In what ways can "The Tempest" be read as colonial literature? Compare real history with Shakespeare's text.

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In what ways can “The Tempest” be read as colonial literature? Compare real history with Shakespeare’s text

The Tempest is Shakespeare’s last play written before his retirement from play writing. The Tempest is considered to be a tragi-comedy play and it is the only play in which Shakespeare opens the story to the audiences own interpretations. The Tempest is the story about Prospero the Duke of Milan who, together with his daughter Miranda, were cast out of his kingdom by his own brother Antonia who wanted to take over his dukedom. Antonia, along with Alonso, King of Naples, wanted both Prospero and Miranda dead, but with the help of Prospero’s councilor Gonzalo, they managed to land safely on an island in Bermuda. Prospero and Miranda lived on the island with a spirit helper called Ariel. On the island there also lived a savage native called Caliban who would later become Prospero’s slave. Prospero wanted to take revenge on his brother Antonio and Alonso King of Naples, so he used his magic to create a storm to shipwreck them on the same island as Prospero.

Historical inspirations for The Tempest can be rooted to a book written by William Strachey in 1610 called A True Reportory of the Wrack. In this book which was written many years before the play, was a story about a fleet of ships that were separated during a storm; the ships were sent by the Virginia Company on a voyage to Virginia. The flagship got separated and landed in Bermuda. People first thought Bermuda was a haunted place but the sailors that were stranded there found out is was anything but haunted and scary; it was a very beautiful and serene place. A rebellion ensued when some of the sailors wanted to stay and live on the island when others were about to leave on their rebuilt ship. As The Tempest has historical roots within this book, it then can be read as colonial literature with regards to the New World (the Americas) as the beginnings of British colonialism as being the best example in comparing real history to Shakespeare’s text.

The Tempest reflects Shakespeare’s view on colonialism as well as on the settlers and the natives through the characters and the way there treat one another. For example, Prospero can represent the European settlers who come to a new land and take what they want. Caliban on the other hand represents the natives of that land who were exploited by the settlers. Prospero uses Caliban as a slave and sometimes threatens Caliban into compliance; this represents how the settlers treated the natives. It is also believed that Caliban is the first representation of native Indians in literature.

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Prospero lands of the island and claims it to be his when in reality Caliban and his mother Sycorax, were living there long before Prospero came. This just shows the attitude of the European settlers when the first landed in the New World and claimed the land was theirs without any consideration for the native Indians who had lived on the land for many generations long before the settlers came. The fact that Caliban’s physical appearance and the way he lives is different than that of Prospero, it makes Prospero think of himself as more superior. Prospero regards Caliban as uncivilized so Prospero took it upon himself to “civilize the creature” by teaching him how to speak and teach him English customs. This reflects the idea of how European settlers were trying to force the natives to accept their way of life and their culture without considering whether the natives were ready to welcome the changes or not. The settlers also assumed that as the natives looked different and lived differently compared to the Europeans, they must be savage and uncivilized and must be taught the English language and its customs for the settlers were more superior and civilized.

The way Prospero claimed the island to be his even though Caliban had been living there before Prospero had landed on the island represents the attitude of the European settlers taking land from natives. Caliban, like the native people, would realized later that he had been taken advantage of. In Act I Scene 2, Caliban talks of his land:

“This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother,

Which thou tak’st from me. When thou cam’st first

Thou strok’st me and made much of me; wouldst give me…

For I am all the subjects that you have,

Which first was mine own king; and here you sty me

In this hard work, whiles you do keep from me

The rest ‘th’island” (I, ii, 332-344)

The way Caliban talked of his land represents the native Indians speaking of how their land got stolen by the European settlers. It can be seen that Shakespeare himself suggests to the readers the facts that the settlers indeed did take away the land from the natives just as how Prospero took it from Caliban.

Prospero regarded and treated Caliban as a lesser being because of how Caliban looked. Prospero described Caliban as:

“A freckled whelp hag-born – not honour’d with a human shape.” (I, ii, 282-283)

Here Shakespeare tries to show us how the European settlers felt towards the native Indians for they looked different than that of the Europeans; looking different meant that the natives were inferior through the settlers point of view. Since the settlers regarded the natives as inferior and uncivilized, they believed it was right to do as they pleased. For example, the European settlers introduced alcohol to the natives to get them ‘hooked’ on it as a way to control them and assure their compliance. It is the same as the way Caliban was treated in the play when Stephano wanted to make a profit out of Caliban so he forces Caliban to drink wine:

“Come on your ways. Open your mouth; here is that

which will give language to you, cat. Open your mouth; this will

shake you shaking, I can tell you, and that soundly.

[Caliban drinks and spits it out]

You cannot tell who’s your friend: open your chops again.

[Caliban drinks again] (II, ii, 76-81)

There is a substantial amount of evidence throughout The Tempest to which real history and events are interlinked with the text. Shakespeare used the story to depict the historical events of colonialism and the British Empire. He used the characters to represent European settlers and natives. He used the behaviour and actions of the characters as representations of the way the European settlers in the New World treated the native Indians and also of the relationship between both groups. Shakespeare is trying to remind the audience gently that the new lands that were being colonized are actually someone elses.

Even though Caliban, as a representation of the native Indians was described by Prospero as a savage beast, Shakespeare was thoughtful to include a part which showed Caliban’s ability to feel and appreciate things to which views the natives in another light than that of the savage.

“Be not afraid, the isle is full of noises,

Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.

Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments

Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices,

That if I then had waked after long sleep,

Will make me sleep again; and then in dreaming,

The clouds me thought would open, and show riches

Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked

I cried to dream again.” (III, ii, 130-138)

Shakespeare suggests that even though Caliban was ugly and appeared different and uncivilized, he was able to feel and appreciate the beauty of nature; it shows that Caliban had human feelings. In relation to the native Indians in the New World, even though they acted, looked, lived differently and were considered savages and uncivilized than the European settlers, they were in fact still humans and were capable of feeling. They were not wild creatures. It was probably just that different people of different cultures lead a different lifestyles; but since the early European settlers were not open to this sort of understanding and were used to their own way of life, they regarded anything else that was different as uncivilized.

All in all, there are numerous ways to which The Tempest can be read as colonial literature as mentioned in the relationship of each character to actual events in history and the interaction of settlers and the natives. One way of reading The Tempest as colonial literature is as a way of telling the audience that regardless of what people may look or live like, we should always keep an open mind and respect their customs and traditions in spite of how uncivilized it may look for they are also humans and are capable of feeling and appreciating the beautiful things in life whatever it may be; treat others how you want to be treated.

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