Shakespeare's Influence on the Audience's Response to Caliban in The Tempest

had waked after long sleep, / Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming” (3.2. 139-

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

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.

      Abstract:  The debate over the legitimacy of the authorship of Shakespearean works has been disputed for centuries. While many scholars have held beliefs that Shakespeare's works have been written by figures such as Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, William Stanley, and others, the most heated debate today is between William Shakespeare and Edward DeVere, the Earl of Oxford. Each side of this debate has many followers, the Stratfordians, or those who claim Shakespeare to be the true author, and the Oxfordians who believe that true credit should go to DeVere. My paper, far from being a complete analysis of the possibilities of Shakespearean authorship, attempts to summarize and rationalize the

The play, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare is a very cleverly thought out piece of work. Shakespeare very deliberately inter-relates several different forms of power during the course of the play. There is political power, shown through the plethora of political characters and their schemes, while at the same time parodied by the comic characters. The power of magic and love, and its ability to reunite and absolve also plays a major role in the play. Throughout the play, Prospero, the main character, takes great advantage of his power and authority, both properly and improperly. The epiphany of this however, is realized at the end of the play.

Many of the plays written by Shakespeare in his time were performed to influence his audience and provoke thought and debate the social, cultural and economic events that were taking place at that time. Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in particular, was a reflection of the events happening during the Elizabethan era. In this essay, the focus is mainly on Act IV scene IV and the speech of Hamlet and the essay focuses on answering the question of the effect Hamlet had on the audience in the Elizabethan era, specifically culturally, socially, and economically. It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate that due to the religious turmoil of the Elizabethan era, Hamlet’s reference to God in Act IV was significant to show that

William Shakespeare is a name familiar to nearly every English-speaking person. He is known as a poet, playwright and actor, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. While many people might know a thing or two about Shakespeare, does anyone stop to think about what the world was like around him? What kind of trials and tribulations did the people of that Era have to face? What type of people did Shakespearian productions attract?

How many times have we heard about the Shakespeare's influence? Because of the particular and flawless works of William Shakespeare, it is not surprising that why he is one of the most influential person in the literary society for more than century. Undoubtedly, there are many people willing to let their heart be broken and cry for his work over and over again. Although his body was consumed by the time, his name and spirit are still breathing in our world through the poetry, literature, book or even movie. It can be found Shakespeare's influence in every entertainment industry, especially his shortest and bloodiest tragedy like 'Macbeth', which is the most famous one. Even 'The Lion King' (1994), the Disney animated movie by Roger Allers,

Caliban, immediately introduced as "poisonous slave," "savage," "hag-seed," is a character often likened to the African- American slave. The ease and matter-of-factness with which Prospero and Miranda dismiss him is painfully obvious even before he enters the scene (Act 1, Scene 3). Through no fault of his own, Caliban is dehumanized by the authority of his day and dismissed by the important members of his society. He looks much different from the others on the island, so he is not seen as a true human being; in fact, his only redemption lies in the fact that he is able to learn the language in order to serve the master.

"Rose! Dance on! I need more motion from you!" Ordered Prince Prospero as he beamed and grinned at the other dancers and musicians. I obeyed the Prince's orders and began skipping on beat with the rest of the dancers. I don't like taking orders from anyone, not even my mother about dance so that made me pretty bothered. Deaths are taking place due to how detectable the red death is becoming to the victims. This infection is taking away quality time from the victims and I feel like someone should put a stop to it.

In fact, the name of Caliban is a mere metathesis and anagram of cannibals; and the word cannibal is used by Christopher Columbus in describing Caribs' cannibalistic behaviors in 1498. Therefore, Shakespeare's bias in the play, The Tempest, illustrates Caliban as a savage, "a born devil whose nature nurture can never sticks and as with his body uglier grows so his mind cankers" (4.1.188-192). "The European claimed that they had a God-given responsibility to inhabit and reform so barbarious a nation and to educate to uplift the filthy people" (Takaki p 145). One of their responsibilities is "planting of religion among those infidels and increase the force of the Christians" (Hakluyt p.125) and others were showed by Shakespeare through actions of Prospero. He attempted to nurture, teach, and civilize Caliban. Despite Prospero's contributions, Caliban is incapable of learning anything but curses in foul language and even attempted to rape Prospero's beloved daughter, Miranda. Caliban's savagery is vividly portrayed in his sexual assault with lack of affections, and his animalistic innate instinct of reproduction and expanding its own kind. Judging against Ferdinand's conduct in accepting his slavery

William Shakespeare, as did most writers of his time, took the basis for the stories he wrote from other texts. He would use source poems or mythology in order to write his own works. Romeo and Juliet, for example, can be compared to the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisby. Plays such as Richard III and Julius Caesar are artistic accounts of historic events. The Tempest, however, is commonly perceived as an original story. Many critics feel that this was the only story of his that was entirely created by Shakespeare. This is not the case. In fact, there are several sources from which he very much drew inspiration for this tale. Shakespeare used

A person is inclined to avoid something that deviates the normal expectation outrageous. An existence cannot be fully understood without grasping the inside, which, unfortunately, does not happen every time as people judge things mostly by the first impression, by their looks and behaviors. Monstrosity is a collective concept which results in the isolation from the people due to the abnormalities, whether it be the look or the inner quality. Several literature poses the question and answers differently whether there exists an absolute boundary to define something normally human or not. There are three major categories for the approaches.

At first it is hard to see the similarities between a former Duke and a sex offender. Although Prospero and Leonard are two men cut from very different cloths, they resemble one another in more ways than one. Throughout The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare, and the documentary, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”, both Prospero and Leonard are exiled from their former realities and sentenced to life in a cell—prison and an island. Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest, displays the challenge to obtain forgiveness and mercy. Prospero struggles to forgive those who have wronged him and find mercy in their punishment.

In the early 1600s, Shakespeare completed The Tempest, a comedy set in the New World centering around the former Duke of Milan, Prospero, and his quest for vengeance after being castaway to a remote island. Superficially, the comedy is straightforward; it is merely the story of a man who regains his dukedom and rights the injustices he has suffered. While the plot of the play may be simple, the larger narrative of the play prompts the audience to consider the more complicated dynamics of indigenous and European relationships. These dynamics are presented through the character Caliban and his interactions with the rest of the European cast. Through Caliban’s contact with these characters, he is presented as crude, foolish, and odious. Surely a character such as this is villainous, as he is often called throughout the play. Yet, while Caliban’s relationship with the European characters may expose his own unbecoming features, I argue that it also discloses the abusive and foul tendencies of the very Europeans who scorn him. Indeed, I will prove that Caliban is not the simple villain that he is superficially presented to be, but rather a victim of European intervention and hegemony. Through the analysis of Caliban’s character and his relationships with the European characters in The Tempest, I will then explore Shakespeare stance on colonialism and European interference with the indigenous people of the Americas.