Shakespeare’s The Tempest, as a work of literature that was first performed and created during the year 1611, has always been read and interpreted by many different people from all different walks of life. The play The Tempest is known to fall under the genre of comedy/drama and contains aspects of romance, tragedy, and fantasy. The play itself deals with many different allegories and metaphors that could be interpreted in multiple ways. The one main subject that The Tempest deals with is colonialism, which was a very important topic during the early 17th century when Europe was colonizing Africa and Asia (West 46).
The colonization of The Tempest could be seen through many different lenses; many critics like to view The Tempest through an anti-colonial lens while others argue that the play itself has colonial aspects written into it. The first perspective works on the idea that The Tempest can be looked at as a representation of imperial England. The second way on how The Tempest demonstrates or reflects colonialism is by showing how Prospero falls under a type of power known as “white guilt”.
In his essay Next Time, Let’s Not Open The Present, Scott Eric Kaufman argues that The Tempest is a reflection of the racial colonialism that was shown in early 17th century England. The last way The Tempest can be viewed as being colonialist is by looking at how it includes many different literary devices or rhetorical devices which are used throughout the play. The first critical view of The Tempest is one where the context of the work reflects the real-life society of 17th-century imperialism.
The idea behind this argument is to say that The Tempest is not an innocent fantasy; instead, there are direct connections between Prospero’s actions and those of countries like England (Kaufman 9). One scholar who backs up this interpretation on The Tempest specifically says that, “The play exists within the context of an early seventeenth-century period when the concepts of the empire were being formulated” (West 46). The overall message that The Tempest portrays is one where people are shown as being superior to others due to their race, which was definitely a factor during this time period.
The actual plot itself of The Tempest shows many situations that are comparable to real-life colonization; for example, Antonio is exiled from Milan and sent off to sea on a ship with his friends who later turn out to betray him. The main comparison between The Tempest and colonialist views is through Prospero. Prospero is seen as someone who takes over other people’s lives in order for them to do what he says without question. By applying this concept to real-life events, it can be argued that The Tempest is a representation of colonization and imperialism (West 46).
The message behind The Tempest in this case is not emotional or ideological; instead, it is one that directly reflects the time period in which it was produced. The purpose of The Tempest being written during this time period was for people to think about the effects of colonization on people who were colonized. The second critical view of The Tempest deals with how The Tempest itself has a colonialist tone to it throughout the play while still being able to have themes/messages against colonialism.
In his essay “Inescapable Colonialism: The Tragic Imperative,” David M Katzman argues that The Tempest can be seen as an example where even though there are anti-colonial The Tempest, there are also many instances where The Tempest itself becomes a colonialist work. The main focus of this argument is mainly on how The Tempest has structural similarities to earlier works of Shakespeare, which shows The Tempest as being similar to imperialistic views (Katzman 313). The main connection between the structure of The Tempest and colonialism is through Prospero’s view or world perspective.
Prospero is seen as having all power within his world; he has the ability to make those around him do what he wants them to do without any sort of resistance. The way that people like Caliban and Ariel function under this type of rule reflects the role of colonies during 17th century England (Kaufman 9). One specific example from The Tempest in which The Tempest reflects a colonialist tone is in Act III when Caliban has the opportunity to kill Prospero but does not.
The overall message that The Tempest portrays here is that The Tempest works through people by getting them to do what it wants them to do instead of forcing its own views onto others (Katzman 313). This connection between The Tempest and domestic colonialism can also be seen outside of The Tempest itself. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s takeover of power from Duncan may have been parallel to England taking over land from other countries such as Ireland around this time period (Kaufman 9).
One way The Tempest is a reflection of colonialism, in this case, is through how there are many different examples where The Tempest deals with people who are not English in The Tempest who are forced to work for The Tempest. The message The Tempest tries to portray here is one where there are many different races in The Tempest, but only the English have the power within it. As Katzman points out, “the colonized can gain power through colonizers’ consent” (313).
The purpose of The Tempest being written during this time period was for people to think about colonialism and imperialism by seeing how colonization affected the lives of others. The third critical view of The Tempest deals with how The Tempest itself is anti-colonialist while still maintaining a colonialist tone throughout the play. A scholar who backs up this perspective on The Tempest argues that “The theme of The Tempest is the necessity of suspending colonizing activity in favor of moral action” (Bate 96).
The main message The Tempest seems to be portrayed here is that The Tempest wants its audience to understand The Tempest’s overall theme, which has to do with colonialism. The message The Tempest may also deal with power and how it can corrupt people when they have too much of it. The single most important element throughout The Tempest may be the way Prospero holds so much power over other people while still being able to maintain his reputation for being a good man by doing what is morally right (Bate 96).
The purpose of The Tempest being written during this time period was for people to think about how having all this power affected the lives of others. The Tempest being written during this time period does not necessarily mean that The Tempest was designed for people who were living around the same time The Tempest was written, but rather The Tempest may have been more so written for future generations to understand colonialism by seeing how it affected The Tempest’s characters.
The first critical view on The Tempest is connected to the first view of it as a reflection of colonialism in that they both claim that The Tempest is primarily about colonialism (Kaufman 9). Arthur B Evans argues that there are many different examples within The Tempest where Shakespeare portrays “a society divided into sharply defined classes with distinct political functions” (Evans 310).