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A tempest: Based on Shakespeare's The tempest : adaptation for a Black theatre
This text is part of a series of selected Shakepeare texts designed for student use. The introduction provides criticsim, covering themes, characters and dramatic structure, and helpful notes are provided at the right level on every page, facing the text.
75 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 1969
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2563 people want to read
About the author
Aimé Césaire
120 books622 followersMartinique-born poet, playwright, and politician Aimé Fernand Césaire contributed to the development of the concept of negritude; his primarily surrealist works include
The Miracle Weapons
(1946) and
A Tempest
(1969).
A francophone author of African descent. His books of include Lost Body, with illustrations by Pablo Picasso, Aimé Césaire: The Collected Poetry, and Return to My Native Land. He is also the author of Discourse on Colonialism, a book of essays which has become a classic text of French political literature and helped establish the literary and ideological movement Negritude, a term Césaire defined as “the simple recognition of the fact that one is black, the acceptance of this fact and of our destiny as blacks, of our history and culture.” Césaire is a recipient of the International Nâzim Hikmet Poetry Award, the second winner in its history. He served as Mayor of Fort-de-France as a member of the Communist Party, and later quit the party to establish his Martinique Independent Revolution Party. He was deeply involved in the struggle for French West Indian rights and served as the deputy to the French National Assembly. He retired from politics in 1993. Césaire died in Martinique.
A francophone author of African descent. His books of include Lost Body, with illustrations by Pablo Picasso, Aimé Césaire: The Collected Poetry, and Return to My Native Land. He is also the author of Discourse on Colonialism, a book of essays which has become a classic text of French political literature and helped establish the literary and ideological movement Negritude, a term Césaire defined as “the simple recognition of the fact that one is black, the acceptance of this fact and of our destiny as blacks, of our history and culture.” Césaire is a recipient of the International Nâzim Hikmet Poetry Award, the second winner in its history. He served as Mayor of Fort-de-France as a member of the Communist Party, and later quit the party to establish his Martinique Independent Revolution Party. He was deeply involved in the struggle for French West Indian rights and served as the deputy to the French National Assembly. He retired from politics in 1993. Césaire died in Martinique.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
October 22, 2020
A quick read, as plays often are, that raises as many questions as it answers.
This is postcolonial rewrite of The Tempest, in which Caliban is a black slave and Ariel a mulatto negotiating his own freedom. The text stayed much closer to Shakespeare's than I was expecting, following it scene for scene, while turning everything successfully on its head.
Written around 1611 and partially based on accounts of the New World, (though liberally mixed with Mediterranean geography) The Tempest stands as one of those strange texts that reflects the prejudices of its age whilst also undermining them -- as many have pointed out, Caliban has many of the best lines, the most beautiful poetry, and there is an ambivalence to Prospero's accepting responsibility for his monster: "This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine."
I enjoyed reading this. I enjoyed it more than I've enjoyed some other postcolonial rewrites, in part because of its brevity and creativity -- the tedious-to-modern-audiences scene where a trio of classical goddesses spout poetry is here interrupted violently by an uninvited Yoruban god -- and in great part because of its erudition and complexity. A prologue sees a Master of Ceremonies calling on different actors to volunteer for roles: "Well, well, that's revealing." The colonial gaze is satirized: "a magnificent country! Bread hangs from the trees and the apricots are bigger than a woman's full breasts" and Baudelaire is quoted. A final scene, a departure from the original, has an old Caliban and an older Prospero still playing out their eternal struggle on the island. Ariel and Caliban are depicted as brothers with divergent paths. The narrative is clearly trying to make us see history -- and literature -- differently, but within that it doesn't have a didactic good-bad binary. It's complicated.
This is postcolonial rewrite of The Tempest, in which Caliban is a black slave and Ariel a mulatto negotiating his own freedom. The text stayed much closer to Shakespeare's than I was expecting, following it scene for scene, while turning everything successfully on its head.
Written around 1611 and partially based on accounts of the New World, (though liberally mixed with Mediterranean geography) The Tempest stands as one of those strange texts that reflects the prejudices of its age whilst also undermining them -- as many have pointed out, Caliban has many of the best lines, the most beautiful poetry, and there is an ambivalence to Prospero's accepting responsibility for his monster: "This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine."
I enjoyed reading this. I enjoyed it more than I've enjoyed some other postcolonial rewrites, in part because of its brevity and creativity -- the tedious-to-modern-audiences scene where a trio of classical goddesses spout poetry is here interrupted violently by an uninvited Yoruban god -- and in great part because of its erudition and complexity. A prologue sees a Master of Ceremonies calling on different actors to volunteer for roles: "Well, well, that's revealing." The colonial gaze is satirized: "a magnificent country! Bread hangs from the trees and the apricots are bigger than a woman's full breasts" and Baudelaire is quoted. A final scene, a departure from the original, has an old Caliban and an older Prospero still playing out their eternal struggle on the island. Ariel and Caliban are depicted as brothers with divergent paths. The narrative is clearly trying to make us see history -- and literature -- differently, but within that it doesn't have a didactic good-bad binary. It's complicated.
