Postcolonial Shakespeares: Rewritings of "Othello" and "The Tempest"

Postcolonial literature does not only refer to literature written after the de-colonization of the once oppressed states. It also refers to the rebellion of the colonized people as it represents a form of resistance against the once Great British Empire. The term "postcolonial" has thus different connotations. While one refers to the historical period following de-colonization, the other refers to the literature which has risen from the resistance against the colonizers. The aim of this work is to explore the usage of Shakespeare´s Othello and The Tempest. Both plays play an important role in the early 16th century understanding of colonialism and oppression and, ironically, the themes can even be applied in contemporary times five hundred years later.The following plays use Shakespeare´s pretexts in a postcolonial context and have been analyzed in my work: Djanet Sears - Harlem Duet, Murray Carlin - Not Now, Sweet Desdemona, Aimé Césaire - Une Tempete (A Tempest) and David Malouf - Blood Relations.

Auteur

Arnela Alagic, MA was born in Bosnia in 1988. She is currently attending her PhD program at the Karl Franzens University. Her main research area is English literature with special interests in Shakespeare, the Sonnet, Victorian literature and the Gothic novel. She currently lives in Graz, Austria with her two Maltese dogs, Boycie and Bubbles.