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Did Shakespeare write The Tempest in response to a shipwreck, or was something bigger at play? In this episode, we explore the early modern travel narratives that many scholars believe inspired Shakespeare’s final solo play.
We begin with lesser-known travel accounts that focus on cultural encounters in Russia, Southwest Asia, Central America, and India—narratives that shaped how early modern England imagined the world beyond Europe. Then we turn to one of the most famous stories of the time: the 1609 Sea Venture shipwreck on the coast of Bermuda, often cited as a direct influence on The Tempest.
Along the way, we examine how these texts reflect English perceptions of unfamiliar peoples and cultures—from fascination and admiration to fear and misunderstanding—and how those attitudes echo throughout the world of The Tempest.
If you’d like to explore more about Shakespeare’s engagement with proto-colonialism and early travel writing, check out these past episodes from our archive:
Whether you're encountering The Tempest for the first time or revisiting it with a global lens, this episode offers rich context on how Shakespeare’s world was shaped by the stories of travelers, survivors, and empire-builders.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
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Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Judkins, David C. “Travel Literature of the Early Modern Period.” CEA Critic, vol. 64, no. 1, 2001, pp. 47–58. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44378330. Accessed 3 July 2025.
Vaughan, Alden T. "William Strachey's "True Reportory" and Shakespeare: A Closer Look at the Evidence." Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 59 no. 3, 2008, p. 245-273. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/shq.0.0017.
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