Theme Of Reality In Macbeth

319 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thesis on macbeth versons and reality

In Macbeth appearances do not represent reality is a strong theme. First of all, Macbeth’s reality is much different from what he appears to be. Macbeth seems like he’s loyal to Duncan but once you get to know Macbeth you start to see his true reality which is much different from what his appearance is. Macbeth’s loyal appearance is much different from his true reality of wanting to kill Duncan to take his place on the throne “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly. If the assassination Could trammel up the consequence, and catch With his surcease success; that but this blow Might be the be-all and the end-all here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We’d jump the life to come.”(I.VII.I-VII). Also, Lady Macbeth brings us to the realization that the theme is present. …show more content…

Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to seem like a loyal servant to king Duncan while really he is planning on murdering him. Finally, Lady Macbeth portrays 2 completely different personalities which we see change during the play. Lady Macbeth starts out like a tough and callous woman but then after the murder of Duncan she shows her true reality. Before Duncan’s murder Lady Macbeth was portraying that she wanted the murder done no matter who did it, but, when it came to the night of the murder she claimed that she would have committed the murder but Duncan reminded her of her father when he sleeps “Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done ’t.”(II.II.XII-XIII). In conclusion, the theme “appearances do not represent reality” is shown through Macbeth’s loyalty to the king, Lady Macbeth’s line, and Lady Macbeth’s change in personality throughout the

Show More
Related

  • Free Macbeth Essays - Are things as they seem?

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    Are things as they seem?  All things have an appearance, usually a good or a bad one.  Depending on the appearance something has we form an opinion about it.  Sometimes the appearance something has can mislead one in forming an accurate opinion about it.  In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows us that things are not always as they appear to be.  This is shown through the duplicity of Macbeth and his wife, the kings sons and the servants being  In the beginning of the play Macbeth is a well respected hero who appears to be a great guy.  However, by the end of the play it is clear that Macbeth is a selfish, troubled man with a conscience that seems to serve no purpose.  In lines 81-82 on page 240, Macbeth tells how he must mislead the world and hide his dark side from it.  "Away, and mock the time with "  On page 249 Macbeth does a good job of hiding his dark side before finding the dead king with Macduff.  "Is the king stirring, worthy Thane?" asks Macduff.   "Not yet," replies Macbeth.   "Goes the king hence today?" asks Macduff.   "He does: he did appoint so," answers Macbeth.  Although Macbeth has full knowledge of the king's death, he plays it off well and appears to know nothing.  Lady Macbeth appears to be a nice hospitable  woman.  However, her heart is dark and full of evil.&nbsp ; On page 236, the king talks to Lady Macbeth, telling her of the And thank us for your help. "  His opinion of Lady Macbeth highly exceeds that of which it should.  He has such a high opinion of Lady Macbeth because he is mislead by her good appearance.  It is ironic that Duncan thinks so highly of Macbeth and his wife, as on page 232 when he says "There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face:"  This is ironic because it directly applies to the king and Macbeth.  (The king does not know  Macbeth's true mind construction.  If he did, Macbeth would most likely get his head chopped off. )   It is also ironic that he gets a good feeling about being at Macbeth's castle and that Banquo sees a temple-haunting martlet outside of the castle, the martlet suggesting heaven's invitation to the castle.  This is ironic because Macbeth and his wife are inside planning Duncan's murder as he sits outside with Banquo talking about his good feelings regarding the castle.  Macbeth's castle appears to be  There are some characters in Macbeth who appear to be guilty of something although they are not.  The two servants are found disoriented and covered with the king's blood in the morning which makes them appear to be the murderers.  (Courtesy of Macbeth and his nutty wife. )  Malcom and Donalbain are next in line to the throne, so they appear to be the ones who had the servants kill the king.  Although the king's sons and the servants appear to be the murderers, they are not.  They are completely innocent because Macbeth and his wife are the murderers.   Macbeth and his wife appeared to be honorable people.  Even so, they had wicked hearts.  The castle appeared to be a safe place, but it actually turned out to be the king's meeting place with death.  The king's sons appeared to be the murderers though they had done nothing wrong. 

