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Shakespeare's use of deception in the twelfth night
Shakespeare's use of deception in the twelfth night
Shakespeare's use of deception in the twelfth night
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Lastly, Macbeth proves to be easily deceptive by those who wish to fool him. It becomes clear that Macbeth has some encouragement for going forward with this murderous plan but it is evidently his nature that causes him to fall. Towards the end of the play, seeking guidance, Macbeth turns to the witches for help by asking them for advice. Macbeth then sees three apparitions, the first one saying, “Beware Macduff. / Beware the Thane of Fife” (IV. I. 74-73). Macbeth takes this into consideration. Macbeth also says that he feared Macduff could be the one to drag him down in the end. The second apparition that appears says, “Laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth”(IV. I. 81-83). In this second apparition, it is explained that no one born form woman will be able to harm the noble Macbeth. Macbeth immediately disregards the concerns the witches made about Macduff. He then sees the third apparition that sates, “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him” (IV. I. 96-98). In this final apparition, it states that Macbeth will not vanish as long as Birnam Wood marches to fight …show more content…
He says to Macduff while Macduf is trying to kill him that no one can kill him. He even goes as far as saying that Macduff would be better off stabbing the air with his sword. Macbeth is clearly in a state of mind that he is invulnerable and nothing or nobody can stop him. This proves that Macbeth has not only soaked up the witches teaching but actually recites to the man who is trying to murder him. There is only one way that Macbeth could believe that Macduff would not be able to kill him and that is because he is to think otherwise. In reality, Macbeth falls as Macduff reveals he was born unnaturally and thus not technically born from woman. Therefore, Macbeth proves to believe most things others say about him especially if these things are
Thirdly, feelings of paranoia and guilt cause Macbeth characters to make damaging choices. When Macbeth asks the witches to reveal the truth of their prophecies to him, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers a prediction to allay Macbeth’s fears. First, a floating head warns him to beware Macduff. Macbeth says that he has already guessed as much. Later when Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth in reply 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 line.” (4.1.149-152). As Macbeth descends to madness he becomes obsessed with eliminating any threats to his power. Macbeth orders the murderers to kill Macduff's family and eliminate any threat to him. Ironically, this is the moment that Macbeth seals his own fate, by murdering Macduff's family he ensures Macduff's retaliation against him, which ultimately leads
In fear of losing this power to his friend Banquo or his son Fleance, whom of which the witches said would be king after Macbeth and would yield a long line of kings, Macbeth had them murdered in the woods while they were out horseback riding. This proves that he truly believes in what the witches have to say about him and his future, which leads him to back to seek out more of the witches half truths to see what else would come of his future. The next set of prophecies that the witches had to offer were shown in a set of three apparitions. The first said “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff. Beware the thane of Fife,” the second apperition then spoke “none of woman born can harm Macbeth,” the third aperition then said “Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him”(Shakespeare,168-170). Some say it was the witches fault for Macbeth’s actions next, but in reality it was Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s alone. Due to these three prophecies Macbeth’s level of arrogance went up along with his hunger for power as well, his level of common sense was decreasing faster and faster. Macbeth’s lack of common sense caused him to make rash decisions without thinking them through. Such as when he says “From this moment the very firstlings of my
One such character in “Macbeth” is Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Within the play, Macduff is the foil ; a character that exemplifies the contrasting characteristics of another character, who is Macbeth in this play. In stark contrast to Macbeth, Macduff resolves to restore peace and order in Scotland, which Macbeth has disrupted. After King Duncan's unfortunate demise and the coincidental murder of Scotland's Commander and Macbeth's dear friend, Banquo, Macduff suspects that Macbeth is not the “innocent flower”(1.5.56-57) he pretends to be. Macduff finds himself on the course to England, where Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne, has found refuge. He wishes that Malcolm would reclaim the throne as the legitimate heir, which shows his allegiance to the royal family. Instead of grasping the throne for himself, he decides to endanger his family to restore the lawful king. When he was informed of the assassination of his kin, he was able to express his grief, like a true man. In this line Macduff mourns for the loss of his family, “...All my pretty ones/ Did you say "all"? O hell-kite! All? / What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/ At one fell swoop?”(4.3.255-258). Here, Macduff's immense capacity to sacrifice for the common good of his people is shown. Consequently, the following lines display his course of actions at the
...two apparitions make Macbeth feel like his title as king is safe. He thinks this because Macbeth takes all of what the apparitions say literally and straightforward. Macbeth feels that it is impossible for Birnam wood to move towards the castle, this is ironic because the audience knows that the bark and branches from trees from Birnam wood have been used to camouflage the number of soldiers heading towards Macbeth’s castle. Macbeth does not think of it in this point of view, therefore making him feel very safe and confident about the war. The apparitions told warned Macbeth that Macduff is a threat to his title as king, and Macbeth took action by hiring murderers to kill Macduff’s whole family. Macbeth lies to the murderers and makes them believe that Macduff has been unfaithful to them just so that the murderers would go through with his plan.
