Truth In Macbeth

Tell all the Truth but Tell it Slant-Emily Dickinson

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, order has been destroyed. Fair is foul, where a king is killed and even the bird king, the hawk, is killed by the mousing owl. If you would expect to learn the truth from the major characters in the play because they are controlling the action, you can’t because the major characters are concealing the truth. Instead, you have to pay attention to the minor characters. In the disorder of Macbeth, the importance of the minor characters is that they tell and witness the truth in a variety of ways to help guide the path back to the rightful order.

Through prophecies and riddles, the witches are minor characters that tell a truth that is indirect and future looking.

Lady Macduff says that Macduff’s “flight was madness (IV.ii.3)” and “He wants the natural touch (IV.ii.9)” because he is betraying Macbeth and his family. Because of Macduff’s so-called betrayal she even says to her son, “Sirrah, your father’s dead (IV.ii.30).” However, the Son of Macduff does not believe this is the truth. The son disputes the mother’s claim by saying, “My father is not dead for all your saying (IV.ii.37)” and “If he were dead, you’d weep for him (IV.ii.59).” Lady Macduff’s perspective is based on a natural order that has been disrupted, but the Son’s innocence contradicts her view and relies on an original natural order where Macbeth is the traitor and Macduff is good. Like the witches, we only know that the Son of Macduff is telling the truth by the end of the

He uses his expertise in three ways to draw conclusions about the truth. He uses observation, “I have two nights watched with you(V.i.1),” and views, first-hand, Lady Macbeth sleepwalking. He uses recording, “I will set down what comes from her (V.i.29),” to figure out what she has seen and how he can help her. Lastly, he uses his own professional knowledge. He can identify the madness but not cure it- “This disease is beyond my practice (V.i.51).” The Doctor’s role as an expert provides access to the unconscious, where Lady Macbeth admits, in her sleep, the murders of King Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo. The Doctor says, “Infected minds… will discharge their secrets (V.i.64-65).” He is discovering the truth of Lady Macbeth’s madness and of the madness that has taken over the world of Macbeth. The Doctor’s truth telling at the beginning of Act V represents the eventual return of the rightful, or natural, order of