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In this paper, I discuss the influence of commedia dell'arte on The Tempest and consider the possibility of a late truncation of the play. This foundation sets the stage for the task of writing my own twenty-first century adaptation, This Thing of Darkness. By examining Kathleen Lea's discussion of commedia scenarios and considering their parallels with The Tempest, I postulate several possible missing elements including the unfinished revenge plots and the uncomplicated romance plot of Miranda and Frederick. I consider Henry David Gray's hypothesis that Shakespeare cut his own climax in favour of a wedding masque to appease the court of King James I, which adds another layer of complexity to our understanding of The Tempest's evolution. In considering the ethics of adaptation, I draw on Walter Benjamin's model of the textual afterlife which suggests that every text has the potential to be reinterpreted and reworked by future generations. I then situate This Thing of Darkness as a pre-imagination of The Tempest that addresses these criticisms dramaturgically. Through engaging with these potential source materials, This Thing of Darkness opens new avenues for understanding both the First Folio Tempest and its many afterlives.
Samuel Webster (Tue,) studied this question.