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.
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.
In the story of Macbeth the first three characters to enter are the three witches. They are perceived to have beards and have the ability to shapeshift into animals, specifically rats without tails. They can be thought of as demonic figures from the underworld, or elements of the malicious supernatural. When the three witches are introduced into the story the first words said were “when shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” (47). They were also thought the have been able to control the winds and weather. Like demons from the underworld. Throughout the story the three witches seem to stalk around the characters and leech into their minds like nightmares or bad thoughts. Also, whenever they speak they seem to all speak together in horrific tones and rhyme all of their words; like they are conjoined together. Throughout the story the three witches deliver an abundance of quotes that not only help develop themselves, but do introduce and develop other characters.
By pricking Macbeth’s desire for power and prestige with promising prophecies and giving him confidence with the apparitions, the witches lure him to commit evil deeds and to continue doing so endlessly. Their tempting prophecies bait Macbeth into their deceitful plot. Banquo, a fellow nobleman, warns him about the prophecies, “But ‘tis strange: and oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence'; (I, 3, 122-127). Banquo is a smart man, and it is unfortunate that Macbeth ignores his advice. To be sure that Macbeth self-destructs by his own sinful behavior, the sorceresses create prophetic images that ensure him security. Not knowing they are all part of the deception, Macbeth easily succumbs to their plan. He aimlessly kills, believing nothing can harm him, but he is dead wrong. The witches true intention is best revealed in Hecate’s orders, “And that distilled by magic sleights shall raise such artificial sprites as by the strength of their illusion shall draw him on to his confusion'; (III, 5, 26-29). Macbeth’s biggest misfortune is encountering the witches, and an even bigger mistake is to revisit them. The cunning scheme of the wicked women successfully leads Macbeth to evil and confuses him enough for him to lose command of his actions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The witches are a very important part to this play. The witches are the real trigger to Macbeths deep and hidden desires. The presence of the witches raises the battle between good an evil. The three witches are also known as the three weird sisters and are referred to that throughout the play. They help set the theme of the play and they influence not only Macbeth’s life but some other characters throughout the play.
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
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.