Writing About Tempest

In this weeks blog we were asked to discuss what we think would be interesting to write about for The Tempest along with other works that offer different points of view and different ways to interepret the play due to history and events from the past. For me, I think that William Shakespears The Tempest relates most clearly with the points discussed in Cultural Studies: Postcolonialism, African-American Criticism, And Queer Theory. One of the controversial issues between these two writings is whether or not Shakespear wrote the tempest in favor of colonialism or in favor of the natives otherwise known as "the others". In my opinion I think that Shakespear wrote The Tempest in favor of colonialism and the British Empire that are discussed in Cultural Studies: Postcolonialism, African-American Criticism, And Queer Theory. Shakespear portrays these issues through the main characters of his play, Caliban and Prospero, Caliban being the native or "the other" and Prospero being the British Empire. The reason I believe that Shakespear wrote The Tempest in favor of colonialism is because of the way he portrays these two characters and what they represent. Caliban is portrayed as an uneducated savage that doesn't have any self control. While Shakespear portrays Prospero as being the wise and powerful man who controls Caliban. On the other hand, I believe that Aime Cesaire's adaptation of The Tempest was portrayed in a more humurous and comical way compared to Shakespear's original play which is more on the serious side of things. Although Shakespear did intend this play to come off on a more serious note I don't think that Aime Cesaire's version of The Tempest could necessarily be considered wrong or disgraceful. I think that Aime Cesaire's take on The Tempest is more practical and modern which is easier for people to relate to now a days. This is only my opinion on these two issues and I'm sure there are many more ways to interepret them as well.