Macbeth Appearance Vs Reality Essay

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Shakespeare illuminates the theme of appearance vs. reality to display the contrast in the characters with reference to the good and evil that lies within each of them through the use of paradox. The opening scene of Macbeth showcases the contrast of appearance vs. reality through the Witch scene since not all believe in supernatural beings. The witches are a representation of the contrast of appearance vs. reality since they only appear to certain characters throughout the play and also their infamous lines, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air” (Shakespeare 1.1.10). This line sets the mood for the entire play, with the contrast of fair and foul in reference to both the physical and moral world. The first …show more content…

Walter Curry agrees that the witches enjoy stirring up trouble for all those in the castle, “Whether visible or invisible these malignant substances insinuate themselves into the essence of the natural world and hover about the souls of men and women” (Curry 240). The witches continue throughout the play occasionally appearing to give a future prophecy, a life warning, or simply to visit with their buddy, Macbeth. The idea of witches and supernatural beings was widely accepted throughout the Shakespearean era; however, their true form remains unknown. In addition, Shakespeare emphasizes the witches’ mystical qualities through a rhythmic trochaic tetrameter meter in their lines, “Double double toil and trouble / Fire burn and cauldron bubble” (4.1.10-11). The Witches utilize the meter and rhythm to lull their victims into belief of their prophecies. This is one of the most famous quotes from the witches and in Macbeth as a whole. The witches are comparing all of Scotland to a nasty brew of evil in their cauldron. Shakespeare reveals to the audience Macbeth’s discovery of the witches deception, “I pull in resolution, and begin / To doubt th’ equivocation of the fiend / That lies like truth”

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