Of Lady Macbeth's Deceptive Appearances example essay topic

In today's society appearances are a big part of our lives. We don't know what everybody is thinking all the time, this is because outward appearances cover up what we are truly thinking. The same thing happened in Shakespeare's' time as well especially in the play Macbeth. The basic plot of Act one is that three witches have visited Macbeth and they have influenced him to murder Duncan so he can become king. During Macbeth's actions we see many deceptive appearances occurring. Act one begins with the supernatural in other words the witches.

They end scene one with the phrase, 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair'. This line means that appearances aren't what they seem. This quotation creates the atmosphere of uncertainty, and made the Jacobean audience aware of the theme of deceptive appearances from the very start of the play. All the witches speak this line and in Shakespeare's time people would be wary of the supernatural. Duncan is one of the characters who can't see past outward appearances. The first reference we get about him making a false judgement about someone is in Scene two when Macbeth is pronounced Thane of Cawdor.

Duncan states 'No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom dearest'. This is ironic because what Duncan doesn't know is that Macbeth will soon kill him. Then Duncan goes on to say 'What he hath lost noble Macbeth has won'. This is also ironic because Macbeth is far from noble. So we can see that right from the beginning Duncan is a very bad judge of character. In scene three we hear Macbeth almost repeating the words of the witches with the statement's o foul and fair a day I have not seen'.

This is reminding the audience of the witch's statement at the start of the play. This is preparing the audience that there will be a misjudgment coming. This comes from Banquo when he and Macbeth first see the witches. Banquo says ' You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so. ' Banquo is saying that the witches should normally be female but in this case these ones have male qualities. These qualities are preventing Banquo from seeing that the witches are fully women.

This is an example of outward appearances being deceptive. Banquo then goes on to make a false judgement about Macbeth because he says 'Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear'. He calls Macbeth well, whereas Macbeth is going to kill him too. In scene four, Duncan states that you can't judge someone on appearances alone.

He is saying that Macbeth is a man who he trusts. '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 praising Macbeth and thinks he is a worthy man. This is ironic again because Duncan has no idea that Macbeth id going to deceive him. In this scene Duncan names his successor.

He leads Macbeth to believe that he is going to be the next king, but then names Malcolm as his next king. WE then hear Macbeth's' real thoughts on how HW must become king. Shakespeare has deliberately juxtaposed these scenes, first dealing with appearances then reality. The main characters in this play that use deceptive appearances are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. We " ve already met Macbeth and have heard of people making false judgements of him already.

We meet Lady Macbeth in scene five for the first time. When we first meet her she is immediately thinking of murder, this links her with evil. As we look on into scene five and scene six we see some of Lady Macbeth's' deceptive appearances. First of all we expect women to be passionate and caring, but Lady Macbeth is far from it. She has quite a masculine side to her and this can be very deceptive in a way. I know she has a masculine side because in her speech in scene five she uses quite harsh and masculine words.

The fact that she is immediately linked with evil is deceptive also because when people meet her they can't see past her feminine looks. Duncan is a person who thinks she is a charming person. WE see this mistake being made in scene six. In Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's dialogue at the end of scene five we see Lady Macbeth telling her husband how to deceive the world by covering up his true feelings with appropriate facial expressions; ' Look like the' innocent flower, / But be the serpent udder's'. This is a biblical metaphor were the flower represents the good and the serpent represents evil. Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to act normal when Duncan arrives and not let his thoughts reveal himself.

In scene six we see that the atmosphere has taken on a deceptive appearance. At the start of the scene we see Duncan and Banquo arriving at Macbeth's castle in Inverness. So Duncan states, 'This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / unto out gentle senses'. Banquo talks about the house martins only nesting in healthy and clean areas and so is describing the castle as a healthy and relaxing. 'Where they most breed and haunt, I have / observed / the air is delicate. This is a very clear example of irony because Duncan is going to be murdered in this place.

Another example of deceptive appearances is when Duncan first meets Lady Macbeth. She obviously has practiced deceiving as she deceives Duncan into thinking that she has a lot of respect for him mad he thinks she is a 'Fair and noble hostess'. This is ironic also because it was actually her idea to kill Duncan, but she deceives Macbeth that it was actually his idea to kill Duncan. We see this in scene seven. In scene seven Macbeth is having second thoughts about killing Duncan. When Lady Macbeth finds out she is furious and one of her arguments that she uses to change her husband's mind is that she implies that the idea was actually his when it was actually hers.

'What beast wasn't then / that made you break this enterprise to me?' Here she is implying that it was actually Macbeth who first suggested murdering Duncan when in fact it was her idea. This sis another of Lady Macbeth's deceiving. Finally the last example of deceptive appearances is in the last line in scene seven. 'False face must hide what the false heart doth know'. Lady Macbeth again said this to Macbeth.

It basically means that they have to deceive the world with a false image to cover-up the doings in their heart. This must be carried out carefully as it is a vital step of getting away with the murder. In conclusion deceptive appearances are just as big as part of life today as was four hundred years ago in Shakespeare's time. Shakespeare has explored this theme in the play Macbeth very well. As you can clearly see there are many examples of this coming mostly from Lady Macbeth and Macbeth and from settings such as Macbeth's castle. There are other people who are very bad judge of character, for example Duncan and Banquo.

We can't blame them because come to think of it can you always tell what somebody is thinking? It is literally impossible.