A Tempest, translated from the original French to English, is a stunning masterpiece in the shadow of the more popular Shakespearean play of many years gone.
In short, almost all of the characters are the same, and the storyline follows along the path of the original Shakespeare version, but this has an African twist that is straight from the heart of emancipation and freedom. Amazingly, the author is French born and bred, but while he was active he took many strides towards alleviating the pressure of Western culture upon the black minorities of the WORLD instead of just those of the Americas. A poet and politician, he did not turn from his roots, but rather he fought for them.
A Tempest is a short play, but laden with intellectual points and rife with critique on the Western culture. To Cesaire, the author, Western civilizations doctrines were debilitating not only minority races but itself. By becoming barbaric and cruel, westerners drop into barbarism and animalistic cruelty. Prospero, the ruler of the fated island, dictates this relationship with a very heavy hand. Ariel, a mulatto slave, attempts to win over his master through morality and pessimism while his counterpart, Caliban, speaks outright and demands that the injustices of Prospero's rule be recognized and alleviated. Thus unfolds the relationship that is at the center of this play, demanding that all hear the equally sound evidence of Ariel and Caliban in face of great opposition.
A sheer stroke of genius can be said for this simple, delightful read that begs to be performed and worked with in even today's culture. ~ Fiction Photography