Shakespeare's The Tempest

New criticism might suggest we read ShakespeareÆs The Tempest as if it were a text that made perfect sense, whereas biographical criticism would urge us to examine the life and experiences of the author to glimpse meaning in the play. Deconstruction maintains that the text will ultimately ôcontradict itself,ö while meaning is forged ôby binary oppositions, but one item is unavoidably favored or privileged over the otherö (Primer, p. 3). For this reason, the unavoidably favored or privileged position of Prospero over Caliban in ShakespeareÆr The Tempest lends itself most readily to deconstructive analysis.

As one scholar on deconstruction maintains, ôIf anything is destroyed in a deconstructive reading, it is not the text, but the claim to unequivocal domination of one mode of signifying ov

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most brutish (Shakespeare, p. 5). We see how the terminology and meaning associated with it sets up a dualistic reality, in which all things of English origin are considered dominant to anything from the ôuncivilizedö culture that spawned Caliban. As one deconstructionist explains, ôA central deconstructive argument holds that, in all the classic dualities of Western thought, one term is privileged or central over anotherà[like] identity over difference [or] mastery over submissionö (Deconstruction, p. 4). In reality, though Caliban does attempt to rape Miranda, this is not viewed by his culture as a vile or unnatural act, just like cannibalism is not considered taboo among cannibalistic cultures. In this manner, Prospero oppresses and imprisons Caliban and treats him like a brutish and crude human being, primarily because CalibanÆs culture has forged a contrasting identity and valuation system in him compared to English culture. This is entirely clear in the use of negative imagery and language that Prospero continually uses throughout the play to describe Caliban. In continuing his experience with teaching Caliban, we see that only because he could not adopt English values is Caliban considered inferior or beyond hope, ev
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Western English, Prospero English, Caliban Prospero, ShakespeareÆs Tempest, Miranda English, Ay IÆll, Jacques Derrida, ShakespeareÆr Tempest, Tempest Introduction, Miranda Caliban, english values, culture values, prospero miranda, prospero english, english culture, own culture, culture caliban, deconstruction 2, western english, caliban viewed, unavoidably favored privileged, nature prospero miranda, western english values, own culture values, prospero english island,
Approximate Word count = 1431
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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