Hamlet Appearance Vs Reality Essay

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William Shakespeare displays countless examples of appearance versus reality in his two tragic plays called Macbeth and Hamlet. Appearance versus reality is one of the most common themes in literature: Shakespeare explores this in many ways. In the opening scene of Macbeth, the witches open the theme by saying their famous words “Fair is foul, and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air.” (I, i, 12-13). These lines show the readers the tone of tragedy and darkness in Macbeth. Hamlet’s most famous example of appearance versus reality is “The Mousetrap” play within the play in Act III Scene ii. The question of “What is Truth?” has been, and continues to be, pondered by thinkers and poets for centuries. These two tragedies, along with all of …show more content…

The three witches introduce the theme of appearance versus reality with their words along with their appearance. Banquo says “You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are so.” (I, iii, 46-48). Also, the witches tell Macbeth that he can only be harmed by a man born of a woman. This prophecy made Macbeth overly ambitious and confident: appearing that all men are born of a woman meaning no one could harm him, so he thought. Macduff was able to kill Macbeth because his mother had a C-section. Throughout his reign, Macbeth appears as if he is trying to be a fair leader for Scotland while in reality he only cares about the power the throne gives him. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show their selfishness and ruthlessness when she tells Macbeth “Look like th’ innocent flower / But be the serpent under’t.” (I, v, 56-57). The witches, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth deceive the readers into thinking they are kind and loyal people, but in reality the three are tricksters and only loyal to

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