William Shakespeare Explores the Sea
Maureen Leupold
William Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, is a tale of the revenge and redemption of a scorned former Duke of Milan. The play begins with a violent storm, a tempest, which causes the unexpected shipwreck of travelers who are then forced to face a series of mysterious occurrences during their stay on an unidentified island. Many early sea voyages often resulted in shipwreck due to very limited technology, inexperienced sailors, unpredictable weather systems, unchartered terrain, and other natural occurrences. Unfortunately, there were many casualties at sea during early exploration. Those individuals who were lucky enough to survive a storm or shipwreck often took refuge on whatever land mass they happened upon. The literary work, The Tempest, is not a story of human casualty; the characters survived the treacherous sea voyage and found safety on an island. There are many possible correlations between the aspects of sea exploration and the play itself. Historical accounts, scientific data, and some fundamental business transactions can be identified as contributors to the inspiration of Shakespeare’s composition of The Tempest.
Early sea explorations were generally focused on land expansion and the commodities that the land could provide. Newly found territories and the industry created from them were often considered primary sources of wealth for those individuals who could afford to finance sea expeditions. As sea voyages became more prevalent, trade was then introduced as a new means of attaining wealth, especially over long distances. The most preferred items of trade were those of high value, mostly from Eastern origin including spices, silk, ivory, and precious stones. The Mediterranean area was fruitful in coral and high quality textile trade. The trade business was mainly conducted by merchants of the Italian Maritime cities and their main route of passage was through the Mediterranean Sea (Parry 20). Shakespeare lands his characters of The Tempest, on a fictional island located somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. During the return voyage of his daughter’s wedding, Alonso meets the storm that alters his future and puts him on the receiving end of Prospero’s vendetta. This highly traveled route through the Mediterranean may have proven safe for trade business but placed Alonso, the King of Naples, and his companions at the mercy of magic and deceit.
Between the 11th and 15th centuries, West Africa became identified as a valuable trading location. The seaports along the North West coast of Africa exported goods from across the Sahara Dessert to Europe and beyond. One of the principal interests in African trading, aside from slave trade, was fish. The European demands for salt water fish encouraged the deep see fisherman to venture further and further along the Atlantic Ocean in search of profitable catches (Parry 21). Shakespeare does not note whether Alonso’s daughter, Claribel, marries the Prince of Tunis for love, but one could speculate that the marriage was based on a business acquisition. For one reason, long distance travel by sea was not viewed as the leisure activity that it is today. Because journeys by sea were costly, they were centered on achieving some type of profit or resource. Sea travel was not something that was accessible to everyone. Therefore, it was unlikely that Alonso’s daughter, Claribel, was visiting her future husband in Africa frequently enough to build a substantial relationship. Another reason to indicate that Claribel’s marriage was arranged, was the interest in trade along the African coast. Since African trade was notably profitable at this time, a relationship between the cities of Milan and Tunis could prove to be financially beneficial to both. Alonso may have seen an opportunity for personal gain as well as improving the status of his city if he were to assist with creating a relationship with a coveted trade location.
As with any method of exploration or travel, sailing had its disadvantages and failures during its early stages of development. Many of the ships that were used for long voyages were often not specifically designed for the task. Long voyages were rough and uncomfortable. Ships generally did not have accommodations for passengers other than the crew. Seasickness, hot weather, rats, scurvy, and undesirable food selections were some of the obstacles that passengers and crew faced while aboard a ship. (Wiesner-Hanks153) One of the main concerns when sailing on these long voyages was the daunting possibility of a shipwreck. Prospero depended upon the shipwreck of Alonso and his companions in order to carry out his plan. He needed the opportunity to face his adversaries in his own environment according to his agenda. Since a shipwreck could occur by natural occurrences, such as a tempest, there was no reason for the crew of Alonso’s ship to suspect anything unusual about their sudden predicament. This allowed Prospero the opportunity to reveal himself as the sole instigator of Alonso’s humility at his own discretion. He would be able to prove his magical abilities by taking responsibility for the creation of the tempest, which is essentially control over nature itself.
