What Can You Really Believe:
Illusion vs. Reality in Macbeth
What is reality? Do you honestly believe that everyone shows his or her true selves openly? Think again! Many characters in Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, are two-faced. Two examples of these people are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. These characters all put on false faces to impress people or hide things from people.
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
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of
Glamis!
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of
Cawdor!
All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King here-
After!
(I.i.1-6)
These prophecies didn’t seem to be realistic at first. But when he was made Thane of Cawdor, because the other thane was a traitor, he began to become a little power hungry. He thought that if one of the prophecies came true, so would the other. He couldn’t wait, he told Lady Macbeth, who then made a plan to make it happen faster. Her plan was to invite the king over, kill him, and make it look like his guards committed the murder. The witches are nonrealistic as shown they made some things up and caused a lot of trouble by doing so. Also, at the banquet for the new king, Macbeth, Macbeth thought that he saw a ghost, although he was the only one who could see it. It was the ghost of Banquo, who should have become king rather Macbeth. He was sitting in the chair where he would have been sitting had he become king. This is how it was meant to be, with Banquo being king.
Another example of the illusion vs. reality theme was when the witches showed Macbeth the three apparitions. They show him an armed head, a bloody child, and a child crowned bearing a tree.
In Act I, Scene I three witches plan to meet MACBETH upon a heath. They announce the major theme of the play: appearances can be deceptive.
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.
To begin, we look at the first prediction of the witches. They call him by the names of ?Thane of Glamis?, which he already is, ?Thane of Cawdor? (a title he does not know he has been given), and "King hereafter." As a result, the first two things the witches tell him aren?t prophesies because they have already happened. Look at the third and most important prophecy. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become ?King Hereafter?, there?s knowledge that this actually happened. ?If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.? (1 3) Did it happen because of fate or did Macbeth make it happen? The witches tempted Macbeth to kill the King, however, it was his own ambition that led him to do that terrible thing. Macbeth, even though he was uneasy, he chose to kill King Duncan and ascend to the throne of Scotland. ?Nothing is
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.
Over 400 years ago, Shakespeare wrote a play full of false impressions, deception, duplicity, and just plain lies. That is why Macbeth is still popular and the point of the story is easy to understand today (with help of NoFear Shakespeare). There is a high price to pay for lying and cheating your way to the top. Shakespeare was especially worried about lies and duplicity in politics. He felt that especially leaders like kings and those at court must show honesty in their lives as an example for the people. From the title, right away we know that Macbeth is not a king. He is simply a famous military man whose strong belief in unreliable sources led him to corruption, murder.
Reality is the state of being real or actual, whereas an illusion is a mental misinterpretation of what is believed to be true. Illusions often prevent people from perceiving reality and objective truths, which consequently results in delusions, and in some cases, tragedies. In Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare, the theme of illusion versus reality is overtly evident in the main character, Macbeth. Macbeth frequently misinterprets illusions as the actual reality due to possessing such an untamed ambition, which ultimately ends up resulting in a series of tragic and horrific events, for Macbeth and his victims. Macbeth’s ambition first leads him into believing that he is destined to become King of Scotland, which results in Duncan’s death. Macbeth’s ambition then affects his mental health, which causes him to mistake his hallucinations for reality, eventually resulting in further detrimental acts. Finally, Macbeth’s ambition blinds him into living a life of delusion, which causes him to reach his peak of arrogance and optimism, resulting in even further detriment and ultimately his very fall. Just as ambitions are incredibly illusive and detrimental in Macbeth, they can also be incredibly illusive and detrimental in our actual, modern day society.
In addition, when Macbeth first meets the witches, he does not believe the prophecies given to him by the witches. This is best said as, “and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor”. This exemplifies Macbeth’s disbelief in the prophecies that he is to become the Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. In the second meeting, however, Macbeth devoutly believes in the predictions of the witches, as the first set has come true. This is evident as Macbeth seeks the witches’ prophecies and also says, “I conjure you, by that which you profess, howe’er you come to know it, answer me…”, showing that he believes the witches regardless of how they know the future.
