Mejia LaPerle, Carol. "The smells of The Tempest." Throughlines. www.throughlines.org/suite-content/the-smells-of-the-tempest. [Date accessed].
The smells of The Tempest
How reading for smell opens up dialogues about prejudice and bias
Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a play often studied for its representations of colonialism and imperialism in the early modern world. Carol Mejia LaPerle suggests using an analysis of affect—namely, the use of smell in the text—to dig at another layer of racialization in the play. Enslaved by Prospero and abhorred by Miranda, Caliban is called a lying slave, a hag seed, a monster, a villain. With so many insults unleashed by the European castaways, it is easy to gloss over the moment Caliban is called a fish. When shipwrecked sailors come upon him, they establish his identity by how he smells.
This framework allows students to wonder how our 21st-century olfactory judgements serve to reinforce inequity. The act of labelling someone as smelly is often a reflection of cultural prejudices that establish hierarchy based on race and class. It is a gatekeeping mechanism that distinguishes between insider and outsider status. A close reading of the olfactory as a tool of regulation and exclusion in The Tempest invites critical thinking and self-reflection for students who might otherwise be unaware of their affective biases.
Further learning
Recommended
Slavery, sugar, and the value of Shakespeare
Emma Smith traces the linage of Richard Oswald's 18th-century library to reveal how so-called rare books became totems of class status. Oswald's library is an example of how enslavement of African people by the British is woven into the fabric of book history and how value is construced.
.png)
