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

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