February 15, 2024
Césaire’s “Une tempête” is a postcolonial rewriting of The Tempest. Most of its messages are conveyed through slight but powerful alterations to the original. Césaire presents a fascinating racial mapping of the power dynamics between Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban. Ariel is “mulatto,” closer to the master and treated better by him. Caliban wants to kill Prospero, but Ariel refuses, instead trying to convince him that violent rebellion will never work. “I’m not fighting just for my freedom, for our freedom, but for Prospero too, so that Prospero can acquire a conscience. Help me, Caliban. [...] I’ve often had this inspiring, uplifting dream that one day Prospero, you, me, we would all three set out, like brothers, to build a wonderful world, each one contributing his own special thing: patience, vitality, love, will-power too, and rigor, not to mention the dreams without which mankind would perish.” Caliban points out that Prospero isn’t “the collaborating type.” He will never acquire a conscience and Ariel’s utopia will never come to pass.
In Shakespeare’s original, Caliban says,
“This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou takest from me.”
Like many postcolonial readings, Césaire’s takes Caliban at his word. But Caliban’s claim was never entirely true. His mother, the witch Sycorax, was exiled to the island, finding Ariel already on it. Failing to enslave Ariel, she trapped him inside of a tree. So wasn’t Sycorax herself (even if not entirely by her own will) a colonizer, and Caliban the child of a colonizer?
It’s too bad that Césaire doesn’t take advantage of this complexity, because his own situation is just as complex. He was a 20th century man of Nigerian lineage living in Martinique, a French colony, and fighting French colonialism. Importantly, when the French colonized the island in the 17th century, there were indigenous people already there. Today, 80% of Martinique’s population is composed of the descendants of enslaved African people that the Europeans brought over against their will. But there is still a minority population of indigenous people, called Caribs, living in the country. What is the role of descendants of people brought to a place involuntarily, when they now rule it rather than ceding the land back to its indigenous population? Is Caliban in any way guilty before Ariel? I would be really interested to know what views Césaire held regarding this question.
In Shakespeare’s original, Caliban says,
“This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou takest from me.”
Like many postcolonial readings, Césaire’s takes Caliban at his word. But Caliban’s claim was never entirely true. His mother, the witch Sycorax, was exiled to the island, finding Ariel already on it. Failing to enslave Ariel, she trapped him inside of a tree. So wasn’t Sycorax herself (even if not entirely by her own will) a colonizer, and Caliban the child of a colonizer?
It’s too bad that Césaire doesn’t take advantage of this complexity, because his own situation is just as complex. He was a 20th century man of Nigerian lineage living in Martinique, a French colony, and fighting French colonialism. Importantly, when the French colonized the island in the 17th century, there were indigenous people already there. Today, 80% of Martinique’s population is composed of the descendants of enslaved African people that the Europeans brought over against their will. But there is still a minority population of indigenous people, called Caribs, living in the country. What is the role of descendants of people brought to a place involuntarily, when they now rule it rather than ceding the land back to its indigenous population? Is Caliban in any way guilty before Ariel? I would be really interested to know what views Césaire held regarding this question.
February 27, 2012
A Tempest, translated from the original French to English, is a stunning masterpiece in the shadow of the more popular Shakespearean play of many years gone.
In short, almost all of the characters are the same, and the storyline follows along the path of the original Shakespeare version, but this has an African twist that is straight from the heart of emancipation and freedom. Amazingly, the author is French born and bred, but while he was active he took many strides towards alleviating the pressure of Western culture upon the black minorities of the WORLD instead of just those of the Americas. A poet and politician, he did not turn from his roots, but rather he fought for them.
A Tempest is a short play, but laden with intellectual points and rife with critique on the Western culture. To Cesaire, the author, Western civilizations doctrines were debilitating not only minority races but itself. By becoming barbaric and cruel, westerners drop into barbarism and animalistic cruelty. Prospero, the ruler of the fated island, dictates this relationship with a very heavy hand. Ariel, a mulatto slave, attempts to win over his master through morality and pessimism while his counterpart, Caliban, speaks outright and demands that the injustices of Prospero's rule be recognized and alleviated. Thus unfolds the relationship that is at the center of this play, demanding that all hear the equally sound evidence of Ariel and Caliban in face of great opposition.
A sheer stroke of genius can be said for this simple, delightful read that begs to be performed and worked with in even today's culture.
In short, almost all of the characters are the same, and the storyline follows along the path of the original Shakespeare version, but this has an African twist that is straight from the heart of emancipation and freedom. Amazingly, the author is French born and bred, but while he was active he took many strides towards alleviating the pressure of Western culture upon the black minorities of the WORLD instead of just those of the Americas. A poet and politician, he did not turn from his roots, but rather he fought for them.
