Theme Of Colonialism In The Tempest - 924 Words

Shakespeare wrote The Tempest around 1610, towards the end of his career as a playwright. The play depicts a story about a usurped duke who has taken over and become the ruler of the island and its’ inhabitants. Amongst many themes, one theme in the play that is clearly evident is colonialism. During the time Shakespeare was writing The Tempest, colonialism was one of the biggest issues of the time. For this reason, it is not surprising that Shakespeare chose to include many references to colonialism and exploration in his play. Exploration of new parts of the world led to colonialism. Colonialism in its essence is about taking control over another country or territory and its citizens. This concept was most prevalent during the time of†¦show more content†¦He has a sense of superiority over Caliban and pushes him under him as a slave. Prospero refer to Caliban as â€Å"this thing of darkness, I call my own.† He believes that Caliban is no even a human rather h e was born a devil. This reveals that the European colonizers looked down upon the colonized people and enslaved them. It depicts the mentality of the time that whites were superior to colored and were born to dominate while people of color were born to be dominated. Caliban represents the people of color who were native to the colonized nations. He was dehumanized and treated as an inferior just as the colonized people were treated in the newly discovered lands. Shakespeare uses certain diction to highlight the difference between how the colonizer viewed himself, using words like light, knowledge and wisdom, and how they viewed the colonized describing them with words such as darkness, ignorance and savage. Prospero tries to civilize and educate Caliban reflecting how the European colonizers thought that they were carrying out a civilization project. Prospero tries to teach Caliban his language without much success because of his resistance to change. While Prospero manipulates eve rybody on the island like puppets, CalibanShow MoreRelated The Theme of Colonialism in Shakespeares Tempest Essay example2636 Words   |  11 Pages The Tempest, by Shakespeare, offers the reader a variety of themes. The one theme that stands out the most is that of colonialism. During the time of Shakespeare, many European countries such as Spain, France, and England, were expanding their borders by taking over less developed countries, referred to as colonies. During this time of exploitation, there was skepticism concerning the possible success of the colonies. 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