Examples Of Deception In Macbeth

The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, entails a tragic hero who cannot control his lustful nature. Malcolm used the theme “appearances can be deceiving” to challenge Macduff’s allegiance. Although Macbeth killed in a slyly manner, he was not the only one. This leads him to silently kill a plethora of people. Lady Macbeth applied deception to beguile others of the killings of King Duncan and Banquo. Therefore, the theme “appearances can be deceiving” is developed utilizing the characters of Malcolm, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth. Malcolm uses deception in a very unique way. Essentially, this is seen when Macduff’s allegiance is challenged. For example, Malcolm explains that “In my voluptuousness: your wives, your daughters, your matrons

He uses it in a very versatile manner, especially after killing someone. An example of this would be after King Duncan’s assassination, Macbeth explains, “[Duncan’s] silver skin laced with his golden blood; And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature.” (2.3.91-92) This is an example of the theme “appearances can be deceiving” because he is disguising his lustful killing using grieve as a means to blend in with everyone else. Even though the others are questioning about who may have done the killing, Macbeth is the killer using deception to hide it. Deception is also prominent when he first meets the witches. He explains “Glamis, and thane of Cawdor! The greatest is behind [.]” (1.3.118-119) This displays deception because even though he does not externally show interest or emotion, internally he is continuously thinking about it. Beside deception, this is what initially creates his ambition and lustful nature. An example of this is when Banquo is invited to the dinner party. He explains that Banquo is “our chief guest.” (3.1.11) But, when he talks to the murderers, he explains, “Both of you Know Banquo was your enemy.” (3.1.118-119) This conveys the theme “appearances can be deceiving” because he dissembled his honest intentions from Banquo, and alarmingly, he hired assassins specifically to kill Banquo. Although Macbeth is very clever at portraying the theme “appearances can be deceiving”, Lady Macbeth also excels at this as