When the witches told Macbeth that no man born of a woman could harm him, he would not be defeated until the forest came to his castle, and that his only threat was Macduff, Macbeth felt very secure about his kingship. Little did Macbeth know, that all of these foretellings would bring about his demise. Macduff was born out of a dead woman, so he was the only one who could hurt Macbeth. When Malcolm's army attacked Macbeth's castle, they camouflaged themselves with trees, thus giving the appearance of the forest coming to the castle. Finally, Macduff was the only thing that Macbeth had to worry about, because he was not born of a woman, and could kill Macbeth. Macbeth completely disregarded the Witches' prophecies because he thought of them as rubbish. Had the three witches told Macbeth the real truth that they ticked him out of believing, Macbeth would not have gotten so cocky as a result of his security.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are several references to supernatural activity. This supernatural activity is very crucial to the storyline. Supernatural defined by Webster relates to an existence beyond the visible observable universe. The Three Apparitions are spoken of in Act IV of the play, but the supernatural is first introduced by the three witches in Act I. The three witches who speak the apparitions are the opening characters in Macbeth. After reading the book, I fully understand Shakespeare reasoning for including them in the story. Each of the three apparitions depicts a clue of Macbeth’s future.
The first meeting with the three witches (1.3) already laid out Macbeth’s moral as a negative kind. His decision to associate with the witches, who are known as the agents of Satan, implies that his mindset and his morals are not in the right place and that he has bad intentions. Then, after he becomes a king, he is not a virtuous one; he becomes known as a tyrant that kills everyone who opposes and that does not take good care of his kingdom. This is evident when Malcolm describes Scotland: “I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds” (4.3). The personification of Scotland depicts the suffering of the citizens of Scotland and emphasizes the bad reign of Macbeth as detrimental to Scotland’s people. Contrastly, Macduff’s perspective of morals are righteous and he elicits positive reactions from the characters around him. He is able to distinguish evil from good: “This avarice sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root than summer-seeming lust, and it hath been the sword our slain kings” (4.3). Macduff recognizes that lust for power has resulted in the fall of the rightful king, and his expression of such idea shows that he truly believes in crowning the rightful heir rather than trying to take the crown himself. He is characterized as a person with “good truth and honor”(4.3) by Malcolm and, most
At this point, Shakespeare has provided sufficient evidence to prove that Macbeth is mentally troubled. His death and his mental deterioration are inevitable. He is haunted by the deeds he has done and the witches’ prophecies. Macbeth claims that life is utterly meaningless when he says, “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 of sound and fury/ Signifying nothing.” (5.5 27-31). He no longer has the will to live with knowledge of what he has done. The witches, however, have revealed that he cannot be killed by “one of woman born.” Upon hearing this, Macbeth believes himself to be invincible. During the battle of Dunsinane, he fights recklessly against his foes, under the impression that none can harm him. Macduff then enters the scene. He reveals that he was not of woman born but “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” and therefore has the ability to kill Macbeth (5.8 19-20). Afraid for his life, Macbeth remains persistent and declares that he will not surrender. In the end, Macbeth is slain and Malcolm becomes King of Scotland. Ultimately, Macbeth’s mental deterioration led to his downfall and imminent death. Before Macduff slew him, Macbeth was almost wishing for death. He was overwhelmed with guilt, regret, ambition, power, paranoia, and the blood on his hands.
