The Caliban-Prospero encounter in Shakespeare's The Tempest has evolved as a metaphor for the colonial experience. This book utilizes the Caliban symbol in examining the influence of colonialism in Caribbean literature, focusing on three major writers: Jean Rhys of Dominica, George Lamming of Barbados, and Sam Selvon of Trinidad. The novels chosen are set in England where the writers and their characters experience the alienation of the exiled--unwelcome in Prospero's home country. Other Caribbean writers are included in the analysis, and the volume concludes by examining contemporary writers for whom Caliban's role appears to be shifting beyond physical exile.
This interdisciplinary study combines concepts of symbolic anthropology with traditional literary criticism to survey six novels by the Caribbean authors George Lamming and Wilson Harris. The author uses the West Indian icons of the Great House and Anancy to explore the conflict between oral and written communication and between folk culture and imperialist domination. The book's three essays discuss the collision of folk and imperialist cultures, the figure of the artist-in-the-text, and the anthropological concept of liminality as it applies to all types of oppressive exploitation. With its subtle literary readings and its philosophical commentary, this volume will be a significant resource.
"Even when available elsewhere, information on these 50 English-language authors is sparse; the in-depth treatment here includes biography, description of major works and themes, summary of critical reception, and an exhaustive bibliography of works by and about each author. Both academic and public libraries will want to accept this invitation to another world." Library Journal