Discourse on Colonialism was a serious eye opener. Cesaire made me think about all of the horrible out comes colonialization produced. It was one of the best non-novel books I've read in years.

This book was written before Fanon's "Black Skins, White Masks". Much of what Fanon did in his great debut is elaborate on Cesaire's work, add psychiatric aspects to it, and further explore the ideas of Cesaire.
Cesaire's denounciation of the West (both Europe and the US) is based on two pillars - one is the Western deeply racist and violent attitude towards the then colonized world, and the second is Cesaire's Marxist leanings.He mentions the Soviet Union in one short sentence as an example of a positive society - how were people misled by Stalinist Russia was a mystery. But in the forward by Robin Kelly we learn that Cesaire quit the communist party and denounced Stalinism as early as 1956.
Cesaire's strongest point is that French attitudes towards Africa (half a century ago !) bear a close resemblence to German Nazi attitudes towards Jews and other "inferior" people.
The forward by Robin Kelly and the interview with Cesaire at the end add a lot of subtance to this powerful but short essay.
This book is highly recommended to people who appreciate Fanon, and all those who wish to learn the roots of anti colonial philosophy.

As the previous reviewer (American) has stated this book is a powerful indictment of European colonialism. However, the author wrote this book in 1950s, the heyday of the independence movement against the 19th century European empires, i.e. Britain, France, Portugal, etc. and therefore that is its focus.

What is condemned here has also the epitome of U.S. policy and economic activity in the Third World for the last half century, so Americans should not think that this condemnation is about something other than many of the taken-for-granted policies of the American empire. The rhetorical tone of the book may ring as a bit dated to ears used to ignoring what goes on in minds and hearts not located in the First World, but the events of 9/11 may give them new relevance. One would hope so.

Historically this book was of great importance, and it deserves rereading today - especially in the U.S.

First of all this book itself is beautifully designed and oversized, containing selections from five of Cesaire's published books of poety, separated by prints by Wilfredo Lam.
This poetry of Cesaire requires an extensive introduction since it is filled with both politicsl and surrealistic elements. The editor provide a 30 page introduction which was very helpful.
I found that I needed to read these poems outloud in order to fully understand them. I wish that I could also read the French originals that we provided. Of course every great poet writes many poems that do no quite reach his general level of excellence and Cesaire is no exception, but I found many poems to treasure which will remain with me a long while. They make heavy use of Martiniquan flora and fauna, but every poem is about meaninful ways of acheiving power for the Black diaspora which was the heart of Cesaire's negritude
These poems belong in the collection of all who care about poetry.
I

I am an instructor of French and social studies. I have read this book in both French and English and I insist that, for scholarly reasons, it is a must for any history buff and for any person studying French literature at an advanced level, regardless of whether you agree with Cesaire's thoughts on colonialism.

Aimé Césaire, political activist and literary genius, shook the world in his time and remains one of the best-known Caribbean authors of all time. With a highly-crafted combination of wit and humor, powerful argument, and poetic charm, his literature becomes a manifesto, calling the oppressed (particularly black peoples of the Caribbean and Africa) to band together and stand up to imperialistic, dominating European powers. At the same time, his rich language and provocative style make even his most straightforward political essays into sheer poetry. One of several plays Césaire wrote to this end, Une Tempête (published in 1969, contemporary to the Civil Rights movement in the U.S.) is no exception in its elegance, humor, and force.

The full title of Césaire's play suggests its purpose: "Une tempête: adaptation de La tempête de Shakespeare pour un théàtre nègre" ("A Tempest: adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest for a black theatre"). Indeed, the play follows the basic plot structure of Shakespeare's original, but with certain adaptations that make it unique to Césaire. Notably, Caliban is a black slave, while Ariel is mulatto, both fighting for freedom from the white European colonizer Prospero, but each using different tactics. Caliban becomes the comic hero in this battle, urging Ariel and, ultimately, his audience, to resist Prospero and all that he represents. Persistent, bold, and delightfully humorous, Césaire's Calaban insists:

"J'ai décidé que je ne serai plus Caliban... Appelle-moi X. Ca voudra mieux. Comme qui dirait l'homme sans nom. Plus exactement, l'homme dont on a volé le nom."

("I have decided that I am no longer Caliban... Call me X. That would be best. As you might call a man without a name. More precicely, a man whose name has been stolen.")

For this, we stand behind Caliban, and for this we love him and the amusing yet provocative play he inhabits. I highly recommend this text for anyone interested in anticolonial Caribbean literature, francophone and/or black nationalist theatre, or just a good read.

Comedy, in the strictest sense, is concerned with ultimate forgiveness and reconciliation. In Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest," the protagonist, Prospero, must come to terms with his brother Antonio, who conspired to have him driven from his duchy in Milan, and with the world of social interaction in general.

