Magic in fiction

Historically, witches such as the Weird Sisters in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, wizards such as Prospero in The Tempest or characters like Doctor Faustus in Christopher Marlowe's play of the same name were widely considered to be real.

[1]: 1027  Contemporary authors tend to treat magic as an imaginary idea, opting to build their worlds with a blank slate where the laws of reality do not carry as much weight.

[1]: 1027 Within a work of fantasy, magic can help to advance the plot, often providing power to heroes or to their opponents.

In many[quantify] fantasy works, writers depict magic as an innate talent, equivalent for example to perfect pitch.

[8][page needed] Wands and staves often feature in fantasy works in the hands of wizards.