thesis statements for macbeth appearance vs reality

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• Appearance Versus Reality in Macbeth

The theme of appearance versus reality is central to the Shakespearean play The Tragedy of Macbeth. It is a play full of ambition, betrayal, madness, and the supernatural. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth must hide their true thoughts in order to prevent others from knowing what they have done while different characters comment on the difficulty of knowing what a person is truly thinking.

Indeed, Macbeth is full of the struggles of seeing what is real and what is not. Throughout Macbeth, elements of the supernatural, hallucinations brought on by guilt-driven madness, and statements by the differing characters depict the theme of appearance versus reality.

Something Shakespeare often does is give important lines to minor or insignificant characters. Even though King Duncan dies in the first act of the play, one of his lines underscores the theme of appearance versus reality almost perfectly.

He states, “There’s no art to finding the mind’s construction in the face” (Shakespeare, 1.4.12-13). Duncan says this line about the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, who betrayed Scotland to Norway. He means that a person’s face can hide anything, and it is impossible to tell what someone is thinking.

Ironically, as a reward for his bravery and loyalty, Duncan gives the Thane of Cawdor’s title to Macbeth, who kills him to obtain his throne. Duncan recognizes that people can hide what they are truly thinking, but he still trusts Macbeth completely. When Duncan goes to Macbeth’s castle Inverness, he states “This castle hath a pleasant seat” (1.6.1), but this statement is again ironic because Inverness is the place where Macbeth murders him. The castle’s agreeable appearance fools Duncan, and he is murdered in his sleep that very night.

Like their father, Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain recognize that not all men are as they seem. Donalbain states that “There are daggers in men’s smiles” (2.3.138), meaning that despite a person’s friendly appearance, danger lurks beneath their façade. Unlike their father, however, they are better at discerning honest men from false men.

When Macduff tries to convince Malcolm, Duncan’s older son and heir to the throne, to come back to Scotland and challenge Macbeth, Malcolm lies about what sort of person he is in order to see if Macduff actually wants Malcolm to come back or if he is just another spy from Macbeth trying to lure him into a trap.

Malcolm insists that he is a lustful, greedy liar who is unfit to rule by saying “…your wives, your daughters, Your matrons, your maids could not fill up The cistern of my lust…” (4.3.62-63), and “…I should forge Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal. Destroying them for wealth” (4.3.82-84). Macduff despairs when Malcolm asks if he would be fit to govern, stating “Fit to govern? No, not to live” (4.3.103-104). Malcolm is not actually like what he says, however.

He changes his appearance in order to discover what Macduff’s true intentions are. If Macduff only wanted Malcolm to come back so that Macbeth could kill him, he would have insisted that Malcolm is fit to rule and would be a good king despite his faults.

Malcolm also changes his appearance during the final act when he and Macduff return to Scotland to fight Macbeth for the throne. The three witches, the ones who originally prophesied to Macbeth that he would become king of Scotland, gave Macbeth multiple prophesies, one of which states, “…none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.80-81).

Since all men are born of women, he automatically assumes that no one can kill him. However, this prophecy is more than it seems. Macbeth was also warned by the witches to “Beware Macduff, Beware the Thane of Fife” (4.1.70-1), but because he believes he cannot be killed, he assumes he has little cause to worry, although he does have Macduff’s family killed to be certain.

When he meets Macduff on the battlefield, Macduff informs him that he “…was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped” (5.7.45-46), which means that Macduff was not technically ever born. The prophecy tricked Macbeth and caused him to be overconfident, and he was beheaded by Macduff in battle. The prophecy’s wording caused Macbeth to be unable to see the reality that he could still be killed.

Macbeth also receives a prophecy from the witches that say, “Macbeth shall never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him” (4.1.91-93). Because trees cannot just get up and walk, Macbeth believes that he will never be vanquished. This assumption does not turn out to be true, however.

Macduff and Malcolm’s men take limbs from the trees and camouflage themselves, making it look as if the Great Birnam Wood is moving up Dunsinane Hill. The prophecy was different than Macbeth expected, and he paid the price for it. Once Malcolm and his men get close enough to Macbeth’s army he says, “Now near enough. Your leafy screens throw down And show like those you are” (5.6.1-2). Malcolm and his men hid their true appearance in order to defeat Macbeth.

By doing so, they are also causing the prophecy the witches gave Macbeth to come true, but not in a literal fashion. All aspects of the prophecies came true, but the confusing manner in which they were stated caused them to play out differently than Macbeth expected.

