In light of decolonization and postcolonial theory, William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” has received new interest. Although Caliban is often thought of as the play’s centerpiece, Prospero remains its best-sketched character, as he has complex relationships and contradictory beliefs. His subjects, Ariel and Caliban, both demand freedom, while the stories told of their unnamed island are only second-hand accounts that feed into Prospero’s own self-conception. In ArtiFact 53, literary critics Alex Sheremet and Keith Jackewicz assess Shakespeare’s mysterious play, touching on questions of decolonization, imperialism, gender roles, Orientalism, Italian politics, and much more. To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on our Patreon page for patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination B Side topics: more connections between Shylock and Caliban; how Shakespeare plays with audience expectations; how Shakespeare signals he’s about to write something bad; Alex’s falafel over rice; the Daniel Defoe / Robinson Crusoe connection; William Shakespeare vs. Mark Twain; how politics had to be occluded in Shakespeare’s day; Caliban’s god vs. Prospero; the meaning of magic; why didn’t Prospero cast the ”reason” spell on Caliban; disappointments with The Tempest; the Harold Bloom problem; why the Beatles were necessarily overrated; Joseph Conrad’s Henry James phase; Frank Herbert’s Dune vs. the Dune 2 videogame universe; how voice acting destroyed game writing; is Israeli targeting journalists; the university hearings on anti-Semitism; Alex goes to a POC-only Palestinian protest; how the Joe Biden coalition is fracturing; Keith boasts of getting Trump’s presidency correct Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com Read Alex’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination Timestamps: 0:24 – Alex grows taller, Keith shrinks in size; analyzing William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”; no character goes unscathed; ranking “The Tempest” in the Shakespeare pantheon 3:08 – how Keith read all of Shakespeare’s plays over a month; Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth; ranking Romeo and Juliet as tragedy; why Shakespeare’s comedies are often weak; Shakespeare & class politics 9:15 – passage of time in “The Tempest”; Shakespeare overuses plot-driven techniques; some more daring parts in “The Tempest”; Prospero as the absent-minded king; is Prospero blameless; why Prospero was overthrown in Milan; the metaphor of Prospero’s island; Prospero is “The Tempest’s” only character of depth; overthrow & rebellion in the 15th century; Duke of Milan, King of Naples 21:03 - Miranda as an archetype; Prospero seems aware of his own flaws; dialogue vs. stage directions; Ariel is having the same argument every month; why early Shakespeare criticism was bad; the implications of Miranda’s virginity 30:42 – dissecting Caliban; Aime Cesaire & The Tempest; Prospero suggests the same punishment for Caliban as to Miranda and Ferdinand; how biological imperatives change; does Prospero have anything without magic; the victors are more or less writing the play; decolonization and postcolonial theory in Shakespeare; why was Sycorax REALLY banished 46:00 – the Algiers Connection; Prospero’s “white magic” is ultimately conflated, and on par with, the Orientalist “black magic”; how Shakespeare makes fun of Gonzalo’s ideas; Caliban’s speeches in “The Tempest”; Prospero has different standards of punishment for identical crimes; Caliban never gets the Shylock / Merchant of Venice treatment; did Shakespeare get bored with The Tempest? Tags: #shakespeare #decolonization #booktube #postcolonialism