IEB GRADE 11 ENGLISH
A COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
, PLAY SUMMARY and the love of a father for his child. In addition, The
Tempest examines many of the topics that Shakespeare
had focused on in his earlier plays, topics such as the
The Tempest attempts to overthrow a king (Macbeth, Richard II,
and Julius Caesar), nature versus nurture (The Winter's
Introduction Tale and King Lear), and innocence (Twelfth Night).
Records indicate that The Tempest was performed before Although The Tempest provides the first masque within a
James I on November 1, 1611, but there may also have play, the idea of a play within a play had occurred in
been earlier performances. The Tempest was again earlier works, such as Hamlet and Much Ado About
performed during the winter of 1612-13 to celebrate the Nothing. In many ways The Tempest serves as a
marriage of Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King culmination of Shakespeare's earlier work, since in this
James I. But this play was not printed until it appeared for play, he brings many of these earlier ideas together in one
the first time in the 1623 Folio. work.
It is relatively easy to date The Tempest's composition, Historical and Cultural Context
since Shakespeare used material that was not available
until late 1610: letters from the new Virginia colony in By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the threat
Jamestown and an account of a 1609 shipwreck off of the Black Death (the plague) was diminishing, but it still
Bermuda. Unlike many of Shakespeare's other plays, The continued to be a seasonal problem in London, which was
Tempest, is not drawn from another, earlier literary work. overcrowded and suffered from poor sanitation and too
There is no formal source, except for the ideas that the much poverty.
author might have found in reading accounts of the
A hundred years earlier, Henry VII had formed alliances
Bermuda shipwreck or the stories emerging from the
with neighboring countries and trade was flourishing in
new colonies, which had been recently established in the
London. But the coming of trade changed the face of
New World.
England. Instead of a country composed largely of an
The Tempest as a Romance agrarian culture, England, and especially London, became
an important center of trade. There was more wealth,
The Tempest is a difficult play to categorize. Although it and the newly rich could now afford to escape the
ends in a wedding and thus might be defined as a congestion of the city. There was a need for large country
comedy, there are many serious undertones that estates, and so more and more farm land was enclosed.
diminish the comedic tone. Instead, most modern
anthologies of Shakespeare's works list this play as a Displaced rural families fled to the larger cities, where
romance. This separate division of romances includes crowding, unemployment, and disease increased with the
what are generally labeled as "the problem plays." Along increase in population. As city life flourished, there was a
with The Tempest, the romances resulting nostalgia for the loss of country life. In response
include Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The to this sentimentality, England's poets began to compose
Two Noble Kinsmen, plays of Shakespeare's later years. poetry recalling the tranquility of rustic life.
These plays were written between 1604 and 1614, just
Early in the seventeenth century, the masque that
prior to his retirement, when Shakespeare was
comprises much of the fourth act of The Tempest was
composing plays that combined romance with some of
becoming a regular form of court entertainment.
the darker aspects of life. The romances are plays with
Masques were elaborate spectacles, designed to appeal
the potential for tragedy but in which these tragic
to the audience's senses and glorify the monarch.
elements are resolved.
Furthermore, their sheer richness suggested the
With The Tempest, Shakespeare turns to fantasy and magnificence of the king's court; thus they served a
magic as a way to explore romantic love, sibling hatred, political purpose as well as entertained.
A COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
, PLAY SUMMARY and the love of a father for his child. In addition, The
Tempest examines many of the topics that Shakespeare
had focused on in his earlier plays, topics such as the
The Tempest attempts to overthrow a king (Macbeth, Richard II,
and Julius Caesar), nature versus nurture (The Winter's
Introduction Tale and King Lear), and innocence (Twelfth Night).
Records indicate that The Tempest was performed before Although The Tempest provides the first masque within a
James I on November 1, 1611, but there may also have play, the idea of a play within a play had occurred in
been earlier performances. The Tempest was again earlier works, such as Hamlet and Much Ado About
performed during the winter of 1612-13 to celebrate the Nothing. In many ways The Tempest serves as a
marriage of Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King culmination of Shakespeare's earlier work, since in this
James I. But this play was not printed until it appeared for play, he brings many of these earlier ideas together in one
the first time in the 1623 Folio. work.
It is relatively easy to date The Tempest's composition, Historical and Cultural Context
since Shakespeare used material that was not available
until late 1610: letters from the new Virginia colony in By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the threat
Jamestown and an account of a 1609 shipwreck off of the Black Death (the plague) was diminishing, but it still
Bermuda. Unlike many of Shakespeare's other plays, The continued to be a seasonal problem in London, which was
Tempest, is not drawn from another, earlier literary work. overcrowded and suffered from poor sanitation and too
There is no formal source, except for the ideas that the much poverty.
author might have found in reading accounts of the
A hundred years earlier, Henry VII had formed alliances
Bermuda shipwreck or the stories emerging from the
with neighboring countries and trade was flourishing in
new colonies, which had been recently established in the
London. But the coming of trade changed the face of
New World.
England. Instead of a country composed largely of an
The Tempest as a Romance agrarian culture, England, and especially London, became
an important center of trade. There was more wealth,
The Tempest is a difficult play to categorize. Although it and the newly rich could now afford to escape the
ends in a wedding and thus might be defined as a congestion of the city. There was a need for large country
comedy, there are many serious undertones that estates, and so more and more farm land was enclosed.
diminish the comedic tone. Instead, most modern
anthologies of Shakespeare's works list this play as a Displaced rural families fled to the larger cities, where
romance. This separate division of romances includes crowding, unemployment, and disease increased with the
what are generally labeled as "the problem plays." Along increase in population. As city life flourished, there was a
with The Tempest, the romances resulting nostalgia for the loss of country life. In response
include Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The to this sentimentality, England's poets began to compose
Two Noble Kinsmen, plays of Shakespeare's later years. poetry recalling the tranquility of rustic life.
These plays were written between 1604 and 1614, just
Early in the seventeenth century, the masque that
prior to his retirement, when Shakespeare was
comprises much of the fourth act of The Tempest was
composing plays that combined romance with some of
becoming a regular form of court entertainment.
the darker aspects of life. The romances are plays with
Masques were elaborate spectacles, designed to appeal
the potential for tragedy but in which these tragic
to the audience's senses and glorify the monarch.
elements are resolved.
Furthermore, their sheer richness suggested the
With The Tempest, Shakespeare turns to fantasy and magnificence of the king's court; thus they served a
magic as a way to explore romantic love, sibling hatred, political purpose as well as entertained.