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”; depicts that good is bad and bad is good. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth displays an interesting use of various themes. A theme that is used throughout the play is the contrast between appearance and reality. Similarly in the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens conveys the idea of deception as well. The authors demonstrate the idea of appearance vs. reality through crime, characters and through character’s ambitions.
Bronfenbrenner’s model involved how a person responded to their surroundings. It was all separated into four different systems. Growing up as a child, my family was always together and happy. Nothing ever seemed to put us down, not even the roughest times that impacted our lives. My family was together through ups and downs and they showed me that families should stay united no matter what circumstances occur. As a child, school always had a positive environment and it helped me learn so many things in life. My teachers were caring and a big help when it came to helping us learn. My teachers became like a family to me and school was like a second home. My peer group wasn’t too large, but they were a huge part of my life. My peer group was
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.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth’s visions and hallucinations play a significant role and contribute to the development of his character. In the play Macbeth, a man is driven to murder his king and his companions after receiving a fairly ambiguous prophecy told by three witches. Although the witches triggered the series of events that later aid Macbeth’s descent into complete insanity, Macbeth is portrayed from the very beginning as a fierce and violent soldier. As the play goes on, several internal conflicts inside of Macbeth become clear. After he performs several bloody tasks, the madness inside of Macbeth is unmistakably visible to everyone around him. As a result of this insanity, he sees visions and hallucinations. Each time Macbeth hallucinates, he plunges further into insanity that is essentially caused by misguided ambition, dread and guilt. Macbeth has three key hallucinations that play a considerably important role in the development of his character: a dagger, the ghost of Banquo, and four apparitions while visiting the prophesying witches.
The witches have a strong effect on Macbeth's character; they highly influence him in his accomplishments and awake his ambitions. They give Macbeth a false sense of security with their apparitions of truths. Instead they prove to be harmful for Macbeth who takes too much comfort and confidence in his interpretation of the truths. They are the ones who plant the actual idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth's mind. But if it were only the witches prophecies, then Macbeth surely would not have murdered the king. 'When you durst to do it, then you were a man,' (Macbeth, Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 7) Lady Macbeth's constant harassment pushed Macbeth and made him commit all this evil. When you reason things out by yourself you tend to now what is right and what is wrong, a conscience. But with the outside influence from the witches he thinks that that is his destiny and he must do everything to fulfill it. One can wonder if Macbeth ever had a chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches. He is overthrown and killed. Through his own ambitions, the ambition of his wife and the witches' prophesies, Macbeth has caused his own destruction and downfall. We can now clearly see that ambition not achieved through our own ability leads to destruction. 'Hail Thane of Glamis and of Cawdor and shalt be King hereafter'. (Act 1 Scene 3) These prophecies from three strangers are taken without question and probably without good judgment. Just the thought that he may be King clouds his thoughts and ambition takes over. The witches can predict the future, they can add temptation, and influence Macbeth, but they cannot control his destiny.
The witches influence Macbeth in his achievements and awake his ambitions. They give him a wrong sense of security with their apportions of truths. The witches are the ones who made the idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth’s mind. They also told him that he would become thane of Cawdor and later would become king of Scotland and Macbeth wants to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more. By Sinel’s death I know I am the thane of Glamis; but how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman; and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor” (Shakespeare 312). Banquo is known as the real victim of the witches. After Banquo hears the prophecy of the witches that his sons will become kings he still does not believe them. He believes that he has eaten a root that is making him hallucinate and does not believe anything they tell him. (Shakespeare 313) Banquo says, “Are you sure we are talking about what we have seen here? Or have we eaten some plant root that makes us hallucinate.” Banquo also says to Macbeth: “but ‘tis strange; and oftentimes of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles. To betrays in deepest consequence” (Shakespeare 314). Shortly after they meet with the three witches they meet a messenger who tells Macbeth he is the Thane of Cawdor. When Banquo hears this he realizes the witches are right and
In Macbeth, different supernatural phenomenon occur including: three witches, apparitions, and hallucinations. Each of these phenomenon have a role in Macbeth. The witches were the reason for this whole play and their predictions had caused Macbeth to kill King Duncan. The apparitions had the role of trying to warn Macbeth of his future. The hallucinations played the role of Macbeth's subconscious. The supernatural seems unrealistic but it the reason for the plot of this play.