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First staging
We know The Tempest was first performed on 1 Nov 1611, in Whitehall
in the presence of James I. There are no accounts of how the play
was received but we do know that the subject matter was very topical
at the time. James I had an interest in colonialism and had funded
Sir Walter Raleigh's trip to South America. The play also inspired
paintings by the artists Richard Dadd and Henry Townsend. The Tempest
was the last play Shakespeare wrote.
Elizabethan London
Most of Shakespeare's plays were written during the reign of Elizabeth
I; a great and eventful time in British history. During her reign,
England emerged as the leading naval and commercial power of the
western world after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1558.
London became the centre for a vibrant arts culture with poets and
dramatists living and working there, with its population in the
sixteenth century growing by 400 per cent.
From the writings of Marlowe, Kyd, and Peele amongst others (in
the 1580's), grounded in Medieval and Jacobean roots, emerged new
blank-verse dramas and comedies, with Shakespeare combining the
best of Elizabethan and classical drama.
Today
The play has inspired many interpretations, including colonialism
and prejudice, and is seen as a multi-faceted metaphor, allowing
directors and designers to create almost any interpretation.
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