Introduction to the Tempest Essay

Keep in mind that I wasn't in class on Friday, so I'm not entirely sure if I completed this correctly...

     In the discussions of The Tempest, one controversial issue has been the supporting or scrutinizing the idea of colonialism.  In his play, Shakespeare presents the issue, but he never fully reveals his true intentions colonialism.  On one hand, George Will argues that literature contains merely one concrete interpretation intended by the author, usually indicating a strong political stance on a given matter.  In the case of The Tempest, Will would agree that Shakespeare wrote the play initially in order to reflect the “imperialist rape of the Third World”.  Will feels that this stance ultimately demonstrates a “deculturation” as students mindlessly listen to the words they hear.  He contends that the literature that reveals political bias destroys the purpose of the literature itself and wrongly influences the readers of the particular work.  On the other hand, Stephen Greenblatt argues another side entirely.  He feels that a literary work can be interpreted in many different ways, and he promotes those who attempt to find more than one interpretation to such a work.  Greenblatt argues that The Tempest has endless amounts of interpretations, hinting at the idea that Shakespeare could be both supporting and condoning colonialism.  I agree with Greenblatt’s proposition here, since I see evidence for both opinions towards colonialism.  Shakespeare could very well be giving a surface impression that favors colonialism, but underneath, Shakespeare could also be sending strong indications of a disapproval of the matter. 

        To write this essay, I will use citations from the literary debates of Will and Greenblatt.  This article contains two diverse opinions on a similar ground topic, and this will allow me to elaborate further on my own argument.  Also, I will use Bressler’s description of postcolonialism in my paper.  This addition to the argument will help to clarify the definition of the argument at hand, and it will also help to prove the possibility of Shakespeare supporting both diverse opinions within his play.