    Read More

  • Macbeth Universal Themes

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth is a classic when we talk about universal themes. By comparing Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Peter Moffat’s adaptation film Macbeth Retold we can definitely see the emphasis on universal themes of loyalty and guilt. Both texts emphasise the importance of loyalty as the integral trigger for guilt, allowing greater insight into universal themes. While Shakespeare employs literary techniques to express various forms of devotion and culpability, Moffat manipulates motifs and various characters to convey undermining themes. From differing perspectives, both composers simultaneously demonstrate the timelessness of universal themes despite being comprised in different contexts.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth- Character Changes Throughout The Play

    1848 Words  | 4 Pages

    As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, she loses more control. She loses control of her husband, but mostly, of herself, proving her vacillating truth. Lady Macbeth’s character gradually disintegrates through a false portrayal of unyielding strength, an unsteady control of her husband and shifting involvement with supernatural powers.Throughout the duration of play Lady Macbeth’s truly decrepit and vulnerable nature is revealed. Lady Macbeth has been the iron fist and authority icon for Macbeth, yet deep down, she never carried such traits to begin with. This duality in Lady Macbeth’s character plays a huge role in planting the seed for Macbeth’s downfall and eventual demise.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth Is More Ruthless

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder is yet but fantastical, shakes so that my single state of man that function is smoldered I surmise and nothing is but what is not.” Macbeth as you can see is thinking about the witches’ prophecy of him becoming king. Macbeth knows that Duncan must be killed if he wants to acquire the throne, and the thought of Duncan’s murder is very disturbing to him. Macbeth desires to become king, but his ambition is halted when he thinks of the consequences that follow if he were to get his wish. However when Malcolm is chosen to become Prince of Cumberland Macbeth knew that if he did not take any actions then he wouldn’t be king. The reader can see that the ruthlessness that lied in Macbeth is coming out when he says “The Prince of Cumberland – that is a step On which I must fall down or else o’erleap, For in my way it lies. Despite the fact that Macbeth is a ruthless individual Lady Macbeth makes him look like a saint. After Lady Macbeth reads her husband’s letter she sees an opportunity to become queen that she probably never thought about. Lady Macbeth’s desire for her husband to become king is stronger than Macbeth’s own desire for the throne. After Lady Macbeth learns that Duncan is going to visit Inverness she begins plotting to kill him even though her husband does show hesitation to kill Duncan.

    Read More

  • Corruption of Unchecked Ambition in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1294 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.

    Read More

  • Free Essay on Macbeth - The Guilt of Lady Macbeth

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is ambitious, controlling and domineering. She is the one who encourages him to kill the king, she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself, which shows her determination and persistence."Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (Act 1, scene 5). Lady Macbeth is the force behind Macbeth’s sudden ambition and she tries to manipulate him into feeling guilty and unmanly for not following through with the murder, by using her husbands emotions, she manages to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.

    Read More

  • Imagery In Macbeth

    1784 Words  | 4 Pages

    If a picture tells a thousand words, than imagine the importance of an image upon a play such as Macbeth. In any literary work, it is extremely important that the author can effectively manipulate a reader's feelings towards a character. In Macbeth, that feat is accomplished magnificently by Shakespeare. Through his skillful use of imagery, Shakespeare shows us a deeper look into the true character of Macbeth. Though imagery is widespread throughout Macbeth, it is most dominant in clothing imagery, light and darkness imagery, and blood imagery. Through these images,

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In Macbeth

    99 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lady Macbeth could have chosen to question the prophecies; however, she accepted them without hesitation and encouraged her husband to do the same. A motif, which encompasses the stereotypes of gender roles, winds its way through the play, following Macbeth like a shadow. The daunting thought that others will not consider him a man, an idea initially presented by his wife, spurs a seemingly endless killing spree. This cause and effect scenario suggests that one of the reasons Macbeth moved forward with the plan to kill Duncan, was likely to show his wife and others that he was manly.

