Essay
the role of language in the tempest
- Course
- English Literary Studies I
- Institution
- University Of Cape Town (UCT)
analysis of literary devices and how language is important in the epilogue of the tempest
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The Role of Language as a Power ToolThe Tempest uses language as a tool of power. This power is linked to the theme of
colonialism, as Prospero colonises and invades the island, while subjecting Caliban to
enslavement. He achieves his colonial intentions by using words as well as the language of
magic to assert dominance which aids him in colonising the island. Language has an impact
on power by means of manipulation, lies, repression and education…
(end of free view)
, This is because Prospero uses his eloquent use of diction to insult the natives to oppress them
and convince others that he is fit to be the leader of the island and hold Caliban ‘in debt’ for
educating him and teaching him a language.
We should first examine how language plays a part in colonization. In The Tempest, there is
an explicit representation of Europeans through Prospero's actions: he arrives on Sycorax's
island to moderate it, and imposes his subculture on the islanders. He contends that he is the
rightful owner of the island and is thus the most outstanding representative of colonial
interpretation. Despite his wishes to do otherwise, he is compelled to serve Prospero and
Miranda against his will. Caliban is treated as a deformed, unclean, and unsightly creature, a
disgraced being that is not even human in his eyes. Prospero says, "Thou most lying slave".
This abuse leads Caliban to refuse to meet Prospero's demands, and he tries to rape Miranda,
leading to the introduction of a slave-master relationship between them. It is only through
the language that Caliban can curse and retaliate against Prospero.
Prospero's dialect reveals how lowly he views Caliban. The verbal abuse between Prospero
and Caliban is omnipresent, as when Prospero says to Caliban “O thou poisonous slave, taken
by the devil himself, upon the wicked dam, come forth!". The animalistic implications of the
adjective "poisonous" are enhanced by the plosive control of the 'p', which emphasizes how
Prospero views Caliban in a negative light. Caliban is tortured by Prospero's capacity for
words. Caliban's identity is depicted as a picture of barbarity and animality by Prospero.
Power is derived from the use of dialect, dictionary and lexicon.
Prospero constantly brings up that he educated Caliban the verbal dialect, but prohibits him
getting to his books, illustrates Prospero’s administration over him and bolsters the
hypothesis that he is mindful how instruction is key by intentioned doing this as a implies of
making, for himself, specialist and superiority. Similar behavior was observed by European
colonialists in the New World.
There is no doubt that much of this could be seen as an allegory of colonialism or capitalism
in Europe. In a sense, Caliban's presentation is also an example of the European attitude
towards alien cultures. The moral authority of Prospero in the play comes from his entire
inability to deal with the natives as full cultural individuals, that is, from his European
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