Racial Differences the Tempest

The Tempest is about an ousted Duke of Milan ,Prospero, who has been living in exile on a remote island for the past twelve years with his daughter Miranda. He is a powerful magician, who happens to be the master of Ariel and Caliban, and a guy who really likes his books. When Prospero's enemies wash up on shore, he uses his black magic to seek revenge and restore himself to power. The Tempest belongs to the genre of Elizabethan romance plays. It combines elements of tragedy with those of romantic comedy, and like one of Shakespeare's plays previously, it asks deeper questions that are not completely resolved at the end. The tone that seeps into the play is one of wonder, amazement, and admiration. Mystery is still present , but the magic performed is not black and scary. The version that seems to grasp my attention more, would have to be the Utah Valley University interpretation because it takes Shakespeare’s main purpose and tone but shows it in its own unique way. Furthermore, with its silly drunkards, the play has a certain lightness to it and even the so called killers of the King tell hilarious jokes and are lighthearted. But there is also the tone of revenge and reconciliation in the play. We feel a revenge burning in Prospero while, at the same time, a wish for forgiveness and reconciliation with those who have wronged him.

Racism seems to be a big concern in Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello. Because the hero of the play is an outsider, a Moor, we have an idea how blacks were regarded in England, in Elizabethan times. There are many references that bring about the issue of racism from the very beginning to the end. In the tragedy, where Othello is coming from is not mentioned, yet through the descriptions the reader is informed that he belongs to one of the Eastern nationalities such as African, Ottoman Turk or Arab. In this paper I am going to analyze some episodes involving a prejudicial, racist attitude and try to discuss whether Shakespeare was a racist or not. Even though the play is full of offensive definitions of black

We must examine racial differences between royalty and enslaved persons. Shakespeare accentuates the differences

The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last play that was written shortly after England colonized Virginia in 1609. Throughout the play, there are many different references to imperialism and colonialism within the characters. The Tempest analyzes the imperialistic relationships between England and America but applies it to personal human interaction between the central characters. The island gives newcomers a sense of endless possibilities like claiming the land for themselves because of the belief in the Great Chain of Being and the seventeenth century being an age of exploration. The idea of ruling a colony lured many people into the idea that having that kind of power over a large group of people is attainable. Master-servant relationships are

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. While some scholars believe that the play is about the Americas, I argue that the play reflects on colonialism in general and how it is destined for failure which is shown through the character’s relationships throughout the play.

Othello’s race does not prominently impact his demise, although Shakespeare touches upon the issue of race, the reason for Othello’s demise lies somewhere else. However, the allegations of race directly lead to its tragic ending. Feelings of inadequacy and distrust without question aid in the tragedy. The fact that Othello’s skin color is important alters the interpretation of the tragedy within the play. The racism represented in Othello is not just about an instance of prejudices and prejudgments made by a crowd of people against another, but in fact has much more subtle and devastating consequences, specifically, that it is proliferated not only by the discriminatory section of society, but also by the target of this discrimination.

Nearly four-hundred years later and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is still subject to ongoing contemporary literary critique and analysis. The potential intentions of Shakespeare’s characterization and rhetoric have elicited a response from many scholars including Debra Willis, Christopher Pye, and Alden Vaughan who enter dialogue with a variety of different research from the literary arts to social sciences, to postcolonial studies. These contribute to the preexisting field of knowledge which this paper engages with in analyzing the characterization of Caliban (1.2) as it relates to concepts of colonial notions of savagery in the real world. 1.2 of The Tempest introduces Caliban’s character through his initial interaction with Prospero and Miranda and his land claim of the island. These two major interactions represent the differences between Caliban’s identity as a sovereign individual and as to colonizers perceive him under colonial concepts of terra and res nullius. It is important not to understand Caliban as allegorical for contemporary understandings of indigeneity, however, understanding how past perspectives of Caliban under a colonial worldview can help to interpret the weight of this play and the nuance The Tempest has to offer. In understanding the interactions of Caliban with others and as defined by others as a contemporary allegory for colonialism, this paper will explore the concept of terra nullius and res nullius to better frame the characterization of

