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Imperial Language In The Tempest

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One thing that has remained consistent across humans throughout history, is the concept of paying for everything. No kind favor can ever truly go unforgiven. This idea coined phrases like “you owe me one” and “you scratch my back, ill scratch yours.” Even though these phrases may have not been around in Shakespeare’s time, the idea was. Repaying a debt has been heavily conceptualized over time and is very prevalent throughout The Tempest. Prospero frequently holds teaching Caliban language and setting Ariel free, over their heads. He does this for a multitude of reasons, power, slavery, dominance, and self-glorification. The reason that is acknowledged the most in The Tempest is power. Prospero is established as the most powerful entity on …show more content…

He is a puppet master using his words to control his subordinates. He does this as a way to take possession of them. Bill Ashcroft et. al explores the idea that there are two immediate responses to the dominance of imperial language, rejection and subversion. Prospero proves this by rejecting Ariel and Prospero pasts and using subversion to convince them that he is helping them. This same principle was practiced by Christopher Columbus during the colonization era. Columbus came to North America and used his language skills to revive the area into his own land. He was able to reject the natives from their home land and subvert the land. He declared himself as the worthier and more powerful person and took what he believed was his from the natives. This was in part true, similarly to how Prospero was magical, Columbus had money and European heritage which was like the magic of the real world. This put him above the natives which he saw as uncivilized, barbaric, and uncultivated. He believed that he was helping them by teaching them manners, and in return they owed him their land. This is much like how Prospero taught Caliban language and freed Ariel in exchange for their

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