Caliban

work by Fernández Retamar

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June 22, 2026

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Roberto Fernández Retamar's Caliban (1971) is a significant essay that reinterprets the character of Caliban from Shakespeare's play The Tempest. In his work, Fernández Retamar refutes the ideas of Uruguayan writer José Enrique Rodó and discusses the Cuban writer José Martí. The essay uses Caliban as a symbol to explore themes of culture and identity in Latin America, particularly in the context of post-colonialism and resistance against imperialist oppression. Fernández Retamar, a prominent Cuban poet, essayist, and literary critic, was a cultural spokesman for Fidel Castro's regime.12

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Roberto Fernández Retamar
…of culture in Latin America, Caliban (1971), which refutes the ideas of the Uruguayan writer José Enrique Rodó. It also discusses Cuban writer and patriot José Martí, a frequent subject of Fernández Retamar. Todo Caliban (“All Caliban”) appeared in 2003. He also wrote such works of criticism as La Poesía…
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…of culture in Latin America, Caliban (1971), which refutes the ideas of the Uruguayan writer José Enrique Rodó. It also discusses Cuban writer and patriot José Martí, a frequent subject of Fernández Retamar. Todo Caliban (“All Caliban”) appeared in 2003. He also wrote such works of criticism as La Poesía…
Read More