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The significance of deception in Macbeth
Is Macbeth about betrayal and deception
The consequences of deceit in Macbeth
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Deception and Betrayal in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
The play ‘Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare” not only shows us
how betrayal and deception undermines society but how it restores the
moral law and society back to the way it was before the Thane of
Cawdor and the tyrant Macbeth brought about the destruction in the
first place. the play Macbeth also featured two changes to the throne
of Scotland, both as a result of betrayal, deception, the aid of the
weird sisters and the death of kings, the fate of Scotland changed for
better and for worse.
Deception and betrayal is apparent right from the beginning of the
play where Duncan states that “No more that Thane of Cawdor shall
deceive / Our bosom interest,” and the terrible state that Scotland
is in as a result of the Thane’s betrayal along with the rebels.
Duncan later told of how “There’s no art / To find the mind’s
construction in the face: / He was a gentleman on whom I built, / An
absolute trust.” Duncan is portrayed by Shakespeare as a wise
character and his accurate assessment of the relation between
betrayal, deception and the state of Scotland was an important feature
of his character. Duncan is also, unknowingly betrayed by the new
Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, and even though he believed that Macbeth was
loyal to him, Duncan was once again double-crossed by his “worthy
Cawdor”.
Once given prophecies of being king by the “weird sisters”, Macbeth
immediately begins collaborating against Duncan and takes Lady
Macbeth’s advice to “look like the innocent flower, / But be the
serpent under it.” Although Lady Macbeth saw no trouble with killing
Duncan, Macbeth did ...
... middle of paper ...
...hat Thane of Cawdor shall deceive / Our bosom interest,”
“There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face: / He
was a gentleman on whom I built, / An absolute trust.”
“worthy Cawdor”.
“look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under it.”
“Duncan / Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in
his great office”
“the sightless couriers of the air, / Shall blow the horrid deed in
every eye”
“O nation miserable”
“It cannot / Be call’d our mother”.
“sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air”
“the dead man’s knell.”
“there are / liars and swears enough to beat the honest men and / hang
them up.”
“oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell
us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray us / In deepest
consequence.”
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs
"There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face: He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust" (I, iv, 11-4). With this statement, Duncan illustrates his recognition of his inability to tell the character of an individual by looking at him. He is referring to the Thane of Cawdor who, during the civil war, helped try to overthrow Duncan's rule of Scotland. As a king, Duncan is well received which perhaps allows him to consider himself untouchable. He assumes that no one would have any reason to hurt or disobey him and so he allows his personal safety standards to fall to dangerous levels. This lack of concern also accounts for the manner in which he is unprotected while sleeping at Mabeth's castle. Duncan is governed by his ego to such an extent that he dismisses this breech of security by killing the disloyal Thane rather than try to cor...
The men are not the only ones that have to deal with the deception of
Set in Scotland, back in the days of King Richard, the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, tells the story of Macbeth’s rise and fall from the throne. Macbeth is a general for his king, Duncan, the ruler of Scotland. However a chance meeting with the infamous Three Weird Sisters leaves him with a chance to become the very king he lives to serve. Shakespeare has presented Macbeth in a way that makes us both admire min and despise him one at a time or sometimes both at once.
The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare starts off with a noble warrior Named Macbeth that is titled thane of Glamis by his own uncle, King Duncan. Macbeth is awarded thane of Cawdor due to the switching sides of the original title holder who is hanged for treason. Macbeth who is deceived by his wife kills the king in a plot for power and they put the blame on the guards by laying bloody daggers next to them. Macbeth begins to lose himself as the play goes on. He kills his best friend Banquo and Macduff’s wife and kids. Lady Macbeth kills herself as she goes crazy from all the killings and then that is when Macbeth completely loses himself. Macbeth is told by the witches that he cannot be killed by any one of women born. Macduff and Malcolm, heir to the throne who fled Scotland think of a plan to kill Macbeth. Macbeth faces Macduff and Malcolm’s army alone as he is labeled a tyrant and is abandoned by everyone. He faces the army fearlessly as he cannot killed by any one of woman born but fails to realize that Macduff was born of C-section leading to his downfall and Macbeth is Beheaded. Malcolm becomes the new king. Lady Macbeth's deception had a dramatic effect on the play leading to a dramatic change in many lives. The three main points that will be discussed are how Lady Macbeth becomes deceived; how Lady Macbeth deceives others and the results from Lady Macbeth deceiving others. Lady Macbeth, was simply minded and became easily deceived.
