Examples Of Dramatic Irony In Macbeth

During act one of the play Macbeth, there were many incidents where dramatic irony occurs. Dramatic irony is when an implication of a situation or speech is understood by the audience, but not the characters in the play. Since the readers know something that the characters do not, it causes suspense and excitement.

In scene 4 of the play, many things were revealed to the audience, that the characters in the play has yet to comprehend. When the three witches told Macbeth about his prophecy of becoming king, he did not believe them at first. He only starts to believe in the witches when he was given the title as ‘Thane of Cawdor’. Which was one of the three prophecy, told to Macbeth. From that point on, in Macbeth’s mind he slowly formed horrid images of killing and betraying king. Meanwhile, King Duncan,

oblivious of the witches’ prophecies, says “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face: he was a gentleman on whom I build an absolute trust.” (Page 33 line 13-16) What king Duncan meant by this statement was that you cannot judge a person’s character by their appearance. Even after being betrayed by the previous Thane of Cawdor King Duncan still put absolute trust in Macbeth, who is now the ‘Thane of Cawdor’. This reveals that King Duncan trusts people too easily, he is also too kind and gets tricked easily. Dramatic irony occurs here because the audience knows that Macbeth will betrayed king Duncan like the previous Thane, but king Duncan is clueless about it.
As stated before, in scene 4 the audience knows that Macbeth is going to betray King Duncan. In the same scene, the readers discover something more that the characters in the story do not. While talking to King Duncan, Macbeth finds out that, Malcolm, the king’s eldest son is titled as Prince of Cumberland and the heir to the throne. During this conversation, in an aside, Macbeth says “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’er-leap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires.” (Page 35 line 55-58) This statement means that Macbeth needs to get rid of Malcolm too, in order to become king. Since this was said in an aside, only the audience knows about Macbeth’s plans while the others do not, so it is considered as a dramatic irony. Furthermore, this reveals how Macbeth’s desire of becoming king is stronger because he is already thinking of killing Malcolm who is the future king. Even though Macbeth seems like a kind gentlemen, this scene slowly making his greedy and dark personality evident.

In the beginning of scene five, Lady Macbeth was informed about the witches’ prophecies.

She was ecstatic about how her husband will become king, and she even started to plan the murder of the king. Her plans were to act innocently towards the king, so when they murder him, no one would suspect them. This reveals the true personality of Lady Macbeth. During that time period, women were thought as, sweet, kind, and gentle. But for Lady Macbeth, this was not true at all because she is greedy, cruel, and heartless. She even gives up her femininity by saying “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty.” (Page 41 line 44-46) As Lady Macbeth welcomes King Duncan, she hides her evil character, and greet the king with a fake hospitality. King Duncan does not know her true self, and thinks that she is loyal citizen of his country. This is another dramatic irony because the King thinks Lady Macbeth is a kind and noble gentlewomen, but in reality she is not. Lady Macbeth is ruthless and greedy. Only the audience knows this, while the other characters remains unknowing of the

truth.

In conclusion, the dramatic irony in this act revealed to the audience the true intentions of the characters and what plans they have in the future. This gives us some information about the characters in the play, but not all it so it will still create questions and suspense on what is going to happen next.