A Literary Debate

Okay so I hope I wasn’t the only one who has a difficult time reading this but I learned that George Will, a Newspeak columnist, and Stephen Greenblatt, college professor, are two intelligent men with opposing arguments regarding the politicization of literary studies, particularly Shakespeare’s The Tempest. While George Will happens to believe that the The Tempest is centered on political views, Greenblatt disagrees. He says that numerous things like religion, politics, and colonization together influence the way an author writes, and that there is always a message that the author is trying to portray. In Will’s essay, he states, "All literature is, whether writers are conscious of it or not, political." This quote clearly exemplifies Will’s take on the matter. He also claims that “as esthetic judgments are politicized, political judgments are estheticized: the striking of poses and the enjoyment of catharsis are central in the theater of victimization in academic life.” Will claims that every piece of writing involves some type of political reference. It is a part of literature that cannot be avoided, in his opinion. On the contrary, Stephen Greenblatt declares that, “it is similarly difficult to come to terms with what The Tempest has to teach us about forgiveness, wisdom, and social atonement if we do not also come to terms with its relations to colonialism." By this, Greenblatt claims that The Tempest presents many ideas as well as the subject of colonialism, and we must learn to take all of these ideas into account. In my opinion, I believe that both men present interesting concepts. It is true that a great deal of literature can be interpreted in a political way, whether they are intended to be or not. Actually, most things in our world can be interpreted through a political viewpoint. However, although this is possible, not everything is meant to be interpreted in this way. I believe that authors write to convey some type of message, whether it is a religious, emotional, or ethical message, and politics fit into this concept. Politics is not the center of all literature, it is an individual message within literature, just as religion and colonization. Therefore, I side with Stephen Greenblatt on this matter. I hope this makes sense…