Deceit And Appearance In Macbeth

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Daggers Behind Smiles Throughout the ages, people have been deceived by appearances. Whether it is a first impression or a superficial relationship, the old adage to “not judge a book by it’s cover” is ageless. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare captured that aspects of deceit by creating a few characters who seem to be innocent and trustworthy, but as the play proceeds, their heart’s wickedness surpasses the fake outward appearance. People should temper judgment. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s innocent appearance gives way to deceitful and evil desires. Act one of Macbeth hinted the first taste of deceit. Opening the act, the witches warn that not everything is what it seems; what appears nice could be dangerous and vice versa. Next, Scotland was in the midst of battling the Irish when they realized that they had a traitor among them. Scotland’s very own Thane of Cawdor committed treason to help the enemy succeed. With the baffling news, King Duncan remarked to his son, “There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face. / He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust.”(Shakespeare.1.4.?) From the outside the Thane of Cawdor was a respectable gentleman, but to reiterate Duncan, a person can not be fully known just by looking at his face. Both …show more content…

For example in 1 Samuel 16, God is sending the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to find the next king of Israel. When Samuel came upon the house of Jesse, his eyes locked onto the eldest son Eliab. He thought to himself that surely God would choose this man who has the appearance of a fine king. Nevertheless, God proclaimed, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV Bible.1 Samuel 16:7) With that in mind, God chose David, the youngest son who cared for the sheep, to reign as the next

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