How The Tempest drew on The Aeneid
A documented line of influence: William Shakespeare demonstrably engaged Virgil’s work. The commentary below is Gröblé’s, verbatim from each work’s page.
The source
The Aeneid
Virgil · 19 BCE
Ancient RomeThe influenced
The Tempest
William Shakespeare · c. 1611
ShakespeareRelevance
7/10
On The Tempest’s page
- The Tempest opens on a Virgilian storm — the shipwreck, the scattered survivors, the supernatural reckoning all trace back to the Aeneid
- Shakespeare half-names his source: Gonzalo's "widow Dido" and the talk of Carthage and Tunis in 2.1 point straight at Virgil's queen
- Ariel's harpy at the magical banquet is Aeneid Book 3 staged anew; knowing Virgil's voyage sharpens every echo on Prospero's island
On The Aeneid’s page
- Prospero's island shipwreck retells the Aeneid's storm-and-rescue voyage — and Ariel's banquet-disrupting harpy is lifted from Virgil's harpies in Book 3
- Shakespeare even drops the seam: Gonzalo's "widow Dido," Claribel, and the Carthage–Tunis exchange in 2.1 are Virgil's geography surfacing in the dialogue
- The opening tempest that gives the play its name owes its shape to the one that wrecks Aeneas