A Tempest is a short play, but laden with intellectual points and rife with critique on the Western culture. To Cesaire, the author, Western civilizations doctrines were debilitating not only minority races but itself. By becoming barbaric and cruel, westerners drop into barbarism and animalistic cruelty. Prospero, the ruler of the fated island, dictates this relationship with a very heavy hand. Ariel, a mulatto slave, attempts to win over his master through morality and pessimism while his counterpart, Caliban, speaks outright and demands that the injustices of Prospero's rule be recognized and alleviated. Thus unfolds the relationship that is at the center of this play, demanding that all hear the equally sound evidence of Ariel and Caliban in face of great opposition.
A sheer stroke of genius can be said for this simple, delightful read that begs to be performed and worked with in even today's culture.
February 10, 2009
An adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Set in the Caribbean. It's about power. About the relationship between the colonizer and colonized. It's great. It's beautiful. It made me cry.
October 3, 2011
Well. This was a total waste of my time. I get it, it's making a point to the reader. But what a way to pervert an old play and make it something nothing like the original! I get it. It's emphasizing the theme of colonization. But REALLY. *Facepalms* I found nothing amusing about this re-interpretation of Shakespeare's The Tempest at all. As far as I'm concerned, Cesaire is another one of those jackass political-message driven guys who decided that his greatest gift to the world would be to write crap like this to prove a point.
Point made. I'm about ready to toss this book in the trash. It's not worth a scratch or even an itch.
First off, the man has some grand lines--and they're all given to Caliban. Every other character is so stereotypically one-sided that it's clear he was using them only as representations of what he saw in colonizers, white men, and so on. Again: got it, Cesaire. Also: don't really give a rip! The writing was plain, the poetry was rot, the man has no sense of continuity--if you hadn't read Shakespeare's original, The Tempest, you'd be more than a little lost with the transitions (or should I say, lack thereof) he makes. It was just a mess. An ugly piece of writing in quality, not even based on the subject. But God, the stereotyping, the concentration on nothing but getting a single flippin' point across! GAH! This is why I don't enjoy most English programs! Whatever you read has always got a MESSAGE. And I'm sick of it.
If Cesaire had written something well, without this speedy and careless tone and manner of piecing words together throughout the "play," then perhaps it would have carried its point better! But even if it had been written "well," the entire POINT was to write the play BADLY so that every single crude stereotype showed up harshly and blatantly apparent. GEEZ it's annoying reading works like this! Making fun of The Tempest? Fine. I can live with that. Writing badly to prove a political point? Just shorts out whatever patience I have.
This book, quite frankly, can be burned and I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I'd probably scowl and walk away after watching it disintegrate. It's so short, and so easy to read, but really. Why bother? If you want to read something more complex, go to Shakespeare's actual play. It's much more fun to analyze and pick apart the characters there.
OH. And speaking of the CHARACTERS! I don't appreciate how Cesaire played with their personalities. You want to emphasize how stupid Stephano and Trinculo are even more? Fine, go ahead. They were like that before. You want to make Gonzalo seem like a dolt because he's the sole optimist in the bunch? I can live with that. But where do you come off taking Prospero--who in the original Tempest, didn't even take Caliban seriously when he narrowly escaped being caught and killed by him--and making him into this blatant wuss of a character, more weak than Trinculo and Stephano are greedy, bumbling idiots? And on top of that! Okay, play up Caliban's character! Make him the hero of this story! That's fine! It's usually really amazing when you get to read the same story from a completely different character's point of view! I love stories like that! And you did a GREAT job of making Caliban regal and noble, tough and strong. He was a GOOD hero character. ...but he had too many holes. He contradicted himself a couple of times. He refused to take into consideration any other path but his own. And, what the heck, really? Do we have to bring in being a "black slave" into this? *Rolls eyes* Come on. Drop it. It's over. If people stopped constantly talking about it, then we wouldn't be having PROBLEMS with this stuff! Sheesh. Also: Ariel. ...what... did you do... to my FAVORITE character?! Why is Ariel so "Let's all be FRIENDS, guys! 8D" and crap?! In the original, he was a character that was distant from everyone, with a conscience and a brain; he did what he had to do for himself, and he was mysterious, cool, collected! He's just another wishful (and the reader is made to think: pathetic) "slave" who obeys his "master," hoping (apparently uselessly) to be someday rewarded with his freedom. ...COME ON! In the original he was more an ALLY to Prospero, standing on the same ground as him, than a slave! GAH. Sure he obeyed Prospero because of his indebtedness to him! But the magical Ariel also stood on the same ground, with powers on the same level as Prospero's! They were EQUALS and Ariel was far more capable and competent in the original! DX< Gah! I hate it when people mess with characters that I love!