    Read More

  • Consequences of Actions in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...

    Read More

  • Light And Darkness In Macbeth Essay

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth demonstrates the theme of light and darkness many times throughout the book, with relations to contemporary society through innocence and evil and good and bad. It also displays the theme of ambition prevalently throughout the book and shows the complexity and distance that people are willing to go to get what they want or what others have. Appearance and reality is also a prominent theme throughout Macbeth with relationships between how people and events are not what they seem. All of these themes are extremely relevant to contemporary society today.

    Read More

  • Appearance And Reality In Rupert Goold's Macbeth

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...femininity, the very thing she despises the most about her, to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan and Macbeth is able to convince everyone at the banquet that he is a loyal noble when we know that he is far from that. Goold demonstrates how easily humans can be deceived and how easy it is to deceive someone. Lady Macbeth deceives Macbeth and they both deceive the king and nobles. As mentioned above, no one can tell what one is thinking based off of their facial expression and the same holds for appearances. Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the witches demonstrate this theme in the play by taking on disguises to influence others, unfairly using their natural abilities to get their way, and putting on a façade to convince others of a false loyalty. What the pretenses of that loyalty will hold, the realities can destroy, and such is the gap between an appearance and a reality.

    Read More

  • Appearance and Reality in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    The theme of appearance versus reality is very important in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The characters of Duncan, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth are unable to differentiate between appearance and reality, resulting in tragic consequences. Poor judgment is evidenced by Duncan, who trusts Macbeth too much; Lady Macbeth, who is fooled by the witches; and Macbeth, who is tricked repeatedly by others.

    Read More

  • The Themes of Macbeth

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most important themes in Macbeth involves the witches' statement in Act 1, Scene1 that "fair is foul and foul is fair." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 10) This phrase aptly describes the macabre status quo within the character Macbeth and without.  When Macbeth and Banquo first see the weird sisters, Banquo is horrified by their hideous appearances.  Conversely, Macbeth immediately began to converse with these universally known evil creatures.  After hearing their prophecies, one can say that Macbeth considered the witches to be "fair" when in reality their intentions were quite "foul." Macbeth's possession of the titles of Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland came by foul means.  Macbeth became the Thane of Glamis by his father Sinel's death; he became Thane of Cawdor when the former namesake was executed for treason; and he was ordained King of Scotland after murdering the venerable Duncan.  Thus, Macbeth has a rather ghastly way of advancing in life.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Character Analysis Essay

    1563 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lady Macbeth is the first to strategize a way to kill Duncan. As a character foil to Macbeth she juxtaposes their possession of guilt and ruthlessness, which creates irony and excitement to the play. Originally, she is very power hungry and wants to utilize her husband’s position in status to become queen. Macbeth objects to the plan to kill Duncan because he believes Duncan is Macbeth’s kinsman, host, and an overall virtuous ruler (Act. 1 Scene. 7) and thus feels very guilty for taking advantage of Duncan’s trusting quality towards the Macbeth family. She refers to Macbeth as weak and rebukes his manhood (Act 1. Scene 7.) . As the play progresses, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a character role reversal of their possession of guilt and ruthlessness. The character foil is extant, however Macbeth’s ruthlessness overcomes his guilt, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt vanquishes her drive for power. In addition to an alteration in character foils, Shakespeare introduces situational irony because now Lady Macbeth succumbs to the weakness Macbeth once possessed and Macbeth is the one who is formidable and ambitious. Macbeth’s ability to transcend his guilt exemplifies his struggle for power and reinforces the theme of evil ambition because Macbeth is able to secure the throne and power only by mass

    Read More

  • Theme Of Ambition In Macbeth

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Macbeth directly focuses on the universal and powerful themes of ambition and insanity. These themes are considered most confronting for audiences due to their unanimous relevance. Throughout the play audiences are encouraged to see that ambition should only be achieved through ability or good fortune, otherwise it will be the cause of disaster; in this case the cost of ambition was life.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Reality In Macbeth

Open Document