The Tempest

(Left to right: Ariel, Prospero, Miranda)

The Tempest was written by Shakespeare and was believed to have been conceived between the year 1610 and 1611. It is widely believed that this was the last play that Shakespeare had written by himself . There is no established source that provides information about Shakespeare's influence for writing The Tempest, but there are sources that are believed to have inspired the piece. One possible source for his inspiration may have been a German play by Jacob Ayrer of Nuremberg, who died in 1605. His Fair Sidea was not printed till 1618,  Shakespeare could only have known of it by report,which might have beeen brought over by the English players who visited Nuremberg in 1604 and 1606. In both The Fair Sidea and The Tempest we have "a prince given to magic, and driven into exile with a daughter who marries the son of his enemy; an attendant spirit; and - most striking of all - the imposition of log-carrying upon the captive prince, and the fixing of his sword in his scabbard." 

Another possible source of inspiration was possibly from the the eye witness report of William Strachey's shipwreck on the islands of Bermuda. William Strachey was a passenger aboard the flagship 'Sea Venture' when they wee blown off course by a hurricane two months into the trip, near the islands of Berrmuda, one hundred and fifty people and a dog were saved from the scene. They were eventually able to escape the island after nearly a year as they were able to build two small ships and they eventually managed to complete their voyage to Virginia.