Abstract

Une Tempête, translated to "A Tempest" by Martiniquan author and poet, Aimé Césaire, is recognized as not only an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, but also as a post-colonial response in direct communication with the original text. One important symbol in The Tempest is magic, however, there is little work done on the way it is used to represent the shaping of the master narrative by colonial power, nor the way Césaire demystifies and exposes this symbol within his postcolonial text. In this essay, I argue that through the use of magic as a symbol for power, deception, and manipulation, Shakespeare legitimizes the master narrative in colonialism, while Césaire exposes it as an illusion to maintain power. This holds significance because Shakespeare fails to critique the manipulation and deceit of the colonized by the colonizer – Prospero – to gain power over them. Contrastingly, Césaire exposes the colonizer’s power as delusion and opens the door for counter narratives in colonial discourse.