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Macbeth Appearance Vs Reality

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What lies beneath a person who seems perfect? Can we trust anyone in a world full of secrets and lies? In William Shakespeare's play "Macbeth," the title character is seen as a great king, but that is not true. Though he may appear to be brave and loyal, Macbeth is disloyal and a coward, even willing to kill his own king. As the play unfolds, we witness Macbeth's gradual downfall. The theme of appearance versus reality is prominent, highlighting Macbeth's moral decline as he commits Duncan's murder. This theme is evident in Macbeth's soliloquies, where he expresses doubt, determination to carry out the murder, and the gradual loss of his own identity afterward.
Firstly, Duncan believes Macbeth is a close ally and good individual, but he is …show more content…

Macbeth is haunted by guilt and experiences an internal struggle to reconcile his actions with his former self:"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?" (2.2.78-79). Macbeth's anguished question highlights his remorse and the impossibility of washing away the guilt of his heinous act. It reveals the stark contrast between his public appearance as a loyal subject and the reality of his monstrous deeds. This internal conflict marks the beginning of his gradual loss of identity as he is consumed by guilt and the weight of his actions. As Macbeth becomes more entrenched in his ambition and paranoia, his true self becomes increasingly obscured: "I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er" (3.4.136-138). Macbeth's realization that he is immersed in blood and that there is no turning back reflects his loss of identity. The quote signifies his acceptance of the path he has chosen, one that is stained with violence and deceit. As Macbeth abandons his moral compass and embraces his ruthless persona, the gap between appearance and reality widens, further contributing to his gradual loss of

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“which smoked with bloody execution. ”(Shakespeare,1.1) Macbeth all the way at the beginning of the play is a hero. He saved this war for Scotland and he has all the respect from the King, Duncan. Yet despite being a hero, things will change as shown by the bloody man which represents how Macbeth will feel as soon he will be covered in evilness and guilt and that is shown by all the blood.

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Firstly Macbeth said to Lady Macbeth when he told her that he is planning a scheme: "I am in blood / Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er" (3.4.135-136). Macbeth has committed too much crime that trying to find a way to stop and redeem himself will be just as hard as continue on his path of killing and crimes. In this scene blood represent guilt and violence.

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It is no wonder then that after the confirmation of the murder of Banquo, the bloody apparition of his former friend coalesces upon his throne. Each time the ghost vanishes, Macbeth 's relief shows a man swinging from one state of mind to another, losing control of his reality as the “false face” that he uses begins to slip away with the guilt in his heart, and starts becoming that which his heart actually feels, as he had begun to act without debate with the murder of Banquo, immediately moving on to plotting against Macduff and murdering his entire family(IV.ii). As the shackles of his conscience began to slip away, Macbeth reveals his true face: someone who thirsts for power and suffers from the trait of hubris. This

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Macbeth realizes that he will have to face consequences in this quote because blood is being used to show death and how Macbeth’s life will be taken in exchange for the assassination of Banquo. Therefore, William Shakespeare uses blood to show Macbeth's guilt towards the murders of Duncan and

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662 Words | 3 Pages

This highlights his realization that he has gone too far to turn back, and his descent into madness is inevitable. Macbeth’s grasp on sanity weakens and the aspiration for kingship over takes him. His perpetual battle with manhood continues to guide him to his

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597 Words | 3 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, literary symbols or motifs such as blood play a significant role. Throughout the play, blood feeds off of a strong case of corrupt ambition and symbolizes guilt, blame and destruction. No matter how strong or thick one’s blood is, actions prove to be permanent and have serious side effects such as a haunting guilt marked by Macbeth’s crimson blood. Shortly after discovering that Macbeth is in line to be King, he and his wife Lady Macbeth devise a plan to murder and remove the incumbent King Duncan from his throne to open up the position. However, as soon as Macbeth commits the fatal murder, he is exasperated by his actions evidently as he yelps, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?