William Shakespeare draws Macbeth as an ambitious usurper who nevertheless has certain virtues: courage, righteousness, and a devoted love for his wife. In doing so, Shakespeare shows he understands the dual nature of human beings. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous and noble warrior, who valiantly fought for his King, until he finally meets the witches. “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name”, (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 16). Dramatic irony is tied in as only the audience know that Macbeth will soon betray the king – displaying his duplicity. Macbeth is praised for his courage in battle by the Sergeant. “O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!” replies Duncan, and we, the audience see the esteem Macbeth is held in and the nobility he has shown as a loyal solider and kinsman. This leads to Macbeth being ennobled with the Thaneship of Cawdor which later engenders in him hope for inheriting the crown. Soon, Macbeth meets the witches and they prophesise that Macbeth will be crowned king of Scotland – unleashing his passion for ambition whi...
Until his death, King Duncan was misled by Macbeth’s false loyalty. When the Thane of Cawdor had been found guilty of being a traitor and was hanged, King Duncan thought so highly of Macbeth, that he gave the title to him. The Thane then ironically dies with pride while Macbeth dies a foe of Scotland. The King was under the impression that Macbeth was a loyal and brave soldier, calling him “O worthiest cousin” (1/4/14), but Macbeth was actually already planning to kill the King, “whose murder yet is but fantastical” (1/3/139). Even when Duncan goes to visit Macbeth, he praises the castle’s pleasant environment and hospitality, “This castle hath a pleasant seat” (1/5/1), but is totally unaware of Macbeth’s plans to murder him.
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.
“O worthiest cousin, the sin of my gratitude even now was heavy on me!”(I. i. 347) the king cannot repay him for what he has done for their kingdom. Macbeth is a highly respected warrior because he is loyal, trusted, and honest man. Macbeth is a vulnerable man; he is weak. Letting other people make decisions for him, he becomes more incapable of resisting how people will view him as a “loyal” soldier since he cannot follow through. In the film Macbeth the setting is right in the middle of war. Macbeth has held the enemy facing him, but he hesitates and looks at his soldiers for the okay to kill the enemy. With that being said, he is seriously self conscious and lets others makes the decisions for him. Before he is going to kill King Duncan, he speaks to himself in the If soliloquy. “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly.”(I. vii. 343) in this quote it shows that he is truly evil since he wants it done quick and easy.
Macbeth is seen as a “valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” (I, ii, 24). He is a brave warrior who is well respected in his community, until the witches prophesied to him that he would one day be king (I, iii, 50). Macbeth interpreted that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. He sends a letter to Lady Macbeth asking what to do. She suggests that he should kill Duncan.
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:
Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" is considered one of his great tragedies. The play fully uses plot, character, setting, atmosphere, diction and imagery to create a compelling drama. The general setting of Macbeth is tenth and eleventh century Scotland. The play is about a once loyal and trusted noble of Scotland who, after a meeting with three witches, becomes ambitious and plans the murder of the king. After doing so and claiming the throne, he faces the other nobles of Scotland who try to stop him. In the play, Macbeth faces an internal conflict with his opposing decisions. On one hand, he has to decide of he is to assassinate the king in order to claim his throne. This would result in his death for treason if he is caught, and he would also have to kill his friend. On the other hand, if he is to not kill him, he may never realize his ambitious dreams of ruling Scotland. Another of his internal struggles is his decision of killing his friend Banquo. After hiring murderers to kill him, Macbeth begins to see Banquo's ghost which drives him crazy, possibly a result of his guilty conscience. Macbeth's external conflict is with Macduff and his forces trying to avenge the king and end Macbeth's reign over Scotland. One specific motif is considered the major theme, which represents the overall atmosphere throughout the play. This motif is "fair is foul and foul is fair."
King Duncan trusts Macbeth too much. Macbeth appears as a superhero and faithful to King Duncan. He fights against the traitor Macdonwald, and he helps the king to solve a great problem that wins the war. Duncan trusts Macbeth very much because of Macbeth’s heroic efforts and he gives Macbeth the title “Thane of Cawdor”. In actuality, Macbeth is not as faithful to the king as he appears.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the theme of guilt and conscience is one of many explored throughout the play. Macbeth, is a well respected Scottish noble who in the beginning of the play is a man everyone looks up to; however as the play progresses he makes a number of bad decisions. Eventually, as a result of his actions he suffers guilt and this plays heavily upon his character until his personality is completely destroyed. Shakespeare uses a range of techniques in order to develop this theme such as, characters, imagery.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.