More Than What Meets the Eye

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Recommended: Macbeth and its relevance today

One of the earliest instances of things seeming to be much fairer than what initially meets the eye occurs in Act 1 when King Duncan goes to Macbeth’s castle in Glamis. Upon the arrival of the king at her husband’s castle, Lady Macbeth masquerades as in incredibly hospitable hostess to the king and his men by accentuating her gratitude towards Duncan for all of the honors he has bestowed on them. The irony of her behavior is that she was just previously discussing the manner in which Macbeth should murder Duncan so he could become king thus, revealing her charming façade to have “foul” intentions under a more critical analysis. Duncan, however, falls for her act, and he continues to show his gratitude by proclaiming compliments such as, “See see, our honored hostess!” (1, VI). Likewise, this would not be the first occasion in Macbeth where characters mistake the goals of another.
Pursuing this further, late into the play, Macduff travels to England to consult with Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne, about overthrowing Macbeth, the new tyrannous king of Scotland. Macduff had ...

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