Shakespeare's The Tempest: Power and Postcolonialism

In this video, I talk about how the power dynamics of the play reflect the historical context of colonization and empire.
See below for links to other Shakespeare discussions:
Twelfth Night: January 2-8 • Shakespeare's Twelfth ... ​
Henry VI Part 1: January 10-16 • Shakespeare's Henry VI... ​
Henry VI Part 2: January 18-25 • Shakespeare's Henry VI... ​
Henry VI Part 3: January 27-February 2 • Shakespeare's Henry VI... ​
Comedy of Errors: February 4-8 • Shakespeare's Comedy o... ​
Taming of the Shrew: February 10-15 • Shakespeare's Taming o... ​
Titus Andronicus: February 17-22 • Shakespeare's Titus An... ​
Romeo and Juliet: February 24-March 2 • Shakespeare's Romeo & ... ​
• Shakespeare's Romeo & ... ​
Richard III: March 4-12
Julius Caesar: March 14-19 • Shakespeare's Julius C... ​
Two Gentlemen of Verona: March 21-25 • Shakespeare's Two Gent... ​
King John: March 27-April 1 • Shakespeare's King Joh... ​
Richard II: April 3-9 • Shakespeare's Richard ... ​
Venus and Adonis: April 13-17 • Shakespeare's "Venus a... ​
Hamlet: April 19-28 • Shakespeare's Hamlet: ... ​
The Rape of Lucrece: April 30-May 4 • Shakespeare's "Lucrece... ​
Sonnets 1-80: May 6-8 • Shakespeare's Sonnets ​
Bonus Episode! Sir Thomas More: • Shakespeare's Sir Thom... ​
Othello: May 11-18 • Shakespeare's Othello-... ​
Sonnets 81-154: May 20-22 • Shakespeare's Sonnets ​
Love’s Labour’s Lost: May 26-June 2 • Shakespeare's Love's L... ​
Pericles: June 4-9 • Shakespeare's Pericles... ​
Cymbeline: June 11-18 • Shakespeare's Cymbelin... ​
King Lear: June 22-30 • Shakespeare's King Lea... ​
A Lover’s Complaint: July 2 • Shakespeare's "A Lover... ​
The Passionate Pilgrim: July 3 • Shakespeare's The Pass... ​
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: July 6-10 • Shakespeare's A Midsum... ​
The Merchant of Venice: July 12-16 • Shakespeare's Merchant... ​
Bonus Episode! Love's Labour's Won: • Shakespeare's Love's L... ​
Much Ado About Nothing: July 20-26 • Shakespeare's Much Ado... ​
As You Like It: July 28-August 3 • Shakespeare's As You L... ​
Macbeth: August 5-10 • Shakespeare's MacBeth-... ​
Troilus and Cressida: August 12-20 • Shakespeare's Troilus ... ​
Antony and Cleopatra: August 22-29 • Shakespeare's Antony a...
Coriolanus: August 31-September 10
All’s Well That Ends Well: September 12-19
Measure for Measure: September 21-27 • Shakespeare's Measure ...
Henry IV Part 1: September 29-October 5
The Merry Wives of Windsor: October 7-13
Henry IV Part 2: October 15-22
Henry V: October 24-31
Henry VIII: November 2-9
Edward III: November 11-17
Timon of Athens: November 19-24
The Winter’s Tale: December 1-7 • Shakespeare's The Wint...
• Shakespeare's The Wint...
The Tempest: December 9-14 • Shakespeare's The Temp... ​
The Two Noble Kinsmen: December 16-23
The Phoenix and Turtle: December 27 • Shakespeare's "The Pho...

[@floridabyhd]

tim you single handedly save my grade every time

[@wokeupina]

he did not save your grade, he granted you the myseries and mysteries of the play... grade is yours.

[@juanita_deagrela007]

I hated this play until i heard him read it. So well explained, such an in depth and thought provoking analysis🙌 Thank you

[@Nancenotes]

Glad I could help!

[@Noirnaledi]

I love this man, you have no idea how much you've helped me

[@miamil8956]

writing an english prelim tomorrow on this so thank you

[@maldito_sudaka]

thanks for the analysis. I just watched the play while reading it (not a native speaker, so, it helps) and couldn't grasp what it was really about. Great video.
Btw, he uses the Patagonian (Argentinian) Setebos as Caliban's god. So that's a reference to the New World.

[@michellecerioni4903]

you slay so hard king its umbeelivable

[@kaizen5023]

Excellent, thank you Professor!

[@ChrisMusicRSA]

Really helped, thanks a lot :)

[@anawakeningvoice]

I must say It's amazing thank you.

[@zainabamani1169]

A great teacher ❤️

[@jerambhana8726]

It was sweet music listening to the narrator
Precise and informative

[@farhanansari6135]

Excellent Analysis!
Just wanted to ask if you had any thoughts or explanantion for when Ariel says "Do you love me, master, No?" (4.1.48). Seeing as Ariel is constantly trying to gain freedom and agency and seems to be a bit frustrated with Prospero, him asking Prospero for love seems ... a bit out of character..
Thanks!

[@Nancenotes]

I always read the line with the meaning “Have I finally done enough for you to appreciate me?” with the implication that doing enough and being valuable enough to Prospero will finally come with a reward of Freedom in Ariel’s mind. There are many kinds and expressions of love; I think Ariel intends his as being valued for his usefulness (and hopefully rewarded). He has a hope and a promise of release and so he’s definitely trying to please Prospero / stay on his good (or loving) side.

[@hk-se7ke]

Amazing dude
You are a scholor in tempest
Just a quick doubt if you may
When in act 4, prospero says to ferdinand that heis giving him 1/3rd of his life,
What supposidly can be prosperos other 2/3rd of hia lifffe???

[@Nancenotes]

It's up for debate. It's possibly 1/3 = his life as a duke, 1/3 = his life as a mage/magician, 1/3 = his daughter's life/his role as a father or, to put it another way his political authority, his magical power, and his investment in his posterity. That was my take. Alternatively, scholarship offers the uncertain possibility of 1/3 just meaning "a big/important part of my life" or 1/3 meaning "the amount of my life I've invested in rearing her" (see Hulme & Sherman's footnotes in Norton or Mowat & Werstine's footnotes in Folger, or basically any other footnotes).

[@bossybuddha]

The centre of Prospero's life is Miranda who he describes as his soul. If we look at life, we see a beginning, middle and the end, where the beginning is rarely remembered, and the end but a scheduled reflection life's memories in the middle. We are too weak to move in old age, too flexible and volatile in early life. We then can say he gives the most important aspect of his life, the foundation to which orders the first and last parts of his life. This can wisely be understood from Archimedes' Lever, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." It is the centre point that yields the power and influences to all the rest, thus whether in physics below or the metaphysics above it is reliable that love to Prospero is the most important aspect which he expresses the 1/3 aspect.
What do we see with 3? We form a triangle. If we split that equilateral triangle into the point at the centre we get the point at the centre which yields the power of leverage. What greater leverage than that of love? Yet, that is something that Prospero is to learn, still more in silence.

[@arathipoovathoor3405]

The recitation was everything !!

[@TheMrSwampert]

Yeah, I’m here cause of Witch From Mercury, don’t judge me

[@hamishforbes4538]

🤓