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A Tempest-Aime Cesaire

Catherine D, Mike G, Deja B, Amanda Y

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Fast Write Fastwrite:

What differences did you notice in Cesaire’s rewrite compared to the original? What do you think this means for the development of the play past Act I? Are there any particular characters that have changed? Why?

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Reading + Discussion Question Act III, Scene 5 p. 56-66

Questions: Why do you think Prospero frees Ariel and not

Caliban? Why does he change his mind about leaving the

island? What is Cesaire trying to symbolize?

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Eshu

In A Tempest: Crashes the wedding party; sings songIn Myth: A Yoruban diety of chaos and trickery; the personification death

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EshuEshu can play many tricksGive him twenty dogs!You will see his dirty tricks.

Eshu plays a trick on the QueenAnd makes her so upset that she runsNaked into the street

Eshu plays a trick on a bride,And on the day of the weddingShe gets into the wrong bed

Eshu can throw a stone yesterdayAnd kill a bird todayHe can make a mess out of order and vise-versa.Ah, Eshu is a wonderful bad joke.Eshu is not the man to marry a heavy load.His head comes to a point. When he dancesHe doesn’t move his shoulders...Oh, Eshu is a merry elf

Eshu is a merry elf,And he can whip you with his dick,He can whip you,He can whip you….

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Discussion question Cesaire focuses strongly on Caliban’s native “black”

magic, that is also exemplified by the spirit Eshu, and ultimately, the defeat of Prospero’s “white” magic, that is overrun by an opossum plague. How does this tie in with the play’s colonization theme?