The island is a prominent figure of enclosure in literature, often related to issues of power and control, and therefore to colonialism. After exploring several postcolonial readings of Shakespeare's The Tempest, this study examines the challenge to imperialist island discourse in such New Zealand and Caribbean texts as Katherine Mansfield's stories and Derek Walcott's Pantomime. It also makes a considerable contribution to the field of postcolonial studies by suggesting shared strategies of resistance in distinct geographical and cultural contexts.