2.4-5). Shakespeare seems to be suggesting that this storm is so bad that it has even managed to extinguish the magical fire seen by sailors. Finally, Strachey and his fellow passengers make it to land, and he recalls that they "We found it to be the dangerous and dreaded Island, or rather Islands of the Bermuda..." This ominous mention of "the island" brings to mind the entire island of The Tempest, on which not only are the noble characters shipwrecked but even Prospero and Miranda, who at first find themselves on a cursed island, where Ariel's "groans / did make wolves howl and penetrate the breast / of ever angry bears" (1.2.287-289). The island of The Tempest is thus likely inspired by Strachey mention of the "dreaded Island" they landed on in Bermuda.

Reading Strachey's account of the storm experienced by the passengers of the Sea Venture alongside William Shakespeare's The Tempest leads one to conclude that the author of the latter likely read Strachey's letter and incorporated details from the letter into the description of the storm and its effects on the story. The discussion...

Strachey's mention of St. Elmo's fire is used a way of demonstrating the power of storm in The Tempest, and finally, Strachey's ominous conclusion regarding land likely inspired the idea for an island in the first place. Aside from these details, the larger narrative of The Tempest leads one to believe that Shakespeare read Strachey as part of his creation of The Tempest, because there is simply too much textual evidence suggesting that in many ways, the island in the play is a magical exaggeration of Bermuda, and the human visitors to the island represent British colonists to the New World.
Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." Shakesspeare Navigators. Web. 2 Oct 2011.

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Strachey, William. "William Strachey's Account of the Storm."Shakespeare in American Life.

Web. 2 Oct 2011.

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