A Icey Allegory to Colonialism: The Tempest Anonymous 10th Grade

The Tempest, is about a marooned sorcerer, Prospero who was exiled from both his land and his ruling position in Naples. As a result of this, Prospero is seething with rage. He uses his magical powers to crash the king-who happens to be his brother- and all of his court’s ship onto his remote island. Shakespeare wrote The Tempest in the year 1611, around the time colonialism began to develop into a common ritual throughout the world. While reading The Tempest, one can see that it is an allegory to colonialism, as Caliban, a native of the island is repeatedly manipulated and used by the foreigners and considered an asset not a human. This mirrors the events that happened in real life during the time of the play.

While colonialism has its perks for the colonizers, the white European invaders continuously use Caliban to their own advantage while giving him little to no benefits, creating a parallel between The Tempest and colonization in the 1600s. Soon after the large group of shipwrecked nobles has arrived, they begin to manipulate Caliban using alcohol. At one point, Stephano and Trinculo force Caliban to consume alcohol. Once Caliban has fallen drunk to the ill beverage, Trinculo, a man who was shipwrecked convinces him that...