So I ranted there for a bit. But it's just ticked me off. I don't mind parodies. And I certainly don't mind getting a different view of things on the same subject. But my biggest peeve was that I couldn't enjoy the story, or the characters, because all I kept getting out of it was the POLITICS. And as much as I might know a thing or two about politics, I don't want to have it shoved down my throat! D8< ESPECIALLY when I'm reading someone's "MESSAGE" at the price of the ruin of an entertaining story and some pretty dang fun characters too! -3- If you want to, pick it up. But it's substandard writing, and I'm not even talking message-wise. Just writing-wise it's poor work. You want to give it a go? Sure. Take a whirl. But I'll be surprised if you enjoy it. There's very little in it to be either entertained by, learn from, or care about. It's just there, wasting my time and bookshelf space! And on that note, review is finished! On to something better (I hope)!
Point made. I'm about ready to toss this book in the trash. It's not worth a scratch or even an itch.
First off, the man has some grand lines--and they're all given to Caliban. Every other character is so stereotypically one-sided that it's clear he was using them only as representations of what he saw in colonizers, white men, and so on. Again: got it, Cesaire. Also: don't really give a rip! The writing was plain, the poetry was rot, the man has no sense of continuity--if you hadn't read Shakespeare's original, The Tempest, you'd be more than a little lost with the transitions (or should I say, lack thereof) he makes. It was just a mess. An ugly piece of writing in quality, not even based on the subject. But God, the stereotyping, the concentration on nothing but getting a single flippin' point across! GAH! This is why I don't enjoy most English programs! Whatever you read has always got a MESSAGE. And I'm sick of it.
If Cesaire had written something well, without this speedy and careless tone and manner of piecing words together throughout the "play," then perhaps it would have carried its point better! But even if it had been written "well," the entire POINT was to write the play BADLY so that every single crude stereotype showed up harshly and blatantly apparent. GEEZ it's annoying reading works like this! Making fun of The Tempest? Fine. I can live with that. Writing badly to prove a political point? Just shorts out whatever patience I have.
This book, quite frankly, can be burned and I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I'd probably scowl and walk away after watching it disintegrate. It's so short, and so easy to read, but really. Why bother? If you want to read something more complex, go to Shakespeare's actual play. It's much more fun to analyze and pick apart the characters there.
OH. And speaking of the CHARACTERS! I don't appreciate how Cesaire played with their personalities. You want to emphasize how stupid Stephano and Trinculo are even more? Fine, go ahead. They were like that before. You want to make Gonzalo seem like a dolt because he's the sole optimist in the bunch? I can live with that. But where do you come off taking Prospero--who in the original Tempest, didn't even take Caliban seriously when he narrowly escaped being caught and killed by him--and making him into this blatant wuss of a character, more weak than Trinculo and Stephano are greedy, bumbling idiots? And on top of that! Okay, play up Caliban's character! Make him the hero of this story! That's fine! It's usually really amazing when you get to read the same story from a completely different character's point of view! I love stories like that! And you did a GREAT job of making Caliban regal and noble, tough and strong. He was a GOOD hero character. ...but he had too many holes. He contradicted himself a couple of times. He refused to take into consideration any other path but his own. And, what the heck, really? Do we have to bring in being a "black slave" into this? *Rolls eyes* Come on. Drop it. It's over. If people stopped constantly talking about it, then we wouldn't be having PROBLEMS with this stuff! Sheesh. Also: Ariel. ...what... did you do... to my FAVORITE character?! Why is Ariel so "Let's all be FRIENDS, guys! 8D" and crap?! In the original, he was a character that was distant from everyone, with a conscience and a brain; he did what he had to do for himself, and he was mysterious, cool, collected! He's just another wishful (and the reader is made to think: pathetic) "slave" who obeys his "master," hoping (apparently uselessly) to be someday rewarded with his freedom. ...COME ON! In the original he was more an ALLY to Prospero, standing on the same ground as him, than a slave! GAH. Sure he obeyed Prospero because of his indebtedness to him! But the magical Ariel also stood on the same ground, with powers on the same level as Prospero's! They were EQUALS and Ariel was far more capable and competent in the original! DX< Gah! I hate it when people mess with characters that I love!
So I ranted there for a bit. But it's just ticked me off. I don't mind parodies. And I certainly don't mind getting a different view of things on the same subject. But my biggest peeve was that I couldn't enjoy the story, or the characters, because all I kept getting out of it was the POLITICS. And as much as I might know a thing or two about politics, I don't want to have it shoved down my throat! D8< ESPECIALLY when I'm reading someone's "MESSAGE" at the price of the ruin of an entertaining story and some pretty dang fun characters too! -3- If you want to, pick it up. But it's substandard writing, and I'm not even talking message-wise. Just writing-wise it's poor work. You want to give it a go? Sure. Take a whirl. But I'll be surprised if you enjoy it. There's very little in it to be either entertained by, learn from, or care about. It's just there, wasting my time and bookshelf space! And on that note, review is finished! On to something better (I hope)!
