Preparing to Write about The Tempest

The Tempest can be interpreted in various ways. In George Will’s Literary Politics, he argues that The Tempest can only be analyzed through a political viewpoint. However, there are undoubtedly other ways to think about this text. For one thing, Aime Cesaire's version, A Tempest, puts the story into a new perspective. Although the thought of colonialism has been brought up numerous times in out class discussions, Aime Cesaire’s revisioning of the play further develops this concept. By rewriting the dialogue of the characters, she directs the readers’ attention to the relationship between Caliban and Prospero. With her revsioning of the play more focused on this relationship, it becomes easier to grasp the theme of colonialism. As she constructs the dialogue in a way that reveals more of Caliban and Ariel’s feelings, we are able to grasp how natives must have felt during British colonial practices. In the last scene of Cesaire’s work, Ariel and Caliban are found discussing their status as slaves of Caliban. While Ariel believes in achieving freedom in less violent means, Caliban deems Ariel’s beliefs as foolish. Caliban, a symbol of the natives dring British colonialism, believes in taking back his land through force and war. His thoughts can very well be compared to the colonists’ rebellion toward British authority during the American Revolution. Furthermore, In Literarcy Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice), Charles Bressler also contends that colonialism is a central theme in The Tempest. Bressler supports Caliban’s thoughts on the idea of learning a new language by describing Fanon’s thoughts on the matter. “Fanon believes that as soon as the colonized…were forced to speak the language of the colonizer…the colonizer either accepted or were coerced into accepting the collective consciousness of the French [the colonizers].” Alone and forced to provide for his master, Prospero, Caliban serves as a symbol to any race or group of peoples that have been oppressed or colonized. As Bressler puts it, Caliban is one of the “Others. Therefore, taking these positions into account, we can see that The Tempest is a play focused on the topic of colonialism.