ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
All British Literature Videos 53 videos
Well, if this book doesn't make you want to tape over your laptop camera, we don't know what will.
Imagine a world in which all literature was dystopian. Okay, so we may be getting to that point, 1984 and V for Vendetta helped start it all.
By the end of this video, you will be brainwashed. There's nothing you can do about it; we just wanted to let you know. We like to think we're bigg...
ELA 12: The Show Goes On 15179 Views
Share It!
Description:
Art doesn't happen in a vacuum, and The Tempest is no exception. Caliban might seem like comic relief, but the context of colonialism puts a different spin on things.
Transcript
- 00:02
Early on in the tempest we get a sense that Prospero might not be mr. [Hand crosses out nice guy on Prospero's name label]
- 00:07
nice guy we'd hardly call summoning a tempest and causing a shipwreck polite
- 00:11
but he has a side that's even worse than his boat destroying tendencies his habit [Prospero ringing a bell]
- 00:16
of enslaving folks... One of these captives is a spirit named Ariel
- 00:22
he's affectionate toward Prospero and obeys his every wish and command and [Ariel giving Prospero a roast chicken]
Full Transcript
- 00:27
although he'd like to be released he's gentle in his suggestions you know
- 00:31
whenever it's convenient for Prospero the balls in his court well the other
- 00:36
captain Caliban has a different attitude he hates Prospero's guts and plots to [Caliban slaps the roast chicken out of Prospero's lap]
- 00:41
have him killed he even tries to rape Prospero's
- 00:44
daughter which as you might imagine Prospero is not exactly thrilled about [Caliban chasing Prospero's daughter]
- 00:48
even though these characters are both captives they're radically different
- 00:51
opinions about Prospero come down to their different histories when Prospero
- 00:55
and Ariel meet Ariel had been imprisoned in a tree by a witch named Sycorax and [Sycorax enslaving Ariel in a tree]
- 01:02
no matter how much of a treehugger you are being imprisoned in one is no fun
- 01:07
Prospero rescued Ariel so Ariel became bound to serve him also because of the [Prospero releases Ariel from the tree]
- 01:12
whole saved from imprisonment in a tree thing
- 01:15
Ariel feels a certain degree of gratitude well Caliban's history is
- 01:19
radically different before Prospero arrived Caliban ruled the island he was [Caliban wearing a crown on an island]
- 01:24
the son of Sycorac's and the undisputed big demon on campus however
- 01:29
when Prospero did arrive, well Caliban went from ruler to slave a bit [Crown transfers from Caliban to Prospero's head]
- 01:34
of a demotion there it's important to note though that subtextually, there's
- 01:38
much more at play than merely resentment The Tempest was written in the early [Caliban throwing darts at a picture of Prospero]
- 01:43
17th century when Europe's colonial expansion was on the rise all over the
- 01:47
new world Europeans were arriving in areas inhabited by natives claiming [Europeans on a ship arriving on an island]
- 01:51
their lands as their own and either killing or enslaving the natives while
- 01:55
the Europeans were to say the least not ideal house guests in the play [European man picks up natives tee-pee and throws it away]
- 02:00
Caliban is a native whose homeland is taken over by a European who makes him a
- 02:05
slave sound familiar? well because of Caliban's link to
- 02:08
colonialism the character has been played many different ways
- 02:12
the less people care about the colonial aspect the more brutishly he tends to be [Caliban in a theater play]
- 02:16
portrayed often as a terrifying subhuman or even comic figure however the more
- 02:22
focus that an actor or director puts on the colonial aspect the more dignified
- 02:26
the Caliban in such productions he's likely to be portrayed as a tragic slave [Caliban crying while in chains]
- 02:31
or a rebellious hero rather than someone who can barely walk upright...For Caliban's
- 02:36
sake it's a shame that a bunch of those different versions couldn't have [Prospero ringing bell and Caliban's appear]
- 02:39
appeared in the same play because well a whole gaggle of Caliban's might make
- 02:43
Prospero think twice about the whole enslavement thing [A bunch of Caliban's appear and Prospero runs away]
Related Videos
Meet Charles Darnay, the nobleman who spends more time on trial and in prison than attending balls and drinking expensive wine. Don't feel too bad...
Written in Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, Beowulf is an epic poem that reflects the early medieval warri...
Brave New World is supposed be an exciting book about a negative utopia and the corrupt powers of authority. So where’s the big car chase? What's...
What is Dracula really about? Just Count Dracula? Or is there more to it than vampires? This video addresses some major ideas in Bram Stoker’s cl...
There are plenty of famous vampires that send chills up our spines, but Dracula was and still is the king of them all. No one else can touch him. N...