November 11, 2025
If you've ever read Shakespeare's Tempest and wondered where Caliban's big "FUCK YOU"-speech to Prospero is, THIS IS THE PLAY FOR YOU. Not gonna lie, I thought the first two acts were a bit slow and didn't add much to Shakespeare's play (though I enjoyed the argument between Caliban and Ariel in which it became clear that both had the same goal, just different approaches... the analogy to Malcolm and Martin was strooong), however, the third act was such a fucking jewel. It is Fanon's essence of The Wretched of the Earth dramatised. Good stuff.
Also, this is also a crucial play in forming our modern understanding of Shakespeare's Tempest, viewing it through a postcolonial lense with a focus on colonisation and enslavement. Prospero's audacity needed to be called out and Césaire was among the first to do it. Ground-breaking!
Also, this is also a crucial play in forming our modern understanding of Shakespeare's Tempest, viewing it through a postcolonial lense with a focus on colonisation and enslavement. Prospero's audacity needed to be called out and Césaire was among the first to do it. Ground-breaking!
March 9, 2014
A tempest is a post-colonial adaptation and revision of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. It is regarded as a more politicized take on Shakespeare’s play. Césaire depicts Caliban as a black slave and presents Ariel as a mulatto slave, instead of making him a spirit. In Césaire’s play, Caliban is a very important character for he not only represents the whole idea of slavery and resistance but he is also a more violent character who expresses his hatred and hostility towards Prospero the Sorcerer and regent of the island upon which the plot takes place. The cast and the foundation of the plot of “A tempest” follow the basic premises of The Tempest. Césaire’s version focuses on Ariel’s and Caliban’s plight and misfortune and portrays their different approaches in gaining freedom from Prospero the tyrant. By the end of A Tempest, Ariel gains his freedom using his own strategy of non-violence, obedience and patience. However, Caliban plots to gain his freedom with a great deal of hatred towards Prospero and allies with Trinculo and Stephano, a jester and a drunk butler. Prospero decides to remain on the island and continues to hold power over there while Caliban continues to sing his song of freedom, leaving the audience with questions about the remaining effects of colonialism. It’s also interesting to note that although Caliban was seeking his freedom from Prospero, he swears his loyalty to Stephano while the latter declares himself king of the island. In this way, Césaire criticizes what could be a deadly mistake in confronting the colonialist powers. Caliban’s quest to regain his freedom is also depicted as a hopeless attempt in front of an almighty Prospero who uses magic to perform his plans and who relies on the obedient Ariel to perform certain tasks. Césaire reshaped the characters’ racial profile in order to represent the binary relations between the European master and the Slave of African descent. The Tempest portrays Prospero as a man of virtue and integrity who tries to attain supremacy using sorcery and magic.
The comic aspect is quite apparent in the use of language and the comic situations driven by Trinculo and Sebastian. Although A Tempest raises serious issues, Césaire wanted to keep the comic spirit to entertain the audience. A Tempest focuses more on colonialism, tyranny and slavery as well as the different approaches of resistance and independence.
The comic aspect is quite apparent in the use of language and the comic situations driven by Trinculo and Sebastian. Although A Tempest raises serious issues, Césaire wanted to keep the comic spirit to entertain the audience. A Tempest focuses more on colonialism, tyranny and slavery as well as the different approaches of resistance and independence.
April 20, 2020
3/5stars
Read for my masters class on adaptation
Read for my masters class on adaptation
November 11, 2014
It is only when you read Cesaire’s version that the colonial tropes and prejudices in Shakespeare’s play actually begin to stand out. Cesaire takes almost every scene that is steeped in stereotypes about the colonial native, and then “writes back” to Shakespeare. The juxtaposition makes for some fascinating reading.
In The Tempest, Caliban features prominently in four scenes. He is first mentioned in the middle of Act I, Scene II, when Prospero refers to him (off-stage) to Ariel as “a freckled whelp hag-born–not honour’d with/ A human shape.” Prospero next speaks of him to Miranda, observing that “we cannot miss him: he does make our fire,/ Fetch in our wood and serves in offices/ That profit us.” When Caliban does enter – unwillingly – and insults Prospero for calling him out, Prospero’s response is that of a petty and vindictive slave-master: “For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps,/ Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up; urchins/ Shall, for that vast of night that they may work,/ All exercise on thee; thou shalt be pinch’d/ As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging/ Than bees that made ‘em.” Caliban’s response is defiance. He insists that the island belonged to him, and that Prospero took it from him by deceit, before shutting him up in a rock, to be let out only to serve his masters.
At this point – in the mind of the reader – Prospero seems to be having the worse of the exchange, at least in moral terms. The prejudice seems to be in his mind, and he has more or less admitted to practicing extractive colonialism – exploiting the resources of the colonised land by making the native work it. Caliban himself has used the vocabulary of the coloniser to lay claim to the land by virtue of being its original inhabitant.
