There are many benefits to explaining why plays are used to provide entertainment rather than an author simply writing their story on paper. A play satisfies the visual and auditory senses, while still offering an entertaining plot. Content on a page simply can't compete with a play with the "extras" that go into making a play. Quoted for his plays, Ben Jonson said of William Shakespeare: “Soule of the Age! The applause! delight! The wonder of our stage!” William Shakespeare is one of the most influential playwrights who ever lived. He was aware of what could be done on stage through his works and of the different roles that sound effects could play in his works. This is specifically shown in Shakespeare's play The Tempest. In The Tempest the different sounds present in the show have a role of their own. Several different sounds are included throughout the show, including thunder, music, and different sounds made by the spirit Ariel. The many sounds of Shakespeare's The Tempest are included to guide the completion of Prospero's plan to forgive his enemies. Although at first the sounds may seem like just extra texts included by Shakespeare in his work, with a deeper look one can see the magnitude of their role. The most obvious of the sounds seen in the play appears to be the first text seen in the play. The show opens with the captions: “On a ship at sea: a stormy noise of thunder and lightning was heard” (Ii1-2). This wasn't just filler to start the show. Shakespeare had a specific purpose for why he begins The Tempest this way. The sound of thunder in this case literally sets the scene for the entire work. This sound can undoubtedly be...... middle of paper...... plays and a large number of Shakespeare's plays that are read, one must remember to use one's imagination when reading Shakespeare. As Mitchell writes in his explanation of Shakespeare's many sounds in his many plays, "Because sound effects contribute to emotional impact, it is useful to interpret them correctly" (Mitchell 127). It might be possible to argue that The Tempest by William Shakespeare should add the character "sound" in the main role. The influence that the various sounds have throughout the play truly alters the characters' journeys and makes them fall deeply into Prospero's plan. Without sound the plot of Prospero could not have been completed. William Shakespeare incorporated sound perfectly, once again demonstrating his genius as a playwright and offering anyone who reads or watches the play a witty and entertaining plot..