Rough Draft The tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, is one of the most commonly known plays around the world. In Macbeth, betrayal and deception is always present throughout the play. Shakespeare portrays the idea of betrayal and deception through multiple characters throughout the play. Macbeth, Banquo, the Three Witches, and Macduff are all key players in how Shakespeare uses betrayal and deception in Macbeth.
Later, when Macbeth meets with the witches again, he believes they are telling him to murder the king. At first, he reacts with fear: “Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair” (1.3.145). The fact that Macbeth is so afraid of his mental image of murdering the king proves that Macbeth is still loyal to the king. But it also shows that he trusts the witches and is prepared to do anything. After some banter back and forth with Lady Macbeth and a little manipulation, he decides to go through with the murder, saying; “I am settled” (1.7.89).
He wonders if “all great Neptune’s ocean [will] wash this blood/clean from [his] hand” (2.2.78-9). Macbeth knows what he has done is wrong and he is shaken by his actions. Back then killing on the battlefield was much more respected than cowardly murder on a defenseless opponent. There was a purpose to fighting for an individual’s own country and brave soldiers were very highly revered. Macbeth is seen as this gallant and fearless warrior at the beginning of the play by his captains as they describe how “he unseamed [the enemy] from the nave to th’ chops” (1.2.24).
In act one scene 7, Macbeth doubts if he should kill the king; however, his wife, Lady Macbeth, manipulates him into proceeding. It might be difficult for Macbeth, the renowned warrior, to hear his wife accusing him of cowardice. Therefore, under Lady Macbeth’s influence, as she questions his manhood, he commences the murder in order to prove to her that he is not a “coward.” This is important to note because his soliloquy shows his determination to proceed.
A prominent theme in Act One of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is that appearances cannot be trusted. The first example of this theory is demonstrated through the actions of the traitorous Thane of Cawdor. After receiving news of the Thane of Cawdor’s betrayal, king Duncan is deeply troubled. He remarks,
When the guards awoke Macbeth killed them in a fit of rage and blamed them for death of King Duncan. This can be confirmed as truth by Macduff the man that bravely fought and arrested Macbeth so that he can be brought to justice today, and even then Macbeth had guilt written all over him. His guilt can be confirmed further as when he killed the guards he did it as if he was indulging himself, proving that he reveled in killing making his claims of his wife forcing him to commit the crime
And that even the king knows of him meaning that he is noble and doesn’t exhibit hubris. Even with his fearless character in battle Macbeth finds it hard to come to before, during, and after he murders the king of Scotland. In addition “To our own lips. He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself.
Many of the characters in Macbeth use deception to persuade others to do things they want done. Most times these deeds are bad and in the end come back to haunt the characters. Throughout the whole play, Shakespeare uses the theme of deception to create tension, and scandals. These acts of deception will be the falling of many characters and also one of the main themes of the play. In acts one and two, the use of deception is demonstrated.
The whole play is basically built around the theme of deception. Without deception in the play, Macbeth wouldn’t have a storyline to follow. There are many examples of deception in the play Macbeth. First, we can find deception in the first act of Macbeth, when Duncan is describing Macbeth. Duncan explains how good Macbeth is and how much of a man he is.
What is a false appearance? False appearances happen all the time. They can be defined as a facade, which is a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect. People try to hide their bad deeds by using a false appearance, attempting to make themselves look better than what said bad deeds make them appear to be. Macbeth is said to be a timeless play and in order to prove such a statement there will be examples used from the play and from our everyday life.
Appearances being deceptive is a theme that runs rampant throughout William Shakespeare's Play Macbeth and the modern day advertising. Through the following points will be examples of people,things and ideas will be laid out and explained why they are considered to have deceptive appearances. “Fair is foul, foul is fair” (1,1,25L) is the phrase uttured by the witches in the first scene, this sets the mood for the whole play and the decisions made throughout. Beginning with the most common idea’s or analogies being don't judge a book by its cover and don't judge a sweet by it wrapper. This explains and means that you can judge a person by looking at it or them.
The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare himself has been circulating the world for as long as we know. When you first think of Macbeth you automatically think of treachery, he was willing to lie, kill, and steal something that never intended for him in the first place. What made William Shakespeare decide to write such a plot twisting play? After reading this valiant play, it made me realize that blood is not thicker than water. The backstabbing that happened throughout all of the play really makes you think about the true essence of loyalty in the people that you claim to trust.
Upon looking at the overview of the plotline we see three times throughout the story of Macbeth that people are constantly lying changing and disguising themselves as people that they are not. The Main character of the story is named Macbeth.
In the tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, we clearly see that deception is a repeating theme throughout the entire play. It is significantly shown through the actions and choices they make that deception, is their clear motif. In this particular play, the deception that Shakespeare shows through the characters reveals their true self and their intentions for one another. From the very start of the play, deception was shown through a phrase said by all three witches “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”. This could imply that this play might revolve around a lot of lies and tricks towards each other.
William Shakespeare portrays the theme of deception through a mask perfectly through the character Macbeth. Macbeth is the “Thane of Glamis,” “valiant,” and “loyal and brave soldier.” Throughout the play, many people use those words to describe him but people realize he is quite the opposite of this. The King is quite impressed with Macbeth's effort and awards him with the title of Thane of Cawdor. At first, Macbeth is quite shocked because he ran into witches on the way to the castle, and they told him 3 prophecies: he will become Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and then King.