The moral tables are then turned very abruptly, through two exchanges. In response to Caliban, Prospero insists that he treated him well, until Caliban tried to rape Miranda. Caliban’s answer is a proud acknowledgment – “O ho, O ho! would’t had been done!/ Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else/ This isle with Calibans.” A disgusted Prospero then points to his attempts to teach Caliban language, to which the latter replies: “You taught me language; and my profit on’t/ Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you/ For learning me your language!“
Full review here: http://anenduringromantic.wordpress.c...
In The Tempest, Caliban features prominently in four scenes. He is first mentioned in the middle of Act I, Scene II, when Prospero refers to him (off-stage) to Ariel as “a freckled whelp hag-born–not honour’d with/ A human shape.” Prospero next speaks of him to Miranda, observing that “we cannot miss him: he does make our fire,/ Fetch in our wood and serves in offices/ That profit us.” When Caliban does enter – unwillingly – and insults Prospero for calling him out, Prospero’s response is that of a petty and vindictive slave-master: “For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps,/ Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up; urchins/ Shall, for that vast of night that they may work,/ All exercise on thee; thou shalt be pinch’d/ As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging/ Than bees that made ‘em.” Caliban’s response is defiance. He insists that the island belonged to him, and that Prospero took it from him by deceit, before shutting him up in a rock, to be let out only to serve his masters.
At this point – in the mind of the reader – Prospero seems to be having the worse of the exchange, at least in moral terms. The prejudice seems to be in his mind, and he has more or less admitted to practicing extractive colonialism – exploiting the resources of the colonised land by making the native work it. Caliban himself has used the vocabulary of the coloniser to lay claim to the land by virtue of being its original inhabitant.
The moral tables are then turned very abruptly, through two exchanges. In response to Caliban, Prospero insists that he treated him well, until Caliban tried to rape Miranda. Caliban’s answer is a proud acknowledgment – “O ho, O ho! would’t had been done!/ Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else/ This isle with Calibans.” A disgusted Prospero then points to his attempts to teach Caliban language, to which the latter replies: “You taught me language; and my profit on’t/ Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you/ For learning me your language!“
Full review here: http://anenduringromantic.wordpress.c...
April 11, 2018
Simultaneously hilarious and startling, Une Tempête by Aimé Césaire is an adaptation which brings this famous play into a more postcolonial perspective. Sometimes it feels a bit too heavy-handed with themes almost hitting you in the face, but it was an interesting take overall.
Favorite change? Ariel. Prospero and Caliban appear to be on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of both power and ideology while everyone's favorite sprite was a mesh of the two.
Least favorite change? There's a sense that part of the reason that Prospero was stranded on the island was because of his magical abilities -- or, at least, this is the reason he is given. Is that not sort of contradictory then? What he does to Sycorax would then be incredibly hypocritical. (I think, however, of all the adaptations that have done this, Césaire's is one that manages to do it almost well. I can nearly explain it away in this case -- although it still bugs me.)
Favorite change? Ariel. Prospero and Caliban appear to be on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of both power and ideology while everyone's favorite sprite was a mesh of the two.
Least favorite change? There's a sense that part of the reason that Prospero was stranded on the island was because of his magical abilities -- or, at least, this is the reason he is given. Is that not sort of contradictory then? What he does to Sycorax would then be incredibly hypocritical. (I think, however, of all the adaptations that have done this, Césaire's is one that manages to do it almost well. I can nearly explain it away in this case -- although it still bugs me.)
February 6, 2022
On pourrait donner cinq étoiles à "Une tempête" pour sa pertinence vis-à-vis d'un débat sur le racisme et colonialisme qui était très actuelle en 1969 quand on a monté cette pièce pour la première fois . Je le donne, cependant, seulement deux étoiles, parce que sa valeur littéraire est nulle.
L'idée de base a été bonne. Césaire voulait créer une nouvelle version de la "Tempête" afin de démontrer que le racisme n'existe pas seulement dans notre société mais aussi dans notre littérature. On peut dire la même chose sur l'antisémitisme, l'homophobie, le misogynie et bien d'autres chose que l'on voudrait éliminer de notre culture. Pourtant, le fait que la critique soit bonne ne veut pas dire que l'œuvre littéraire l'est.
Le quatrième de couverture avertit bien le lecteur: "Adaptant pour un théâtre nègre, La Tempête de Shakespeare, Césaire le merveilleux pour mieux surgir le chant de la Liberté". Effectivement le ton de Césaire est entièrement polémique. Miranda ne prononce pas le mots célèbres de la pièce de Shakespeare: "Que le genre humain est beau ! O glorieux nouveau monde, qui contient de pareils habitants ! " (Acte V, Scène I)
"Une tempête" de Césaire n'est qu'une parodie dérisoire de la grande pièce de Shakespeare mais il est toujours actuelle. En plus elle est courte et efficace. Je suis certain qu'un bon metteur scène avec une bonne distribution pourraient en faire un excellent spectacle au théâtre.
