Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Tempest

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

5 reviews

sunkernplus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This play is still very interesting for all that could be unsaid (yaaaaay poststructuralist theory yaaaaaaaaaay) but unfortunately, I don't find it as compelling as I once did when I read it at 12-13 years old. The characters are fairly flat, and the characters who aren't flat (namely, Prospero) are misogynistic, spiteful, hypocritical pigs (though arguably, that's the point: don't go after me for being a typical Goodreads user who lacks reading comprehension, I do have a fair bit of that). I particularly dislike the portrayals of Caliban and Miranda; Caliban has some sympathy points with me for being an enslaved African (and always had sympathy with me), but I lost interest in him once I realized that Shakespeare had created him to be a flat caricature of Afro-Indigenous slaves on purpose: carnally sexual, so stupid that he didn't even have the will to learn to read, and barely human. Miranda fared better, but she's barely a character, so I could hardly comment on her. I'd honestly give it about 3.5 stars. The mercury had probably gotten to Shakespeare's brain by this point.

Content Warnings