The three witches who gave these misleading prophecies also stated one of the most prominent examples of appearance differing from reality. The words “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.11) are uttered by the three witches before the audience is introduced to the title character Macbeth.

This oxymoron immediately sets the stage for the idea that not everything is as it seems. Significantly, Macbeth’s first line of play is “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3.39). This line “…is noteworthy not only because it reiterates a paradoxical statement, but because it refers back to the beginning of the play…” (Kranz 1). By doing so, Shakespeare subtly hints at a connection between the supernatural and Macbeth even before he meets the witches.

When Macbeth does meet the witches, they greet him with three titles, the last of them stating, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare, 1.3.51) When Macbeth hears their proclamation, he does not seem happy. Banquo questions his reaction saying, “Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear Things that do sound so fair?” (Shakespeare, 1.3.52-53).

This question harkens once again to the “fair is foul and foul is fair” phrase. Both Macbeth and Banquo are unaware of the consequences of these prophecies. While the idea of being king is a wonderful notion, the price Macbeth pays is far more foul than fair. He must murder his way to the top, and then he must murder again to prevent anyone from discovering his crimes.

He also struggles with the inability to sleep because of a guilty conscience that constantly plagues him until he goes a little mad and then succumbs to his evil nature. In addition, his wife Lady Macbeth goes completely mad with guilt and kills herself to free herself from it.

The three witches also introduce the idea of the supernatural in the play, and it is continued through the images of nature turning on itself. Horses eat each other, the days turn dark, and the birds behave oddly. Nature reflects the destabilization of the government Macbeth created when he murdered Duncan, and this causes the question of what is a true reality to arise.

Indeed, one of the most prominent references to the supernatural is during the scene when Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost during his banquet. Macbeth is the only one who can see the ghost, creating the question of the ghost’s reality. It could be just a figment of Macbeth’s imagination caused by his guilt for having Banquo murdered or a result of Macbeth’s growing madness.

It could also be a real apparition and Banquo has chosen to haunt only Macbeth. The ghost’s reality is in question and Macbeth struggles to see the difference between what is real and what is not.

The banquet scene is also a turning point in the play. Up until this scene, Macbeth still believes he is in control of his own fate. He knows that the witches understand what will come to pass, but he still believes that everything he chooses is his choice. After seeing Banquo’s ghost, however, “…it is clearly indicated that Macbeth is not what he was when the play began; in a sense, the initiative has passed out of his hands” (Dyson 370).

He understands that he has fooled himself into believing something that is not true. Macbeth recognizes that he is wrong and that he must now ride out the course he has set himself on. After his wife calms him, he stops getting fits of guilt that he had before Banquo’s murder. Indeed, two scenes before the banquet scene he complains of sleeplessness and states, “Oh full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” (Shakespeare, 3.2.35). Now, however, it is as if he accepts his doomed fate and damnation.

He believes because he decided to kill Duncan and become king, he is the one in charge of his fate, when in reality there are outside forces, such as the witches and Lady Macbeth, causing him to do these things.

Macbeth is plagued by guilt not only after he murders Duncan but also while he and his wife are scheming. He is very worried that he and his wife will be discovered, but she belittles him by questioning his masculinity stating, “What beast was’t then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man;” (1.7.48-50), and convinces him that no one will discover them because of the evidence with which they plan to frame Duncan’s guards.

Macbeth then dismisses her saying, “Away, and mock the time with fairest show. False face must hide what the false heart doth know” (1.7.81-82). The two of them must hide what they are thinking in order to prevent any suspicion from falling on them. While Macbeth is only telling his wife to put on this façade while people are in their home, in reality, they must continue this “false face” for the remainder of Macbeth’s reign if they want to keep what they did a secret.

Another aspect of Macbeth that contributes to the theme of appearance versus reality can be found in the hallucinations that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience. Right before killing Duncan, Macbeth sees the image of a dagger before him. According to Abraham Stoll, “Macbeth’s preoccupation is whether the dagger he sees is really there, or if it is a product of his mind” (136).

Macbeth proceeds to reject the dagger as being a supernatural object and recognizes it as a hallucination when he cannot touch it (136). Lady Macbeth also hallucinates because of a guilty conscience. She begins to sleep walk and see things that are not there. One of her maids and her doctor watch her sleep walk and hear her say, “Out, damned spot! Out I say!” (Shakespeare, 5.1.30).

She tries to scrub the blood off her hands, but there is nothing on her hands. Lady Macbeth, however, insists that there is blood on her hands and that it will not come off. She can clear neither her hands nor her conscience.