The first apparition was an armed head. The apparition stated, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me: enough.” This statement warns Macbeth that he should beware Macduff. The bloody child was the second apparition. It stated, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute! Laugh to scorn, The pow’r of man, for none of woman born, Shall harm Macbeth.” This line tells Macbeth not to fear, no one born by women can kill him. The third apparition was a child wearing a crown and holding a tree. The apparition stated, “…Macbeth shall never vanquished be until, Great Birnam wood to high, Dunsinane hill, Shall come against him” (Wiggins 382). This quote stated no one can banish
In act 1 scene 4, when witches' first prophecy, ''Thane of Cawdor'', comes true, Macbeth is in shock. He greedily wants rest of the prophecies and wants to do whatever he can. Therefore under the influence of witches' prophecies, he kills King Duncan. However, when he becomes King, he still displays greed and his greediness makes him kill Banquo and his son. Witches' prophecies forces Macbeth to think that Banquo is a barrier in his way to acquire power. Therefore he says, ''Our fear is Banquo'' (3.1.48). Moreover, after getting news that Fleance has escaped, he learns that his first attempt to change the fate has failed. Therefore he revisits the witches to know the future predictions. It shows that Macbeth is keen to know the prophecies, as he says,'' Call'em: let me see'em'' (4.1.63). It shows that witches are controlling Macbeth's mind and due to witches' prophecies Macbeth decides to attack Macduff. Therefore he says, ''The castle of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; give to th'edge o'th, sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunable souls'' (4.1.150-153). Macbeth's greedy ambitions have forced him to extent where he has become fully devil and willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. In the beginning of the play Macbeth was honest and trusted soldier but unfortunately, throughout the play witches'
After Macbeth hears that Birnam wood is moving towards him, he wants to go out fighting. He attacks and kills Young Siward in a desperate attempt to save him from the fate the witches predicted (V, vii, 11-12). He also orders all his soldiers to attack the wood (macduff’s soldiers, V, vii, 46-53) and he fights Macduff but Macduff says he was born by a c-section and not by a woman (V, vii, 41-45) Macbeth fights to the death but is beheaded by Macduff as the witches said he would. (V, vii, 82-83)
In Act 4, The Witches inform Macbeth of what he must fear or in this case, is capable of killing him. The Witches summon 3 Apparitions that say “Beware Macduff”, “...for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”, “...Until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him”. These warnings come as absurd to Macbeth, as that reassures him he does not fear anything if these miracles were to happen. Little does Macbeth know that this confidence would soon turn to regret as he should have heeded what the 3 Apparitions
...e murdered. When king Duncan thanks Macbeth for his heroic service in the battle he replies “Your highness a king cares for his people as a father cares for his children and the people represent the loyal children to the father (I, iv, 23-25). Later in the scene, Lady Macbeth shames her husband so he can continue with the plan of killing Duncan. To shame Macbeth, she calls him a coward, questions his manhood, and tells him that he should be as tough as she is, (1.7.54-59). The second apparition is a bloody child which shows Macbeth "The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth" (4.1.81). This shows that no man can harm Macbeth because everyman is born of a women except Macduff. He says that Macduff was born untimely and was ripped out of his womb . This was abnormal because being ripped out of your mothers womb is being born.
The first apparition confirms Macbeth’s fears and convince his thoughts that Macduff is against him. Nonetheless, Macbeth thinks he can control Macduff easily, but still wants to ensure his safety and his throne. Thus, he plans to kill Macduff, along with Macduff’s family. These drastic measure are taken because of the apparition’s influence in emboldening and making Macbeth paranoid. The second apparition tells Macbeth that there is no one born from a woman who can kill Macbeth. He is satisfied with this answer and figures that he must be safe, because he thinks that every man must be born of a woman. However, if this assumption was true, this apparition seems to contradict the first apparition that told him to beware of Macduff. The third apparition, the last of these dark specters, finish by telling Macbeth that he'll never be defeated until Birnam Wood marches against Dunsinane, the location of his royal palace. Even more so than the second apparition, this prophecy serves to bolster Macbeth's belief that he'll maintain the throne, and is reassured by his misunderstanding that the trees in a forest cannot just uproot itself and march against
The deliberately ambiguous apparitions play on Macbeth’s hubris and they make him feel so overconfident that he feels invincible and unstoppable. In his castle, Macbeth jokes that he will never fail “till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane” (V.iii.2) thinking that the apparition literally means that the forest will pick itself up and move to Dunsinane which he thinks is impossible despite all the supernatural events he has experienced. However, the forest does not move by itself but it does move to Dunsinane because of Malcolm’s ingenious strategy. As Malcolm approaches Macbeth’s castle with the English forces, he orders each soldier to cut off the branches of the trees of Birnam Wood to use as camouflage. This greatly contributes to Macbeth’s downfall since he was nowhere near ready for an invasion of the English forces. However, because of his hubris, he is still confident that he is unstoppable as he believes no one “borne a woman” (V.iii.6) can harm him. Unbeknown to him, Macduff was born through a caesarean section and thus not “borne” so much as “taken” from a woman. This lack of access to the entire truth sees Macbeth eventually