Sycorax

are often viewed as barbaric and primitive from Western people, are in fact very harmonious, religious, and organized. Montaigne says “These nations then seem to me to be so far barbarous, as having received but very little form and fashion from art and human invention, and consequently to be not much remote from their original simplicity. The laws of nature, however, govern them still” (Montaigne). Montaigne prompts that Europeans are the people who are actually corrupt and deprave nature. In the play Shakespeare depicts how the corrupt Western colonists deprive the natives of their inheritance through the characters of Caliban and Prospero. Caliban says “This island’s mine by Sycorax, my mother/Which thou tak’st from me” (1.2.396-397). This shows that Prospero is taking Caliban’s inheritance from Sycorax, much like the Western colonizers do. In this case Caliban can be viewed as a pure victim. Moreover, Caliban says “And showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle,/The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and/fertile” (1.2.403-405), which shows that he is harmony with nature, like the cannibals in Montaigne’s essay. One way to interpret the name of Caliban is to view it as derived from the word ‘cannibal’. A lot of parallels can be observed between the cannibals in Montaigne’s Of Cannibals and Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. It can be therefore inferred that through the character of Caliban, Shakespeare represents the unjustly acted towards natives, who are…

The play, The Tempest is one of the many texts which allegorically represents various aspects of colonial oppression. The Tempest resonates with unusual power and variety. Prospero’s supreme control over the island and over the spirits of the island symbolizes his imperialistic nature within the play. Shakespeare presents the issue of imperialism through the character, Prospero as he has dominant power and control over the island and the original inhabitants. Parteni defines imperialism as “the…

Physical Theatre Analytical Essay Zen Zen Zo, founded in 1992, is an Australian Physical Theatre company. Asian-theatre traditions (Butoh and Noh), and pop culture, where stagecraft, music and movement create meaning, forged the company’s unique style. Physical Theatre can be defined as, a genre of theatrical performance that pursues storytelling through physical means, rather than, spoken text. Zen Zen Zo’s interpretation of the Tempest encompasses themes (dramatic meaning) which have a…

The Tempest and the Power Needed to Rule The main motif of the play The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare (ca. 1611), is the power that a ruler can exert over his fellows and followers. In the play, this ruler is given form in the main character Prospero, the Duke of Milan, who was overthrown by his brother Antonio and the rival Duke of Naples Alonso, and exiled to a deserted island somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Over the course of the play, Prospero uses power in a variety of ways…

“Caliban, would you like for me to start teaching you some magic?” Sycorax inquired. “I would love to!” Caliban responded gleefully. Over the next couple days, Sycorax began to teach her son magic. Caliban found it very entertaining and really like learning the spells. He also enjoyed spending some quality time with his mother. Caliban was able to learn the basics quite quickly. He learned to move objects, create light, confuse animals and people, and many more. Just as Caliban was beginning…

Prospero tells him he should be thankful instead of complaining. Just from analyzing this passage you can see that Prospero represent the colonizer in the play. The first thing he does when arriving to the island is displace Caliban’s mother, Sycorax and enslave the inhabitants of the island, Caliban and Ariel. Ariel represents the Native Americans who were more cooperative and in turn is treated more human and eventually rewarded his freedom while Caliban represents the more resistant Indians…

Women of 17th century England are supposed to be subordinate to men; however, Shakespeare reveals that it is the women who give power to men. The three women present in The Tempest exemplify this. Men are threatened by Sycorax, since she realizes her power and is an independent woman who refuses to give up her power to men. She is consequentially viewed as evil and a threat to society. On the other hand, Miranda maintains her role as the servant to her father and then Ferdinand. Despite this,…

The Tempest is written by William Shakespeare in 1615.The story tells about the a powerful man uses his magic distories a boat and fight with the bad guys on it. It also tells about the true love and evil.And in my mind, Caliban should own the island. I think Caliban suppose to control the island. Firstly, Sycorax is the first human being on the island. The island was belonged to her, and after she died, the island belongs to her son.Caliban. Secondly, Ariel is the second life on the island…

Prospero freed Ariel from an oak tree in which s/he was trapped by a witch named Sycorax (Caliban’s mother). Ariel is indebted to Prospero for freeing him as seen in the line, “Remember I have done thee worthy service/ Told thee no lies, made no mistakings, served/ Without or grudge or grumblings. Thou did promise/ To bate me a full year” (I.II.295-298). This line indicates Ariel asking for his freedom because s/he served Prospero for a year and his/her time is up. Ariel has been a faithful…

notice that Prospero threatens Ariel by insisting on trapping him in a tree for twelve years, which is ironic being that Prospero is the one who saved him from being trapped in a tree by Sycorax. This does not only mean that Prospero is abusing his power, but it also means that Prospero is no better than Sycorax himself. Moreover, another example of the abuse of power is in act 2 scene 1. In this scene, there is a plot to take over Alonso’s place just as Antonio did to Prospero. Antonio and…