What is Shakespeares The Tempest Based on?
The Tempest, generally accepted to be William Shakespeare’s last play, tells a magical tale of a mystical island, inhabited by forces light and dark. Typically of Shakespeare’s late romance plays, magic and mysticism play a significant role, but the setting of The Tempest gives many historians pause. Where Shakespeare got the story or idea for the play is a great mystery, although several prominent Shakespearean scholars have put for their own ideas as to what The Bard is referencing. The most common theory is that Shakespeare’s play was inspired by the true-life tales of a shipwreck in the Bahamas in 1609. The Sea Venture a main ship for the powerful Virginia Company, left port in June for the New World, carrying settlers to the new town of Jamestown in Virginia. Nearly two months into the trip, the ship was caught in a hurricane, leading the captain to ground it on the reefs of an island. By crash landing on Bermuda, 150 people and a dog were saved from the storm.
