TheTempest
William Shakespeare’s
The Tempest
Generally regarded as
Shakespeare’s last play:
1611
Performed for King
James I and at the
marriage festivities of his
daughter Elizabeth
Source: William
Strachey’s account of the
shipwreck of the Sea
Venture in 1609
Paul Falconer Poole. A Scene from the
Tempest, 1856.
Prospero
Duke of Milan
Antonio
usurper
Miranda
Sycorax
Caliban
Alonso
Sebastian
King of Naples
Ferdinand
Ariel
Iris
Ceres
Juno
Nymphs
Gonzalo, Counselor
Trinculo, Jester
Stephano, Butler
Adrian, Francisco
Shipmaster, Boatswain, etc.
John William Waterhouse,
Miranda-The Tempest, c. 1916
“If by your art, my dearest father, you have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them”
 Rulers and subjects
Themes
 Right relationship
 Responsibilities
 Master/Servant
 Revenge or mercy
 Sibling rivalry
 Commentary on European
exploration of new lands
 Utopianism
 Colonialism
 Imperialism
 “The Other”
 Nature of indigenous peoples
 The role of the artist
 Autobiographical?
Prospero by Lisa Iris
Post-Colonial Theory & The
Tempest
During the 15th Century until the 19th Century
(1400s-1800s) Europe began its first colonial
wave.
This was a common occurrence in
Shakespeare’s time.
The earth was being “discovered” and stories
were coming back from distant lands. There
were myths about the “cannibals” of the
Carribean, of true Edens and distant utopias
(an ideally perfect place)
Post-Colonial Theory & The
Tempest
 With the character Caliban (whose name is roughly
anagrammatic to Cannibal), Shakespeare may be
offering an in-depth discussion into the morality of
colonialism.
 Different views of this are found in the play, with
examples including Gonzalo’s Utopia, Prospero’s
enslavement of Caliban, and Caliban's subsequent
resentment.
 Caliban is also shown as one of the most natural
characters in the play, being very much in touch with
the natural world;
Post-Colonial Theory & The
Tempest
From the mid 1950s more and more
academics have studied The Tempest
through a post-colonial lens. This
new way of looking at the text
explored the effect of the coloniser
(Prospero) on the colonised (Ariel
and Caliban).
Post-colonial theory in The
Tempest
The Tempest explores many different aspects of
colonialism:
Europeans’ appropriation of and exploitation of
foreign territories
Europeans’ subordination of indigenous populations
(such as the different treatment of Caliban and
Ariel)
Europeans’ claims that they are colonizing to bring
Christianity and civilization (
Europeans’ use of colonialism as a way to let off
pressure from their own social
Post-colonial theory in The
Tempest
 Caliban has been ensalved, as was the case of native
people being "colonized" by conquering nations. He
suffers as a result, receiving alcohol and
misunderstanding the "gift" and the giver because he is
not accustomed to this culture. He reacts by devising a
plot, wanting Stephano to be leader of the island. He
struggles against his enslavement, but like so many
colonies, he does not realize that his own choice of
leader could be just as destructive.
“The Other”
Caliban by Edmund Dulac
Colonising Caliban
 More important than the emphasis on the way in which Caliban seems to others
more monster than man, is the way in which this scene dramatizes the initial
encounter between an almost completely isolated, “primitive” culture and a
foreign, “civilized” one. The reader discovers during Caliban and Prospero’s
confrontation in Act I, scene ii that Prospero initially “made much of” Caliban
(II.ii.336); that he gave Caliban “Water with berries in’t” (II.ii.337); that Caliban
showed him around the island; and that Prospero later imprisoned Caliban, after
he had taken all he could take from him. The reader can see these events in Act II,
scene ii, with Trinculo and Stephano in the place of Prospero. Stephano calls
Caliban a “brave monster,” as they set off singing around the island. In addition,
Stephano and Trinculo give Caliban wine, which Caliban finds to be a “celestial
liquor” (II.ii.109). Moreover, Caliban initially mistakes Stephano and Trinculo for
Prospero’s spirits, but alcohol convinces him that Stephano is a “brave god” and
decides unconditionally to “kneel to him” (II.ii.109–110). This scene shows the
foreign, civilized culture as decadent and manipulative: Stephano immediately
plans to “inherit” the island (II.ii.167), using Caliban to show him all its virtues.
