The Tempest, written in 1611, was one of William Shakespeare's last
             plays. It has a combination of superb characters, interesting settings, and a
             good plot line-all held together by the running theme of magic, and its ever-
             present importance. A closer examination of the magic in The Tempest, and the
             public's view of magic at the time, will give insight as to Shakespeare's choice
             of magic as a theme, and why it has made the play so successful and timeless.
             Magic presented itself to Shakespeare as a controversial topic, as it
             had been the persecution of those believed to perform "black magic," (witches)
             that had been at the forefront of societal concerns since 1050.
             Witches were still persecuted and witch-hunts did not actually stop until the end of the seventeenth century. Therefore, Shakespeare's use of magic was controversial, compounded by the fact that Prospero was presented in a largely good light-a move probably made as a political statement, as it is known that Shakespeare's plays were sometimes written to include political suggestions to King James.
             Whether or not Shakespeare ever read the Scot text in its entirety, or
             whether or not the banquet disappearance was added before or after the original
             writing, neither is relevant to magic's central importance to the play.
             Obviously, magic could grab audiences of Shakespeare's time. and magic continues to grab audiences today. It caught Shakespeare's eye, and has made the play timeless, and
             The isle is indeed, as Caliban says, "full of noises" (III.ii.130). The play begins with a "tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning" (I.i.1, stage direction), and the splitting of the ship is signaled in part by "a confused noise within" (I.i.54, stage direction). Much of the noise of the play is musical, and much o
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