Despite her guilt driving her to madness, Lady Macbeth is the original motivator of Macbeth’s actions. She tells him to “Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t” (1.5.63-64). She wants him to hide his true ambitions and act like the noble person most believe him to be. She herself does her best to convince all that she is just as innocent as her husband pretends to be.

After Duncan’s murder, the other noblemen in Macbeth’s home are questioning as to who the perpetrator really is, and Macbeth begins to nervously and guiltily ramble. In order to draw attention away from him, Lady Macbeth pretends to faint. She causes the men to think of her as a weak woman, changing their perception of her and creating a distraction.

Lady Macbeth’s statement of “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” can easily be interpreted as an allusion to the Bible. Herbert R. Coursen Jr. says that the serpent is Satan in the garden tempting Eve to eat the fruit (37). In this case, Lady Macbeth is the serpent, Macbeth is Eve, and the throne of Scotland is the fruit.

Lady Macbeth convinces him to take the fruit, or throne, because being king will give him power and wealth. Like Adam and Eve achieving the promised knowledge of good and evil, Macbeth also achieves his goal. The fruit of his labors was rotten, however, and he loses his goodness, part of his sanity, his wife, and in the end, his life. The idea of being king was appealing, but it did not turn out how he expected.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragic play full of lies and deceit. Characters are constantly lying about who they are and commenting on their inability to trust other people’s words and outward appearance.

The three witches and their misleading prophecies show how everything is not as it seems, and the hallucinations that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have because of their guilt also display how reality and illusion can become indiscernible.  Through the use of the supernatural, hallucinations, and statements by differing characters, Shakespeare displays the theme of appearance versus reality.

Works Cited

Coursen Jr., Herbert R. “In Deepest Consequence: Macbeth.” Shakespeare Quarterly 18.4 (1967): 375-88. Web.

Dyson, J.P. “The Structural Function of the Banquet Scene in Macbeth.” Shakespeare Quarterly 14.4 (1963): 369-73. Web.

Kranz, David L. “The Sounds of Supernatural Soliciting in Macbeth.” Studies in Philology 100.3 (2003): 346. Academic Search Complete . Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth : 1539. Norton Critical editions: 2 nd ed. New York: Norton , 2014. Print.

Stoll, Abraham. “Macbeth’s Equivocal Conscience.” Macbeth: New Critical Essays , New York, 2008. Google Scholar . Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

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Notes on Appearance vs Reality in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Back to: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

The contradiction between appearance and reality is repeated throughout the play. In the very first scene, the three witches utter together that fair is foul and foul is fair.

The fact that it is one of the thematic concerns of the play is emphasised when Macbeth’s first dialogue in the play is but the repetition of what the three witches said earlier, “ so foul and fair a day I have not seen .” In Act I, Scene 4 , King Duncan helplessly expresses that “ there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face .”

The play blurs the distinction between what situations and individuals look like and what they really are. The tragedy in the play functions from such dichotomies.

In his own words, “ false face must hide what the false heart doth know. ” Unlike Banquo , Macbeth doesn’t want to recognise the three witches as evil forces. 

The three witches are different for Macbeth from who they really are. It is Macbeth whom they manipulate because he is not what he appears to be. In reality, he nurtures destabilising ambition.

At the beginning of the play, he is a glorious, brave, victorious general who is respected by everyone unquestionably but he is not what he seems to be.

The very first differing degree of appearance and reality is spilt by the three witches. Whatever they predict isn’t what it sounds like. Their half-truth deceives Macbeth.

They don’t act, they only speak and their words activate whatever dormant in the listener and that’s when a character reveals what it really is rather than what it may appear as.

Lady Macbeth complains Macbeth of his transparent appearance. She delivers the formula that “ to beguile the time, look like the time .” She asks him to “ look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it. ” Macbeth imbibes it very well.

From then he successfully hides what he really is. Unlike what Lady Macbeth accuses him of, his face is no more a book on which one can read the inner thoughts.

When King Duncan arrives at the castle of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth literally acts so deceptively it is impossible to know that she is also plotting to get him murdered that very night.

Towards the end of the play, it becomes clear that the tragedy is coming from this flaw of not being able to see the true realities. Macbeth is falsely lured by the second round of misleading predictions made by the three witches when they show him three apparitions.

From what it appears as Macbeth is unable to know the realities of those half-truths and slips into a false assurance regarding his invincibility. From appearance alone, Macduff looks like someone who cowardly abandons his family but, in the end, he is the one who avenges and the order return to the hands of Malcolm .

