Thinking Activity: A Tempest by Aime Cesaire

Everything which we read is always said in some context. So, Whenever we read that particular thing we have to remain aware about from which perspective it is written and from which point of view now we are reading it.

So, writing is a conscious process, through which writers want to convey some direct message and sometimes indirect message. If we see history of writing then there is nothing new. As Aristotle said that 

'Art is merely Imitation. It is twice, thrice removed from reality.' 

It is a single story which is said again and again. Now one may ask the question that "If Single story is written a number of times then what fascinates the readers to read that story. Well the answer is Perspective, Point of view, Lenses through which we look. 

Retelling of a story becomes very interesting to interpret when it is said from a different perspective. Here are some of the examples of Retelling of stories….

• Hamlet is play by Shakespeare where Hamlet is at the center and other women characters like Ophelia and Gertrude are less important. While Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are marginalized characters. But if we see retelling of that story which is by Tom Stoppard play "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" then we find that marginalized character came at the center.

• Another example which we can take is How the myth of "The Fisherman and His Wife" is used by Virginia Woolf in her novel "To the Lighthouse." She subverts the identity of a wife from greedy and dissatisfied wife to a rational woman and Husband as a kind of irrational. So, this idea of converting identity shows the strikes against the misogynistic point of view. 

• Another very interesting example is "A Tempest" play by Aime Cesair which is a retelling of Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest.'

Let's analyse how Aime Cesaire retell the story of Prospero, Ariel and Caliban from the Colonial or Postcolonial point of view.

Postcolonial Reading of A Tempest

A Tempest is well thought play by Aime Cesaire which retells the plot of Shakespearean play "The Tempest" with the slight change of character's identity. Now, A Tempest became the post-colonial text which can be analyzed through the Postcolonial theories. Here are some of the points to ponder upon which evident "A Tempest" as postcolonial text.

Decentering the Center:

Aime Cesaire takes Ariel and Caliban at the center of the play who had given a very less voice in Shakespeare's play. The trouble and consequences which Ariel and Caliban experience in order get freedom becomes the main narrative of the text. There are not only Colonial Masters who want to be King or won power positions. But the retelling highlights the very inner desire of native people to become king. So, This shows the total subversion of identities. Central characters in Aime Cesaire play are….

• 
  
• Prospero as White Exploitative Master
• Caliban as Black Slave
• Ariel as Mulatto

Echoing Voice of Voiceless:

In Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" marginalized people have a very low sound. Caliban and Ariel are merely servants, which are represented as Devils and an Airy Free spirit abducted by witches. But Aime Cesaire gave voice and also gave a place to these oppressed classes to come on the surface and resist. Here Caliban is represented as a Slave of Prospero. But that doesn't mean they don't have Voice. They speak against prospero, they have weapons to fight against power and their great urge to get freedom shows the passion of native people to get freedom. For them their individual identity matters a lot as you can see in the statement....

Caliban: Call me X. That would be best. Like a man without a name. Or, to be more precise, a man whose name has been stolen. You talk about history…well, that’s history, and everyone knows it! Every time you summon me it reminds me of a fact, the fact that you’ve stolen everything from me, even my identity! Uhuru!

 (Original text A Tempest, Page no.15)

Denying the Master's Language:

Language plays a very major role in the process of colonialism. Colonizers use language in two ways…

• Colonizers forced native people to use their Colonial Language 
• Colonizers learn Native Language to understand Native people

Here Prospero wants to get power over Native people by applying their Colonial Language. He forces Native people to learn their language and communicate them in that particular language. But as it is said by Fannon that "To speak a language(Colonial Master's Language) is to appropriate it's world as culture." And here Caliban doesn't want to fit in the notion of what their colonial masters are saying. Here you can see an example of how Native People use their colloquial language over Colonial Language.

Caliban: Uhuru!

Prospero: What did you say?

Caliban: I said, Uhuru!

Prospero: Mumbling your native language again! I’ve already been polite, at least; a simple “hello” wouldn’t kill you. 

(Original text A Tempest, Page no. 11)

Erasing the Notion of 'Dependency Complex'

The effect of colonialism is still overpowering the mindset of people who are once and another way colonized by European Masters. So, 'Dependency Complex' is such where native believe that their Masters are superior and they all depend on them. But here Aime Cesaire seems to erase that notion that Colonized are not dependent on their master they can also develop without their presence also. There are not only Colonial Masters who want to be King or won power positions. But the retelling highlights the very inner desire of native people to become king. So, This shows the total subversion of identities.

Prospero: What would you be without me?

Caliban: Without you? I’d be the king, that’s what I’d be, the king of the Island. 

(Original text A Tempest, Page no. 12)

So, These are some of the points through which we can make the Postcolonial reading of this particular text. Which emphasis more on Decolonization instead of Colonialism. To some extent it is about overpowering the land and exploitation of inhabitants. But Native people are no more silent here. They have a strong voice of resistance and this very idea makes this text Postcolonial.

Thank you….

References

• Miller, Richard, and William Shakespeare. A Tempest: Based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, Adaptation for a Black Theatre. TCG Translations, 2018.