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Macbeth is a play that displays deception throughout the story especially with the main characters. These characters use deception to get what they want, no matter what. It is primarily used to carry out any crimes they wish without being convicted for the actions they have committed. The role of deception to spare one's feelings is rarely used but to only advance one’s agenda. This story embodies deception at its finest, whereas a man deceives others for his own personal gain.
All this deceit and hurt Macbeth has caused throughout the story comes back from the roots that began when he first meets the 3 witches. The sisters tell Macbeth a great fortune will fall upon him in the form of being hailed as the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is confused which he shows by saying “But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman”. This phrase implies that if Macbeth wishes to be the Thane, he must execute the current one. It has now been a snowball effect from here if the 3 witches had not told Macbeth of this selfish prophecy.
One of the most pivotal scenes showing the art of deception is when Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth with the murder of the Thane of Cawdor, Duncan. Read this quote from Lady Macbeth, “Your hand, your tongue. Look like the' innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t.” She tells him to
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appear as an innocent flower; so kind and thoughtful that they would never expect that person to stab them in the back. A serpent is an excellent metaphor as it is a swift and deadly killer, much like what Macbeth is about to become. Macbeth is Duncan’s most trusted noble yet that is also what makes him his most greatest enemy if he were ever to betray his king. If there is one person who embodies deception at its finest it has to be Lady Macbeth. Macbeth once tells her “Away, and mock the time with fairest show. False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” He tells her that if she wishes to hide her malevolent self, she would have to put on a face to stray others from seeing that side of her. Lady Macbeth’s heart is without a doubt, corrupted by greed and envy, creating mischievous plans and spilling blood for to advance her goals. In this play, Banquo is one of Macbeth adversaries as he starts to get suspicious of him. Once Macbeth successfully becomes a thane, Banquo says “Thou hast it now: King, Glamis, All As the weird women promised, and I fear Thou play'dst foully for’t”. It seems that Macbeth does not fool Banquo how the death of King Duncan transpired and knows he is fully capable of bringing him down from the throne. This is why Macbeth has him killed later in the story, to stop a threat before it inflicts any fatal wounds. Only the ones who see Macbeth for what he truly has become are those who oppose him. One could also say that the 3 witches spun the wheel of fate and tricked Macbeth into becoming a tyrant mad with power.
In Act 4, The Witches inform Macbeth of what he must fear or in this case, is capable of killing him. The Witches summon 3 Apparitions that say “Beware Macduff”, “...for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”, “...Until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him”. These warnings come as absurd to Macbeth, as that reassures him he does not fear anything if these miracles were to happen. Little does Macbeth know that this confidence would soon turn to regret as he should have heeded what the 3 Apparitions
said. Macbeth has been show a master of deceit but did not expect to be deceived himself. In the final act, the 3 warnings have come true one by one, starting with the forest looking like it's walking towards the castle. What Macbeth thought was impossible is now transpiring before his eyes. In the climax of the play, Macduff successfully kills Macbeth since the Thane of Fife has stated “Tell Thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped”. Macbeth did not expect that Macduff was not woman born since he was taken from the womb, leading to his untimely demise. The 3 warnings seemed not at all frightening but this is what ultimately leads to Macbeth’s downfall. Deceit is a powerful weapon, men and women throughout this story use it for their own personal gain. How else was Macbeth suppose to convict others from a crime he has committed? How was Macbeth even suppose to go through with the plan if it had not been for Lady Macbeth? Deception is one of the crucial things that drive this story. Without deception, Macbeth would have been easily caught and fail to reach his goals. To trick someone into doing your bidding, to lie to them that would lead to their end, is what made Macbeth’s characters so cunning and interesting to read. It displays the potential of deception and how it can raise one to the throne and how another can topple it down to the ground.
Thirdly, feelings of paranoia and guilt cause Macbeth characters to make damaging choices. When Macbeth asks the witches to reveal the truth of their prophecies to him, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers a prediction to allay Macbeth’s fears. First, a floating head warns him to beware Macduff. Macbeth says that he has already guessed as much. Later when Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth in reply says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to th'edge o'th'sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line.” (4.1.149-152). As Macbeth descends to madness he becomes obsessed with eliminating any threats to his power. Macbeth orders the murderers to kill Macduff's family and eliminate any threat to him. Ironically, this is the moment that Macbeth seals his own fate, by murdering Macduff's family he ensures Macduff's retaliation against him, which ultimately leads
Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare illustrates Macbeth’s journey to becoming a ruthless and tyrannical man who will do anything and everything to gain more power. Macbeth’s actions of killing prove Machiavelli’s theory that men are cowardly and dishonest, which leads those similar to Macbeth, to believe being feared is safer than being loved. Macbeth has demonstrated Machiavelli’s theory by his actions of murder and betrayal towards individuals, such as Banquo, under his ruling. Macbeth believes that being feared is safer than loved by his people, which causes citizens under his ruling to think he is a bad king. Since individuals believe Macbeth is a negligent king due to his cowardly and dishonest actions, individuals won’t put their trust or
In the beginning of the book, the main character Macbeth is a honorable man that stumbles upon 3 wicked witches that corrupt his mind. When Macbeth and the witches first meet, the witches tell him that he will be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and king, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis.”(17) The witch’s corrupt Macbeth’s mind with the fact that he can obtain these titles by doing certain things like killing Banquo to progress farther in his ranks. Toward the end of the book, Macbeth isn’t a bystander anymore, but an enemy to many to where he will be slain by a man who was not of woman born. During a battle, a man named Macduff comes and kills Macbeth, “And let the angel whom thou still hast served tell thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.”(185) Macbeth became the evil that he stood by from in the beginning.