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This scene demonstrates the immediate impact of killing King Duncan on Macbeth and his loss of innocence. This symbolizes the consequences of moral transgressions, and how Macbeth's actions lead to his internal downfall and overall premature

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Macbeth’s mental condition begins to dwindle as time goes on, starting with the murder of Duncan. At first, Macbeth is seen as a soldier that everyone aspires to be, strong, brave, and compassionate about his duties to the king. In act one scene two, Captain says, “...For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-...” This shows that he is a likeable person who has only the objective of serving his king. After meeting with the witches and hearing his prophecy, Macbeth starts to think about what it would be like to be king of Scotland.

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1206 Words | 5 Pages

Shakespeare uses a hyperbole to emphasize how Macbeth is not physically wading through blood, instead he’s trapped inside the cycle of killing. He views it as easier to continue on the path of murder rather than go back to his previous morals of honesty and obedience. This choice highlights his active decision to restrain from going back to his old positive values in life, accentuating his change in beliefs which ultimately fuel his violent killings. Macbeth becomes so unreasonably caught up in the act of murdering that it makes him oblivious in seeing the true consequences of his actions: influencing his poor and aggressive choices. The witches’ prophecies give Macbeth a false sense of security, allowing for overconfidence to emerge, depriving him of the ability to sense the boundaries of dangerous decision making.

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This contrast immediately gives the reader an insight into the torment that guilt and regret can cause. There is a clear definition between Lady Macbeth before and after the murder of King Duncan. This character change emphasizes greatly the theme of the impacts upon a person due to the unnatural acts they have performed. In Lady Macbeth’s case the impact was guilt and regret both of which tormented her to point of serious mental illness, insomnia and ultimately a self induced demise. The author 's intention in bringing a once strong and evil character to the mercy of their own morality is to educate readers upon the impacts that guilt could have upon their own life if they were to perform the unnatural just as Lady Macbeth did.

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In Macbeth, the main character is viewed as a generally good character but as the story progresses his personality changes as a result of what he was told would happen. The way Macbeth starts to feel about others around him also changes. In the beginning of the story, Macbeth’s feeling of guilt was not as great as the middle of the story where he committed most of his treacherous deeds. In Act One when Macbeth was first approached by the witches he never really thought about killing the king.

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At the beginning of the play, blood can often be seen to symbolise strength, heroism and stereotypical masculinity. The Captain describes Macbeth’s efforts on the battlefield with imagery such as “ smoked with bloody execution” to display blood as a war trophy and badge of bravery. Shakespeare’s use of descriptive language such as “smoked” conveys a tone of achievement and grandeur: which in turn implies that the act of murdering men on the battle field is heroic and praiseworthy, as it is displayed in such an impressive manner. However, Shakespeare shows the audience a very different side to Macbeth after the murder of Duncan. Shakespeare displays Macbeth’s overwhelming guilt and remorse in the words “my hand will rather/ the multitudinous seas incarnadine making the green one red” in which Macbeth states that all the oceans of the world could not wash away the blood from his hands and therefore implies that there is nothing on

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963 Words | 4 Pages

Killing Duncan was his downfall that also brought down Scotland and because of this evil act, Macbeth was punished over and over through the play until his downfall cost him his life. His figurative nobility is brought up when Macbeth becomes king. Once a noble general now and noble king keeping secrets. The audience sees his figurative

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Throughout Macbeth, and Julius Cesar things that appear to be good are in fact, bad. This is seen through Macbeth appearing to be honorable, Lady Macbeth appears to be an innocent women, and lastly how Antony, Brutus, and Cassius deceive their friends. Macbeth seems to be honorable. Macbeth is portrayed as

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This direct quote said by Macbeth, shows his selfish ambition and proves that he does not care about anybody other than himself. Macbeth is also stating within this quote that he has walked so far into a river of blood that even if he tried stopping now, it would be easier for him to keep killing people than to become a good person again. Based on his actions, Macbeth has shown that he has quickly transitioned from good to evil and that he does not have any remorse for all the killing that he has done.

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