Stephano and Trinculo are a grotesque, parodic version of Prospero upon his
arrival twelve years ago. Godlike in the eyes of the native, they slash and burn their
way to power.
Gonzalo’s Idea of
Governance
Gonzalo’s fantasy about the plantation he
would like to build on the island is a
remarkable poetic evocation of a utopian
society, in which no one would work, all people
would be equal and live off the land, and all
women would be “innocent and pure.” This
vision indicates something of Gonzalo’s own
innocence and purity.
Stephano’s Idea of
Governance
 Stephano muses about the kind of island it would be if
he ruled it—“I will kill this man [Prospero]. His
daughter and I will be King and Queen . . . and
Trinculo and thyself [Caliban] shall be viceroys”
(III.ii.101–103)
 Stephano wants to employ a totalitarian type of regime.
This contrasts significantly with Gonazalo’s vision.
 Totalitarian: where an individual dictator monopolises
political power and controls every element of society.
Doubles: A predominant
technique.
 As we have seen, one of the ways in which The Tempest builds its
rich aura of magical and mysterious implication is through the use
of doubles: scenes, characters, and speeches that mirror each other
by either resemblance or contrast.
 Caliban/Stephano/Trimnculo double and parody what Prospero
does throughout the play. The three wander aimlessly about the
island, and Stephano muses about the kind of island it would be if
he ruled it, just as Gonzalo had done while wandering with
Antonio and Sebastian in Act II, scene i.
 The power-hungry servants Stephano and Trinculo thus become
rough parodies of the power-hungry courtiers Antonio and
Sebastian. All four men are now essentially equated with Caliban,
who is, as Alonso and Antonio once were, simply another usurper.
The Feminist Critique
The Feminist Critique
 The Tempest has only one female character, Miranda. Other
women, such as Caliban's mother Sycorax, Miranda's mother and
Alonso's daughter Claribel, are only mentioned. Because of the
small role women play in the story in comparison to other
Shakespeare plays, The Tempest has not attracted much feminist
criticism. Miranda is typically viewed as being completely
deprived of freedom by her father. Her only duty in his eyes is to
remain chaste. It has been argued that she is typical of women in a
colonial atmosphere, has completely accepted the patriarchal
order of things, thinking of herself as subordinate to her father.
 The less-prominent women mentioned in the play are
subordinated as well, as they are only described through the men
of the play. Most of what is said about Sycorax, for example, is
said by Prospero. Prospero has never met Sycorax — all he
learned about her he learned from Ariel. It can be argued that
Prospero's suspicion of women makes him an unreliable source of
information.
SHAKESPEARE’S RECURRING COMEDIC THEMES:
INTERTEXTUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER COMEDIES
In this play are themes of love at first
sight, magic as a controlling device,
revenge, usurpation & inordinate
ambition.
What other plays deal with these themes?
To what extent are they similar? Discuss
with a mate and feed back…
Love at First Sight
Revenge
Magic
Usurpation and
inordinate
ambition
Tempest, Hear my
soul speak. Of the
very instant that I
saw you, Did my
heart fly at your
service
As You Like It:
(Orlando &
Rosaline) Who
ever loved that
loved not at first
sight?
Midsummer Night’s
Dream (Titania &
Bottom), Romeo
& Juliet
Tempest: Prospero
seeks revenge
against Sebastian
and Alonso.
Caliban seeks
revenge against
Prospero. It’s
used to correct
behaviour.
Tempest: Prospero,
with the help of
his books is able
to use magic to
seek his revenge,
and to control
Caliban.
Midsummer: There is
a magical world in
which the fairies
exist.
Tempest: Antonio
usurps Prospero’s
place as Duke of
Milan. Sebastian
attempts to usurp
Alonso’s place as
King of Naples.
As You Like It: Also
illustrates
usurpation and
ambition.
Midsummer: Oberon
seeks revenge
against Titania
and makes her fall
in love with
Bottom. Revenge
is used to correct
behaviour.