Prospero used the tempest as a device to bring his anticipated guests to his island. Due to limited knowledge regarding weather systems in the earlier centuries, it was not unusual for ships to become caught up in a hurricane or tornado. There was not much technology or opportunity to predict appropriate times to travel. Prospero was aware of this, and generated his perfect storm to scatter his enemies throughout his island. Scientific data estimates that storm winds occurring over water can reach up to 180 miles per hour at about 12 miles from the eye of the storm. Walls of clouds grow higher and higher releasing torrents of rain causing more tribulations for ships and their crews. An isolated thunderstorm’s lifecycle can last less than an hour and affect only a few miles across but can create enough momentum to send a ship to its destruction, leaving the crew, if still alive, helpless and desperate for assistance (Kandel 149-50). Fortunately, Prospero had created the tempest with a controlled and deliberate purpose. Receiving assistance from the impish spirit, Ariel, he ensured that the passengers arrived safely to his island. Prospero needed the passengers alive and able-bodied in order to orchestrate his ascension from exile.
Prospero’s tempest, although not a deadly storm, was scary enough to cause the boatswain and passengers to accept and prepare for their deaths. Shakespeare may have been inspired in his writing by testimonies of shipwreck survivors. One case in point is the writing of William Stratchey, who composed “A True Reportory”. This included details of the storm that caused the shipwreck that he personally experienced. In his account he described the storm as a, “battle unto heaven between the sea and the clouds”. Strachey also described his encounter of the storm’s rain as “floods in the air”. This literary account of an ocean storm and shipwreck may have inspired Shakespeare to utilize a tempest as Prospero’s instrument of revenge. He would never have been able to obtain his salvation if his enemies were not brought to him in such a convenient manner.
There are many accounts of shipwrecks chronicled throughout history. It has been noted that the famous shipwreck of the Sea Venture in 1609 had served as a muse to Shakespeare’s writing of The Tempest. The Sea Venture was a newly built vessel that was caught in a tempest when traveling from England to Jamestown, Virginia. The Sea Venture was caught in a storm for several days and traveled hundreds of miles off of it’s scheduled course. The ship finally crashed on an island which is now identified as Bermuda. During the early 15th and 16th centuries, Bermuda was known as the Devil’s Isle due to its natural hazards to ships and sailors. To this day, deep sea divers are still able to locate treasures from hundreds of ships that became victim to the tricky reef systems that surround the island (Bermuda). Even though there is no indication of how long the passengers in the play are caught in the storm, they still ultimately face the same oceanic complications and encounters with a strange land that the passengers aboard the Sea Venture did. Both sets of passengers had similar horrific experiences aboard ships that faced destruction by an act of nature.
Early sea explorations opened the door to the expansion of civilization, many financial opportunities, cultural integrations, and land acquisitions. Ship building and sailing techniques improved over time, providing the ability to travel further and transport larger cargo. The challenges that were faced during sea travel provided many authors with ideas and thoughts for composing literary works. An adequate example is Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, which parallels the motivations and dangers behind sea travel during the 16th century.
Works Cited
Bevington, David. The Necessary Shakespeare. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. 2009. Print.
Forbes, Keith Archibald. Bermuda Online. The Royal Gazette Ltd. 17 October
2009. Web. 2009.Kandel, Robert. Water From Heaven. New York: Colombia University Press. 2003.
Print.Parry. J.H. The Age of Reconnaissance: Discovery, Exploration and Settlement
1450 to 1610. London: Praeger Publishers. 1969. Print.Stachey, William. A True Reporatory of the Wreck and Redemption…From
The Island of the Bermudas.< http://fas-history.rutgers.edu
/clemens/Jamestown/Strachey.html>Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. An Age of Voyages 1350-1600. New York:Oxford
University Press. 2005.