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The Tempest Comparative Essay

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The Tempest by William Shakespeare is a play about a rightful Duke named Prospero who lives on an island and has been previously betrayed by his brother for the title of Duke. In order to get revenge, he uses his magical powers to cause a storm and crash his brother’s ship and creates a plan in order to get his dukedom back. Prospero has two slaves, Ariel and Caliban, who he has held captive and uses to achieve his goals. A Tempest by Aime Césaire follows the same plot as Shakespeare’s play, however the protagonists are Ariel and Caliban as opposed to Prospero. It is told from their point of view and focuses more heavily on Caliban’s relationship with Prospero as well as changing their dynamic to display Caliban’s resistance towards Prospero’s …show more content…

Previously, Prospero had forbidden Caliban to speak in his native language, but as soon as Prospero calls out to Caliban, he responds in his native language. “CALIBAN: Uhuru! PROSPERO: What did you say? CALIBAN: I said, Uhuru! PROSPERO: Mumbling your native language again! I've already told you, I don't like it. You could be polite, at least; a simple "hello" wouldn't kill you.” (Césaire 1.2 125- 132) Uhuru means freedom in Swahili, by responding to Prospero in such a manner, it shows his strong sense of self which he uses to fight back against Prospero’s control. In A Tempest, Caliban is given an identity which he is able to wield and utilize in order to resist Prospero. While in The Tempest, he is not depicted with any sense identity or pride for who he is and accepts being seen as a monster as he is constantly dehumanized by the other characters. In The Tempest, Caliban is not only lacking a proper identity to make him viewed as human, but he also does not resist Prospero as much as he does in Césaire’s

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