The Tempest as Pastoral Romance

Abstract

HE problem of the source of The Tempest has long intrigued scholars, because a single entirely satisfactory work has never been uncovered to account for its origin. Many significant contributions to the solution of the problem have, however, been offered. In i817 Ludwig Tieck pointed to Die schone Sidea, a play by Jacob Ayrer, as a source or close analogue. Its plot parallels The Tempest in that it centers on a prince-magician, served by a spirit, father of a daughter whose hand is won when the son of an enemy carries logs. Die schdne Sidea was surely written before i605, the date of Ayrer's death, but since it went unpublished until i6i8, seven years after the composition of The Tempest, a common ancestor is conjectured for the two.' The Italian commedia dell' arte, a form of entertainment very popular in Shakespeare's England, is also thought to have been a suggestive force for The Tempest. Several of the comedies dealt with the theme of men shipwrecked on an island ruled by a Mago. Love intrigues between the crew and the natives formed the plot materials, and often the greed of the sailors provided the comic situation.2 A possible source for the political intrigue which resulted in Prospero's banishment has been found in William Thomas' History of Italy.3 The plot has also been linked to the Spanish Noches des Invierno of Antonio Eslava, in which a dethroned king raises a magic castle in mid-ocean, where he lives with his daughter until, also by magic, he brings about a marriage between her and the son of an enemy.4 The AEneid of Virgil is credited with inspiring both the storm and the meeting of the lovers.5 Many contemporary accounts of storms and shipwrecks have also been offered as sources for the storm of the first act, and in many there can be found a few similarities to the storm of the play.6 Even after careful study of all these suggested influences, different as each may be, none seems to rule out another, for the prime factor in Shakespeare's art is its marvelous composite quality. Indeed, a realization of its composite nature is the essential key to the understanding of his genius; thus, it is without questioning the value of these recognized sources or analogues that Longus' romance of Daphnis and Chloe is suggested as another important influence on the genesis of the play.