The Tempest (play)

The Tempest is one of William Shakespeare's last plays. Its first known performance was on November 1, 1611 at Whitehall Palace in London. It would also have been performed at the Globe Theatre and the Blackfriars Theatre.

Career of The Tempest

Sir William Davenant and John Dryden adapted a deeply cut version of The Tempest, "corrected" for Restoration audiences. Dryden's remarks, in the Preface to his opera Albion and Albanius give an indication of the struggle later 17th century critics had with the elusive masque-like character of a play that fit no classicizing preconceptions. Albion and Albinius was first conceived as a prologue to the adapted Shakespeare (in 1680), then extended into an entertainment on its own. In Dryden's view, The Tempest

Related Topics:
William Davenant - John Dryden - Restoration - Albion and Albanius

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:"is a tragedy mixed with opera, or a drama, written in blank verse, adorned with scenes, machines, songs, and dances, so that the fable of it is all spoken and acted by the best of the comedians... It cannot properly be called a play, because the action of it is supposed to be conducted sometimes by supernatural means, or magic; nor an opera, because the story of it is not sung." (Dryden, Preface to Albion and Albinius).

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The Tempest has inspired numerous later works, including short poems such as that by Robert Browning, and the long poem The Sea and the Mirror by W. H. Auden. John Dryden and William D'Avenant adapted it for the Restoration stage, adding characters and plotlines and removing much of the play's "mythic resonance". The title of the novel Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley is also taken explicitly from this play. The 1956 science-fiction film Forbidden Planet was inspired by the play, especially with regards to the motives (but not names) of several of the characters, but the story replaces Caliban with a 'Monster from the id'. A cheeky stage musical adaptation, entitled Return to the Forbidden Planet (London, 1990) successfully merged the plot of the film with more Shakespearean characters and dialogue. The 1982 film Tempest, directed by Paul Mazursky, is a comedy loosely based on the play starring John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Raul Julia, Susan Sarandon and Molly Ringwald. In 1991, Peter Greenaway directed Prospero's Books a film adaptation in which Prospero speaks all the lines.

Related Topics:
Robert Browning - W. H. Auden - John Dryden - William D'Avenant - Adapted it - Restoration - Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - Forbidden Planet - Return to the Forbidden Planet - Peter Greenaway - Prospero's Books

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