The Tempest by William Shakespeare is a magnificent piece of literature that explores various aspects of nature and man, illusion versus reality and deception. The Tempest was written between the years 1610 and 1611. Many believe that Shakespeare based most of this play on the colonization that was occurring in the Americas at this time and on Montaigne's essay Of the Cannibals. Shakespeare was able to incorporate and write a poetic magical work that shows what was happening during that time and also how human existence was changing due to new discoveries of other human beings. Shakespeare created a utopian society in his play, The Tempest. Utopian societies aim to offer an alternative way of living through social, political and cultural methods. The word utopia was first coined by Thomas More in his publication of Utopia. More's publication came from his imagination, but Shakespeare saw what was happening around him in the world he lived in. The Tempest is set in a time where they are stuck with uncontrollable situations such as exile, slavery, and a weather storm. The setting of many of the great plays written by William Shakespeare is crucial to the development of the actions that occur. Setting defines the social environment in which we judge the morals, behaviors, and actions of characters. Shakespeare, using a utopian setting in The Tempest, was able to write a play that created a message regarding the colonization of others with the comparison of the two slave characters of Ariel and Caliban. The Tempest features two characters, Ariel and Caliban, who serve as slaves on the island, but it can also be argued that Miranda is the island's slave. Prospero was Duke of M......middle of paper......kill Prospero. Caliban's act of revenge reverberates as his ultimately humiliates along with Stephano and Trinculo by being banished and preparing Prospero's cell for dinner that night. William Shakespeare created a utopian setting full of magic to showcase an underlying theme of colonization in The Tempest. The Tempest explored many themes, but the theme of colonization depicted through Ariel and Caliban was characterized in a striking way. Both represented different aspects of oppression. Ariel was the colonized subject who did everything the master wanted and never opposed a suggested act. While Caliban was the colonized who became trapped in the mindset of being oppressed due to his lack of self-respect. Works Cited Shakespeare, William, Burton Raffel, and Harold Bloom. The Storm. New Haven: Yale UP, 2006. Print.