Magic, Power, and Conspiracy are the foundational thematic elements through which Shakespeare effects Prospero's reintegration into human society. Thrown into a boat with his infant daughter Miranda, Prospero comes to live on a nearly deserted island in the Mediterranean Sea. Prospero's concentration on developing his proficiency in Magic caused him to become alienated from his political and social responsibilities in Milan, leading to his expulsion. His brother Antonio conspired with Alonso, king of Naples, and seized the power Prospero forsook for book-learning.

Prospero hears of a sea voyage undertaken by his enemies, and, using his Magic, whips up a storm, a great tempest, which causes his enemies to be shipwrecked on his island. On the island, Prospero exercises total power - over the education of his daughter, his slave, the deformed Caliban, and now over his enemies. He engages Ariel, a sprite, to orchestrate the division of the traveling party, and to put them through various trials to exact vengeance and ultimately, submission from them.

"The Tempest" is a fine effort from Shakespeare, but the power relations in the play are problematic. Prospero's insistent dominance over the action of the play is extremely troubling. Although he is presented as a benevolent character, Prospero's relationships with Miranda, Caliban, and Ferdinand, King Alonso's son, complicate his overall worth as a man and an authority figure. The dynamic between the slave Caliban and the drunks, Trinculo and Stephano, is also very unsettling.

Overall, "The Tempest" remains a whimsical flight of imagination, while exploring intriguing themes of education, political intrigue, and romance. Certainly, it is still a well-constructed and entertaining play after nearly four hundred years.

One of the best works by Shakespeare and also his final full play (most likely), The Tempest draws on many elements that Shakespeare used in his earlier works and adds a comic twist. Shakespeare doesn't spend much time on character development in the Tempest, other than Prospero and possibly Caliban (e.g. Miranda is the ideal chaste woman, Trinculo & Stephano are lowly schemers). However, Prospero is extremely well developed and the simple aspects of the other characters do not detract from the story at all. There are many different levels of meaning at work in the play...some see it as a pro-colonialist diatribe, others see it as Shakespeare's own swan song, where Prospero himself is based on the Bard, and Prospero's surrendering of his magical powers is representative of Shakespeare giving up his craft. I read it as both, and a million other things, and that is one of the great things about the play...it can be read in so many different ways. The structure of the play seems almost chaotic at first, with so many things going on at once. However, if you read the play over again, or read some of the essays contained in the Signet Edition, it becomes much more clear, although still open-ended. The Signet Edition is excellent, and Signets in general are. Buy this over the Folger Library editions...the footnotes here are much easier to work with and make the reading much smoother overall.

Yes, there is once again murder brewing in the play of Shakespeare but only in a comical way. Not able to claim to be a Shakespeare expert, I have only read four of his other plays. However, it is in my opinion that this be the best one, most likely because it is a comedy and is much lighter that his other plays. This classic play tells the story of the former Duke of Milan who was wrongly dethrowned by his brother. Using his magical power that originally expelled him from Milan, he is able to bring the King (Alonso), Alonso's brother (Sebastian),his own brother (Antonio) and other servants to the his mostly vacant island. Ordering about the spirit Ariel, he manipulates his way into an interesting and funny situation. There is much to gain from reading this wonderful play which is one of Shakespeares last. I recommend this book to Shakespeare lovers and even more so, to variety readers such as myself. You won't be dissapointed by the plays light mood which is much better than Shakespeares serious murder stories.

Cesaire's reinvention of Shakespeare's play is an unimpressive piece of work by almost any standard. It moves with the subtlety of a train wreck, shoving its political agenda down the reader's or viewer's throat. The entire affair is so ham-fisted and simplistic in flaunting its politics that it comes across as infantile bellyaching instead of the brilliant re-imagining that Cesaire is so obviously hoping for (and certainly could have achieved). Parts of this play are painful to experience, and read next to Shakespeare's original, it's simply embarrassing.

Postcolonial theorists and critics will often hasten to engage in apologetics for this mediocrity. They will explain that Cesaire is "subverting a western form" or that he is intentionally evoking discomfort and anger in his audience. The former is a typical excuse for colonial works that are simply bad; the latter is probably true but is unable to justify or even to explain the abysmal quality of this play.

As in his Discourse on Colonialism, Cesaire is guilty of ruining a potentially great work by oversimplification and vacuous rhetoric.

Yes, this is a re-working of The Tempest from a Caribbean perspective. Cesaire basically extrapolates Shakespeare's anti-colonial criticism and backfits the story into that scheme. Of course, the play is modernized and packed with civil rights movement references. Caliban has a stronger role, but very hackneyed. This play reads like a political pamphlet; everything is spelled out for you. I think it has social importance, but from a literary standpoint it was forgettable.

Cesaire's A TEMPEST wears its politics on its sleeve, and that can be grating even when its political message is agreeable with your own leanings. This is not a particularly subtle work, but it is of supreme importance to understanding a number of socio-political movements, especillly as they relate to the Carribean (though it reaches far beyond that limited geographic range in its implications). Order this in conjunction with Shakepeare's original, Dryden's rewrite, Rodo's ARIEL, Retamar's CALIBAN and perhaps PROSPERO'S BOOKS starring John Gielgud. Then go to town...or perhaps away from it.