The whole play is slowly furthered on the deceptive appearances and wrong perceptions. Vital appearances are always contradicting to their reality.

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Theme of Appearance in Macbeth

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Macbeth Appearance Vs. Reality Essay Plan

Intro paragraph: In a riveting play laden with the supernatural, nothing is as it outwardly appears to the naked eye. Tension, mystery, dread and ambiguity pervade the drama. Using the theme of appearance vs reality, Shakespeare delves deep into the darker side of humanity and the inner plotting/scheming of the human mind.

1) Witches: the witches set the scene for confusion and illusion in the play. They successfully manage to mislead, cheat and incite evil throughout Scotland via deliberately ambiguous and misleading language. Even their physical appearance is contradictory and perturbing.

Fair is foul and foul is fair Lesser than Macbeth and greater You should be women and yet your beards forbid me to interpret Look not like the inhabitants of the wart yet are on’t (Last 2 are both Banquo) This supernatural soliciting cannot be be ill, cannot be good (Macbeth)  

2) Duncan’s naive and misplaced trust shows that none can be believed or truly relied upon. The dramatic irony between himself and Macbeth as well as his dismissal of Donalbain’s advice are key.

Absolute trust There’s no art to find the minds construction in the face (Duncan) There’s daggers in men’s smiles (Donalbain) More is thy due then all can pay (Duncan to Macbeth) Valiant cousin Black and deep desires (Macbeth)  

3) Lady Macbeth is the foremost example and epitome of deceit and false appearances. Inwardly she is consumed with a lust for power but outwardly maintains a masquerade of a loving and subservient wife.

Fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty Take my milk for gall you murdering ministers Too full o’ the milk of human kindness Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t My keen knife not see the wound it makes Honour’d hostess (Duncan)  

4) Macbeth fools Duncan and carries out his coup against him. In the aftermath of the murder he abandons his once dearly held principles and lies to the assembly. Maintains his reputation while secretly corrupted by his own delusions of grandeur by building up a masquerade of selfless devotion and martyrdom.

Is this a dagger I see before me? (Supernatural helps Macbeth to carry out the murder) I do repent me of my fury that I did kill them (the two guards he framed for the murder) Had I but died an hour before this chance I had lived a blessed time  

5) Banquo is the most subtle example of appearance vs reality. He successfully hides his ambition. Unlike the others his mask is never unveiled due to his untimely demise at the hands of Macbeth.

Noble Banquo Too cruel anywhere (the murder) Bosom franchised and allegiance clear I fight of treasonous malice I fear thou playd’st most foully for it May they not be my oracles as well? But hush! No more.  

6) Even the forces of good who oppose Macbeth are drawn into deception and appearance vs reality. The princes are falsely accused if Duncan’s murder. Malcolm is forced to lie to Macduff to test his loyalty and convictions. Very important paragraph, most people will overlook it.

Stolen away and fled which puts upon them suspicion of the deed His flight was madness (Macduff’s wife scorns his exile) A good and virtuous nature may recoil under an imperial charge Confound unity on earth My more having will be as a sauce to make me hunger more  

7) Macbeth himself is undone by his association with the witches. The equivocation of the witches give him a false sense of security and superiority which ultimately makes him very vulnerable to being overthrown.

Macbeth shall never be vanquished Great Birnam wood Shall come against him None of woman born shall harm Macbeth (All witches) Damned all the trust them Golden opinions I cannot taint with fear (All Macbeth)

Macbeth Appearance vs Reality Essay

Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare that is set in Scotland. The story follows Macbeth, who is Thane of Glamis, as he becomes Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. Macbeth is a tragic figure who starts out as a good man, but is corrupted by his own ambition and ends up killing Duncan, the rightful king, to take his place.

One of the main themes of Macbeth is appearance vs reality. Macbeth is constantly being confronted with the idea that things may not be what they seem. This is most notable in the scene where Macduff confronts Macbeth about the murder of Duncan. Macduff tells Macbeth that he knows Macbeth is responsible for the murder, and Macbeth responds by trying to kill Macduff. Macduff manages to escape, and Macbeth is left with the realization that he has been caught.

Macbeth is also constantly being confronted with his own guilt. He knows that he is guilty of murder, and he can never quite shake the feeling that someone is going to find out what he has done. This leads to a feeling of paranoia and insecurity that ultimately drives him mad.

