Colonialism In The Tempest

William Shakespeare’s final work, The Tempest, was written in 1611, a time when expeditions to the “new world” were in full swing. There is good reason to believe that The Tempest was based on these expeditions and the resulting colonialism. For one, The Tempest disregards Shakespeare’s previous plot-heavy styles and focuses more on magical realism. Supernatural events are introduced with great freedom, which is proof to the fact that characters and themes are what is to be noted in this play, not the plot. I believe Shakespeare’s intent was to offer perspective to both sides in the colonialism argument: both the oppressors, and the oppressed. The Tempest offers unique perspectives by portraying the thoughts and feelings of every character. While in the first act, Prospero curses Caliban and Miranda proclaims that he simply is of a “vile race” (Shakespeare 20), in later acts, Caliban voices the constant terror that he feels by Prospero’s presence, which makes the reader conflicted as to who is actually in the right. By showing the conflicts of each character, Shakespeare highlights the morality of colonialism: explorers believed that the natives were “savages” …show more content…
There are obvious parallels between Prospero and Powhatan, both leaders in their own right and cloaked in mystery, and between Miranda and Pocahontas, both beautiful, and interestingly, both described as “nonpareils”: first by Smith, “the only Nonpareil of his Country” (Goodheart par. 1) and next by Caliban, “he himself/ Calls her a nonpareil” (Shakespeare 55). Each of these characters plays a role, if one looks at the play through a postcolonial lens, even Miranda, who though she doesn’t directly interact with more than three characters, is still highly influenced in ways of thought by her father,