The Tempest
Introduction
The Tempest is among the last plays that were written by William Shakespeare independently. The first scene of the play is done on a ship in the sea during the Tempest. The rest of the play is set on a remote island. The remote island is occupied by a sorcerer known as Prospero, his daughter, and two servants. Prospero is known as a very contradictory and complex character. The two servants in the island include a savage monster figure known as Caliban, and an airy spirit known as Ariel. The play has songs and magic which evoke the spirit of enchantment in the island. The play touches on themes such as betrayal, revenge, family, and magic. In the 5th Act, there is an evidence of a play-within-the-play where there is the wedding masque. Different people have different interpretations of the Tempest. Some people see it as a play that deals with comic and tragic themes, while others view it as one of the categories of romance by Shakespeare. For others, it is a combination of art and creation, where Shakespeare is Prospero, and Shakespeare’s farewell to the stage is Prospero’s renunciation of magic.
In the first Act, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, uses his magic to cause a storm that overcomes the ship that carries King Alonso, Ferdinand, his son, Sebastian, his brother. Onboard were also the courtier, Gonzalo, and Antonio, Duke of Milan. Prospero decides to open up to his daughter about the Act his brother, Antonio, did to him twelve years ago. Antonio plotted a coup against his brother Prospero, which ended up with Prospero escaping in a boat with his daughter, and his magic book to an island. Gonzalo aided the escape of Prospero and his daughter. Prospero made the island his home and enslave Caliban, who was the only native islander. The island also had spirit, and among them was Ariel, who Prospero saved from tree imprisonment. With Antonio in the ship that was wrecked, Prospero hopes to rectify what happened in the past. Ferdinand, who arrives safely in a different part of the island, meets Miranda and falls in love with her instantly.
In the second Act, Antonio and Sebastian plot to kill Prospero while he is asleep, but Ariel sabotages their plan. Ariel uses music to lead the courtiers, who arrived on the shore from the wrecking of the ship astray. This results in the people from the ship becoming more confused as they wander around in the island. Trinculo, who is the weak court fool, comes ashore and meets Caliban in another part of the island. Trinculo hides beside Caliban as a shelter against the storm that is approaching. Their alone time is interrupted as Stephano, the ship’s butler, finds them.
In the third and fourth Acts, Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban plot to kill Prospero to make Stephano the lord of the island. Their plot against Prospero does not go unnoticed by the invisible Ariel, who directly reports the wicked intentions to Prospero. Before going to execute their plans of killing Prospero, the three individuals get very drunk. Meanwhile, Prospero softens and accepts Ferdinand as a suitor for his daughter. Prospero blesses the marriage between Ferdinand and Miranda, his daughter. Prospero entertains the newly wedded with a masque of dancing reapers and goddesses. With the thought of Caliban’s plot, Ariel and Prospero set a trap for the three plotters. Gaudy clothes are set as a mode of destruction for the planners, where Stephano and Trinculo fall for them. After coming into contact with the clothing, Stephano and Trinculo are chased away by spirits that look like dogs.
In the fifth Act, Ariel puts to use his magic and brings together all the courtiers to the cell. While they are in the cell, Prospero reveals his magic and tells them the truth about himself. Instead of the Act of revenge, Prospero forgives the courtiers and accepts the return of his dukedom. Both Ferdinand and Miranda are betrothed. As Prospero had promised, Ariel is finally set free and is no longer a servant. Eventually, the sailors come bearing good news that the shift is once again safe for travel. On the other hand, Caliban and the other two drunken servants are rebuked. The play eventually comes to an end with everyone celebrating their reunions, and Prospero being set free by the indulgence of the audience.
At the time of the play, much of the world was still undergoing colonization by the European merchants and settlers. Through the character of Caliban, whose name resembles Cariban, a term used for natives in the west, Shakespeare explains the morality of colonialism. The Tempest play provides a different view of the virtue of decolonization. For instance, Prospero enslaving Caliban, Caliban resenting Prospero for imprisoning him, and Utopia of Gonzalo (Alzuhairi, 16). Caliban is viewed as the most natural character and nobler compared to his two friends Stephano and Trinculo. Another form of colonialism in the play is the Act of Prospero treating both Ariel and Caliban as servants. In this Act, Prospero is considered to be the colonizer while Ariel and Caliban are the ones being colonized. Although Ariel is more favored than Caliban, he is nonetheless an essential component of colonized individuals.
According to Discourse on Colonialism by Aime Cesaire, a civilization that does not have the power to solve the problem it creates is a decadent civilization. A civilization that assumes the most crucial issue is stricken. A civilization that uses rules for deceit and trickery is a dying civilization (Bardawil, 773). All these cases of injustice in civilization refer to Western civilization. Western civilization has given rise to two significant problems, which it has been unable to find solutions in solving them. These two problems are the colonial problem and the proletariat problem (Bardawil, 773). The colonial problem is due to Europe being unable to justify itself either before the bar of reason or before the bar of conscience. The power of colonized people lies in the fact that Europe is lying, which results in their weakness. According to Cesaire, colonialism is a collective hypocrisy that misrepresents problems and ignores the solutions provided for them. Colonization is at no point out to do any good, but instead, it is designed to explore, trick, dominate, exploit, and force persons of other people.
References
Alzuhairi, Ali Abdullah Mohammed, and Luo Yimin. “Canonical colonial approaches in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.” International Journal of English and Literature 7.2 (2016): 16-20.
Bardawil, Fadi A. “Césaire with Adorno: Critical Theory and the Colonial Problem.” South Atlantic Quarterly 117.4 (2018): 773-789.