William Shakespeare, The Tempest

William Sherman (University of York)
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The earliest recorded performance of 

The Tempest

 was “at Whitehall before the King's Majesty” on 1 November 1611. A year and a half later, on 20 May 1613, the play was performed again for King James I, during the festivities leading up to the marriage of his daughter Princess Elizabeth to Frederick, the Elector Palatine. The play was probably also performed for a wider public by the company formed under the patronage of King James, the “King's Company” or “King's Men” – either indoors at the Blackfriars Theatre or outdoors at The Globe. The text was not published, however, until seven years after Shakespeare's death: despite the fact that it was probably the last play Shakespeare wrote alone, it appears as the opening play in his 1623 collected works (the “First…

2087 words

Citation: Sherman, William. "The Tempest". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002; last revised 20 January 2020. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7895, accessed 28 March 2024.]

7895 The Tempest 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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