University Sociology Essay: The Tempest and Colonialism Analysis

This essay provides a sociological analysis of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," focusing on the character of Caliban and the play's themes of colonialism and postcolonialism. The essay examines Caliban's representation as a victim of colonial expansion and his role in reflecting the power dynamics between colonizers and the indigenous population. It explores the play's context within the historical period of colonial ventures, drawing parallels between the play's events and real-world colonial practices. The analysis delves into the portrayal of Caliban as a marginalized figure, reflecting on his experiences of exploitation, cultural clashes, and the imposition of European values. Furthermore, the essay considers critical interpretations of Caliban, including his potential as a symbol of resistance and his complex relationship with Prospero. The essay draws upon the play itself, as well as relevant critical works to support its claims, providing a comprehensive overview of the play's sociological significance.

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Name of the Student
Name of the University

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Written in the era of 1610 by William Shakespeare, “The Tempest” is one of finest play which
projects the elements of both comedy and tragedy. One of the most debated figure among all the
writings of Shakespeare is Caliban. The entire play described Caliban as the wannabe killer,
cursing and would be rapist, in short as a monster. However the justification to the character in
the play, “The Tempest” is majorly debated in the context of being the symbol regarding the
victims of the colonial expansion. As per, Willis, Caliban is the character in the play that gets
introduced by the shipwreck within the remote island of the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout the
play, the character is very interesting since the presence of Caliban gives the reader an insight
within the thought of the author regarding the changing and fast moving world that included
expansions of a great explorer. The main plot of the pay by Shakespeare revolves around the
passengers over the ship who belongs to the figures from the European past of Prospero. The plot
of Caliban within the play is interesting as well as informed regarding the new and emerging
socio geography within the expansion of the British Empire. The author of the play views and
represents the character, the Caliban as the representative of the rural indigenous population and
the rebels against the rigorous exploitation which followed the land occupation of the Europeans.
As extracted from the play,
“I’ll show thee the best springs. I’ll pluck thee berries.
I’ll fish for thee and get thee wood enough.
………
I prithee, let me bring thee where crabs grow,
And I with my long nails will dig thee pignuts,
Show thee a jay’s nest, and instruct thee how

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To snare the nimble marmoset. I’ll bring thee
To clustering filberts, and sometimes I’ll get thee
Young scamels from the rock.”
The phrase portrayed the character, Caliban as the monster and some creature which is less than
human. Caliban is showed to be untrustworthy and dangerous who is very much indisciplined.
The play portrayed how Prospero used his magic to cause pains within his body for controlling
him and providing him some discipline. In short, the character, Caliban appears to be a very bad
and ruthless person. However, the author of the play brought out the tone of sympathy towards
the character’s passion and desire for the island.
However, the point of contrast regarding the character in the play lies in several ways where
Caliban serves as both the contrast as well as the mirror towards the other characters presented
within the play. Within the context of the sheer rate of brutality, Caliban reflects the darker side
of the character Prospero together with his long desire to mirrors of the island, ‘Antonio’s
ambition’.
Another contradictory paragraph that has been highlighted in the play is when Caliban found
Miranda beautiful as well as desirable. However, the point of contrast lies when it is viewed that
the traditional approach of Ferdinand towards courtship is very much different from the approach
by Caliban which involved the attempt to rape Miranda for “people the isle with the Calibans”.
Regarding the justification towards the name, there has been a lot of literary critics stating the
name of Caliban as the anagram or the least play word that is derived from the word , “carib”.
This become the European term that is majorly used for the description of the flesh eaters. The
author of the play highlighted the name in association to the savage man eaters.

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However, the violent and the ferocious side of the character, Caliban can be portrayed from
another perspective where the character portrays pain and sufferings as well as protest regarding
the challenges of multiculturalism in America. The character protests against the social hierarchy
and the portrayal of the indigenous class as the other unprivileged class of the society.
As extracted from the play,
“When thou cam'st first,
Thou strok'st me and madest much of me, wouldst
give me
Water with berries in 't, and teach me how
To name the bigger light and how the less,
That burn by day and night. And then I loved thee,
And show'd thee all the qualities o' th' isle,
The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and
fertile”
According to Takaki, Ronald, the European culture was actually delineating the border as well as
the division of the hierarchy among the wildness and the civilization. The character, Caliban
portrayed the voice for the Indians who were allegedly tortured and dominated by the other
civilian of the group due to the cultural and the racial barriers within the country. The character
personified tremendous passion and for the readers , the author of the play represented the
character how the Europeans have been during their scale of lower development. According to
several critics, the character Caliban represented the strands of the countless victims of the
colonization and the imperialism of Europe. The interpretation of the character, Caliban in the
context of the play, “The Tempest” is socially relevant and pretty powerful since it is represented

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as the colonized and the subject of the new world. Caliban represented in the play as the slave.
As extracted from the play,
“I pitied thee,
Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each
hour
One thing or other. When thou didst not, savage,
Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like
A thing most brutish, I endowed thy purposes
With words that made them known. But thy vile
race,
Though thou didst learn, had that in 't which good
natures
Could not abide to be with. Therefore wast thou
Deservedly confined into this rock,
Who hadst deserved more than a prison.”("The Tempest: Entire Play")
Thus it can be summarized from the above that by contrasting the low Caliban and the
base with the other contemporary nobles, the author of the play, Shakespeare initiated the reader
or the audience to think at a critical note regarding how violence and manipulation is used for the
achievement of goals.

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References
"The Tempest: Entire Play". Shakespeare.Mit.Edu, 2020,
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/tempest/full.html.
Takaki, Ronald. A different mirror: A history of multicultural America (Revised edition).
eBookIt. com, 2012.
Willis, Deborah. "Shakespeare's Tempest and the Discourse of Colonialism." Studies in English
literature, 1500-1900 29.2 (1989): 277-289.