Appearance Vs. Reality
Throughout the course of their life, every human being will experience a time during which they are deceived by what appears to be true, while there is an underlying reality that they are utterly unaware of. People use words, actions, and emotions to deceive people into believing they are genuine thus keep reality concealed. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the dichotomy of appearance vs. reality is incessantly used to intensify the plot of the play. The characters are blinded by what they see to be true, making it difficult for them to be able to distinguish between what is actually real and what appears to be real. The detachment between appearance and reality all through Macbeth adds suspense to the play and deepens the drama within the plot.
The play Macbeth opens with a disorderly scene where the three witches are introduced. All together they say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair:” (Act I, scene i, line 11), which sets the evil tone for the play, and initiates the idea of appearances being misleading and deceptive. What is seen to be good and pleasant to the witches may be seen as awful and bad to others, and vise versa. Later on when Macbeth is told he shall be king by the weird sisters, he is unable to see the true malicious intents of the witches because he can only think of the good that they are telling him. He says “This supernatural soliciting/ Cannot be ill, cannot be good; if ill/ Why hath it given me earnest of success,” (I, iii, 131-133). Macbeth questions why they would pledge to him something so magnificent if they are supposedly so evil. He cannot see the ill will that truly lies within them because he is deceived by their false appearance of virtue. This is the starting point of ...
... middle of paper ...
...pleasant and secure to Duncan, the reality is Macbeth is planning on killing him. Duncan is completely unaware of his fate, creating dramatic irony as well as a great deal of suspense for the audience.
The division of reality and appearance within Macbeth generates a great deal of tension and suspense into the plot of the play. The deceivingly good appearances and immoral intentions of the characters makes it difficult to deduce what their true intent is. The separation between what is real and what appears to be real is plays an extremely important role in the play. Without the detachment between appearance and reality, characters would never be triggered to their downfall because they would never be mislead from what the honest truth is. Thus, the contradiction between appearance and reality is necessary to magnify the drama and anticipation within the plot.
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
Prior to deciding whether or not conflict is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH, one must consider all the dramatic factors that contribute to the Shakespearean play. The gradual decline of the protagonist , the role portrayed by characters and the order in which the events occur, greatly influence the direction in which the development of the play takes place. After reading the text MACBETH, by Shakespeare and viewing the film version, directed by Roman Polanski, it is logical to see that ambition and the deceptive appearances of what really is, is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH.
The Witches introduce the theme with the infamous phrase “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (scene 1, line 11) in the first scene. It’s functional for the Witches to say this in the beginning of the book, as they are the start of all the perplexity. They become the core of confusion when they awaken Macbeth’s ambition and transform his perspective of good and evil, making bad things look good and good things look bad. Ironically in connection with this, Banquo warns Macbeth, “Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence” (1/3/125-126). The Witches continue to speak in contradicting language, such as “lesser than Macbeth, and greater” (1/3/65) and “Not so happy, yet much happier” (1/3/66) that adds to the sense of moral confusion, by implying that nothing is quite what it seems. Banquo’s warning is fulfilled at the end of the play when the Witches had won Macbeth’s trust with prophecies that became true –‘honest trifles’- and then betray him in the things that really mattered, his life and his country -‘deepest consequence’- to win his spirit for hell.
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.
The witches also kept repeating a quote that has a lot of meaning. They continued to say “foul is fair and fair is foul.” (I.i.12) This means that what seems right isn’t really right and what seems wrong isn’t really wrong. So the whole play is about false faces and how someone who seems normal and innocent isn’t really. The witches also seem to be an illusion. They are in a way human like, but at the same time they are also fake. They talked to Macbeth and told him three prophecies, which caused him to become greedy and kill King Duncan. The first time they told him what they saw was in Act 1. They said
The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, entails a tragic hero who cannot control his lustful nature. Malcolm used the theme “appearances can be deceiving” to challenge Macduff’s allegiance. Although Macbeth killed in a slyly manner, he was not the only one. This leads him to silently kill a plethora of people. Lady Macbeth applied deception to beguile others of the killings of King Duncan and Banquo. Therefore, the theme “appearances can be deceiving” is developed utilizing the characters of Malcolm, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
Initially, the Elizabethan audience consider Macbeth as a respectable and well like character. We do however learn that appearances can be deceptive which corresponds with the main theme; 'Fair is foul, Foul is fair' which is referred to a lot throughout the play. This theme is first introduced in Act I, Scene I where the witches foretell the struggle between the forces of evil and good in which Macbeth is to be involved. It is also an indication that all will not be as it seems. This portrays a character as being much worse if the audience's first impressions of that character were positive.
