Two Fatal Mistakes on Colonialism and Freedom

⚠️ Two Fatal Mistakes on Colonialism and Freedom

The first error produces the wrong argument entirely. The second is the Sin 2 error that kills otherwise strong essays. Both appear in examiner reports every year.

PRIMARY: "Shakespeare was anti-colonial / Shakespeare supported colonialism" (Sin 4a — simple causation)

This is the most common trap on this topic, and it has two opposite forms. Some students write "Shakespeare is criticising colonialism through Caliban." Others write "Shakespeare was a man of his time, so he thought colonialism was fine." Both are over-simple, and both cap at Level 3.

The play does not deliver a verdict on colonialism. It stages the encounter — with Caliban articulate, lyrical, and dispossessed; with Prospero powerful, protective, and controlling — and does not resolve the moral question. Shakespeare gives Caliban legal language, legal claims, and poetic beauty. He also has Caliban attempt rape and murder. He gives Prospero paternalistic justifications. He also has Prospero enslave, threaten, and manipulate. The moral complexity IS Shakespeare's argument.

Wrong (Level 2-3): "Shakespeare uses Caliban to criticise colonialism and show that Prospero is wrong to take his island."

Right (Level 5): "Shakespeare stages the colonial encounter without resolving its moral questions. Caliban's 'this island's mine' (1.2) is given the precision of a legal claim, while Prospero's justification rests on civilising paternalism — 'I have used thee with humane care'. Both arguments are heard; neither is endorsed. The moral ambiguity is the point."

SECONDARY: Bolt-on context — dropping "Jacobean colonialism" as a label without connecting it to specific textual moments (Sin 2)

Many students write: "In Jacobean times, England was colonising the New World. This links to the play because Prospero colonises the island." This drops a historical label and staples it to a plot description. It earns nothing at AO3 because it does not explain how the context shapes the language of the text.

Wrong (Level 2): "In the Jacobean era, colonialism was common. This is shown in the play when Prospero takes over Caliban's island."

Right (Level 5): "Shakespeare's Jacobean audience had absorbed the 1609 Bermuda pamphlets — accounts of shipwreck on a 'magical' island populated by strange noises. When Caliban describes 'the isle is full of noises' (3.2), this audience would have heard the colonial encounter made lyrical — the same threatening Other now producing beauty. The anagram of 'Caliban/cannibal' activated colonial anxiety from the character's first appearance. Shakespeare uses this framing to set up the complication: the 'cannibal' speaks more beautifully than any European in the play."