Controversies in The Tempest

In discussions of the tempest, one controversial issue has been what standpoint did  Shakespear have on the issue of colonialism.  On one hand, Stephen Greemblatt argues that we should read a novel or piece of literature and examine a possible deeper meaning or purpose of the piece.  On the other hand, George Will contends that we should merely examine what the text says and not ruin the story by looking for a deeper meaning.  I personally would have to agree with Greenblatt because I believe that a piece of literature can be seen to have tons of different meanings, based upon our expereiences through life, things we learn, etc, we all have different opinions on different matters.  Because of this, not every single personm is going to have the same ideas about a piece of literature.  Also, although the story gives the impression that Shakespeare approves of colonialism, if we looked at it from Greenblatt's perspective, we see that he possibly dissaproves of colonialism or does not support it as someone may think.  But, if we were to examine the piece through Will's eyes, we would see that Shakespeare was a strong advocate of colonialism because of how he portrays the characters, without actually analyzing what happens or any other details.