We all know the plot to this famous, classic novel. But did you know that the inspiration behind the title was actually from The Tempest?
“Oh, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in ’t!” — Miranda
In The Tempest, Miranda delivers this speech when she first sees new people arrive on the island, obviously in wonderment. And in Brave New World, when John utters the phrase, it is when he looks at a society already consumed by its fixation on technology and hedonistic pleasure. We love the juxtaposition of ideas between the novel and the play. In Brave New World, Huxley explores ideas about the power of art and the nature of humanity as Shakespeare does in his haunting and, possibly, final play.