Othello or The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare is a tragedy of race. Shakespeare creates a hero who does not fall under a racist stereotype, Othello is a nobleman, a decorated soldier, very well respected by his men (with the exception of Iago). One of the few characteristics that harms, rather than helps him, is that he is dark-skinned in a society utterly dominated by men prejudiced against those with dark skin. At the start of the play, he appears confident that, "My parts, my title, and my perfect soul / Shall manifest me rightly." (Shakespeare, 1, 2, 36-37) But Iago makes sure to use Othello's race against him as much as possible. As a brave soldier from Africa and recently instated supreme commander of the Venetian army, Shakespeare still allows Othello to succumb to the subtle racism that surrounds him. Most of it comes forward through the dialog, and is directed toward Othello. Shakespeare makes no effort to hide this colorful language, nearly every character uses a racial slur to insult Othello at some point in the play. Even Emilia, who doesn’t trust her own husband, sinks to the level of insulting Othello based on the color of his skin. Though the main character to make racist remarks in Othello is Iago, making him a representation of white supremacy. The effect of racism on Othello is quite evident and is one of the main causes of his insecurity about his marriage. These black stereotypes show up in the play and lead to the problem with trying to produce

In the play, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, Caliban is an important character. Caliban is a character who plays as a victim to be pitied, as well as a villain to watch out for. In this essay, I will show clearly how Caliban is a victim and villain by exploring his relationship with Prospero, Miranda, and the island.

Shakespeare demonstrates how a man is accused of being a thief just because he is black and he married a white woman, the white men believe they are better suited to marry a white woman rather than a black male. For today's society this still stands as an issue because as the news proves black individuals are more likely to be accused of the wrong they do over white men even if the crime was similar. A white man was said to be better just because of the color of his skin although Othello has a higher status in venice, he is just not accepted as the right man for a white woman because he was black and unworthy. This example demonstrates the hierarchy the play not so subtly places of the character which leads for the reader to place the men in the order Shakespeare

The colonizers have the different attitudes on themselves and aboriginals, which shows in The Tempest. For example, Prospero divides people on the island into two categories, human and aboriginals. For human like him, he can forgive them no matter what they did, include Antonio who take his title of duke, but for aboriginals like Caliban, he never treats them as human beings. Prospero always calls Caliban in a rude manner, such as “poisonous slave” “hag-seed” “lying slave” “savage”. Although Caliban is the origin owner of the island, Prospero treats him as his servant. As well as Trinculo and Stephano who see Caliban in the first sight, Trinculo compares Caliban to a strange beast: “What have we here? A man or a fish? Dead or alive? A fish;

When discussing themes within William Shakespeare’s Othello, issues of racial prejudice becomes a topic that invariably demands discussion. Although it was highly unusual in the Renaissance period to see a Moor protagonist in a work of drama, much of the language, setting and character motivations utilized within the play reflect the attitudes of the English towards the blackamoors during the time; It could be argued that by making Othello a tragic hero, thereby forcing the audience from an artistic standpoint to view him as sympathetic, Shakespeare may have been using his work as a platform from which to deliver commentary on the relationship between race, politics, and the rampant poverty that was impacting Renaissance England.

The Tempest is a play that has a theme of nature and civilization. It has a strong theme that deals with issues of colonizer and the colonized. While to many people this play may simply be just a play, it really has a story of what happens when nature and civilization collide. The character Caliban represents a being of pure nature. The character Prospero is civilization. These characters can also be seen as the colonized and the colonizer. The relationship they have is very complex and is a constant struggle, much like any relationship between a colonizer and colonized. It questions what is pure nature? Is it savage and monster like, as Caliban is? In this paper I will examine the relationship between Caliban

William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” speaks about multiple authoritative relationships throughout the play and the abuse of power and authority. The main character Prospero lives on a deserted island with his daughter Miranda. Prospero used to be the Duke of Milan until he has been usurped by his brother Antonio with the help Alonso the King of Naples and his brother Sebastian. Prospero and Miranda were banished to sea in a rotten boat and eventually lands in a deserted island who was once ruled by a witch named Sycorax but is now only inhabited by her son Caliban and a spirit named Ariel. Since arriving at the island, Prospero has been ruling the island and enslaved Caliban and Ariel by the use of magic. He acts as if he is God by creating a storm in order to shipwreck the King of Naples and Antonio. Prospero uses his powers to get revenge on his brother for having been exiled to the island. Prospero is a controlling character who seems to be obsessed with getting revenge in order to regain his status. He abuses his authority and takes advantage of his slaves and his daughter Miranda to fulfil his evil plan.

Shakespeare demonstrates that inequality exists in society, and that it is human nature to fight for one’s rights and freedoms. When Prospero conquers the island, he enslaves the native, Caliban, who is the son of the evil witch Sycorax