L'idée de base a été bonne. Césaire voulait créer une nouvelle version de la "Tempête" afin de démontrer que le racisme n'existe pas seulement dans notre société mais aussi dans notre littérature. On peut dire la même chose sur l'antisémitisme, l'homophobie, le misogynie et bien d'autres chose que l'on voudrait éliminer de notre culture. Pourtant, le fait que la critique soit bonne ne veut pas dire que l'œuvre littéraire l'est.
Le quatrième de couverture avertit bien le lecteur: "Adaptant pour un théâtre nègre, La Tempête de Shakespeare, Césaire le merveilleux pour mieux surgir le chant de la Liberté". Effectivement le ton de Césaire est entièrement polémique. Miranda ne prononce pas le mots célèbres de la pièce de Shakespeare: "Que le genre humain est beau ! O glorieux nouveau monde, qui contient de pareils habitants ! " (Acte V, Scène I)
"Une tempête" de Césaire n'est qu'une parodie dérisoire de la grande pièce de Shakespeare mais il est toujours actuelle. En plus elle est courte et efficace. Je suis certain qu'un bon metteur scène avec une bonne distribution pourraient en faire un excellent spectacle au théâtre.
March 12, 2025
Fa tres anys no hagués entès absolutament res estic contenta d haver après a llegir
November 5, 2015
**I had to read this for ENG 215.**
So, ick. Really? This is considered a play? This is an insult to Shakespeare's The Tempest. It truly is. My class is all about colonialism, though it's supposed to be an English Genre class. I'm sick of this shit.
Some people may like this type of play, but I lost interest in it after the "God" Eshu says he's going to smack someone with his d***. Gross.
I'm just not a fan. Others may like it, as it is a completely different type of play.
Just don't try to compare it to Shakespeare, because you'll be greatly disappointed.
This is just my opinion. Others can love it and disagree.
Me: not a fan.
So, ick. Really? This is considered a play? This is an insult to Shakespeare's The Tempest. It truly is. My class is all about colonialism, though it's supposed to be an English Genre class. I'm sick of this shit.
Some people may like this type of play, but I lost interest in it after the "God" Eshu says he's going to smack someone with his d***. Gross.
I'm just not a fan. Others may like it, as it is a completely different type of play.
Just don't try to compare it to Shakespeare, because you'll be greatly disappointed.
This is just my opinion. Others can love it and disagree.
Me: not a fan.
February 15, 2024
Read this for my English class
February 13, 2025
I’d give this a 3.5* because I enjoyed it more than THE Tempest by Shakespeare (which this is obviously based on). A Tempest is an adaptation of the original play with a specific focus on colonialism and racism. Much shorter than the original, but nice and succinct with easily accessible language, unlike Shakespeare’s
May 29, 2024
really appreciated how close it was to the original while adding meaning that made it feel even more important.
February 21, 2022
Original review: I thought about giving this play 4 stars, because I would probably rate it a 4.5 if half stars were an option. The thing I didn't like about this play is how directly political it is. Cesaire's project is a distinctly post-colonial program, critiquing the colonialist and imperialist ideology in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Although I am not usually a fan of directly political drama/literature, this play worked really well for me because of how complex the picture of colonialism is here. For instance, Prospero's decision to remain on the island at the end of the play complicates the image of the brutal colonizer who dominates and oppresses native peoples.
Note from rereading this: nope, it definitely earned the 5 stars.
https://youtu.be/okEUVnxiDwA
Note from rereading this: nope, it definitely earned the 5 stars.
https://youtu.be/okEUVnxiDwA
October 30, 2014
I understand that this play has great political meaning, and I appreciate it. I appreciate it in the same way that I appreciate Uncle Tom's Cabin. I appreciate it, but I don't particularly like it.
There were times when I enjoyed reading this play, but then it kind of got old and I just didn't really enjoy it anymore. I honestly don't understand this (though perhaps after a lengthy in class discussion I will) and have no great desire to understand it. Perhaps the main reason I find it distasteful is because I just read the actual Tempest, and it's just hard to like A Tempest when compared to The Tempest.
There were times when I enjoyed reading this play, but then it kind of got old and I just didn't really enjoy it anymore. I honestly don't understand this (though perhaps after a lengthy in class discussion I will) and have no great desire to understand it. Perhaps the main reason I find it distasteful is because I just read the actual Tempest, and it's just hard to like A Tempest when compared to The Tempest.
September 27, 2012
I was underwhelmed by Cesaire's adaptation, maybe because it was much more radical for his time (to co-opt Shakespeare and directly revise his work into an anticolonial narrative) than it is now. I felt that the general plot line between Caliban and the rest of the shipwrecked wasn't changed enough, and I was also bothered by the ways in which Cesaire continued the tradition of silencing Miranda, the only female character in the play.
July 21, 2007
This is a Caribbean adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest and focuses primarily on the slave Caliban, using African mythology and Caribbean history to create a hero from a character who, in the original, doesn't really have as defining a role. Another instance of taking a piece of traditional, white English literature, and using it almost against the culture that created it.
