Anti-colonialism in Shakespeare's The Tempest Through the work The Tempest, William Shakespeare weaves a story characterized by anti-colonialist sentiments. Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, adopts a colonialist mentality by treating his colleagues as rightsless slaves. Characters who suffer mistreatment under Prospero include: Ariel - the spirit creature; Ferdinand - the Prince of Naples; and Caliban, the son of Sycorax. Prospero possesses much magical power which he uses to oppress his countrymen. As a result, Prospero is portrayed as a colonial tyrant who abuses his immense power. Anti-colonial sentiments are particularly evident through the actions, expressions, and attitudes of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand, and Ariel. To illustrate, Caliban berates Prospero for the former's forced labor. Likewise, Ariel protests Prospero's reluctance to release the former as previously agreed. Miranda also expresses her dissatisfaction with Prospero's unjust imprisonment of Ferdinand. Likewise, Ferdinand appears to challenge Prospero's authority by briefly stopping hauling lumber to flirt and chat with Miranda. The previous four characters display conduct that highlights their displeasure with Prospero's colonial-style authority over them. From the previous exposition, it can therefore be concluded that Shakespeare's play The Tempest is about anticolonialism based on its depiction of Caliban, Miranda, Ferdinand, and Ariel's opposition to Prospero's oppressive authority. To explain, after running Alonzo's ship aground, Ariel verbally demonstrates her opposition to Prospero's forced servitude, thus alluding to the anti-colonial nature of the play The Tempest. Believing that his master will free him a year early as agreed... middle of paper... statement is representative of the overall theme of opposition to colonial authority. In summary, Shakespeare's play The Tempest explores the theme of opposition to Prospero's colonial-style authority based on various characters' covert and overt reactions to the master's antics. For example, Ariel objects to Prospero's continued detention of the former regardless of a prior agreement to the contrary. Furthermore, Caliban expresses his dissatisfaction with the forced labor he performs for Prospero. To demonstrate his opposition to Prospero's authority, Caliban plans the master's death. Miranda also makes a statement indicating her displeasure with the way Prospero exercises his authority, especially towards Ferdinand. The imprisoned Ferdinand also indicates his opposition to Prospero's power through a statement of denial made before Miranda.