The Tempest- Central Theme

In The Tempest, author William Shakespeare uses vivid imagery to show how reality, illusion, magic, and dreams can be contrasted among each other to interpret the true meaning of this story more in depth. The imagery of sound, sleep and dreaming, and water all make it easier for the reader to understand the many complex themes that are in The Tempest.
Throughout the story of The Tempest, images of sound stand out, each connected to another element in the play such as reality, illusion, magic, and dreams of the play. Many of these appear in Act II, scene ii, as Caliban talks to Trinculo and Stephano of the noises surrounding them in the woods. Caliban is the only character out of them who shows a sudden interest for finer things, and may not be as beastly and mean as we originally thought he was , as Caliban shows in the lines "The isle is full of noises and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not." (III, ii, 126-27) Caliban, uses sweet words about the noises to prove that ...