April 2, 2015
I read this book for class and was not impressed. A Tempest is taken from Shakespeare's original work and politicized. That's all there is to it.
March 4, 2024
Une pièce post coloniale qui fait également office d'approfondissement Shakespearien dans la magnifique langue de Césaire. J'ai préféré cette réécriture sincère et brutale en ayant lu très peu de temps avantl'œuvre originale - j'aime Shakespeare d'habitude mais tout manquait un peu de profondeur et Césaire n'a pas seulement rattrapé cette lacune en transformant le matériau de base, il l'élève aussi.
March 6, 2022
I am such a big fan of reworking and reimagining classic literature. This play is a wonderful example.
I love Caliban. ❤️
I love Caliban. ❤️
September 9, 2017
Väldigt viktig pjäs, men måste läsa Shakespeares pjäs först för att verkligen fatta
June 19, 2024
i’m so done with wizards.
December 8, 2019
امه سهزر فرانسوی با اقتباس از طوفان شکسپیر یک نمایشنامۀ ضد استعماری مینویسد که شاید مهمترین جملهاش "الا ای آزادی، آزادی" باشد و برعکس نمایشنامۀ طوفان که مهمترین شخصیّت پراسپرو به حساب میآید، در این جا مهمترین شخصیّت کالیبان است. کسی که زیر بار ظلم و استعمار نخواهد رفت. این ضد استعماری بودن را حتی میتوان در بحثهای زبانی نمایشنامه هم دید.
February 28, 2017
Read this for class.
I enjoyed The Tempest better. A Tempest is just a rushed version of The Tempest where enslavement is emphasized more. In this version, Prospero is made out to seem like more of a cruel master who has enslaved Ariel and Caliban and refuses to set either of them free even though he keeps promising too. Ariel and Caliban are a mulatto slave and a black slave respectively, rather than the spirit and non-human creature they were in The Tempest. This is meant to be a commentary on enslavement/colonization in the Caribbean, which I get. But overall, the play just felt rushed. In the beginning, the play claims that Prospero is a cruel master, but not many things throughout the play back this up - he even frees Ariel in the end, just like he promised he would (and just as Prospero does in The Tempest). I would probably have a different opinion if I didn't know the story of The Tempest before reading this.
I enjoyed The Tempest better. A Tempest is just a rushed version of The Tempest where enslavement is emphasized more. In this version, Prospero is made out to seem like more of a cruel master who has enslaved Ariel and Caliban and refuses to set either of them free even though he keeps promising too. Ariel and Caliban are a mulatto slave and a black slave respectively, rather than the spirit and non-human creature they were in The Tempest. This is meant to be a commentary on enslavement/colonization in the Caribbean, which I get. But overall, the play just felt rushed. In the beginning, the play claims that Prospero is a cruel master, but not many things throughout the play back this up - he even frees Ariel in the end, just like he promised he would (and just as Prospero does in The Tempest). I would probably have a different opinion if I didn't know the story of The Tempest before reading this.
December 3, 2023
This is a very brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. It takes his play and looks at it through a postcolonial lens, which highlights different aspects within the plot and adds new dimension to character relations while the characters themselves feel the same as they did in Shakespeare's version. Cesaire is able to keep up with Shakespeare's original storyline without straying far from it or making this play seem like a completely new and unfamiliar story. The only real change is at the end, and it is a change that ties together Cesaire's postcolonial take.
A short read that still captures your attention and teaches. Anyone who does not like this adaption misses the point of it and has more learning to do about the world.
A short read that still captures your attention and teaches. Anyone who does not like this adaption misses the point of it and has more learning to do about the world.
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April 15, 2015Con todas sus fuerzas chocan
el sol y la luna
las estrellas caen para atestiguar
la moral
con una carga de nervios grises
(Fragmento "Entre otras masacres" de Aimé Césaire)
Si bien "Una tempestad" está inspirada en la obra "La tempestad" de William Shakespeare, presenta divergencias en su construcción. Con la mención -Adaptación para un teatro negro-, Césaire sitúa la obra en un contexto diferente, se traslada a América Latina para evidenciar la condición de la raza negra frente al conquistador. "Una tempestad" es una obra de denuncia, en la que se alternan elementos de farsa y tragicomedia con elementos circunstanciales: la explotación colonial antillana.
el sol y la luna
las estrellas caen para atestiguar
la moral
con una carga de nervios grises
(Fragmento "Entre otras masacres" de Aimé Césaire)
Si bien "Una tempestad" está inspirada en la obra "La tempestad" de William Shakespeare, presenta divergencias en su construcción. Con la mención -Adaptación para un teatro negro-, Césaire sitúa la obra en un contexto diferente, se traslada a América Latina para evidenciar la condición de la raza negra frente al conquistador. "Una tempestad" es una obra de denuncia, en la que se alternan elementos de farsa y tragicomedia con elementos circunstanciales: la explotación colonial antillana.
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