Macbeth Betrayal Essay

To most people , betrayal is seen as poor human nature. But, to some individuals betrayal is used to achieve goals. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth characters display acts of betrayal in order to benefit themselves with no regard for others. First, the act of betrayal is done by the character, then, the character experiences the consequences of their betrayal. And this is seen several times throughout the play. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, betrayal is definitely one of the biggest parts of the play that seems to always be occurring between different characters causing their relationships to corrode and fall apart.

The first way that betrayal is seen many times throughout the play is all of the murders that Macbeth commits on

the other characters such as king Duncan and his best friend, Banquo. The first major murder that Macbeth commits is on his own king, Duncan. Just after Macbeth murders Duncan he is talking to lady Macbeth and he says, “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?” (2.2.14) this proves that Macbeth had betrayed and killed Duncan. Macbeth had Duncan over at his house as an honored guest but Macbeth Betrays and kills Duncan. Another time when betrayal is seen through the murders of Macbeth is when Macbeth kills his best friend, Banquo. Macbeth hires 3 murders to go and kill Banquo for him, just after the deed is done and they kill Banquo they came back and talk to Macbeth. “My lord, his throat is cut: That I did for him.” (3.4.15-16) This shows how the murderers had done the job and successfully killed Macbeth. This may be the biggest act of betrayal in the whole play because Banquo was Macbeth’s best friend and co-commander in the army but none of that mattered to Macbeth he only had one goal in mind, to become king and nothing would stand in his way, not even someone that close to him.
The next way that betrayal is seen in the play is when the thane of cawdor betrays his country and king Duncan.

Duncan is really quite mad at the Thane of Cawdor, enough so that he has him executed. He says that the Thane of Cawdor actually helped the King of Norway in the battle. This is shown when Ross is referring to the thane of cawdor and he says, “Norway himself, with terrible numbers, assisted by that of the most disloyal traitor the Thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict.” (1.2.51-53) This proves that the Thane of Cawdor had betrayed his king but most importantly, his country. Another part of the play that features betrayal is when Macduff flees to England to try and persuade Malcolm to come back to Scotland to help save their homeland from Macbeth. But Malcolm isn’t sure if Macduff is working for Macbeth, and he fears Macduff's betrayal. Malcolm says, “This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues,Was once thought honest. You have loved him well;He hath not touch'd you yet. I am young, but something You may deserve of him through me, and wisdom To offer up a weak, poor, innocent lamb To appease an angry god.” (4.3.12-16) in this quote Malcolm states how macduff at once loved him and this caused Malcolm to fear macduff's betrayal as they had been friends

before.
Overall, In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, betrayal is definitely one of the biggest parts of the play that seems to always be occurring between different characters causing their relationships to corrode and fall apart. And this is seen many different times in the play, for example, when Macbeth betrays king Duncan and kills him even though Duncan was Macbeth’s honorary guest at his house. Betrayal is also seen when Macbeth arranges for his best friend Banquo to be murdered. Also, when the Thane of Cawdor betrays his country and when Malcolm fears Macduff's betrayal. The concept of betrayal is most definitely seen today and many times it is for one's personal gain, they may not even realize that are betraying someone for their own personal gain but most of the time that is the case. This modern day concept is seen throughout the play many times and in the end it leads to the downfall of most characters in the play.