William Shakespeare Play The Tempest Performed for First Time (1611)

William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London.

The Tempest is thought to be one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, the rest of the story is set on a remote island, where complex and contradictory character Prospero, lives with his daughter Miranda, and his two servants: Caliban, a savage monster figure; and Ariel, an airy spirit.

The play contains music and songs that evoke the spirit of enchantment on the island. It explores many themes, including magic, betrayal, revenge, and family. In Act IV, a wedding masque serves as a play-within-a-play, and contributes spectacle, allegory, and elevated language.

While The Tempest is listed in the First Folio as Shakespeare’s first comedy, it deals with both tragic and comic themes, and modern criticism has created a category of romance for this and other Shakespeare plays.