The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the
representation of ‘the Other’ in three Shakespearean dramas: Sir
Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest. The article
describes several Shakespearean characters through the prism of
post-colonialism and, therefore, the paper is structured as the postcolonial re-reading of the aforementioned dramatic texts. William
Shakespeare portrayed the sad fate of immigrants in Sir Thomas
More, but the Bard also tackled the refugee issue which remains
relevant for the contemporary period. Additionally, Shakespeare
dramatized the position of the Jewish community in Venice through
the portrayal of Shylock. The re-reading of The Tempest focuses on
the process of colonisation and the Manichaean division within the
conquered world. In conclusion, the article portrays experiences of
those dramatic individuals stigmatised and subjugated by the
colonial forces, thus allowing the readers to better understand the
binary division within colonial systems.