Ariel confronting the “three
men of sin” by Edmund Dulac
Edward A. Wilson
Other Tempests
Literary Adaptations of The Tempest
 Auden, W. H. "The Sea and the Mirror" (1944) on W.H. Auden:
[http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/whauden.htm]
 Barnes, Charlotte (Mary Sanford) The Forest Princess, or Two Centuries Ago (play, online) (1844)
 Brathwaite, Kamau (1930-). "Caliban" (poem) sites on Brathwaite
 Brough, William and Robert Brough. The Enchanted Isle. 1848.
 Browning, Robert (1812-1889). Caliban upon Setebos, or Natural Theology in the
Island.
 Césaire, Aimé. A Tempest (Une Tempête, d'après La tempête de Shakespeare: adaptation
pour un théâtre nègre. Paris: Seuil, 1969.) Bibliography and links to Césaire
 Davenant, William and John Dryden. The Tempest or the Enchanted Island. 1670.
(play) ed. Jack Lynch. [http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Texts/tempest.html]
 Dryden, John, William Davenant and Thomas Shadwell. The Tempest. 1674. (opera)
composers: Henry Purcell, John Bannister, Pelham Humphrey, Pietro Reggio, James
Hart, Matthew Locke.
 Duffet, Thomas. The Mock Tempest or the Enchanted Castle. 1675.
 Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. "Caliban". Ferlinghetti, biography, some poems
 Homolka, Kurt. Die Wunderinsel (1958) Oper mit Ballet. Libretto (arrangement of
Schubert's Alfonso und Estrella)
 Hughes, Ted. (1930-1998) "Setebos". Ted Hughes Criticism page Johnson, Lemuel.
Highlife for Caliban
Literary Adaptations of The Tempest
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MacKaye, Percy. Caliban by the Yellow Sands. 1916. (play)
Malouf, David. Blood Relations. 1987. (play)
Murrell, John. New World. 1985.(play)
Nunez, Elizabeth, Prospero’s Daughter: A Novel. 2006.
Osment, Phillip. This Island's Mine. 1988. (play)
Plath, Sylvia (1933-1963) "Ariel" (and other poems;
Popular novels and romances: Boucher, Rita. The Would-Be Witch; James, Deanna. Acts of
Love; Kelly, Carla. Miss Grimsley's Oxford Career; Kidd, Elizabeth. My Lord Guardian,
commented by Osborne, Laurie, Romancing the Bard
Renan, Ernest. L'Eau de Jouvence. 1879.(play)
Schmidt, Arno. Caliban über Setebos. (short story) über Arno Schmidt
Schober, Franz von. Alfonso und Estrella. libretto (1821) (Franz Schubert)
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. (1822) With a guitar, to Jane. aka. To a Lady, with a guitar. (Ariel to
Miranda)
Warner, Marina. Indigo. chapter 19; Indigo: Mapping the waters; interviews and articles
Wells, H. G. The Island of Dr Moreau (1896)
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Film Adaptations of The Tempest
 Bender, Jack. (dir.) The Tempest. (USA; set in the Mississippi Bayous during the
Civil War) 1998]
 Stangertz, Gören. (dir.) Stormen (Sweden, 1998)
 Sokolov, Stanislav. (dir.) The Tempest (Animation, Russia, 1992)
 Greenaway, Peter. (dir.) Prospero's Books (I, 1991), John Gielgud as Prospero.
 Ählin, Per. (dir.) Resan till Melonia (Norw./Sweden 1989)]
 Taymor, Julie. (dir.) The Tempest (USA, 1986)
 Woodman, William. (dir.) The Tempest (USA; 1983)
 Mazurski, John. (dir.) The Tempest (USA, 1982)
 Stanley, Audrey. (dir.) The Tempest (USA, 1980)
 Gorrie, John. (dir.) The Tempest (BBC, 1980)
 Jarman, Derek. (dir.) The Tempest (UK, 1979)
 Coleman, Basil. (dir.) The Tempest (UK, 1968)
 Schaefer, George. (dir.) The Tempest (USA, 1960) Richard Burton as Caliban.
 Atkins, Robert. (dir.) The Tempest (UK, 1956)
 Wilcox, Fred M. (dir.) The Forbidden Planet (science fiction 1956)
 Wellman, William (dir.) Yellow Sky (Western, USA 1948)
 Bower, Dallas. (dir.) The Tempest (UK, 1939)
 Thanhouser, Edwin (dir.) The Tempest (silent, USA 1911)