The theme of appearance vs reality is particularly relevant in Macbeth because it explores the idea of how easily people can be deceived. Macbeth is a perfect example of this, as he is easily manipulated by Lady Macbeth and Macduff manages to fool him into thinking that he is not a threat. This theme is still relevant today, as it speaks to the way that we often try to hide our true selves from others.

The theme of appearance versus reality is illustrated at the start of act 1 when Macbeth talks to the King and becomes a Thane. “Let light not glimpse my dark and deep desires” (1 . 4.59) says Macbeth. Macbeth confesses that he wants to kill King Duncan and seize the Scottish throne in this case.

Macbeth is pretending to be something he’s not, he is putting on an appearance. Macbeth knows that appearing as a loyal and honest subject will give him what he wants, whereas if his true intentions were revealed, he would not be able to gain anything.

Later in the play, Macbeth’s wife Lady Macbeth also talks about the importance of appearances. She says “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (5.1.17-18). In this quote, Lady Macbeth is saying that it doesn’t matter what something is called, it will always smell the same. This quote is significant because it shows that Lady Macbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to make Macbeth look good, even if it means killing people. Lady Macbeth knows that appearances are important, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to make Macbeth look like a good king.

Later in the play, Macduff confronts Macbeth about the murders he has committed. Macduff says “thyself I speak not, nor defend: the tyrant’s raiders are amok; infected blood they have shed” (4.3.187-189). In this quote, Macduff is saying that Macbeth is a tyrant and has killed many innocent people. Macduff knows that Macbeth is a murderer, but Macbeth still tries to maintain his appearance as a good king. Macbeth is trying to keep up the facade that everything is okay, even though he knows that he is a murderer.

At the end of the play, Macbeth’s true colours are finally revealed. He says “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing” (5.5.28-33).

Macbeth is saying that life is meaningless and that everything is just an act. He knows that he is a murderer and that he will be punished for his crimes. Macbeth’s appearance versus reality is finally revealed to the audience, and they see that he is not the good king that he pretends to be. Macbeth is finally exposed as the tyrant that he is, and his true colours are shown to everyone.

The tragedy of Macbeth is defined by a contradiction between appearance and reality, as well as the deception that may result from this. The outward façade of the Macbeths as trustworthy and innocent aids them in carrying out their plan to kill Duncan and seize the throne.

Macbeth, in particular, is good at hiding his true intentions behind a mask of politeness and ​courtesy. However, as the play progresses it becomes clear that Macbeth is not what he seems, and his gradual descent into evil is mirrored by the deterioration of his physical appearance. Blood starts to pour from his wounds, and his face becomes disfigured and mottled. In the end, Macbeth can no longer hide the reality of his crimes, and he is revealed as the murderous villain that he truly is.

The lesson that Macbeth teaches us is that it is important to be aware of the difference between appearance and reality, and to never take things at face value. Reality can be much darker than it seems, and we need to be careful not to be deceived by appearances. Macbeth is a cautionary tale of the dangers of letting your guard down, and the consequences that can result from being blinded by greed and ambition.

Appearances are what something appears to be or how someone appears to be. On the other side, however, the truth is that things exist as they are. This emphasizes the distinction between truth and appearance. The reality is the fact, but the appearance is merely what something looks like.

Macbeth is a play that revolves around the dichotomy of appearance vs reality. Macbeth, the title character, is a warrior who is then named the Thane of Cawdor by the king. Macbeth meets three witches who prophesy that he will be become the king. Macbeth then murders King Duncan in order to take his place. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, plays an important role in Macbeth’s rise to power and eventual downfall.

She urges her husband to kill Duncan and later cleans up his mess. Lady Macbeth shows herself as a strong and determined woman, but she is ultimately undone by her guilt. Macbeth’s reign as king is short-lived and he is eventually killed by Macduff. Macbeth’s story highlights the dangers of letting appearances deceive one into thinking that all is as it seems.

One of the most important aspects of Macbeth is the theme of appearance vs reality. Macbeth is a play about a man who is fooled by the appearances that he sees. He is swayed by what he thinks is reality, but it turns out to be nothing more than an illusion. This is most clearly shown in the scene where Macbeth meets the witches for the first time. The witches tell Macbeth that he will be king and this gives him the idea to kill Duncan in order to take his place.

Macbeth only sees what he wants to see and this leads to his downfall. Macbeth is not the only one who is fooled by appearances. Lady Macbeth is also taken in by them. She is convinced that her husband can do no wrong and she helps him cover up his crime. Lady Macbeth is later undone by her guilt and she kills herself.

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