Overview
English Lit: AQA GCSE The Tempest, topic 2.1.1
Summary of The Tempest
Shakespeare’s The Tempest was written 1610-1611. It was first performed before King James I on ‘Hallowmas nyght’.
A final Shakespearean play
- The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s final plays and is reflective of Jacobean England.
- It addresses contextual issues such as patriarchy (system of government lead by men) and colonisation (the process of European nations settling in and enforcing control over foreign lands).
- Shakespeare was eager to satisfy the monarch and key patron King James I, who was very superstitious. So this explains why the supernatural is such a key theme.
Witchcraft
- James I strongly disliked witchcraft. This is clearly an influence on Shakespeare’s writing of The Tempest.
- For example, Shakespeare negatively portrays the protagonist, Prospero's, use of magic to gain power.
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