In order to prepare to write about The Tempest we have been instructed to think about 'traditional' ways of reading the text versus newer spins on the story. However, what is defined as a 'traditional' reading of The Tempest, maybe I am getting a little too abstract here, but aren't there a few different ways that can be considered 'traditional'?
According to people like George Will, The Tempest would be about imperialism, and how Caliban is portrayed as a native people that is transformed and taken advantage of by outside settlers. That's it. End of story. It is true that many people would argue that this is the 'traditional' view of the text simply because historically, that is what most people tend to believe the inner meaning is. However, couldn't it be argued that people for the entire four hundred years or so since the play was written have been seeing different or deeper meanings in it? Just because they were not super verbal about it, does not mean they did not exist. So the new question for me becomes, are traditional and historically accepted the same thing?
Then we have people like Stephen Greenblatt, who thinks that students are becoming passive and simply accepting everything they are told, who would probably be an advocate for personal reading and analysis. He would more than likely argue that people have been challenging the 'normal' interpretation of literature for hundreds of years and they are no more right than those that have been supporting the 'normal' interpretation.
In all honesty, I am not entirely sure I have entirely answered the prompt given, but this is what came to mind after reading our prompt, but I am more for interpreting the text based upon what I have experienced and how I interpret Shakespeare based on my own reading.
Actually, the traditional view is that it is not about colonialism. Check out this passage from Cliff Notes: "With The Tempest, Shakespeare turns to fantasy and magic as a way to explore romantic love, sibling hatred, and the love of a father for his child. In addition, The Tempest examines many of the topics that Shakespeare had focused on in his earlier plays, topics such as the attempts to overthrow a king (Macbeth, Richard II, and Julius Caesar), nature versus nurture (The Winter's Tale and King Lear), and innocence (Twelfth Night)."
ReplyDeleteSo, the postcolonial reading is actually pretty non-traditional and working "against the grain."
That means, I think, that George will would take Cliff Notes' side on what this is all about.