Deception in Macbeth

In Macbeth, Shakespeare sets the themes of seduction, ambition, and deception amid a correlating backdrop, whether you are giving chase on a battlefield, standing in foul weather, or seeing apparitions of bloody daggers we sense danger from the opening act. The play commences with ominous

At this point in the novel Macbeth is using the witches as a guideline to his life. The apparition that he cannot be harmed by anyone born of woman creates a false sense of security within himself. Even at this point, Macbeth still has a choice of whether or not to believe the witches. The weird sisters have not put any spell on him; they have just filled his greedy mind with a sense of security and power for kingship.

From the beginning, Lady Macbeth is seen as greedy and prepared to do what her husband will not, in order to get what she believes they are destined for. She is more

At first the conversation between Macbeth and them is all but imaginary, as the reader knows that Banquo and Macbeth had both seen the three weird sisters at the beginning of the play after the battle; but after they leave there is doubt in whether Macbeth was imagining them. After their departure, Macbeth asks Lennox a series of questions in order to prove to himself his sanity: “Saw you the weird sisters?” “No, my lord.”/ “Came they not by you?”/ “No indeed, my lord.”/ “Infected by the air whereon they ride, / And damned all those that trust them!”(Macbeth, Act4.Scene2. Lines 136-139a). In this quote, Macbeth actually admits that his belief in these real/fake creatures has damned him and damns everyone who believes in it. This is a key area in the theme of appearance vs. reality causing the doom of Macbeth because Macbeth acknowledges that the creatures that come to him, which he knows not if they are only apparent or also real, have brought him to insanity and damnation.

Before Macbeth made his move on Macduff he had to return to the witches for more advice. To Macbeth’s surprise the witches had an unknown power that he had never experienced before. Right before Macbeth’s eyes an apparition appeared and said, “Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, Beware Macduff. / Beware the Thane of Fife” (4.1.81-2). This quickly exacerbated Macbeth’s thoughts about Macduff. Though things were not looking to good the second apparition appeared. This apparition in the form of a bloody child said, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn/ The power of man, for none of a woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.90-2). At this point Macbeth is feeling as though he has a shot at becoming King. With his confidence boosted he wants to know more, thus the third apparition appears. The crowned child with a tree in hand said, “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/ Great Birnham Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/ Shall come against him” (4.1.105-7). Shortly after the

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a selfish Scottish thane becomes over-ambitious and commits several murders in order to gain and stay in power. After the murders, Macbeth evades suspicion by hiding his guilt and intentions, therefore deceiving others into thinking that he is innocent. Other characters including Lady Macbeth, the witches and the Scottish thanes also use their appearances to hide the truth and deceive others. With these examples, Shakespeare shows that appearances can be deceiving.

Nevertheless, once the King had been killed and Macbeth had taken his place, Scotland fell into disrepute with Macbeth’s treason the reason that he had completely undermined society. Talk of Macbeth’s treachery and its impact on the society was followed after Banquo’s death, when Ross informed Macduff and Malcolm that “O nation miserable” and that “It cannot / Be call’d our mother”. The great deceit of Macbeth was illustrated as resulting in “sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air” and Scotland was said to be “the dead man’s knell.” At this point in the play, the fear and common place of betrayal was in every characters’ mind and this was exemplified when Macduff’s son says that “there are / liars and swears enough to beat the honest men and / hang them up.” Although king, Macbeth still sought advice from the “weird sisters” in order to ascertain his future.

“The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (V: V: 25-30). This is the quote Macbeth says when he knows what’s coming for him, but he still proves to be self-deceit by listening to what the witches told him that he cannot be killed by someone born of a women. Macbeth once again thinking he’s invincible doesn’t realize that someone who was born of a caesarean section could kill him, because they are not technically born of a woman. Macbeth did not know Macduff was born like that, and it is why Macduff is the one to kill Macbeth.

Also, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both strong conveyors of deceit. From the onset on the play, Macbeth is characterized as strong and loyal to his king and country. However, once the witches’ prophecy is planted in his head, his thirst for King is so intense that it cannot be quenched and slowly his admirable traits are erased. When Macbeth is preparing for the King’s arrival at his house, he starts to question his murderous thoughts. He states that the King will be here in “double trust” , for Macbeth will be his hostess and will also be acting as a subject of the state. How can he possibly do such a grim task? The answer is Lady Macbeth. She lusts after becoming Queen and living a life of fantasy and does everything in her power to persuade her husband to kill the King. She questions his courage, she feeds his ego and she emasculates poor Macbeth all in an effort to get what she wants disguised as what is best for him. When he agrees, she tells him to “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” in order to commit this regicide. Lady Macbeth, such a beautiful woman, is actually a cunning, strategic and determined lady – so determined that she’s willing to risk everything and make her husband lie to the king and betray him. It’s funny how things are not always what they appear to be.

Macbeth takes his trip to the witches and it is there that he experiences his third hallucination, a four-part apparition that foretells his fate in an indefinite matter once again. The first apparition is an armed head that tells him, “Beware Macduff! /Beware the Thane of Fife!” (4.1.81-82) Macbeth has already had suspicions of Macduff and the apparition just confirms what he has already feared. The second apparition, a bloody child, says, “Laugh to scorn/ The power of man, for none of woman born/ shall harm Macbeth.” (4.1. 90-92) Macbeth rejoices to know that no man will beat him that was born of a woman, and he assumes that Macduff was born of a woman. The third

In William Shakespeare 's play, Macbeth, the theme of ambiguity and equivocation stands our quite clearly. The Oxford definition of equivocation is: ‘use of ambiguity to conceal the truth '. Macbeth 's voluntary misinterpretation of the ambiguity and equivocation of the witches relates to the play 's theme. After the first of the witches ' prophecies comes true, Macbeth begins to believe in their truth. However, he also believes that the prophecies must all lead to his enrichment and empowerment. The use of equivocation in Macbeth also incorporates a sub-theme of appearance versus reality and the powers of evil. In the end, he twists the witches ' words to fit his own purposes, ignoring the possibility that the prophecies might have

Macbeth realizes that the prophecy that the three witches told him is coming true, which blew his mind. Macduff fights for honor and Macbeth fights to kill and to stay alive even though he knows that he is destined to perish.

Lady Macbeth is a complex and intriguing character in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. She is a difficult character to embody as her personality seems split between two sides, one that is pure evil, sly and conniving in contrast to her softer, vulnerable, weak and feminine side. In the play we see her in these two main ways. The reader may feel a certain animosity towards Lady Macbeth throughout the first few acts as her personality appears more and more distasteful, in spite of this towards the end she has a serious breakdown over the guilt that torments her, even in her sleep, regarding her hand in Duncan’s untimely death.

After this Macbeth kills Macduff whole family and servants to send Macduff a message for being disloyal and he thinks that Macduff suspects him of something as well. This is shown when Macbeth says “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his

Because of these predictions, Macbeth believes that no one can harm him. However, this is a false sense of security. Macduff, who was born by a Caesarean section and therefore was not born of woman, ultimately killed Macbeth, thus revealing that the witches predictions were only half-truths.