Creature Caliban''s Historical Identities: A Cultural Study of The Tempest

• Main Authors: Hsiao-China Lee, 李曉菁
• Other Authors: Huizung Perng
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/52911449666960528896

碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 英語學系 === 89 === Abstract This thesis argues that we have reasons to bestow an image of creature on Caliban and trace the history of the change of Caliban’s images in The Tempest. In Chapter One, I present a bird-eye view of critical thinking mainly from post-colonial to new historic perspectives. A macro view of Caliban''s history represents the historic viewpoint I apply to the study of creature. Chapter Two focuses on the interpretation of The Tempest itself. The process of tracing supports the statement that the construction of the history of creature concurs with the progression of discourses of creature. Chapter Three further analyzes the conflicts between mere creature and human creatures. Chapter Four proposes that the construction of creatures'' identity has to be connected to the political struggles between opposite positions. Both the mere creature and the human creatures suffer from inner struggles while trying to achieve their self-fashionings during the process of colonization. In conclusion, the task of this thesis is twofold. First, Caliban is a symbol of creature. Further, the characteristic of abnormality and alien, of which the creature Caliban is representative, would enter the center of the discourses of culture.