To some extent, it can be regarded as a kind of vengeance due to the kind of treatment he receives from his master(Gurr 234). We see a situation where he even tries to rape Prospero’s daughter. In addition, Canibal is portrayed as a spiteful as well as a rebellious. Most of his speech indicates the kind of hatred Canibal has towards his master Prospero. Most of Caliban’s speech is a clear indication of hate. His powers and authority can be compared to the energy powers the colonizers used during their colonization. Shakespeare has used this power and magic to bring out how strong the empire was not only to Caliban but the whole of Milan. Prospero has the ultimate power to manipulate the actions of people with his magic and his authority. Treatment of Canibal to Prospero is an illustration of how colonizers we betrayed during the colonial period. We are let to believe that Stephano is willing to offer better treatment compared to Prospero. As a servant and a trusted servant, Canibal still plans to murders his master Prospero after finding a new master Stephano. Shakespeare brings out the problems that colonizers face by using Canibal. In most scenes, we find Prospero encountering problems despite having power and magic. Shakespeare addresses the general problems faced by rulers. In most cases, he is perceived as a power-hungry, demanding, ambiguous and a grave troubled character (Shakespeare 54).įundamentally, the element of betrayal is significant in the play. Nevertheless, Prospero is seen in most cases making dangerous decisions of situations just to retain respect and love. Throughout the play, Shakespeare portrays Canibal and Prospero having a good relationship. He is always taking advantage of his authority over everyone including the likes of Caliban, who are very close to him. In most scenes, Prospero is presented as a victim of injustice. This is the same struggle colonizer have with their adored colonized. For this reason, it is vibrant that the relationship between Prospero and Caliban is a clear illustration of a colonizer and a colonized (Gurr 243).Īdditionally, almost every scene in the play intentionally portrays the struggle of relationships because of power. Although Prospero had what seemed to be a good reason to punish Caliban, as he had found him trying to rape Miranda, he had no right to punish him for such an activity. This treatment is a clear indication of one of the colonialism aspect in Prospero. We find Prospero punishing Caliban for a crime he had not fundamentally committed. In the Tempest, Prospero is also not caring about the feeling of Caliban. This means that Prospero had already acquired Canibal as his servant without considering his personal view.Ĭolonizers did not care about the feelings of the colonized. We find Caliban being taught a new language and mannerism by Prospero. Communication is essential when acquiring colonies. Basically, one of the approaches colonizers do when acquiring colonies is by teaching the colonized their language. Shakespeare used the character of Prospero and Caliban to illustrate how colonizers used to treat the colonized.Īt the beginning of the play, Prospero is the overthrown Milan Duke, who has been living on a remote island for the last twelve years. To be precise, Britain stated its mission to acquire the Caribbean Isles and the North part of America as its colonies in 1611. It was around this period when Britain was beginning to lay claim on the smaller Caribbean Isles, as well as North America. The Tempest was performed during the 17th century. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze critically how the relationship between Prospero and Caliban illustrates that of the colonizer and colonized. For instance, there is Prospero, who appears to be the main character taking advantage of his authority and power throughout the play to appear as the colonizer. Different forms of power have been used throughout the play both properly and improperly. There is the power of magic and power of love, political power among other forms of powers. There are various forms of power throughout the play. Among all these forms, he emphasized more in power and authority. During the course of the play, Shakespeare intentionally interrelates various themes including magic, politics, witchcraft, geography as well as travel. ‘The Tempest’ is an explicitly designed piece of work by Shakespeare.
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