If a picture tells a thousand words, than imagine the importance of an image upon a play such as Macbeth. In any literary work, it is extremely important that the author can effectively manipulate a reader's feelings towards a character. In Macbeth, that feat is accomplished magnificently by Shakespeare. Through his skillful use of imagery, Shakespeare shows us a deeper look into the true character of Macbeth. Though imagery is widespread throughout Macbeth, it is most dominant in clothing imagery, light and darkness imagery, and blood imagery. Through these images,
Among the greatest gifts that the renaissance produced was the eloquent and incredible Shakespearean plays. Written mostly in the 1590s these plays have been performed and admired countless times; entertaining mass audiences by providing interesting tales that explore the depth of human insights and the different universal themes. Among the many Shakespearean plays Macbeth, written in 1606, stands out with its short composition but multiple themes. This tragedy narrates the tale of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s quest to grasp ultimate power by ignoring their morals and succumbing to their dark desires, which ultimately leads to their downfall. This tragic play portrays the desires, needs, and temptations that accompany ambition in men and women. However the ambition in Macbeth is blind, it does not abide to the morals, but it allows space for dark actions as means necessary for accomplishment. Blind ambition serves as the main driving force that drives Macbeth to subdue to his dark desires, defy his noble behavior, and ultimately his downfall.
Macbeth is a play revolving around many key ideas observed in Shakespeare’s time with various messages communicated to the audience successfully, despite the lack of the cinematic effects present in today’s literature entertainment. The interweaved themes of immoral ambition and corruption are displayed throughout the text, unveiling the corruptive nature of one’s excessive greed for supremacy, affecting both themselves and others. This idea in Macbeth is successfully conveyed to the audience in Shakespeare’s time through the literary devices of characterisation, soliloquy and plot.
113 Macbeth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1990. The. Coursen, H. R. Macbeth: A Guide to the Play. London: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Macbeth: Appearance vs Reality? & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; The way people act on the outside and who they really are on may be two totally different things. Some may change because they feel they don't fit in the sand. Others pretend to be something they truly aren't. No matter which. The way you look at it, if you try to act like someone your not, the truth will. always appear in the end. That is exactly what happened in William. Shakespeare's play, MacBeth. Banquo, MacBeth, and Lady MacBeth each project an. image, but as time passes.
The theme of appearance versus reality is very important in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The characters of Duncan, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth are unable to differentiate between appearance and reality, resulting in tragic consequences. Poor judgment is evidenced by Duncan, who trusts Macbeth too much; Lady Macbeth, who is fooled by the witches; and Macbeth, who is tricked repeatedly by others.
The introduction of the theme is said within the first lines of this play by the witches “Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair” (1, 11, 1). According to the plot, it makes sense for the witches to say this at the beginning of the play as they are the start of the entire conundrum. Banquo also points out in the play that the witches have beards buy they look like women. The Witches become the thrust of confusion when they awaken Macbeth’s ambition and alter his perspective of good and evil, making good things look bad and bad things look good. Banquo also warns Macbeth of the witches “Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence” (1, 3, 125). However, the witches speak in a contrasting language “Lesser than Macbeth, and Greater” (1, 3, 65) and “Not so happy, yet much happier” (1, 3, 66) which adds to the confusion that exists and tells the reader that nothing is what it seems to be. Near the end of the book, we figure out ...