Lady Macbeth’s wicked character has an extreme impact towards her husband. Lady Macbeth is responsible for influencing her husband to commit both crimes; she unleashes the dark side of him and motivates him to become an evil and horrendous man. In various parts throughout the story we find that Lady Macbeth strives beyond limits to be converted into a bitter and sour women. The audience is revolted by her horrific actions and although she may seem repugnant, she is an extremely talented actor. In her role, having a deceitful and convincing character is important
Lady Macbeth and the three witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. The three witches told Macbeth a prophecy, which led him to murder anyone in his way for more power. In page 18, When Macbeth heard that he became the new Thane of Cawdor, he thought, “If it’s my fate to be king, then fate might make me king, without me having to do anything”. This is ironic because he ended up murdering innocent people such as his best friend and Macduff’s family to stay as the King. Macbeth relied too much on the prophecies from the three witches to save him from fear. “Im determined to know the worst, by any means I can. I have to know, for my own good”(p.72). Lady Macbeth was also
Macbeth uses his appearance to deceive others on several occasions throughout the play. For example, in Act 3, Scene 1, after hearing the witches’ prophecies and becoming the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth begins to consider murdering the current king of Scotland, Duncan. He says:
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play. Macbeth’s rise to the throne was brought about by the same external forces that ensure his downfall.
This is a play about the bad ending that happens to those who are greedy for power. Macbeth may be good at war, but his knowledge of violence would not make him a good king. But how did a courageous man become so greedy for power over the people? His one big mistake was to believe in lies, a prophecy told by very weird-looking ladies. His second mistake was to begin lying to everyone and to keep faithful to a silly prophecy. His third mistake was to think that there was no way that to make his way to the top. But Shakespeare, like all famous authors, make things very complicated in the story. He shows there is a perfect place for lying without punishment, for those who still would like to use deception and duplicity after the scary consequences of this play. It is dramatic irony when Shakespeare shows Macbeth got the bad ending he deserved after believing in lies and becoming a liar himself, but the whole story of Macbeth is a lie! Like in Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 5, this is a “tale full of sound and fury”, but definitely...
"All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thou shall be King hereafter!" (1.3.49) The witches help fate out by giving Macbeth this information. If Macbeth had never known this, he would never have had the idea of becoming thane of Cawdor or king. This is the start to Macbeth's road to success and ultimate demise. It was predetermined by fate that Macbeth would believe the witches' words. When Macbeth does in fact become thane of Cawdor, he then believes fully in the witches and is willing to do anything it takes to become king.
This whole situation comes about because of three witches who wanted to cause trouble for Macbeth. They knew all along what would happen to him in the end. Macbeth is ambitious and the witches played upon that by promising Macbeth great things, such as becoming the king of Scotland, and Thane of Cawdor. Immediately after he talks with the witches, he is by chance entitled, Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth now believes in the witches’ words and honestly believes that the crown of Scotland will fall upon him by natural means. This idea goes awry when Duncan names Malcom his heir. Macbeth then, still believing in the witches, goes on with his plan to murder Duncan.
Just like any of us, Macbeth’s ambition caused him to be easily influenced. Based on the text, the witches say to Macbeth and Banquo, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!” “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor!” “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, that shalt be king hereafter!” After the witches speak his prophecy, Macbeth with great interest and desire then asks to here more about what the witches have to say. Soon after Macbeth was given the name Thane of Cawdor, he believed what the witches said had some truth to it causing his ambition to be influenced by the wicked weird sisters. When Macbeth tells his wife, Lady Macbeth about the prophecy, Macbeth’s ambition then faces Lady Macbeth’s influence. According to the
The play Macbeth was written by Shakespeare in 1606 and is about the bloody crusade a man goes on to become as powerful as possible. Macbeth makes his way to the top by deceiving people that trust him and telling lies to anyone and everyone. There are many different types of lies, and he utilizes all of them for his own personal gain. However, it is not only Macbeth who lies throughout this play, but a multitude of other characters as well. When someone lies, they not only hurt the people around them but they also alter how the events in their future will happen.
Macbeth is a play revolving around many key ideas observed in Shakespeare’s time with various messages communicated to the audience successfully, despite the lack of the cinematic effects present in today’s literature entertainment. The interweaved themes of immoral ambition and corruption are displayed throughout the text, unveiling the corruptive nature of one’s excessive greed for supremacy, affecting both themselves and others. This idea in Macbeth is successfully conveyed to the audience in Shakespeare’s time through the literary devices of characterisation, soliloquy and plot.
Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.
One of the biggest hidden concepts in this play is the idea of deception. Deception happens very prominently throughout the play by many different characters. These individuals used deception in order to achieve a personal gain, though there is an opportunity cost to this personal gain, thus leading to cloaking of true individual intent. Lady Macbeth faultlessly portrays this idea of deception when she tells Macbeth to “Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, Your tongue look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t” (1, 5, 65-66) she wants Macbeth to hide his true intentions that way he can grow close to his aspiration of killing the king. In addition, Macbeth continues his deception as he exclaims “That