What is the cultural context of the play The Tempest?

Answer 1

The Tempest by William Shakespeare is about a man called Prospero the rightful Duke of Milan, has been living on a primitive island with his fifteen-year-old daughter, Miranda, for the past 12 years. This was all caused by Propero's brother Antonio claiming that he is the rightful Duke of Milan, usurping the throne and putting Prospero and Miranda out to sea in a leaky boat. On the island Prospero has the aid of Ariel, an airy spirit, and Caliban, who is the son of the former ruler of the island, the witch Syxorax.

Prospero, who is a magician, causes a tempest to attack a ship carrying Antonio, Antonio's ally Alonso the King of Naples, and Ferdinand, Alonso's son. In the shipwreck, the various passengers come ashore separately. Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda. Antonio, Alonso and the good old man Gonzalo are led in circles by hallucinations created by Ariel. A couple of drunks called Trinculo and Stephano team up with Caliban. In the end Prospero forgives Alonso and Antonio, Ferdinand and Miranda marry, and Prospero decides to leave magic behind and move on in life.

Answer 2

Colonialism - many critics, known as 'post-colonial' critics, believe that Shakespeare wrote 'The Tempest' in response to a widely-circulated letter by William Strachey, detailing the account of a shipwreck and life in the Bermudas with 'cannibals.' Shakespeare would probably have seen this letter. 'Caliban' is almost an anagram of 'cannibal,' linking to the idea of a context of colonialism, and Prospero can be interpreted as a 'coloniser,' exploiting Caliban for slavery and taking over an island which is not rightfully his. Colonialism was a big issue in the Renaissance era - Trinculo, Stephano and Antonion all consider making money out of Caliban as a slave or oddity. Caliban is the 'colonised;' - oppressed

Answer 3

Shakespeare's play was inspired, at least partly, by the wreck of the Sea Venture in Bermuda in 1609. The purpose of voyages like that of the Sea Venture was colonialism, so it is perhaps unsurprising that there is a background of colonialism in the play. The general idea of the local inhabitants being dominated by a foreign arrival is consistent with that (but also with other situations where a foreign ruler comes to dominate the locals, as, for example, in England post-1066). it is only comparatively recently that the play has been treated as an explicit allegory of colonialism. Although such an analysis does provide interesting insights into the relationships of Prospero with Ariel and Caliban, as well as Caliban's with Stephano and Trinculo, it does not really help our understanding of Miranda or Ferdinand. As such, it is almost certainly a distortion of the intent of the play originally.