The use of magical motifs in Erin Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus, helps make it a unique and fascinating read. But the literary device is by no means new. Magic can be found in some of the oldest, most revered pieces of literature throughout history, as in William Shakespeare's The Tempest. In fact, his play served as an inspiration for Morgenstern's novel.

In The Night Circus, Prospero the Enchanter maintains a magical persona and attempts to control his daughter's life, much like his namesake in The Tempest, who has the ability to call on spirits and charm his daughter Miranda to sleep.

When confronted with these similarities in an interview with TribLive, Morgenstern admitted that her story shares various themes with both The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. She explains, "Some of the Shakespearean aspects actually came up late in the development of the story... I had all the characters there, and the plot wasn't structured the same way it is now. Once I ...