Act I Scene II) Sycorax, along with Caliban, was one of the few natives of the secluded island and was a very powerful witch. Several interpretations of Sycorax are widespread in historical mythology and cultures, but one of the most noticeable is being a witch who is a native from Africa. Because of fear over her abilities, Sycorax isShow MoreRelatedThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1603 Words   |  7 PagesShakespeare’s play, The Tempest, power is manifested in several forms: the investigation of the power of love, the power of magic and illusion, or the power of nature. 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Artistically, The Tempest emphasizes the nature of art, more prominentlyRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1351 Words   |  6 Pagescritique rank’s Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ as one of the most preeminent and descriptive plays addressing the role of colonial power and conquest in literature. One of Shakespeare’s last plays, ‘The Tempest’ explores the direct parallel between the working proletariats and wealthy bourgeois. Therefore the focuses of this paper are the implications of hegemony and class alienation, the commoditization of human subc lasses, and the commonalities with â€Å"The Tempest† and Shakespeare’s life. The analysisRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare Essay1215 Words   |  5 PagesThe greatest playwright of English literature was William Shakespeare. His final play that he wrote alone was The Tempest, the story of how the former Duke of Milan, Prospero, returned to power after being exiled on an island for twelve years. 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The title of this play used both literally and metaphorically explains the overallRead MoreThe Tempest by William Shakespeare1858 Words   |  8 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s The Tempest refines his portrayal of nature from the earlier play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, nature is shown to be mysterious presence that blurs the lines between reality and illusion; it is a magical force that is unreachable and incomprehensible for human beings. A Midsummer Night’s Dream gives nature a mischievous, playful, dreamlike feel because in this play nature interferes for the sake of love. The Tempest breaks down the barrier that dividesRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare899 Words   |  4 PagesThe tempest by William Shakespeare is a story about a man named Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Within the story Prospero does almost everything for his daughter. Prospero takes one the mother’s role and finds Miranda a fiance. Telling her the truth about how they came about to end up on the island. Prospero protecting Miranda at all costs making sure nothing hurts her. The Attitude prospero has towards Miranda when compared to the attitude towards others. Thought some of the things he s doneRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare950 Words   |  4 PagesThe Tempest is a play that seems to be about a group of shipwrecked nobles, when in actuality it is a critique of the destructive effects of one group forcing its ideas on another. William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest in the early 1600’s, a time when England was beginning to assert itself as a superpower by colonizing other countries. In The Tempest Prospero is a callous character who mistreats Caliban, and as a result, Caliban becomes resentful and bitter, but unable to rule himself; ultimatelyRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1446 Words   |  6 PagesThe Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare around 1610 toward the end of his career as a poet and playwright. The Tempest fits in the genre of tragicomedy. The genre blends aspects of tragedy and romance together which are depicted in a humorous way. The Tempest is set on an island where its location is unspecified. The play finds Prospero and Miranda, ousted former Duke of Milan and his daughter, living in exile on an island with Caliban, its lone native inhabitant. Change affects theRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare2017 Words   |  9 PagesThe Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, and as such, has been examined in many different ways by many different people. In the world of literature, there are a few different distinct styles of review that are used to examine works of literature, these are called schools of critique or critical lenses. All of these schools serve a purpose in examining different themes in a work depending on the work, and the tempest is no exception. The Tempest has many sub themes in the story