Civilization and Savagery in Shakespeare's Othello and The Tempest
This essay examines how Shakespeare's Othello and The Tempest dramatize the cultural disorientation that arose from European contact with non-European peoples during the Renaissance. Through close readings of Caliban and Othello as contrasting figures of the "savage," and through the symbolic geography of Venice, Cyprus, and the enchanted island, the essay argues that Shakespeare interrogates rather than simply endorses Renaissance assumptions about civilization and barbarity. Drawing on critics including Cefalu, Naylor, Platt, and Young, the paper explores colonialism, hierarchy, and the "noble savage" trope, ultimately suggesting that Shakespeare's dramatic power derived in part from his engagement with the era's profound cultural encounters.
- Introduction: Two Worlds, One Question: Othello and The Tempest compared through civilized/savage lens
- The Tempest and the Colonial Encounter: Caliban, Prospero, and European colonial hierarchy
- Gloria Naylor and the Politics of Interpretation: Critical debate on colonialism and patriarchy in The Tempest
- Othello: The Noble Savage in Venice: Othello as noble savage straddling European and African worlds
- Disorientation as Creative Force: Renaissance cultural encounter as source of lasting drama
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What makes this paper effective
- It sustains a clear comparative argument across two plays, using the civilized/savage binary as a consistent analytical lens throughout.
- It balances multiple critical perspectives — Cefalu, Naylor, Storhoff, Young, Platt — without simply summarizing them, weaving each into the argument.
- The symbolic use of geography (Venice, Cyprus, the island) is effectively deployed to support thematic claims about cultural boundaries.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates synthesis of secondary criticism: rather than treating each scholar in isolation, it sets critics in dialogue with one another (e.g., contrasting Naylor's political reading with the New Critics' allegorical one) to build a nuanced, layered argument. This technique is essential for literary analysis at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a comparative introduction that establishes its central question, then addresses The Tempest (including colonial theory and critical debate), before pivoting to Othello as a contrasting case study. It closes with a brief reflective conclusion on Renaissance disorientation as an enabling rather than purely destabilizing force. Each section is grounded in textual detail and supported by cited scholarship.
Introduction: Two Worlds, One Question
Shakespeare's Othello and The Tempest could not appear more unlike. Othello is a tale rooted very firmly in the here-and-now — the actual city of Venice, an important and central location for the Renaissance man. The Tempest, by contrast, is a fantasy taking place on a "marvelous" island. However, a closer look reveals that Venice, too, is marvelous, and is, moreover, the perfect link between the civilized and the savage. It is no wonder, then, that the story of the "noble savage" in the character of Othello was placed there, nor that the less noble savage, Caliban, is found on an island that — while not straddling the literal old and new world orders — nonetheless bears representatives of each on its shores.
Both Othello and The Tempest are exemplary illustrations of a central Renaissance tension: European contact with people of other cultures had a disorienting effect, as it raised the question of who was truly "civilized" and who was truly "savage." Shakespeare seems to answer that question in both plays, often in ways that may at first — like the true meaning of Venice — be hidden.
References
Cefalu, Paul A. (2000). Rethinking the discourse of colonialism in economic terms: Shakespeare's "The Tempest," Captain John Smith's Virginia Narratives, and the English Response to Vagrancy. Shakespeare Studies, January 1. Retrieved January 13, 2005, from www.highbeam.com.
Gable, Harvey L. (1998). "Wieland," "Othello," "Genesis," and the floating city: the sources of Charles Brockden Brown's "Wieland." Papers on Language & Literature, June 22. Retrieved January 13, 2005, from www.highbeam.com.
Platt, Peter G. (2001). "The Meruailouse Site": Shakespeare, Venice, and paradoxical stages. Renaissance Quarterly, March 22. Retrieved January 13, 2005, from www.highbeam.com.
Storhoff, Gary. (1995). "The only voice is your own": Gloria Naylor's revision of "The Tempest." African-American Review, March 22. Retrieved January 13, 2005, from www.highbeam.com.
Taylor, Mark. (1993). Prospero's books and Stephano's bottle: Colonial experience in "The Tempest." CLIO, January 1. Retrieved January 13, 2005, from www.highbeam.com.
Young, R.V. (2004). The bard, the black, the Jew. First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, March 1. Retrieved January 13, 2005, from www.highbeam.com.
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